Extension
It Starts With Us
Strengthening Families by Caring for Their Health and Well-Being for a Lifetime
Nurturing Families
Angie York
Nurturing Fathers
Healthy couple and parenting relationships and resulting family stability benefit the well-being of adults and children. Co-habiting, same-sex, divorced, widowed and single households are the new majority. Stresses on military families are more difficult and prolonged because of the demands on military personnel to serve multiple deployments, frequently in combat zones. Children who live absent from their biological fathers are two to three times more likely to be poor, to experience educational, health, emotional and behavioral problems than their peers who live with their married, biological (or adoptive) parents. In 2013, 25 percent of Kentucky children lived in poverty, ranking Kentucky 40th in the nation. Children who live in poverty are more likely to have learning disabilities and developmental delays. Furthermore, children who start kindergarten with delayed development and fewer assets are by far more likely to repeat grades, get tracked into lower-tier classes and drop out of high school than more advantaged children. More than half of Kentucky’s 56 judicial circuits have some form of mandated divorce education; more such education is needed.
Lyon County families are able to:
-Care for the physical and mental health and well-being of each individual over the long term.
-Foster the optimal development of children and youth.
-Practice parental leadership skills.
-Build personal strengths and self-control, interpersonal communication, life skills including wise decision-making.
-Embrace people from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
-Reach out with empathy to people dealing with severe stress.
-Access community resources when needed.
-Become volunteers to make their community a better place to live for everyone.
Increase the number of people who:
-Set and use family rules, routines and limit screen time.
-Eat family meals four or more times a week.
-Reduce stress levels, made time for selves, and/or make wise decisions about money, time, etc.
-Play and spend quality time with child daily.
-Report child’s developmental progress over time.
-Identify realistic expectations for child’s tasks.
-Report using preventive and positive discipline techniques in response to misbehavior, and setting and enforcing logical consequences.
-Practice skills to strengthen and sustain relationships.
-Access community agencies and resources when needed.
-Engage in community outreach activities.
-Commits to set family rules regarding eating together, limiting screen time, active play and exercise, set routines
-Intends to manage stress; make time for self; listen, talk, bond with family members; read with child daily; teach responsibility in use of money, time, etc.
-Describes child’s developmental levels relative to averages
-Verbalizes realistic behavior expectations
-Lists developmentally appropriate playthings
-Discusses discipline vs. punishment, and preventive and positive discipline techniques
-Commits to using logical consequences for misbehavior
-Intends to contact community agencies for assistance
-Intends to participate in volunteer activities
Initial Outcome:Commits to set family rules regarding eating together, limiting screen time, active play and exercise, set routines
Indicator: Lyon County families increase the amount of time spent together playing and exercising while decreasing screen time.
Method: Program Evaluation
Timeline: 2019-2020 Fiscal Year
Intermediate Outcome:Reduce stress levels, make time for selves, and/or make wise decisions about money, time, etc.
Indicator: Individuals report changes in spending habits and time management.
Method: Follow-up Evaluation and conversations with participants.
Timeline:2019-2020 Fiscal Year
Long-term Outcome:Care for the physical and mental health and well-being of each individual over the long term.
Indicator:Decrease in individuals who are negatively impacted by stress.
Method: Observation of individuals and decreased rates in public reporting.
Timeline:2019-2020 Fiscal Year
Audience: Families and individuals in Lyon County
Project or Activity: Parents of Preschoolers Program
Content or Curriculum: Home is Where the Health Is
Inputs: Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service (CES) agents, program assistants, specialists and volunteers
Date:2019-2020 Fiscal Year
Audience:Families and individuals in Lyon County
Project or Activity:Homemakers Leader Lessons
Content or Curriculum:Keys to Embracing Aging
Inputs:Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service (CES) agents, program assistants, specialists and volunteers
Date:2019-2020 Fiscal Year
Author: Angie York
Major Program: Embracing Life as We Age (general)
The nature of the role for a Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) agent allows much interaction with senior adults. Understandably, many people in their sixties and above have not embraced technology even though much of the world around them is digital. According to Pew Research, this same population spends more than half of their daily leisure time (just over 4 hours) on their TVs, computers, tablets or other electronic devices. This research tells us senior adults have access t
