Note: This site is for reviewing legacy plan of work data from 2007-2011. If you are looking for the current plan of work interface, visit pow.nmsu.edu.
Strengthening Families Initiative, Parenting Education
Plan Goals
Strengthen New Mexico’s families by providing evidence-based parenting education to increase parent-child connectedness, positive discipline practices, and healthy family functioning. (Joint plan with Esther Devall, Lisa Shields & Charolette Collins)
Impact Reports
Emergency preparedness is no longer the sole concern of earthquake prone Californians and those who live in the part of the country known as "Tornado Alley." For Americans, preparedness must now account for man-made disasters as well as natural ones. Knowing what to do during an emergency is an important part of being prepared and may make all the difference when seconds count.
Over 200 of the residents living in Valencia County participated in a program designed to educate and teach families the importance of preparing for local and individual emergencies. Parents were taught the importance of talking to their children about possible emergencies and taught ways to develop a family emergency plan. Each family was given an emergency preparedness kit to take home with them with instructions and a list of supplies that need to be added to the kits.
Participants gain knowledge in emergencies that can and do affect New Mexico residents. Gain a greater understanding of the importance in preparing themselves and families for emergencies.
Over 200 of the residents living in Valencia County participated in a program designed to educate and teach families the importance of preparing for local and individual emergencies. Parents were taught the importance of talking to their children about possible emergencies and taught ways to develop a family emergency plan. Each family was given an emergency preparedness kit to take home with them with instructions and a list of supplies that need to be added to the kits.
Participants gain knowledge in emergencies that can and do affect New Mexico residents. Gain a greater understanding of the importance in preparing themselves and families for emergencies.
Parenthood is one of the most stressful and demanding of life roles, yet it is the role for which most adults receive the least preparation and support. Contemporary parents face many challenges, including poverty, isolation, fewer supports for families, and a declining sense of community. The consequences of not educating parents are tremendous. Poor parenting skills are linked to abuse and neglect as well as youth behavior problems including teen pregnancy, adolescence substance abuse, and youth violence.
The Cooperative Extension Service has been providing parenting education to Valencia County residents for the past seven years. Parenting education has been one of the top priorities identified by the Valencia County Support Council. This program year 83 parents graduated from the eight-week parenting education course provided by the Valencia County Cooperative Extension Service.
The programs feature activities to foster positive parenting skills and self-nurturing, home practice exercises, and activities to promote positive brain development in children birth to 18 years. The topics covered during the eight-week course include:
• Stress Management
• Praising Children
• Building Self-Worth
• Building Personal Power
• Positive Discipline
• Emergency Preparedness
• Understanding Drug and Alcohol Use
• Developing Family Morals, Values, and Rules
• Understanding and Communicating Feelings
• Signs of Suicide in Adults and Youth
Eight-week Course Outcomes:
• Assess attitudes and knowledge of parenting practices.
• Assess social and developmental histories.
• Parents develop nurturing as a lifestyle.
• Parents and children relate in a positive, nurturing way.
• Parents learn to enjoy their children.
• Increase parents’ awareness of how we are taught not to express feelings.
• Increase parents’ ability to recognize feelings in self.
• Increase parents’ ability to recognize feelings of children.
• Parents develop empathy in regards to their children.
• Reinforce positive regard in children.
• Parents understand the meaning of self-concept and self-esteem.
• Parents realize their ability to impact a child’s overall self-worth.
• Parents will help children improve their self-concept and self-esteem.
The Cooperative Extension Service has been providing parenting education to Valencia County residents for the past seven years. Parenting education has been one of the top priorities identified by the Valencia County Support Council. This program year 83 parents graduated from the eight-week parenting education course provided by the Valencia County Cooperative Extension Service.
The programs feature activities to foster positive parenting skills and self-nurturing, home practice exercises, and activities to promote positive brain development in children birth to 18 years. The topics covered during the eight-week course include:
• Stress Management
• Praising Children
• Building Self-Worth
• Building Personal Power
• Positive Discipline
• Emergency Preparedness
• Understanding Drug and Alcohol Use
• Developing Family Morals, Values, and Rules
• Understanding and Communicating Feelings
• Signs of Suicide in Adults and Youth
Eight-week Course Outcomes:
• Assess attitudes and knowledge of parenting practices.
• Assess social and developmental histories.
• Parents develop nurturing as a lifestyle.
