Part 3: Implementing the Model

National Extension Parent Education Model
Of Critical Parenting Practices

Part 3:
Implementing The Model

Of the National Extension Parent Education Model of Critical Parenting,
by Charles A. Smith et al.
See the Preface for information on use and distribution of this document.

Delivery Strategies

Extension professionals and other parent educators constantly are being challenged to find new strategies for reaching out to parents. Programs could be designed to incorporate one or more of the following strategies:

a Parent Education Groups
b Parent Education Resource Centers
c Newsletters
d Radio Programs
e Home Visits
f Mentor Mother/Godparent Programs
g Hospital Programs
h Newspaper Articles/Tabletop Messages
i Community Forums
j Interagency Support/Collaborations
k Support Groups
l Community Coalitions/Task Forces
m Learn-at-Home Programs
n Parent Advisory Groups
o Social Change Groups: Liberation Pedagogy

In this section, each delivery strategy is defined and illustrated with at least one component of the model. Descriptions of how the strategy might work are provided as examples for the parent educator. In most cases, each strategy could be used to promote priority parent practices in all areas of the model. In addition, the effectiveness of a parent education program may be enhanced by integrating two or more of these fifteen strategies.

A. Parent Education Groups

County and state extension professionals could use many of resources listed in the curriculum guide to design a series of small group meetings in churches or schools that focus on parent education. This strategy can be especially effective if parents are encouraged to support and teach each other. Consider the following examples:

Parent education workshops could be labeled as parent education or as personal development experiences. They could deal with time management, stress management, budgeting, planning for parenthood, communication skills, and/or friendship and networking. In most cases, information is not the primary need in this area: skill-building and personal support are more central.

Parent education can prepare parents to understand by teaching them developmental principles such as ages and stages. In addition, parent education can teach parent-specific skills of observation and interpretation.
One of the most important skills parents can learn is to observe and listen to their children and try to understand the significance of what they do and say. Since many parents have never felt understood themselves, they may find it difficult to understand their own children. Ginott (Orgel, 1980) suggested that parent education groups start by allowing parents to tell about their difficulties as parents. A sensitive teacher can respond to the parents' statements with interest, support, and empathy. After parents have had time to feel understood, the teacher may direct the group to understand what their children may be feeling in the interchanges they have described. If they feel understood and accepted and are more familiar with their children's feelings, parents then may be ready to learn new skills for teaching and guiding their children.

Parent education groups can be an ideal setting for parents to learn about child guidance. Parents in conflict with their children can benefit from hearing the opinions of other parents. Parents who feel isolated with their problems can benefit from the support and encouragement of other parents who face similar challenges. Because guidance needs are often associated with strong feelings, a group leader can help sort out conflicting emotions and facilitate discussion among group members.

Parent education groups can prepare parents to nurture by helping them to experience acceptance, empathy, support and appreciation as a contributing member of the parenting class. In addition, parent education groups can teach parents specific skills of noticing good behavior, expressing appreciation, sending messages of love, and taking time with each child.

The county extension professional could train volunteers and other leaders to offer kindergarten preparation groups for parents whose children are about to enter school. The groups could help participants understand the kindergarten structure and program, prepare their children for the social and intellectual expectations of kindergarten, and work cooperatively with the kindergarten teachers in promoting their children's kindergarten achievement and adjustment.

Some workshops may address choosing high quality child care. Others may focus on understanding how community agencies work. Communication with teachers and caregivers is another topic. The workshops may give information, teach skills, and provide exposure to programs and professionals.

B. Parent Education Resource Centers

Parents also might benefit from having a place to go where they can gather, talk, listen, and learn.

A Parent Education Resource Center can make general child development texts available to parents to learn about stages of development. Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care may also provide vital basic training for new parents.

A Parent Education Resource Center can make general child development texts available to parents to learn about ideas for nurturing.

