Healthy Kids helps new parents

Healthy Kids helps new parents

May 29, 2001

NEW PARENTS deserve extra help, and the Montezuma County Health Department is offering that assistance through the Healthy Kids program. From left, first-time moms Heather Lewis (with Brett), and Barb Smith (with Dakota), pose with Danette Jackson, program supervisor (on left) and Healthy Kids nurse Bobbi Lock (on right).

By Jim Mimiaga
Journal Staff Writer

All first-time mothers face big challenges, ranging from providing good prenatal care to learning about nutrition and behavior management.

Throw in a strained financial situation and the job gets even more overwhelming.

So, to help out low-income families, the Montezuma County Health Department recently began Healthy Kids, a home-nurse visitation program for first-time parents.

Under the free program, trained nurses, armed with a wealth of information, regularly visit the homes of new moms to answer questions and offer guidance. Weekly and biweekly visits begin during pregnancy and continue until the baby is 2 years old.

"It is a matter of self-empowerment, and studies show that early intervention prevents problems later on in the child’s life," said Danette Jackson, program supervisor. "What’s nice is that we visit the home and work with the parents and child in their normal, everyday environment."

Activities are centered on the needs and concerns of the parent, and include all aspects of child-rearing. The focus is to foster a positive relationship between the parent and child, and to employ time-tested techniques that benefit both of them.

"Often it is a matter of setting up a routine," said Stephanie Crow, a Healthy Kids nurse. "That way the child knows what to expect from day to day. A calm baby means a calmer parent, creating a better learning environment."

Nutrition, age-appropriate game-playing, communication skills, and behavior-management skills are also taught, along with health and safety issues, such as proper use of a car seat and possible illnesses.

"There is so much to learn, I do not know how I would have made it without this program," said parent Heather Lewis, 21. "Being that it was my first child, I did not know what to expect. The nurse was with me to help from the beginning of my pregnancy."

Lewis’s baby boy, Brett, had trouble sleeping, "and I was always fighting that," she said. But once she set a more rigorous routine he began sleeping better.

"It is much better. I notice others putting their kids to bed at midnight, and their lives are much more hectic."

For first-time mom Barb Smith, the Healthy Kids program meant extra support during the day.

"It is something I look forward to, and it is on the baby’s own turf so they can be observed where they feel comfortable," Smith said. "There is nothing that these nurses do not know. They have great tips on activities, things like nursery rhymes and how to learn by play."

Nurses visiting the home can break generational bad habits, whether involving discipline, nutrition, or reading baby cues, Jackson said. Lowering frustration levels means breaking destructive cycles between baby and parent that can have long-lasting negative effects on a child’s personality and life.

Studies show such programs lower children’s susceptibility to drug and alcohol problems, increase schooling and income levels, and reduce health risks.

"It is information-intensive to encourage new moms to think on their own, rather than always doing what others have told them," Jackson said.

"We also focus on what the parent is doing right. A lot of it is communication, getting the parent and child to read each other’s cues so that they are working together and can enjoy a positive family life."

Healthy Kids is funded from tobacco-settlement money paid to the state of Colorado and distributed to health-oriented programs.

There is still room in the program for first-time parents that meet the income qualifications. For more information on Healthy Kids, contact the Montezuma County Health Department at 565-3056.