Daily Nonpareil, Council Bluffs, IA
10-22-06
Extension parenting program a tale of success
Nicole Weis, Staff Writer
A 16-year-old mother once told Mary Ward that she heard Ward's voice in the back of her mind when her baby was crying uncontrollably, and she didn't know why.
Ward, a teen parenting facilitator with Iowa State University extension, and the teenage mother had recently discussed shaken baby syndrome on one of Ward's visits to the teen's home.
"I told her 'No baby's ever died from crying,'" Ward recalled.
Because of the discussion, the young mom laid the crying baby down and walked away for a few minutes. The advice Ward gave her may have saved the child's life.
"I hope I prevented something terrible from happening," Ward said of the incident.
The story is just one of many successes that have come out of the Teen Parenting Program sponsored by ISU extension.
In addition to home visits where Ward and another teen parenting facilitator, Mary Wright, show teenage mothers how to care for their children, the pair also speaks about prevention in schools.
"We strongly preach abstinence, birth control and delaying the second child," said Wright, who has been working with teen mothers for 18 years. "And we encourage the fathers to be involved."
Several of the young mothers Wright has counseled over the years have returned to tell of college graduations and fruitful careers - milestones that may not have occurred if it weren't for Ward and Wright urging young girls to finish their schooling.
As facilitators, they are a resource for teenage mothers and fathers and, as Wright puts it, "a support system" for young moms and dads.
"We're trying to show teens how to interact with their kids," she said. "When you're a new mom, everything is new."
From showing young girls how to properly install car seats to nagging them to read to their children, Ward and Wright make a huge impact on adolescent parents.
"I always feel good after a teen visit," Wright said. "A lot of them want to know and learn."
"They're very appreciative," added Ward, noting that knowing she's made a difference in young females lives is the most rewarding part of the job.
The Teen Parenting Program served approximately 109 teens in the West Pottawattamie County area last year. The program and others like it are in danger if public measure 'C' fails to pass this November.
If it does pass by a simple majority vote on Nov. 7, public measure 'C' would raise the tax valuation from the current 5 cents per $1,000 of taxable valuation to a maximum of 13.5 cents per $1,000 of taxable valuation, benefiting the local extension office.
The increase would be phased in over a number of years, according to Brad Richardson, County Extension education director. The measure would mean that West Pottawattamie Agricultural Extension District could continue normal operations and even enhance and expand on the programs it already offers to the public.
Such a measure to assist local extension offices has already passed in 84 out of the 99 counties in Iowa. The extension district in East Pottawattamie County will also be attempting to pass a public measure on Nov. 7. That measure will appear as measure 'B' on the ballot.
- Editor's note: This article examined the West Pottawattamie County Extension's Teen Parenting Program. ISU Extension Service provides a number of programs to area residents.