Adjusting to life as new parents
In the first few years, children learn more than at any other time in life. Parents are a child's first, and most important teachers who shape their child's future through the kinds of experiences they provide. Our ability to help first-time parents manage the challenges of newborn parenting is critical to building strong families.
Welcome Baby helps first-time parents manage the demands of parenting through educational home visits that help them build confidence in their parenting skills and understand their child's development from birth to three years. As a community-based, grant-funded program, Welcome Baby is free to parents.
How does Welcome Baby work?
- A Family Support Specialist (FSS) visits first-time parents in their home
- Visiting schedules vary and are determined by parents' needs and schedules
- Visits can start during pregnancy and families can stay in the program until their child turns three
- The researched-based Parents as Teachers curriculum is used in the home
- FSS, parent and child engage in age-appropriate activities that stimulate child development and encourage parent-child bonding
- Parents receive handouts on child development
- FSS addresses questions and concerns of parents, encourages problem-solving, serves as an advocate, and facilitates goal setting
- Children receive developmental screenings for motor, language, intellectual and social-emotional skills
- FSS offers a home safety assessment and resources to help create a safe and secure home environment
- Parents receive book loans at every visit to encourage reading to their child
- Families are connected with other community resources as needed
What do parents learn?
- How a safe, healthy, positive environment benefits their child's development
- Strategies for encouraging positive behavior
- The importance of playing with their child to promote healthy social, emotional, motor and cognitive development.
- How to bond with their child and why that is important
- Stages of child development ages 0 - 3
How does Welcome Baby benefit the community?
- Parents are empowered by knowledge and feel confident as parents
- Parents bond with their children, forming strong families
- Children are better prepared for school
- Children are well cared for and better able to reach their potential
- Developmental delays are detected early which means the child and family receive the support they need
- Parents develop family and community support networks that help them meet challenges and allow them to be independent
Who is eligible?
- First-time parents in Dane County who are pregnant or have a child up to age three
- Self-referrals are encouraged
- With a parent's permission we also accept referrals from Meriter Hospital, St. Mary's Hospital and other community professionals and service providers
- If a second child is born, the family remains eligible until the first child turns three
Know of someone who could benefit from Welcome Baby? Download this pdf and simply fax it to us.
