JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
With its deployments, temporary duty and remote assignments
and permanent changes of station, the military lifestyle can be challenging to
families, especially those with young children and more on the way.
Fortunately, parents in military families can avail
themselves of a free, confidential service that assists them in their
child-rearing duties.
“The New Parent Support Program supports military families
and ensures active-duty members can focus on the mission at the same time their
families’ needs are being met,” said Audrey Thompson, 359th Medical Operations
Squadron program nurse.
Thompson said the program offers expectant parents and
parents of newborn and young children under the age of 3 the opportunity to
learn new parenting skills or improve old ones.
“The New Parent Support Program is a home visitation program
for families that is completely voluntary,” she said. “It’s offered in the
privacy of the parents’ home where they will be more comfortable.”
Thompson said she spends an hour every two weeks with
families who enroll in the program.
“The needs of the families determine the number of visits
they require,” she said.
Thompson, who has been a program nurse for seven years,
including four at Joint Base San Antonio locations, said she and other program
professionals are able to answer questions regarding pregnancy, baby care,
relationships, stress and self-esteem in the first three years of life.
“The program has a nurse and a social worker,” she said.
“The nurse does all the education on pregnancy and infant development; the
social worker handles topics like relationship counseling, stress management,
depression and behavioral issues with older children.”
Thompson said she talks with parents about safety,
nutrition, child-rearing, applying discipline in a fair manner, improving
parenting skills, role changes, establishing nurturing routines, appropriate child
development and other pertinent topics.
“We instill the importance of parents taking care of
themselves so they’re able to take care of their family and the active-duty
member is able to focus on the military mission,” she said.
Although most of her contacts with families are through home
visitations, Thompson said she will also meet parents at the JBSA-Randolph
Family Advocacy Program office in building 860 or talk to them by phone.
Thompson also connects families to military resources such
as the Military and Family Life Counselor program and Military OneSource, and
to community resources. Books, videos and other educational materials are also
available.
In addition, JBSA locations offer a variety of classes to
help parents, she said.
Classes at JBSA-Randolph include “Infant Massage,” “Love and
Logic” and “Dads: The Basics” at the Human Performance Resource Center;
“Bundles for Babies” at the Military & Family Resource Center; and “Fit
Mom” at the 359th Medical Group. The Single Parent Support Group meets at the
M&FRC, and Heart Link, a one-day orientation session that educates new
spouses on the military lifestyle and culture, is offered at the M&FRC.
Child car seat safety is another component of the New Parent
Support Program.
Two classes, “Car Seat 101” and “Curbside Car Seat Clinic,”
are presented by Connie Wilson, 359th MDOS Family Advocacy Program assistant
and senior certified child passenger safety technician.
“In Car Seat 101, I educate our parents and parents-to-be on
Texas state laws regarding child safety restraints, and provide them the tools
to know if a car seat is safe, fits your
child, fits your vehicle and is easy to use,” she said. “During the curbside
clinic I demonstrate to parents how to install the seat correctly, as three out
of four car seats are installed incorrectly, according to the latest statistics
by the National Traffic and Safety Administration. I also talk about the safest
seating location in the vehicle and how to use the lower anchors, tethers, and
the adult lap and shoulder belt.”
Car Seat 101 is offered every quarter at JBSA-Randolph’s
HPRC; the next session is from 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 20. The curbside clinic is
offered every third Monday of the month, excluding November and December, in
the parking lot of the Family Advocacy/Mental Health Clinic, building 860.
Parents who want a free car seat must attend the Car Seat 101 class prior to
making an appointment for the curbside clinic.
Thompson said seeing the progress of families in the New
Parent Support Program is satisfying.
“The biggest things are providing them with support, helping
to alleviate their stress and giving them someone to talk to,” she said. “We
set goals at the beginning of my visits, and seeing that they’ve met those
goals at the end is rewarding to me.”
For more information on the New Parent Support Program, call
652-6308 at JBSA-Randolph, 808-6468 at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston and 292-5967 at
JBSA-Lackland.