- Use resources already created, and build onto pre-existing campaigns, such as awareness months.
- Connect parents and caregivers to activities that are happening locally.
- Be sensitive to disparities in digital skills and connectivity.
- Use trusted messengers such as child care providers and teachers, school staff, pediatricians, and libraries to deliver messages.
- Take advantage of teachable moments as opportunities to communicate information.
- Create opportunities for parents and caregivers to share information with each other.
- Create content designed or accessible for mobile use (such as phones and tablets).
- Create regular two-way calls, texts and emails.
- Use social media to amplify your message.
Resources
Examples:
CO4Kids
CO4Kids Website hosts a variety of previous and current campaigns centered around awareness months; organizations can access toolkits, messages, social media graphics, and other resources at no cost to share with the providers, parents and caregivers, and the general public.
The Early Childhood Awareness Months Calendar
Build on to pre-existing early childhood awareness campaigns with The Early Childhood Awareness Months Calendar, which provides resources to state and national level awareness campaigns for each month of the year that are related to early childhood.
Vroom
Share content that can be easily accessed by mobile phones, smartphones or tablet to ensure convenience and accessibility for parents and caregivers; Vroom is an example of a free app that providers parents with tips to boost brain development and improve parent-child interactions.
Growing Readers Together Parent Tips
Growing Readers Together parent tips align with content from Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR), a project of the Public Library Association (PLA) and the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). The parent tip sheets are distributed at libraries to ensure trusted messengers are delivering the messages.
Bright by Text
Bright by Text provides quality information and trusted resources to parents and caregivers of children prenatal to five. This free service delivers information on child development and community resources in English or Spanish to a mobile device.
Road Map 4 Kids
Road Map 4 Kids created by Weld County Early Childhood Council in partnership with United Way Weld county and Got Kids? Created by Mesa County Early Childhood Council in partnership with Healthy Mesa County, connect parents to local resources and support.
The Colorado State Library Launches New Website and Growing Readers Together Videos
The Colorado State Library’s Growing Readers Together launched a new early literacy website, coloradoearlyliteracy.org to showcase the work of the State Library in the Early Literacy field and house trusted resources for library staff, parents, caregivers, and early educators.
One resource on the new website is Growing Readers Together’s video-based Play, Learn & Grow workshop for families and caregivers. The video can be viewed as one, 20-minute video, or 4 segments. It presents the latest research on child development and models simple strategies and activities that build early literacy, fine motor skills, and scientific thinking in young children. Please view this flyer for more information!
Research:
Zero to Three
Forming authentic relationships provides a foundation for communication between early childhood providers, caregivers and families. Trusted messengers (ie people in the lives of parents and caregivers who they turn to for advice) are critical partners and should be included and trained to provide messages to parents and caregivers. Find more research at Zero to Three.
Toolkits:
Social Emotional Communication Toolkit
The Social Emotional Communication Toolkit materials could be used to train parents/ caregivers as trusted messengers to communicate messages around young children’s social, emotional health. The Toolkit is also used to educate professionals about social-emotional development and early childhood mental health, offer tips on how to support healthy social-emotional development in early childhood programs, and support communication and outreach to families.
Colorado Connected – Social Connections Toolkit
This toolkit is designed for community organizations such as libraries, family resource centers, and neighborhood associations to create, facilitate, and strengthen social connection among parents. In building social connection, these tools can be used to create healthier families and communities across in Colorado.
Project LAUNCH Translated Caregiver Handouts and Social Media Graphics
These handouts, in English and Spanish, include developmentally appropriate tips, ideas and activities for parents and caregivers to support social-emotional development from birth to age 8. These materials, as well as ready-to-post social media graphics, are available to download in four additional languages: Arabic, Burmese, Vi
Tips and Guidelines to Engage with Parents and Caregivers:
1. Define Goals and Purpose
2. Determine How to Measure Success
3. Determine the Target Audience
4. Formulate Communication Strategies
5. Develop Messages
6. Measure and Analyze Results and Modify Strategies for Greater Effectiveness