C. Newsletters

Newsletters allow us to reach a large number of parents. They are most effective when the audience is clearly identified and interested in the topic. Printed materials are generally less effective in reaching parents of limited education and income, though evaluations of effectiveness of age-paced newsletters point to encouraging results (Powell, 1991).

Many excellent newsletters have been developed that are age-paced. For example, Parent Express (see Curriculum Guide), developed in California, provides a newsletter for parents at one-month intervals up to one year of age and then at two-month intervals up to three years of age.

Newsletters might provide tips on sending messages of love to children. Experiences of parents might be shared.

D. Radio Programs

Radio programs can be effective because important information can be disseminated quickly to a large number of listeners.

Television and radio can help to address the needs of parents to care for themselves. Although it is difficult to build skills via distance education, mass media could be effective in encouraging parents to consider how meeting their own needs is compatible with being an effective parent. In addition, specific hints for time, money, and stress management can be offered in these settings.
Radio programs could be developed that illustrate the challenge of understanding children. For example, the "terrible twos" are a common developmental experience that does not mean that the child is bad or rebellious. The child is just learning how to balance independence with dependence.
Radio programs could be developed that illustrate methods for nurturing. Guest parents might talk about their struggles to overcome past difficulties to nurture their children.
Extension staff could develop a series of public service announcements or brief radio programs on ways parents can teach and/or motivate their children to learn. Programs can be developed for English and non-English language radio stations. Handouts on the subjects covered could be available on request from listeners.
Mass media play an important role in the facilitation of advocacy. By advertising programs and services and notifying citizens of legislation and policy issues, the media can inform parents, introduce them to services that may meet their family's needs, and encourage their public policy involvement.
E. Home Visits

Personal contact can be a powerful teaching strategy, especially with parents who feel isolated and disenfranchised. Professionals, friends, relatives as human sources of child-rearing information are more useful than impersonal books, magazines, and television (Powell, 1991). This strategy requires a high level of resources to be effective. The Cooperative Extension System, with its emphasis on volunteerism, can be an important partner in programs that include home visits, especially in a time of budgetary strain.

When a professional or paraprofessional visits parents in their homes, the personal needs of the parents to care for themselves often become evident. By getting to know the parents and observing them in their own environment, a home visitor may be able to suggest resources and approaches for building important self-care skills. There also may be opportunities to model the skills that could be helpful.
A trained home visitor might build a trusting relationship with a parent and then observe the child(ren) with the parent. The visitor might ask the parent why he or she thinks the child does certain things. At times the home visitor might suggest other reasons for the child's behavior. In particular, the home visitor might help parents be aware of developmental, personality, and situational factors that influence children's actions. For example, a child may be irritable because she is tired or hungry, not because she has a difficult temperament.

County extension professionals could conduct an in-service on guidance for home visitors in established programs. Home visitors could learn how to use the county extension offices' parenting materials with parents on their home visits. At the end of the year, county extension faculty could meet with the educators to get a count of the number of parents who participated in the program and the impressions of the educators about the effectiveness of the program.
A trained home visitor might build a trusting relationship with a parent and then observe the child(ren) with the parent. The visitor might ask the parent how each child seems to be reached with messages of love. Together they might observe what works best with a given child. Together they could make a plan for nurturing that child, whether it is reading together, making a special treat, taking a walk, or sitting and telling about feelings of caring.

County extension professionals could train volunteers and other extenders to visit parents of at-risk children to help them learn how to teach their children at home.

One of the goals of the home visitors may be to help the clients find community services, complete applications, make phone calls, find transportation, and convey information to the service providers. Home visitors also may be able to connect parents with others who may have similar concerns and goals and, thereby, facilitate the development of new services by the parents.

F. Mentor Mother/Godparent Programs

These programs match parents who are at risk with more experienced, volunteer parents. The goal is to establish a friendship and allow the mentor to serve as a model, guide, and advocate for the target parent. Often there is a combination of informal contact and more formal educational sessions.

