Q: What is the Arizona Parents Kit?
A: The Arizona Parents Kit is a free boxed set of educational materials that includes a comprehensive parents guide and a video/DVD series to help new parents navigate the critical first months and years of their child's life. The kits also contain a baby board book for parents to read to their child. Kit materials are available in both English and Spanish.
Q: Why are the kits being distributed by the Piper Trust?
A: The Piper Trust is committed to enhancing and strengthening the quality of life for the people in Maricopa County. Research shows that a healthy pregnancy and effective parenting practices during infancy through age 5 are critical for children’s positive development. The Trust seeks to help educate parents by providing information and resources that help them make informed decisions about properly caring for their young children.
Q: How was the kit developed?
A: The kit is modeled after a successful program in California. In partnership with the University of California, Berkeley, The First 5 California Children and Families Commission developed the kit in 2000 in response to the widespread need for parenting education. California currently distributes more than 500,000 kits to parents each year.
The Piper Trust employed the expertise of UC-Berkeley to devise the Arizona Parents Guide with guidance from a local advisory committee of 24 child advocates. Representatives came from nonprofit organizations as well as local, county and state government agencies to collaboratively develop content for the 80-page guide.
The video productions were produced by Rob Reiner, founder and chairman of Parents Action for Children (formerly the I Am Your Child Foundation), a national organization that promotes policies and programs that foster healthy early childhood development and supports state and local early childhood initiatives.
The Arizona Parents Kit works in concert with the Arizona Institute for Early Childhood Development's Birth to Five Helpline (1-877-704-KIDS), Arizona's first toll-free telephone resource for parents. Developed with support from a Piper Trust grant, the helpline connects parents and caregivers with early childhood development specialists, registered nurses, disabilities specialists, early literacy specialists and mental health counselors to answer questions and provide additional guidance about healthy child development.
Q: Who participated in the kit’s development?
A: More than 18 local agencies were involved in the development of the Arizona Parents Kit to ensure it reflects the interests and needs of Arizona parents. The Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics has endorsed the kit.
Q: What does the Arizona Parents Kit contain?
A: Packaged in a colorful box with handles, the Arizona Parents Kit contains:
- An Arizona Parents Guide – Developed by the University of California, Berkeley and a local advisory committee, the 80-page guide combines local resources and information with practical parenting advice. The short entries, bulleted lists and “Things You Can Do” features make it easy to find brief answers to many of the questions and challenges new parents face. The “Where to Find Help” feature connects parents to local and national resources with Web sites and phone numbers.
- Videos/DVDs – Each kit contains six videos or DVDs produced by Hollywood actor/ director Rob Reiner. Celebrity hosts tackle early issues of parenting in a conversational, easy-to-understand format. Run times range from 23 to 29 minutes.
- The First Years Last Forever – hosted by Rob Reiner
- Ready to Learn – hosted by Jamie Lee Curtis and LeVar
Burton
- Your Healthy Baby – hosted by Phylicia Rashad
- Quality Child Care – hosted by Maria Shriver
- Safe From the Start – hosted by Gloria Estefan
- Discipline – hosted by Dr. T. Berry Brazelton
- Infant Board Book – To encourage parents to begin reading to their children at an early age, the kit contains a board book with colorful pictures of babies.
Q: How do I get a kit?
A: The Piper Trust is making the kits available free of charge to parents who give birth at 21 participating birthing hospitals across Maricopa County. For a comprehensive list of participating hospitals, click here.
Parents can also check out the parenting videoss and resource guide at many local libraries. Click here for a list of libraries that are or plan to circulate the Arizona Parents Kit.
Q: Are there other ways to obtain a kit?
A: Kits are not currently available except through area hospitals and birthing centers and through check out at select libraries. Parenting resources are available through the Birth to Five Helpline at 1-877-704-KIDS.
Q: How long will the Piper Trust be distributing the kits?
A: The Piper Trust has made an initial two-year commitment to the Arizona Parents Kit initiative and will reevaluate the project at that time to determine its value in the community.
Q: Do you have data that shows the kit’s effectiveness in changing parent behavior?
A: California conducted a pilot and two-year follow-up study of the parenting kit. The study found that California mothers who receive a kit had significantly greater knowledge gains in a broad range of areas that influence children’s health. The result of the knowledge gains attributed to the kit was more than double the average result of other parenting education programs in a national review. English- and Spanish-speaking families with young children benefited from the information in the kit regardless of their income or education. More information about California’s evaluation is available on the First 5 California Children and Families Commission’s Web site at www.ccfc.ca.gov.
In Arizona, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center and Banner
Desert Medical Center participated in a pilot study of the Arizona Parents Kit in 2005-2006. Early findings from the study show that parents who receive the kit engage in healthy parenting practices. These practices include putting babies to sleep on their backs to minimize the chances of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, increasing the incidence and duration of breastfeeding, reading to and playing with babies more frequently and correctly using car seats.