Proactive, Passive/Public Parenting Education

Program Description

Advancing Parenting is a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the quality of parenting in communities. Toward that end, we place fifty concise and unambiguous parenting tips in public spaces, including but not limited to windows of stores, offices, restaurants, automobiles, and billboards. This, in an effort to elevate the quality of parenting, reduce adverse childhood experiences (ACES), and improve educational outcomes for children. We began with parenting tips on windows because it was the least expensive way to get things rolling. Turns out they’re wonderfully effective, and a way for individuals and businesses to participate. Tips on vehicles are being read thousands of times by thousands of different people of all ages. Our plan is to ​1) eventually partner with the Advertising Council and employ increasingly impactful media to display the parenting tips. For example…appealing school age spokespersons and families presenting the tips on static and digital billboards and semi trailers), and ​2) expand geographically until Advancing Parenting’s activities are a permanent national phenomenon. ​This will take millions of dollars, but the return on investment and reduction in human suffering will be well worth it. Visit advancingparenting.org to see examples and the list of parenting tips. ​

Creativity

Advancing Parenting is pioneering a new kind of parenting education…one that reaches everyone, everywhere, all the time for generations to come. We call it proactive, passive/public parenting education. The most compelling feature of proactive, passive/public parenting education is that there isn’t just one or a few entities doing parenting education…the whole community gets involved in the teaching! Businesses, organizations, and agencies can place parenting tips on their windows near entry doors. They can also make the bumper stickers available to the public by placing them in display stands on counters and tables. Also, fleet vehicles can display the parenting tips, and of course individuals can place parenting tips bumper stickers on their vehicles. See the attachment below for a comparison of traditional parenting education and proactive, passive/public parenting education, and visit advancingparenting.org to see numerous examples and the list of parenting tips.

Leadership

Advancing Parenting does not provide direction for other organizations. Alternatively, other organizations, businesses, agencies, foundations, etc. may participate in and support Advancing Parenting’s activities. The founder/president uses U.S. mail, email, and social media to disseminate information about Advancing Parenting’s activities.

Sustainability

Currently, Advancing Parenting has no resources for sustaining its activities, and no partner organizations. Kern Community Foundation and Kern County Department of Human Services have supported Advancing Parenting in the past, and First 5 Kern recently provided $2,500 to place the parenting tips on Golden Empire Transit buses and shuttles. We are confident that funding to carry out our vision will come in time. Thanks to the ACE Study there is a growing realization that the quality of parenting in communities isn’t what it ought to be, and that there is a need for a new kind of parenting education that has a broader reach.

Replicability

As described above, any individual or entity in a community may participate in proactive, passive/public parenting education by displaying the parenting tips. Visit advancingparenting.org to see numerous examples.

Results/Outcomes

Unlike traditional parenting education programs which can track attendance and administer pre and post tests, Advancing Parenting is at this time unable to demonstrate progress. However, the demand for our parenting tips is increasing dramatically. We have orders from across the U.S. for thousands of bumper stickers and window tips. Sadly, they are collecting dust on my desk because we haven’t the funds to print and ship them. This suggests that proactive, passive/public parenting education is satisfying a very real need and providing a genuine benefit. People who have placed our tips on their vehicles report that at stoplights drivers smile, point, nod, and give thumbs-up. If there are passengers in the car conversations begin, and often a phone is used to take a picture of the tip. Bakersfield residents love reading the tips and appreciate the reminders. Open the attachment titled Feedback to read comments from across the U.S.