SACRAMENTO — First 5 Santa Cruz County, which manages the Triple P — Positive Parenting Program, announced that ACR 140 (Mark Stone, D-Scotts Valley) passed unanimously out of the State Assembly declaring January 2020 as Positive Parenting Awareness Month.
“Positive Parenting Awareness Month was launched in Santa Cruz County eight years ago and has since become observed by nine more counties,” said Assemblymember Mark Stone, D-Scotts Valley, lead author of the statewide resolution. “Taking this statewide is a great way to send the message that every community in California benefits from a focus on raising healthy, happy kids — and there are tips and tools available to help.”
A Positive Parenting Awareness Month gives proper public recognition to the crucial importance of parenting to the well-being of children, parents and entire communities, according to Professor Matt Sanders, founder of Triple P.
“This is a truly fantastic initiative,” Sanders said. “There is nothing more important we can do to promote the well-being of children than to increase the knowledge, skills and confidence of all parents in the task of raising healthy well-adjusted children and young people. Well done, California.”
In proclaiming January 2020 as Positive Parenting Awareness Month, the California Legislature introduced numerous important messages and concepts related to parenting, some of which include:
- Raising children and youth in California to become healthy, confident, capable individuals is the most important job parents and caregivers have.
- Positive parenting can prevent or mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences such as child abuse, neglect, household dysfunction, and other traumatic events that can create dangerous levels of stress and impair lifelong health and well-being; and
- Many parents and caregivers begin the lifetime job of raising children feeling unprepared, and fear and social pressures prevent many from seeking parenting help and guidance.
- Families in California come in many forms, with children who are raised by parents, grandparents, foster parents, family members and other caregivers; and
- Families can benefit from a “tool kit” of proven strategies and receive support from various positive parenting programs in many counties and tribes through numerous organizations and individual practitioners, thanks to local partnerships, such as between First 5 Commissions, local government, tribal nations, health and human service providers, schools, libraries, higher education institutions, and child welfare agencies; and
- Every individual, community group, business, public, and non-profit agency, and tribe in California has a role to play in raising awareness of the importance of positive parenting and supporting the health and well-being of children and families.
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The Triple P—Positive Parenting Program is a world-renowned program available to families in Santa Cruz County who have children ages’ birth to 16, including children with special needs. The program is available to all families in Santa Cruz County through a partnership between First 5 Santa Cruz County, the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency and the Santa Cruz County Human Services Department. For more, visit http://triplep.first5scc.org or facebook.com/triplepscc.
First 5 Santa Cruz County invests in health, early learning and family support to promote the well being of children. We are committed to involving community members, as well as professionals working with young children and their families. For more information, visit www.first5scc.org.
