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Table 3 Parent and Infant Program Components, Core Topics and Objectives

From: Understanding the implementation and effectiveness of a group-based early parenting intervention: a process evaluation protocol

Components

Core topics

Objectives

Incredible Years Parent and Baby program

(8 sessions)

Getting to know your baby

Babies as intelligent learners

Providing physical, tactile and visual stimulation

Parents learning to read babies’ minds

Gaining support

Babies’ emerging sense of self

▪ Strengthen parent knowledge and self-confidence through learning about babies’ development and developmental milestones

â–ª Enhance parent-infant relationships and parental competencies, prevent infant maladjustment and promote infant wellbeing through skills and techniques to support learning and development and healthy behaviors (feeding, sleeping, calming babies)

â–ª Empower parents through learning about self care and gaining support

Baby Massage

(4 sessions)

Relief – Colic and wind; Emotional stress

Relaxation – Soothes and aids sleep

Stimulation – Build immunity and help gain weight

Interaction – Aid bonding and reduce postnatal depression

â–ª Enhance parent-infant bonding and alleviate infant stress

â–ª Promote parental sense of competence and wellbeing (e.g. reduce postnatal depression)

Weaning workshop

(1 session)

Stages of weaning, timing, quantities, feeding techniques

Food safety and hygiene

Healthy eating principles

Practical cookery demonstration and advice

▪ Enhance parents’ knowledge/competencies in relation to healthy eating

â–ª Increase healthy eating behaviors

â–ª Prevent early weaning

Paediatric First Aid workshop (1 session)/Child safety†

(1 session)

Child resuscitation

Dealing with injury, poisoning, choking and medical emergencies

Recovery position

Threats to child safety and child proofing home environments

â–ª Prevent/Reduce incidents of injury to infants through parents learning first aid skills and baby-proofing home/environments techniques; and

â–ª Enable parents (promote sense of competence) to identify, remove and respond to threats

Dental health†

(1 session)

Principles of dental health

▪ Increase parents’ awareness of oral health

▪ Improve parents’ knowledge/competencies in relation to oral health

Toddler Healthy Eatinga

(1 session)

Food safety and hygiene

Healthy eating principles

Practical cookery demonstration and advice

▪ Enhance parents’ knowledge/competencies in relation to healthy eating

â–ª Increase healthy eating behaviors

Returning to work workshop

(1 session)

Information on childcare options

Guidelines for choosing childcare

â–ª Empower parents/reduce parental anxiety in relation to returning to work

Active Play† (2 sessions)/

Play & Oral Language Development programa

(4 sessions)

Play skills and strategies

Language development milestones

Practical play sessions and advice

â–ª Strengthen parent knowledge and competencies through playing skills and strategies

▪ Enhance parent–child relationships and encourage child wellbeing through play

â–ª Promote child language development and pre-literacy skills

Incredible Years Parent and Toddler Program

(8 sessions)

Child directed play promotes positive relationships

Promoting toddler’s language with child directed coaching

Social and Emotion coaching

The art of praise and encouragement

Spontaneous incentives for toddlers

Handling separations and reunions

Positive discipline – effective limit setting

Positive discipline – handling misbehavior

â–ª Strengthen parent knowledge and self-confidence through learning about toddler development

▪ Enhance parent-infant relationships and parental competencies, prevent child maladjustment and promote socioemotional wellbeing (e.g. self-regulation and self-esteem) through building parent’ coaching/modelling skills and play skills and strategies

â–ª Promote child language development and pre-literacy skills

  1. †Delivered in Site 2 Drogheda/Dundalk only
  2. aDelivered in Site 1 West Dublin only