Although the benefits of these programs can reach into all areas of parenthood, they can be especially effective in helping a parent to "care for self." Indiana's Mentor Mother program is an example of this approach.
Mentor mothers and godparents may serve as role models who teach parents how to provide similar support for their children within the system. These programs often are linked closely with community services and agencies, facilitating the optimal use of the services by target parents.

G. Hospital Programs

Parents of newborns typically are more motivated to learn about parenting than those who have returned to the rhythm of a busy schedule. Hospitals typically provide a convenient location to reach these new parents.

Trained visitors might visit mothers of newborns to support them, make them aware of community resources (classes, libraries, agencies), and provide specific educational materials on child development. A resource packet of timely information about children could be given to parents of newborn children before they leave the hospital.
Trained visitors might visit mothers of newborns to help them understand the unique needs of newborns and help them plan how to deal with especially stressful situations (colic, sleepless nights, etc.). Visitors also might alert parents to other resources such as books, classes, and support groups.

H. Newspaper Articles and Tabletop Messages

Brief informational items in newspapers or set out on tables in restaurants can be another effective way to reach parents.

Field faculty could provide timely articles on child development for their local paper. In addition, interesting, lively suggestions for parents (child-proofing, meeting children's needs, using distraction to prevent conflict, etc.) may be provided as placemats or tabletop cards at local restaurants.

In collaboration with their local pizza chain, county extension professionals could prepare a series of tabletop messages about discipline for placement on tables. Messages could be replaced on a weekly basis. Each month a small evaluation card that invites parents to comment about the series could be left on each table.

I. Community Forums

Public meetings for the entire community can be effective when the topic is of widespread interest and there is a need for parents and others to voice their concerns and provide support to each other.

A county extension professional conducts a community forum on a topic similar to Children Need Heros: Parents, Authority, and the Importance of Limits for Guiding our Children. At the conclusion of the town meeting, she distributes a brief survey asking parents if they benefited from the session.

Community forums are excellent arenas for parents to learn about the process and benefits of advocacy. After parents have learned these skills, they may initiate and organize the forums themselves.

J. Interagency Support/Collaborations

Finding ways to link with other agencies and organizations can be an effective teaching strategy. These other groups can contribute their resources to help in promotion and program delivery.

County extension professionals could work with social workers and judges in the juvenile court system to offer a six-session workshop series on child guidance for parents of troubled adolescents.

K. Support Groups

Support groups can be powerful if they bring together parents who have learned to respond effectively to adversity with those struggling to manage a challenge. Parents can help parents.

One of the most effective ways to develop skills for self-care is to work with other parents. The critical practices of offering help to other parents and asking for help when needed are facilitated when parents meet in a setting that allows them the opportunity to practice these skills. Many of these groups are most effective when they are led by peers. A professional can facilitate the establishment of the group and can be available as a resource person if they want specific educational programming, but the parents themselves can develop leadership skills and gain greater control over their lives and their stress by leading the group process and establishing its agenda. The premise of these programs is that official "experts" are not the exclusive holders of knowledge. The Family Resource Coalition of Chicago has extensive information about how to establish and maintain family support programs.

Support groups such as Mother's Day Out programs, babysitting cooperatives, or groups of parents with children with a particular disability often are organized and run by parents themselves. They give parents the role of interpreting and acting on felt needs. In most of these cases, the parents themselves know best what is needed and in what form. By taking leadership for the group formation and maintenance, they develop a number of skills and effectively reach out to others.

L. Community Coalitions and Task Forces

Motivating the public and private sectors to speak up for parents and children is critical for changing policies and providing more effective support.

Many of the difficulties parents have with money, time, and energy are due to public policies and practices that do not recognize parent needs or are not supportive of parents or families. Coalitions and task forces can advocate for parents in a community (local, county, state, and national) to describe and encourage family-friendly policies and procedures in the work place, in the delivery of social services, regarding child care, and in housing. Sometimes asking individual parents to cope with their challenges may not be enough; the environment may have to be changed.

