Home

Commentary

Advice

Tips

Information

Documents

Links

Back to NFIA

Q: As a concerned parent and health educator, what are some community interventions/actions that I can recommend to a parent group?

A: The most important thing to remember here is to get “buy in” from the participants. So the best approach is to let them tell you what’s bothering them – what they’d like to change. Your job is to get them to start talking about how things are now and how they’d like them to be. Then help them break the ultimate goal into manageable objectives.

For instance, if a group of sixth-grade parents is concerned about their kids just “hanging out” after school, ask if a well-managed and supervised after-school program might be the answer. If so, meet with the principal and invite her to the next meeting. The principal will know of programs that may be available through the school system or where else to go in the community for resources. He will need to know how committed the parents are to obtaining such a program. Can they pay a fee? Will they volunteer to help? Would they provide snacks?

Parents can use their own networks and contacts to enhance the neighborhood for all the children who live there. They are usually more than willing to do this if they know they aren’t the only one doing the work. Best of luck!