Parents as Teachers

The Parents as Teachers program provides in-home parenting support to families who are living with trauma or chronic hardships.

ChildStrive educators partner with parents to play, reflect and connect with community resources in order to support their child’s healthy development and school readiness.

Group connection play groups are held on the last Thursday of each month and are open to the public. Parent/child playtime, prizes, take-home snack and more! ChildStrive, 14 E Casino Road, (Bldg C in the back of the complex) from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM.

Family Story: Meet Andrea

Andrea sought out a parenting program because she was determined to learn different parenting skills than she experienced growing up. Although her past includes homelessness, drug addiction and jail, she has turned her life around and is a devoted mother to Aliyana. With the help of a Parent Educator, she was able to identify her strengths and build on them as she learned about child development and gained confidence in her parenting skills. Andrea credits ChildStrive’s Parents as Teachers program for helping establish her loving relationship with Aliyana and is proud that she is able to work and care for her daughter on her own.

Parenting Support

Parenting can be difficult in the best of circumstances but when you’re faced with other struggles, it can be overwhelming! ChildStrive focuses on parent-child relationships and provides activities and strategies to help build vital attachments that lead to a lifetime of positive relationships.

Strengthening Families

ChildStrive staff recognize that parents are their child’s most important teacher. Parents and Educators identify and build on parents’ strengths and help establish healthy and safe environments that allow children to learn, grow and develop to reach their full potential.

Child Development

Educators help parents understand the scope of their child’s development. They can answer questions and provide information about when they should expect their child to achieve certain milestones like sitting or eating solid foods. ChildStrive educators will also provide age-appropriate activities to maximize developmental stages.

School Readiness

The early years of a child’s life provides the foundation for success in school. Educators encourage parents to talk, sing, read, and play with their child in simple ways that fosters pre-literacy, pre-math and social emotional skills that prepares them to enter school.

What to Expect

Enrolled families can anticipate about two visits per month from a Parents as Teacher educator. Each visit lasts about an hour and emphasizes parent-child interaction, development-centered parenting and family well-being. Educators partner with parents and build on the family’s strengths.

The goal each visit is to strengthen parents’ knowledge of their child’s emerging development and address concerns about appropriate development; increase the frequency, duration and quality of parent-child interactions; help parents recognize how their own family dynamics, culture, and community influences their parenting; and enhance parents’ abilities to reflect, problem solve and make decisions in the best interest of their family.

Each visit includes a parent-child activity; discussion and handouts about the child’s stage of development and how it links to child behavior; and support for the family’s healthy physical and emotional environment. Parents and Educators discuss topics of future visits, what kind of information is most helpful and community resources or events that might be helpful, educational or entertaining for the family.

How to Enroll

If you are interested in enrolling in ChildStrive’s Parents as Teachers program, or making a referral, you can contact us at 425-245-8377, email us at ParentsAsTeachers@ChildStrive.org or complete the referral form below and fax it to 425-245-7108. There is no cost to families enrolled in Parents as Teachers thanks to the generosity of donors and grant makers.

Download our PAT Referral Form

Eligibility

Referrals to ChildStrive’s Parents as Teachers program are often made by physicians, case managers or social workers. However anyone who is pregnant or parenting a child up to age 18 months and lives in Everett, Marysville or Lake Stevens may enroll in the Parents as Teachers program. If the family is homeless or living in transitional housing, previous residency in eligible cities is also acceptable.

ChildStrive’s Parents as Teachers program is focused on serving families who may be experiencing: low income; unstable housing; domestic violence; mental illness; chemical dependency; traumatic events; or other unusual family circumstances. Please contact us if you have any questions.

ChildStrive is an affiliate of Parents as Teachers. Additional information is available at www.ParentsAsTeachers.org. The Parents as Teachers program is an evidence based parenting curriculum that has benefitted families for more than 30 years.