Master Food Volunteer Program

The state of Kentucky ranks 2nd in the nation in percentage of overweight adults based on reported height and weight. One in every two Kentuckians is at increased risk for developing diabetes. It is imperative that our state provides knowledge to our citizens so they can develop healthier life styles. Therefore, the Jefferson County Extension Family & Consumer Sciences Agent started the Master Food Volunteer Program (MFVP). The program was developed on the premise that a group of volunteers could reach more people and complement the extension agents and nutrition assistants in teaching proper eating habits. As part of the Mayor’s Healthy Hometown Movement, we strive to promote nutrition education by teaching correct portion size, the benefits of consuming more fruits and vegetables and the importance of choosing healthy snacks to do our part in combating the problems facing our area.

Thirty-three people from diverse backgrounds and age groups have participated in the five day training. Topics discussed were standard based nutrition and how it affects diabetes and heart disease which are two of the highest rated diseases in the state of Kentucky. Additional topics covered were international foods and working with different target populations.

A pre-test and a post-test were completed for the training. Results from the tests showed that 92% of the participants said they were very likely to change their diet to a more nutritious selection as a result of this training and 8% stated they would be likely to change their diet. In addition, four participants verbally reported an increase of exercising and a total weight loss of 85 pounds.

The thirty-three Master Food volunteers have taught over 120 nutrition classes reaching over 7,200 youth and adults. The majority of the classes were taught at 47 different community agencies serving at-risk groups. The agencies include Home of the Innocents, Volunteers of America, Salvation Army and Presbyterian Community Centers.
The Metro Health Department gave the Extension Service two grants totaling $34,800 to start the MFVP.

Resources for Parents and Caregivers

The Allen, Simpson, and Logan Community Early Childhood Council has worked to secure funding to push forward programs which provide important resources for parents and caregivers. We often work with like-minded agencies to widen the circle and reach more people. Armed with skills, parents and caregivers can greatly increase a child’s future success in school. Those early relationships are critical to a child’s development.

Research helps us identify three key factors influencing young children’s readiness for school:

• Intellectual skills
• Motivation to learn
• Strong socio-emotional capacities

All three factors develop during the early years of life, primarily through language rich parent-child relationships. (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). Parents and caregivers become a child’s “first teachers.”

When children in our counties show low scores in reading, art, music, and drama, it may be related to the child’s early development and it could lead to bigger problems later. Family and consumer sciences professionals are working to provide important resources for parents and caregivers, such as parent packets, child-friendly books, and a “Parent Express” newsletter. The newsletter has been a success in encouraging parents to want more.

This experience is relevant to activity in the Kentucky legislature. Representative Jim Decesare is sponsoring a bill in the 2008 Kentucky General Assembly Session. The bill draft looks at parent education program pilots. The pilot takes a mentoring approach for families with limited resources. Citizens can review the bill draft online.

Educating Parents Can Help Prevent Childhood Obesity

Obesity has negative short- and long-term health consequences for children, including a higher risk for adult obesity and associated illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and depression. Yet, according to research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children younger than 5 years of age likely to be overweight.

The risk of developing childhood obesity can result from how parents feed their infants. In a recent study, investigators developed a parent education plan using research from a variety of disciplines, including nutrition, pediatrics, child development, and family studies. The plan includes a handout to guide parents in the feeding behaviors of children, including recommendations to parents about age-appropriate nutrition and activity to help prevent the onset of obesity.

Recommendations that may prevent childhood obesity include:

• Breastfeeding infants for at least the first year of life.
• Using iron-fortified formula if using baby formula
• Introducing solid foods such as rice cereal and pureed vegetables after four months of age.
• Reintroducing healthy foods even if the infant does not like them at first.
• Learning infant cues for being full and stopping feeding when infants indicate they are no longer hungry.
• Including activity in the infant's daily life, including engaging children in family activities, preschool, and free play time.
• No television before age 2.
  

There is a great deal of valuable information in the relevant scientific literature on obesity. Health care providers offer important instruction and advice for parents to help prevent childhood obesity. The recommendations may help to prevent childhood obesity and the negative health consequences associated with it.