M. Learn-at-Home Programs

Learn-at-Home Programs can be effective because they allow parents to learn at a convenient time, at their own pace, and in the privacy of their own homes.

Parents can receive background information and exercises to do at home through correspondence courses or learn-at-home packages. These programs are more effective if parents are asked to find "learning partners" when working with the material. They could discuss issues and activities with a spouse, friends, or neighbors.

N. Parent Advisory Groups

Providing opportunities for parents to contribute to public polices and programs affecting families is a critical part of parental empowerment.

Advisory groups that are associated with programs for parents allow the parents to become informed about the operation of the program and give a channel for them to contribute input. Many such groups also offer opportunities for leadership development and public policy involvement.

O. Social Change Groups: Liberation Pedagogy

Leadership development is often needed when the target audience feels powerless to make a difference.

A more extreme and unique application of the training in the Advocate arena uses liberation pedagogy. This approach is designed especially for oppressed and disenfranchised populations. The group facilitator helps to guide and focus the group, interprets what the group shares, and seeks background information and materials as needed. The group itself determines the agenda and outcomes. The goal of the approach is social change, a key element in the area of advocacy.

The most effective strategy may be one that involves a combination of the above options. Programs that are intensive instead of superficial also are likely to be more effective. Successful interventions require a sufficient commitment of resources to make a real difference (Powell, 1991).

Part 2: The Model In Depth
Part 4: Curriculum Guide
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	Parent education workshops could be labeled as parent education or as personal development experiences. They could deal with time management, stress management, budgeting, planning for parenthood, communication skills, and/or friendship and networking. In most cases, information is not the primary need in this area: skill-building and personal support are more central.
	Parent education can prepare parents to understand by teaching them developmental principles such as ages and stages. In addition, parent education can teach parent-specific skills of observation and interpretation. One of the most important skills parents can learn is to observe and listen to their children and try to understand the significance of what they do and say. Since many parents have never felt understood themselves, they may find it difficult to understand their own children. Ginott (Orgel, 1980) suggested that parent education groups start by allowing parents to tell about their difficulties as parents. A sensitive teacher can respond to the parents' statements with interest, support, and empathy. After parents have had time to feel understood, the teacher may direct the group to understand what their children may be feeling in the interchanges they have described. If they feel understood and accepted and are more familiar with their children's feelings, parents then may be ready to learn new skills for teaching and guiding their children.
	Parent education groups can be an ideal setting for parents to learn about child guidance. Parents in conflict with their children can benefit from hearing the opinions of other parents. Parents who feel isolated with their problems can benefit from the support and encouragement of other parents who face similar challenges. Because guidance needs are often associated with strong feelings, a group leader can help sort out conflicting emotions and facilitate discussion among group members.
	Parent education groups can prepare parents to nurture by helping them to experience acceptance, empathy, support and appreciation as a contributing member of the parenting class. In addition, parent education groups can teach parents specific skills of noticing good behavior, expressing appreciation, sending messages of love, and taking time with each child.
	The county extension professional could train volunteers and other leaders to offer kindergarten preparation groups for parents whose children are about to enter school. The groups could help participants understand the kindergarten structure and program, prepare their children for the social and intellectual expectations of kindergarten, and work cooperatively with the kindergarten teachers in promoting their children's kindergarten achievement and adjustment.
	Some workshops may address choosing high quality child care. Others may focus on understanding how community agencies work. Communication with teachers and caregivers is another topic. The workshops may give information, teach skills, and provide exposure to programs and professionals.

	Many excellent newsletters have been developed that are age-paced. For example, Parent Express (see Curriculum Guide), developed in California, provides a newsletter for parents at one-month intervals up to one year of age and then at two-month intervals up to three years of age.
	Newsletters might provide tips on sending messages of love to children. Experiences of parents might be shared.