• Parents and children relate in a positive, nurturing way.
• Parents learn to enjoy their children.
• Increase parents’ awareness of how we are taught not to express feelings.
• Increase parents’ ability to recognize feelings in self.
• Increase parents’ ability to recognize feelings of children.
• Parents develop empathy in regards to their children.
• Reinforce positive regard in children.
• Parents understand the meaning of self-concept and self-esteem.
• Parents realize their ability to impact a child’s overall self-worth.
• Parents will help children improve their self-concept and self-esteem.
The Cibola County Home Economist has been conducting nurturing parenting education classes for the residents of Cibola County. The program is currently being carried out at The NMSU Cibola County Extension Service Office. The Cibola County parenting programs run for twelve consecutive weeks. Participants must complete all twelve lessons in order to receive a certificate of completion and to be considered a graduate of the Cibola County Nurturing Parenting Program along with 4 consecutive ICAN sessions, Ideas for Cooking and Nutrition. Topics covered include stress management, praising children, building self-worth/anger management, understanding and communicating feelings, developing family morals, values and rules, domestic violence awareness (the cycle of violence), bulling/keeping children drug free, and alternatives to spanking, ICAN classes include the Feeding your family Feeding your Future.
The Cibola County Parenting Program had twenty five participants who completed 12 or more lessons and are considered a graduate of the program. Fifteen participants attended one or more stand alone lessons but did not have the credits needed to be considered a graduate.
After completing the program it is expected that parents have developed the skills needed to communicate more effectively with their family members and have the knowledge to identify signs of DV (domestic violence) within their family members. Parents are given the opportunity to utilize the power of praising children and learn to recognize the positive effects and outcomes that praise and positive discipline has on children. It is expected that 80% of the participants will continue to use positive forms of discipline rather than physical means of discipline due to the knowledge and understanding gained in the program.
The Cibola County Parenting Program had twenty five participants who completed 12 or more lessons and are considered a graduate of the program. Fifteen participants attended one or more stand alone lessons but did not have the credits needed to be considered a graduate.
After completing the program it is expected that parents have developed the skills needed to communicate more effectively with their family members and have the knowledge to identify signs of DV (domestic violence) within their family members. Parents are given the opportunity to utilize the power of praising children and learn to recognize the positive effects and outcomes that praise and positive discipline has on children. It is expected that 80% of the participants will continue to use positive forms of discipline rather than physical means of discipline due to the knowledge and understanding gained in the program.
J. Wendy Brown has signed on to support Strengthening Families Initiative, Parenting Education within Cibola County.
The agent has offered parenting education through one-time programs or a program series, depending on the needs of the clientele. Collaborative relationships were established between CES and the Doña Ana County Health & Human Services Division (DAC HHS) Community Centers, Las Cruces Public Schools, Hatch Valley Public Schools, Gadsden Public Schools and Families and Youth, Inc. to offer parenting workshops to parent groups. When possible the agent collects an evaluation following parenting programs.
The agent consistently receives evaluations that show 85-90% of participants view the program as very useful. The following are examples of comments participants listed when asked how they planned to use the information they learned from the program: (The majority of these quotes have been translated from Spanish)
• “Set simple and clear rules with my kids.”
• “Follow discipline strategies learned in class.”
• “Work with my child instead of against her.”
• “Communicate more with my children.”
• “Discipline my child without making them feel bad about themselves.”
• “Work on having more patience.”
• “Give my children confidence in themselves.”
• “Be more positive with my children, especially in difficult situations.”
• “Pay more attention to the importance of feelings, both my children’s and mine.”
• “Communicate feelings more with others.”
• “Spend more time listening to my children.”
The agent consistently receives evaluations that show 85-90% of participants view the program as very useful. The following are examples of comments participants listed when asked how they planned to use the information they learned from the program: (The majority of these quotes have been translated from Spanish)
• “Set simple and clear rules with my kids.”
• “Follow discipline strategies learned in class.”
• “Work with my child instead of against her.”
• “Communicate more with my children.”
• “Discipline my child without making them feel bad about themselves.”
• “Work on having more patience.”
• “Give my children confidence in themselves.”
• “Be more positive with my children, especially in difficult situations.”
• “Pay more attention to the importance of feelings, both my children’s and mine.”
• “Communicate feelings more with others.”
• “Spend more time listening to my children.”