A home-visiting program called Parents as Teachers is available for most families.
The program  provides parents with child development knowledge and parenting support, so they can provide early detection of developmental delays and health issues, prevent child abuse and neglect, and increase their children's school readiness.
On this week's episode of the Baby Your Baby Podcast, Mandi Peck, a health educator with the Salt Lake County Health Department, explains how this program works and why it's a useful tool for parents.
PAT gives parents individualized, one-to-one support specific to their child(ren)’s needs and concerns.
There are three areas (domains) we focus on in our home visits: development-centered parenting, parent-child interactions, and overall family well-being.
Some of the things we suggest and work on during a visit includes: reading to the child, using play as education and as a monitor for development, and establishing good daily routines.
We also host monthly group connections so participating PAT families can network, get peer support, and learn from each other.
Any family can participate in this program. For more information about Parents as Teachers in Utah, click here.
To see if you are eligible for the program specifically through the Salt Lake County Health Department, click here.
Parents as Teachers is a nationwide program. To learn about more about it, click here.
The Baby Your Baby program provides many resources for all pregnant women and new moms in Utah. There is also expert advice from the Utah Department of Health and Intermountain Healthcare that air each week on KUTV 2News.