	Television and radio can help to address the needs of parents to care for themselves. Although it is difficult to build skills via distance education, mass media could be effective in encouraging parents to consider how meeting their own needs is compatible with being an effective parent. In addition, specific hints for time, money, and stress management can be offered in these settings.
	Radio programs could be developed that illustrate the challenge of understanding children. For example, the "terrible twos" are a common developmental experience that does not mean that the child is bad or rebellious. The child is just learning how to balance independence with dependence.
	Radio programs could be developed that illustrate methods for nurturing. Guest parents might talk about their struggles to overcome past difficulties to nurture their children.
	Extension staff could develop a series of public service announcements or brief radio programs on ways parents can teach and/or motivate their children to learn. Programs can be developed for English and non-English language radio stations. Handouts on the subjects covered could be available on request from listeners.
	Mass media play an important role in the facilitation of advocacy. By advertising programs and services and notifying citizens of legislation and policy issues, the media can inform parents, introduce them to services that may meet their family's needs, and encourage their public policy involvement.

	When a professional or paraprofessional visits parents in their homes, the personal needs of the parents to care for themselves often become evident. By getting to know the parents and observing them in their own environment, a home visitor may be able to suggest resources and approaches for building important self-care skills. There also may be opportunities to model the skills that could be helpful.
	A trained home visitor might build a trusting relationship with a parent and then observe the child(ren) with the parent. The visitor might ask the parent why he or she thinks the child does certain things. At times the home visitor might suggest other reasons for the child's behavior. In particular, the home visitor might help parents be aware of developmental, personality, and situational factors that influence children's actions. For example, a child may be irritable because she is tired or hungry, not because she has a difficult temperament.
	County extension professionals could conduct an in-service on guidance for home visitors in established programs. Home visitors could learn how to use the county extension offices' parenting materials with parents on their home visits. At the end of the year, county extension faculty could meet with the educators to get a count of the number of parents who participated in the program and the impressions of the educators about the effectiveness of the program.
	A trained home visitor might build a trusting relationship with a parent and then observe the child(ren) with the parent. The visitor might ask the parent how each child seems to be reached with messages of love. Together they might observe what works best with a given child. Together they could make a plan for nurturing that child, whether it is reading together, making a special treat, taking a walk, or sitting and telling about feelings of caring.
	County extension professionals could train volunteers and other extenders to visit parents of at-risk children to help them learn how to teach their children at home.
	One of the goals of the home visitors may be to help the clients find community services, complete applications, make phone calls, find transportation, and convey information to the service providers. Home visitors also may be able to connect parents with others who may have similar concerns and goals and, thereby, facilitate the development of new services by the parents.

	Although the benefits of these programs can reach into all areas of parenthood, they can be especially effective in helping a parent to "care for self." Indiana's Mentor Mother program is an example of this approach.
	Mentor mothers and godparents may serve as role models who teach parents how to provide similar support for their children within the system. These programs often are linked closely with community services and agencies, facilitating the optimal use of the services by target parents.

	Field faculty could provide timely articles on child development for their local paper. In addition, interesting, lively suggestions for parents (child-proofing, meeting children's needs, using distraction to prevent conflict, etc.) may be provided as placemats or tabletop cards at local restaurants.
	In collaboration with their local pizza chain, county extension professionals could prepare a series of tabletop messages about discipline for placement on tables. Messages could be replaced on a weekly basis. Each month a small evaluation card that invites parents to comment about the series could be left on each table.

	A county extension professional conducts a community forum on a topic similar to Children Need Heros: Parents, Authority, and the Importance of Limits for Guiding our Children. At the conclusion of the town meeting, she distributes a brief survey asking parents if they benefited from the session.
	Community forums are excellent arenas for parents to learn about the process and benefits of advocacy. After parents have learned these skills, they may initiate and organize the forums themselves.

Part 3: Implementing The Model

Delivery Strategies

Part 3:
Implementing The Model