Smart Start of Caldwell County

Nurturing Parenting Program

Brief Overview and Description

The Nurturing Parenting Programs are evidenced based parenting programs that can be offered in a group setting, a home setting or in a combination of group and home settings.
The first Nurturing Parenting Program was developed and validated in a multi-site, three year national study from 1983 to 1985. The study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to prevent the recurrence of child abuse and neglect in families with school-age children 5 to 12 years of age.
The NIMH study demonstrated the effectiveness of the Nurturing Parenting philosophy and implementation strategies in remediating the current abuse, and preventing the recurrence of abuse in 93% of the families completing the program. You are invited to click on the Research and Validation side tab to review the initial study and all subsequent studies conducted to support the effectiveness of the Nurturing Parenting Programs.

Uniquenesses of the Nurturing Parenting Programs

The Nurturing Parenting Programs have several unique features that make the programs effective:

Nurturing Parenting Programs are designed for the treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect. The programs are utilized nation wide to improve the lives of families ravaged by dysfunction.
The Nurturing Programs are family based interventions where parents and their children learn similar knowledge and skills for improving the quality of their lives.
Built in assessment strategies allow facilitators and parents to chart the course of their successes.
Families attend home-based programs.
The flexibility within the structure of the programs allows facilitators to ensure the specific needs of families are being met.
The nurturing philosophy of non-violent parenting focuses on the development of empathy, self-worth, self-awareness, empowerment, discipline with dignity, appropriate family roles and age-appropriate expectations of children’s development.
Lesson guides, DVDs, parent handbooks, and assessment inventories provide facilitators with individual lessons designed to promote individual and family growth.
Parents and children learn how to play games, sign songs and have fun as a family.