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Parenting Newsletter Project by University of Wisconsin-Extension

Learn how the newsletter project positively impacts parenting, early development, and child safety, reaching thousands of families.

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Parenting Newsletter Project by University of Wisconsin-Extension

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  1. Parenting Newsletter Project Your name here University of Wisconsin-Extension

  2. Three Parenting Newsletter Series • Parenting the First Year (PFY) • Parenting the 2nd and 3rd Years (PSTY) • Preparing to Parent (P2P)

  3. Newsletter Features • 8-page issues • Age-paced • Reach socially isolated families • Can be shared with others • Free for parents • Easy to read and understand • Available in Spanish edition

  4. How did the newsletter project get started? • Two extension agents from N. Wisconsin produced the first version of PFY in 1982. • In 1988 an entirely new edition was written by Dave Riley & Dori Schatell. • Kiwanis seeking a project for major service effort – helped jumpstart distribution

  5. Local partnerships have included: • 70 county extension offices • 165 Kiwanis Clubs • 77 maternity hospitals • 22 city or county health departments • 49 other partners

  6. How Many Households Do the Newsletters Reach? • Parenting the First Year newsletters reach 35,000 Wisconsin families each year. • About half of the families giving birth in Wisconsin each year (70,000). • Another 22,000 Wisconsin families receive Parenting the 2nd and 3rd Years each year.

  7. Goals of the Parenting Newsletter Project • To encourage competent parenting • To enhance early childhood development • To address threats to early brain development: -chemical exposure -undiagnosed vision / hearing problems -inadequate nutrition • To prevent abusive parenting

  8. Do the newsletters accomplish these goals? Parents report positive changes in their parenting: • Talk more with their babies and toddlers • Provide more things to enhance development • Start toddlers doing simple chores • Set rules and limits with their children • Provide safer home environments

  9. Do the newsletters accomplish these goals? In a field experiment, 550 parents who received the Parenting the First Year: • had attitudes significantly less like those of child abusing parents • reported slapping or spanking their babies fewer times in the previous week

  10. What have parents said? “I probably wouldn’t have talked to my child when he was an infant if I hadn’t read these newsletters.” Richland County parent “The newsletters have been a big help in controlling my frustration when the baby cries for hours on end! Thank you.” Grant County parent “The newsletter helped me to be more responsive to my baby, because I found out that the games we play and the things we do are not just fun, but also helpful in my baby’s development.” La Crosse County parent

  11. What have parents said? “We have all the books [on parenting]. Nothing has been as helpful as this newsletter.” Wood County parent “The newsletters have been very useful to me because I have no friends with children and very little input. It helps me know what to expect and what is normal behavior.” Dane County parent “We love the newsletter! We’ve copied them all and passed them on to sisters and brothers having babies whose cities don’t do anything like this for them.” Fond du Lac County parent

  12. Evolution of the Parenting Newsletter Project • Spanish version of PFY • English and Spanish versions of PSTY • Info Source • Website, about 60 read on line each day • 15 other states, 2 other countries • Parenting Future Readers & Parenting Your Unique Child • NEW! Preparing to Parent newsletter series

  13. What is Preparing to Parent? • 4 Issue Set of 16-page Prenatal Newsletters • Prequel Series to Parenting the First Year • One Issue for Each Trimester, and the Time Around Birth • Written by UW-professors, with advisory panel that included health care professionals

  14. Why a Prenatal Newsletter Series? • Need for earlier intervention • Reinforces Advice of Health Care Providers • Helps Parents Remember Advice • Answers Questions Not Discussed at Clinic Visits • Can Be Shared With Social Network

  15. Examples of Topics That Require Early Intervention • Alcohol and Tobacco Use • Prenatal Nutrition and Vitamins • Avoidance of Environmental Toxins • Use of Regular Prenatal Care • Decision to Breastfeed

  16. Developed by University of Wisconsin-Extension for 3 Goals • To Help Expectant Parents Have a Healthy Pregnancy and Baby • To Promote Competent Parenting • To Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect

  17. Distributing P2P • Distribute by hand to expectant parents at prenatal visits • Partner with local Extension office • Advantages for partners (lower cost, help with evaluation)

  18. Options for Obtaining P2P Newsletters • Purchase standard newsletters from Extension Publications • Purchase license & print localized versions (with your logo, contact info.): • Have a printer make copies • Print from a CD on your office computer • Print from a secure website

  19. Evaluation • Data collected by self-report questionnaires given to new parents at first postnatal visit • Data entry completed at Extension office • Each clinic will receive an Evaluation Report • Power point presentation on results, press release series available

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