Thrive: Empowering parents as they Nurture their Children

By: Bari Sobelson, MS, LMFT

Pixabay[Hands by Rhythm on June 19, 2016, CC0]

Resilient children, resourceful parents, ready families- imagine all of the possibilities! A new partnership between the Department of Defense’s Office of Military Community and Family Policy and the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State has been created to provide an initiative to empower parents in raising their children from birth until they turn 18 years old.

Through the use of various teaching platforms, THRIVE engages its participants through face-to-face and online parenting programs, interactive learning modules, and online resources. THRIVE includes four program areas that are age-specific and creatively named to highlight the growth and nurturing that happens in both children and parents during the crucial years of child-rearing.

Take Root! (0-3 years)
Sprout! (3-5 years)
Grow! (5-10 years)
Branch Out! (10-14 years and 14-18 years)

Each of the program areas listed above assists in guiding parents on their journey through the use of science-based parenting skills, emphasizing positive development and life-long resilience. There are three topic areas that remain the focus of this initiative:

Positive Parenting Practices
Parent & Child Stress Management
Strategies for Promoting Child Physical Health

If you are interested in learning more about how you can become resourceful, your children can become resilient, and your family can be ready, check out THRIVEs webpage here. If you are a service professional and are interested in implementing a program in your area, you can click here. Whether you are interested as a parent or as a professional (or both!), we could all use a little more resourcefulness, resilience, and readiness!

This post was written by Bari Sobelson, MS, LMFT, the Social Media and Programming Coordination Specialist for the OneOp Family Development Team. The OneOp Family Development team aims to support the development of professionals working with military families. Find out more about OneOp Family Development team on our website, Facebook, and Twitter.