Parent Support
What is Parent Support?
The commitment and care that goes into parenting takes sustained effort. It is rewarding, but it can also be exhausting and stressful. When parents have someone to talk with and share ideas about their parenting journey they feel supported. That’s Parent Support. Parents do best when they feel heard, and the whole family benefits too. Even a small amount of parent support and information can help build resilience in families.
Early Learning Institute provides specialized Parent Support, and in our One to One parent support program known as PEAS (as in PEAS in a pod). Both are specially designed for parents with young children receiving developmental services.
ONE on ONE Parent Support
Specialized Parent Support for parents with young children in developmental services: Birth through 5 years of age or not yet in Kindergarten.
PEAS is a flexible, short term, one-to-one parent support service for Sonoma County families with young children receiving developmental services. Developmental services may include Early Intervention home visits, therapeutic play-groups, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, or special education preschool services, such as Special Day Classes or Non Intensive Speech services. Children are birth through 5 years or not yet in Kindergarten, and live in Sonoma County, CA.
PEAS provides 6 free weekly one-hour visits in the home, our office or other quiet setting, or via video or phone. Parents talk about their experiences parenting a child in need of developmental services, and learn about community resources, family routines, sibling issues etc. Most PEAS parents experience a reduction in stress through sharing their feelings as they take a little time to take care of themselves. PEAS Specialists are skilled early interventionists who are knowledgeable about the developmental service system and easy to talk to.
Available in English or Spanish, PEAS visits do not replace existing services, Thanks to an MHSA grant, PEAS is provided at no cost to families.
Inside PEAS Visits
What kinds of conversations come up on a PEAS visit? Mostly parents want to talk about how things are going as they navigate their busy life of accessing services and caring for their children. It’s no surprise that with children in services, many similar themes arise. For example, parents may reflect on their reactions to first hearing, “Oh, he’s FINE, stop worrying”. Or, “I am getting awfully tired of people in the grocery store asking me rude questions or making me feel like a bad parent.” Sometimes parents share, “I know I am doing a lot for my toddler by getting all these services, but I worry about my 6 year old; he really seems to need my attention.” PEAS Specialists are listening to parent concerns and providing support, information and helpful referrals to community partners. To make a referral to PEAS, see our PEAS Referral Form on this webpage.
To learn more about PEAS one to one parent support, see Inside PEAS Visits on this page. To request PEAS services, or to refer a family (with the family’s permission), call Early Learning Institute at (707) 591-0170 or use the Referral Form.
Funding
Parent Education and Support Program (PEAS) funding come from generous individual contributions to ELI. If you would like to support this program, please visit our “Donate” page!