What new parents need to know
University of Wisconsin-Extension reaches many first-time parents who may never attend a parenting class.
The University of Wisconsin-Extension's parenting newsletters are an inexpensive and effective parenting education program delivered to parents of nearly half the children raised in Wisconsin today. And they have produced some important outcomes for Wisconsin families.
UW-Extension produces three instructional newsletters: Parenting the First Year, Parenting the Second and Third Years and Preparing to Parent. Currently nearly half of all new parents in Wisconsin, approximately 35,000 families, receive Parenting the First Year, for a total of more than 435,000 families in 15 years. An additional 22,000 families receive Parenting the Second and Third Years.
Model program
"The parenting newsletters were started by two county extension agents in northern Wisconsin," says child development specialist Dave Riley. "This is a model of a great Extension program, in which county agents respond to local needs, pull in campus specialists, and have a positive impact on families statewide and internationally."
International distribution
The free newsletters, in English and Spanish, attract more than 146,000 online readers a year, and are distributed in 15 states, Canada, Britain and Korea. UW-Extension offices in 62 counties distribute them through Kiwanis Clubs, hospitals, health departments, businesses and service clubs.
Focus on skills
The age-paced newsletters focus on physical, intellectual and social skills. Parents learn to promote optimal child development through guidance, discipline and language activities. Research has shown that parents who read the newsletters have changed both their beliefs and actions in raising their children.
The newsletters are available at http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/parenting, http://cecommerce.uwex.edu/ and (877) 947-7827.
"Very useful"
Parents rated Parenting the First Year "very useful" as a source of child-rearing advice more often than any other source. These parents had beliefs significantly less like those of child-abusing parents and reported spanking or slapping their babies significantly less often than comparable parents who did not receive the newsletters. The project has won two state awards for child-abuse prevention.—Jo Futrell
For more information: UW-Madison/Extension Child Development Specialist Dave Riley, dariley@wisc.edu, (608) 262-3314
UW-Madison/Extension Child Development Specialist Carol Ostergren, carol.ostergren@ces.uwex.edu, (608) 263-2381