Linn County Parent Education Survey Summary 2005

Background & Demographics:
Iowa State University Extension in cooperation with the Linn County Parent Education Consortium conducted an assessment of parenting education needs in Linn County.

Ninety-three (93) surveys were administered to parents attending Early Childhood Child Check appointments conducted by Grant Wood AEA specialists during April 2005. Surveys were collected from 75 mothers and 18 fathers, ranging in age from 21 – 50 years old, from 3 community school districts: Hiawatha, Center Point/Urbana, and Linn Mar. All parents surveyed had at least one child under the age of 6.

In Hiawatha, a suburban community near Cedar Rapids (13/20 mothers = 65%), and Center Point/Urbana, a rural area in northern Linn County , (14/16 mothers = 88%) populations tended to consist of working mothers. The Linn Mar district, which is a mix of urban, suburban, and rural areas near Marion and Cedar Rapids , had a larger percentage of stay-at-home moms (56% vs 44% working moms). Overall, (59%) 44 of the 75 mothers surveyed work part or full time outside the home.

Results:
When fathers have a concern about their child or some aspect of parenting, they tend to go to the child's mother or friends and co-workers for help and information. Sixty-six percent (66%) of fathers also use their own parents or relatives as a resource. Pediatricians, nurses, internet and child care providers were also mentioned as sources of parenting help.

Mothers seek help and information from their child's father, and pediatricians and nurses. Sixty-nine percent (69%) go to their own parents or relatives. Fifty-one percent (51%) of mothers also use books and magazines as resources. The child's teacher and internet websites were also mentioned by mothers as sources of parenting information.

15/75 parents indicated they would utilize a telephone conversation with a parenting educator, physician, nurse or other specialist for regular parenting information.

Neither fathers nor mothers utilized hotlines for parenting help and information.

A large percentage of both mothers (76%) and fathers (67%) indicated that a newsletter mailed to their home was the preferred way of receiving regular parenting information. E-mail with links to parenting websites was more appealing to mothers (33%) than to fathers (17%).

Mothers (51/75) had far more experience with group based parent education than fathers, and said it was not likely they would get their partners to a group. Of the 3 fathers who had attended a class, all were highly likely to attend another parenting group. One third of the fathers said they might attend a class.

Reasons for attending a parenting group for both mothers and fathers included help with an immediate issue, child care on site, at a location near home and at a convenient time. Evenings were the most popular time suggested for parenting groups followed by mornings (stay-at-home moms) and weekends (working moms). Also, the opportunity to meet other parents was appealing to a third of both moms and dads.

The biggest barriers to attending a parenting group for both mothers and fathers was having to arrange child care, meals and schedules.

In-home parenting services “Nanny-type support” got mixed reviews. Only 10 mothers preferred a visit from a parenting educator, physician, nurse or other specialist as a regular source of parenting information. Many mothers and fathers were open to it, some were not at all likely to use an in-home parenting service.

The factors that would make an in-home parenting service more comfortable for both fathers and mothers was getting help from an “expert” who knows about kids and families. It was also important that the service be scheduled at convenient times, be non-judgmental and private/confidential. Short-term – one or two visits- was more appealing than a long term relationship defined as 3 or more visits. Parents indicated a range of costs they would incur for “nanny” support from 0 to $100 per visit with $10-$25 mentioned as acceptable.

Mothers were concerned about their partner not liking an in-home parenting service, about too many visits, whether they would be judged for their parenting skills, as well as feeling like they would have to clean their house or entertain the parent educator. Fathers were concerned about cost, judging of their parenting skills, and having some ‘expert” telling them what to do. Having to clean and entertain was also mentioned by fathers as a concern with in-home parenting services.

Implications:
Iowa State University Extension and other organizations which provide parenting education services should be aware of the nuances revealed in this survey. Although the group based parenting education services being conducted by the Linn County Parent Education Consortium are considered “Best Practices”, there is room for subtle adjustments and additional parenting education opportunities.

Parents of young children in rural & suburban communities may be ripe for parenting education services of all kinds. These families were clearly interested in their child's development as evidenced by coming to the child check appointments. They consumed printed information as well as asked questions of the specialists during the appointments. At the Hiawatha site, none of the parents had ever participated in a parenting group before. In Center Point/Urbana district, only 7 had experience with group based parenting education. Child Check locations may be appropriate places to promote parenting classes as well as host sites for parenting classes.

The “nanny” TV shows have raised awareness of parenting education and support. Because of this media attention, this may be a “teachable moment” for agencies to promote their existing parenting education services as well as figure out ways to take it to the rural areas. Physicians and nurses, child care providers and teachers need to know about local parenting education services so they can support parents of young children outside of their office or school.

In-home parent education services may be appealing to some U.S. families. Existing in-home parenting services must be careful to promote family strengths, avoid judgment of parenting skills, honor confidentiality and limit the visits in order to be appealing to mothers and fathers. However, in-home parenting education services are currently only available to the lowest resource/highest risk families, limiting its effectiveness with the general population. There may be potential for low cost “Nanny' type of support for parents of young children.

Parenting newsletters mailed directly to the parent's home has universal appeal for fathers and mothers. Electronic marketing of parenting resources may be an effective outreach for working and stay-at-home mothers and fathers. “Parent Coaching” by telephone may have potential as well. Group based parenting education continues to be highly used by mothers who are the primary source of parenting information for fathers.

Getting parenting resources to work sites may be a highly effective way of reaching working mothers and fathers, whose co-workers are a highly used source of parenting information. Experimenting with work place parenting classes and “parenting resource kits” may result in new audiences for parenting education services.

Grandparents may also be a new audience for group based parenting education services providing the older generation with current knowledge of parenting practices and child development information. Promoting intergenerational parenting practices may be helpful for families with young children.

Contact:
Kristi Cooper, M.S.
Iowa State University Extension
3279 7 th Ave. Suite 140
Marion, Iowa 52302
Phone 319 377-9839
Email kcoop@iastate.edu

..........more stories....................!