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In partnership with the Department of Defense’s Office of Military Community and Family Policy, Penn State University’s Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness is implementing an initiative called THRIVE to empower parents as they nurture their children across developing stages.

Dr. Jennifer DiNallo, Director of Research for the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness, provided a  webinar on the GROW program within THRIVE which is designed for parents of children 5 to 10 years old.

Here are insights gathered from Dr. DiNallo’s webinar:

  • The Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State provides programs for various topics including: parenting, obesity prevention, violence prevention, and anxiety/depression.
  • The THRIVE Initiative has a long history and an impressive body of research that inform the work that they are doing.
  • The THRIVE Initiative focuses on 3 domains: positive parenting practices; parent & child stress management; strategies to promote child physical health
  • The four programs that currently comprise THRIVE focuses include:
    Take Root (ages 0-3), Sprout (ages 3-5), Grow (ages 5-10), and Branch Out (ages 10-14 and 14-18).
  • The THRIVE programs aim to incorporate a strength-based approach by focusing on what families are already doing well to increase family readiness.
  • Dr. Dinallo shared information on facilitator training for the face-to-face application of the Grow! program. Any professional can utilize this training and the resources when working with parents and families in their own practices.

You can get more information and listen to the archived webinar here.

Listen to a podcast episode with Dr. DiNallo talking about the THRIVE Initiative