Parenting
FIRC’s Parenting support focuses on helping parents overcome the challenges of raising a family in Summit County. The purpose of our programs is to assist you with virtual home visits, resources, groups, and events to ensure families’ basic needs are met to help you thrive.
Self-Service Parenting Navigator
Virtual Home Visits
FIRC currently serves up to 100 local kids with monthly virtual home visits for children ages zero through kindergarten. The visits focus on improving the parent-child bond and giving parents tools to be the best possible teacher to their child. There are no income restrictions for this program and visits are offered in English and Spanish.
How the program helps: The purpose of FIRC’s Parents as Teachers home visitation program is to provide the information, support, and encouragement parents need to help their children develop optimally during the crucial early years of life.
For nearly 20 years FIRC’s Parents as Teachers program has been offering one-on-one visits (now virtually) using the nationally-recognized Parents as Teachers curriculum with the goal that all children will learn, grow and develop to realize their full potential. It works!
Home visits focus on a variety of topics including:
- Development of motor, cognitive, language, and social-emotional skills through interactive games that the parent educator encourages the parent to do with their child
- Nutrition with effects on mood and brain function
- Health outcomes
- Addresses common issues parents are facing
- Parenting through COVID-19
- School Readiness
- Developmental Screening
- Education and support for developmental challenges
- Connection to resources
- Improve the parent-child bond
- Facilitate friendships
- Support for parents struggling with stress
- Navigating education in a virtual world
Common situations parents face in Summit County:
- Desire to give your child the best start to life
- Both parents working
- No extended families in the area
- Single parent
- Limited childcare and conflicting schedules
- Working 2 or more jobs
- A child struggling with development or behavior
- Setting routines and boundaries in a virtual world
How FIRC's Virtual Home Visitation Program Works
Receive virtual home visits
Become your child's Best teacher
Set & Achieve Goals With Your Child
Enter kindergarten ready!
Parenting Support & Resources
We use reliable resources to give parents relatable and real-life tips to support their children’s growth on a variety of topics.
Parenting Tips By Text
Sign up for monthly texts to stay informed about local issues affecting your kids.
Parents who sign up for Parenting Support Text Alerts will receive two texts a month to give you tips on various topics all with the goal of helping you be a strong and informed parent. Here are some of the topics covered:
- Health & Nutrition
- Behavior
- Relationships
- Substance Abuse
- Resilience
- Community Events
Yes, I would like to receive Parenting Support Text Alerts
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Parenting Events & Groups
Parenting isn’t easy. We work to provide a variety of workshops and courses to help parents learn techniques and strategies to give their children the best start to life.
Some of the most valuable learning from the workshops is connecting with other parents to discuss strategies and challenges that other families are also facing.
Workshops are offered throughout the year, so please contact us for more information.