The Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State is pleased to announce the THRIVE Initiative! The THRIVE Initiative is supported by the Department of Defense’s Office of Military Community and Family Policy and is intended to strengthen parents’ ability to promote health and resiliency across the lifespan of their developing children.
As part of THRIVE curricula, four developmentally appropriate, skill-building program areas are being developed.
Research conducted over decades in the social and behavioral sciences, demonstrates that family-level factors have a substantial impact on child development and adaptive youth functioning (Baumrind, 1991). THRIVE embraces the perspective that family units can function as a source of safety and stability for children as they navigate and learn during the developmental stages of life. Parenting strategies and skills that have been shown to produce positive outcomes for children in high quality research studies are being incorporated into the THRIVE learning modules. The aim is to strengthen parenting skills, increase the utilization of loving and effective parenting practices, and encourage deeper and more positive parent-child relationships. As a result, the children of participating parents should be better protected from risks and less likely to experience negative life outcomes (Berge et al., 2013).
With a holistic focus on promoting children’s physical, intellectual, psychological, emotional, and social well-being, the content of each curriculum segment will guide parents in using effective parenting practices from birth until their children reach adulthood.
Below is a summary of the curriculum modules:
In addition to curriculum, parenting resources and tools (e.g., recruitment toolkits) are being developed to help with successful program implementation. The THRIVE website hosts resources for facilitators and a section for parents to access supplemental resources on a variety of topics. THRIVE is also employing technology in unique ways, such as sending parents weekly homework reminders by text message, scaffolding taught skills by providing links to weekly videos, and collecting evaluation data from facilitators and parents through online systems.
To learn more, visit:
www.THRIVE.psu.edu
To contact us:
Email: THRIVE@psu.edu
Phone: 1-877-382-9185
Live Chat: www.militaryfamilies.psu.edu/technical-assistance