Knott County Teaches At-Risk Families about Nutrition

Nutrition is an important aspect of family life. At-risk families often have poor eating habits due to financial difficulties and lack of knowledge. Knott County Extension Service has worked with at-risk families to improve their eating choices and behaviors.

In 2006-2007, Knott County offered cooking classes to parenting groups. Local Head Start, Even Start, and Graduate Equivalent Program (GED) volunteers provided transportation for participants, incentives, and hands-on skills at the programs. Here are some of the highlights:

• The entire Extension staff worked with 212 parents in three cooking schools to provide information on budgeting, food safety, menu selection, grocery shopping techniques, and food preparation demonstrations.
• The participants planned the menus, prepared the food, decorated the tables, and helped with clean-up.
• 100% of the parents reported that they learned something new at each program.
• One father reported that he has started to help prepare family meals.
• Follow-up evaluations also have found an increase in food safety in the areas of food storage and food preparation.

Knott County has demonstrated there is more than one method available to teach needed family skills. These skills are important for improving the quality of life among at-risk families.

Parent education is effective across diverse families

Often when interventions are designed, little consideration is given to how the intervention might work for people of diverse backgrounds. However, a recent study has shown that the same parenting education program can be effective for parents of different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Researchers compared two separate but related studies of a parent education program based on Re-evaluation Counseling (RC). Specifically, they tried to determine whether the program was easily implemented and effective, whether the effects lasted, and whether the program was useful for populations. The first study involved 25 middle income, married mothers with at least one child younger than five years old. The second study involved 18 black mothers with children enrolled in Head Start. In both studies, mothers were assigned by chance to the parenting education group or to a comparison group. The researchers measured parental attitudes, parenting stress, and parenting practices before and after the parenting education intervention.

For both the middle-income white and low-income black mothers, the parenting education program:

• Reduced parenting-related stress.
• Improved parental attitudes.
• Encouraged authoritative parenting practices.

Debate continues over whether parent education programs need to be tailored for the individual needs of diverse populations. This study shows that even without addressing such factors directly, parent education can be effective with diverse families. However, the authors do not suggest that incorporating diversity issues should be left out or ignored. In fact, attention to issues of diversity may strengthen the effectiveness, decrease drop-out rates, increase accessibility, and help strengthen community bonds.

Parent education effective at reducing anxiety disorders in children

Childhood anxiety is an important issue in child development, and research has shown that parent education can help to reduce symptoms of childhood anxiety.

In one study, researchers tested a parent education program designed to reduce the development of anxiety in preschool children. Parents were selected if their children displayed a high number of behaviors that placed them at risk for later anxiety, including withdrawal from group interactions. The parents then were assigned by chance to one of two groups: the intervention group, which included a 6-session parent education program or no intervention. The parent education program was group-based and especially brief in order to make it accessible and practical for parents.

The researchers found:

• Children whose parents participated in the parent education program were less likely to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder after 12 months compared to children of parents who received no intervention.
• The brief intervention did not change children’s overall temperament, but the children were better able to manage symptoms.
  

Childhood anxiety has immediate and long-term negative consequences for children and their families. This study shows that parent education may be an important early intervention strategy for reducing the likelihood that a child is diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Programs can be designed to specifically address childhood anxiety and its symptoms or they can focus on issues surrounding anxiety, such as effects on school performance and family interactions. Both types of interventions have the potential to improve the quality of life for at-risk children and their families.

Parent education can decrease acting out behaviors in children

Research has shown that some parent education programs are beneficial and effective. In one study, investigators developed and tested a six-week program called, “Parenting the Strong-Willed Child (PSWC).” Seventy-one families with children ages 2 through 8 years who were enrolled in Head Start Centers participated in the free program. All children had high levels of acting out behaviors, including not following parents’ directions when they were disciplined.

At the end of the six-week PSWC program, parents reported several improvements.

• Their children reduced both the frequency and intensity of their behavioral problems.
• Parents saw a significant decrease in parenting stress
• Parents used fewer overly permissive parenting behaviors.
• Parents were less emotional reactive while disciplining their children.
• Improvements were maintained 6 months after the program ended.

Children who act out tend to make worse grades. These children also may cause disruptions that affect the quality of education for other students. This study demonstrates that targeted parent education programs can be helpful in decreasing child behavior problems, which can have positive effects not only on the children themselves, but also on their families and classmates.