Online Training - We Can!^® Energize Our Families: Parent Program

Chapter 1: Introduction

Slide 1

Welcome to this online training on the We Can! Energize Our Families: Parent Program, and thank you for taking the time to participate.

The Parent Program is a 4-session curriculum for parents designed to encourage families to maintain a healthy weight. The sessions focus on helping parents learn skills, in a fun and hands-on way, to help their families make healthy food choices, become more physically active, and reduce recreational screen time.

There are nine different chapters in this training that will take approximately 2 hours to go through. I hope that after this orientation to the We Can! Parent Program, you will see the benefits of offering this valuable program to parents in your community.

Slide 2

The We Can! Energize Our Families: Parent Program is a key component of the overall We Can! movement, which supports families and communities in helping children maintain a healthy weight. Programs are underway in community sites across the U.S., as well as in several countries around the world. They take place in a variety of settings and are led by facilitators who include nutritionists, nurses, teachers, health educators, park and recreation professionals, and parents.

Slide 3

By taking this online training, you have already shown that you are concerned about the growing problem of overweight in our children and families, and care enough to take next steps. We are very excited about your interest in bringing We Can! to your community. Feel free to share this training with others who may be interested in bringing We Can! programs to their communities and becoming future Parent Program facilitators. The truth is, just about anyone with the interest, commitment, and program resource materials can become a Parent Program leader. The more people become involved, the more we can address the important issue of overweight in children and families.

Slide 4

Chapter 1 is an introduction to this online training. The introduction provides you with a brief overview of the We Can! Parent Program and lets you know what you can expect to learn in the upcoming chapters of the online training. We'll also go over some tips for viewing this training on your computer.

Slide 5

This online training is an introduction to the We Can! Energize Our Families: Parent Program. Please remember that this training is not meant as a substitute for the guidance and full instructions that are provided in the actual Parent Program: A Leader's Guide.

Slide 6

The Leader's Guide provides you with the information you need to conduct the Parent Program. It includes the four structured sessions of the Parent Program, complete with discussion points and activities designed to encourage creative thinking and problem-solving, as well as handouts for parents that will be used during the sessions. The Leader's Guide also has pre- and post-evaluation tools to help you gauge what parents have learned from the Parent Program sessions. Once you decide to offer the Parent Program in your community, the person who will be facilitating the Parent Program will need to go through the Leader's Guide to receive the full instructions necessary to properly lead the sessions.

Slide 7

If you don't already have a hard copy of the Leader's Guide, it's a good idea to take a moment now to download this resource: it's in PDF format on the �Resources� page of the We Can! website; you can use the link on your screen, which will open up in a new window; opening it will not cause you to lose your place in the online training. You can also order a copy from the NHLBI Information Center by clicking on that link on your screen. We recommend that you have the Leader's Guide at hand so that you can get the most out of this online training.

Download a PDF version of the Leader's Guide (4.3 MB)
Order a copy of the Leader's Guide from the NHLBI Information Center

Slide 8

Before we get started, let's take a few moments to review some tips for viewing this training.

The training is a Flash presentation file. PowerPoint slides of this training are also available by clicking on the �PowerPoint" link on the right side of this screen. View and Download PowerPoint Slides.

There are a few tools and controls for you to use. To the left of the main Flash player screen, you will see a table of contents listing each slide in the chapter. You can navigate the slides by clicking on the slide name listed in the table of contents. Other controls include play, pause, and stop buttons found on the bottom left of your screen, as well as a volume control and timer on the bottom right of the screen. You will also notice that captioning has been enabled as a permanent feature of this program and cannot be turned off.

If you have any questions on this training, please feel free to contact We Can! staff at nhlbiinfo@nhlbi.nih.gov.

Slide 9

The online training is organized into nine different chapters. Chapters range from 5-20 minutes in length and can be viewed together in one sitting or on separate occasions. The total time needed to complete the full training is approximately 2 hours.

We encourage you to complete each of the nine chapters in the order suggested here, but feel free to complete them in whatever sequence best meets your individual needs. You can also revisit specific chapters or individual slides at any time.

On the following slides, we'll briefly go over what you can expect to find in each of the remaining eight chapters of this training.

Slide 10

Chapter 2 begins with a brief introduction to We Can!, the key We Can! program objectives, and program elements designed to support communities and families in maintaining a healthy weight. You will learn how the overarching We Can! program elements such as community outreach, engaging the media, and partnerships work together to support the We Can! program goals, and how your implementation of the Parent Program fits into the overall We Can! initiative.

Slide 11

In the third chapter, you will learn about the development of the Parent Program curriculum, why parents and caregivers are the target audience, and the content of the sessions. We will also show you how to work with the Leader's Guide and how to evaluate the Parent Program.

Slide 12

The next four chapters cover the four Parent Program sessions. For each of these sessions, this online training will provide you with an overview and highlight the key content areas and activities. Throughout the training, we will share tips collected from a number of program facilitators who have successfully run the program at We Can! community sites across the country.

One of the strengths of the We Can! Parent Program is its flexibility. The program is designed in such a way that you can customize the activities and discussions to make them especially relevant to the parents in your program.

Slide 13

Chapter 8 presents ideas on how to start and successfully run the Parent Program in your own community. you'll learn tips about facilitation, scheduling, recruitment, and partnership from We Can! developers and colleagues around the country.

Slide 14

Finally, be sure to dedicate time to complete Chapter 9, the �Summary and Resources� section of this training. There, we will review the major concepts introduced and go over instructions for providing feedback, navigating the We Can! website, accessing resources, getting involved in the We Can! movement, and obtaining CEUs for your participation.

We hope you find this training useful and enjoyable!

Slide 15

This online training has four learning objectives. After completing the training, you should be able to:
1. Explain the importance of engaging parents as part of your We Can! efforts,
2. Navigate the Parent Program Leader's Guide,
3. Identify the key content areas of the Parent Program, and
4. Describe key strategies to successfully implement the Parent Program.