January 2025 was proclaimed as Positive Parenting Awareness Month at the Dec. 10 meeting of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors for the 13th year in a row. Positive Parenting Awareness Month highlights the importance for parents and caregivers to develop warm, nurturing relationships with their children and teens and become more confident as parents.
“Parenting is one of the most difficult roles a person can take on. It can feel overwhelming, isolating and defeating,” said David Brody, Executive Director of First 5 Santa Cruz County, which manages the Triple P Positive Parenting Program. “Positive parenting programs, such as Triple P, build a culture that shows it’s OK for parents to ask for help for issues big and small. Families can receive support for raising healthy, thriving children through services including home visiting, early learning and care, afterschool care, preventive health and dental care, behavioral health care, economic supports and other basic needs.”
In proclaiming January 2025 as Positive Parenting Awareness Month, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors are highlighting numerous important messages and concepts related to parenting, some of which include:
- The most important job that caregivers and parents have is to raise children and youth in Santa Cruz County to become healthy, confident, capable individuals.
- Families come in many forms, with children who are raised by parents, grandparents, foster parents, family members, and other caregivers.
- The quality of parenting or caregiving is a powerful predictor of future social, emotional, and physical health.
- All families have strengths that provide a foundation for positive childhood experiences.
- Many parents, caregivers, children, and youth feel stressed, isolated, and overwhelmed — across all ages, racial and ethnic heritages, cultures, and social identities.
- Santa Cruz County families can receive support from positive parenting programs, including Triple P (Positive Parenting Program) that is available through a partnership between First 5 Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz County’s Health Services Agency, Human Services Department, and many community-based organizations.
- Everyone can play a vital role in supporting parents and caregivers in raising happy and healthy children.
The 2025 Positive Parenting Awareness Month proclamation acknowledges that parents and caregivers are experiencing unprecedented levels of stress, exacerbated by factors like economic challenges, recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and other societal pressures. Parents are juggling multiple roles, balancing work, caregiving and household responsibilities while economic insecurity, racial disparities and social inequities exacerbate stress on parents, especially those in communities that already experience inequities rooted in structural racism.
“Triple P is here to help. We know there is a lack of adequate support systems for parents, including insufficient access to affordable childcare, paid family leave, and mental health services,” said Yesenia Gomez-Carrillo, Triple P Program Manager. “We want to reduce the stigma around seeking parenting support and provide the resources necessary for parents to thrive.”
During Positive Parenting Awareness Month, Triple P partners will host family events at libraries, Family Resource Centers and other community locations.
Since 2010, more than 50,000 people — parents, children, caregivers — have benefitted from the Triple P program in Santa Cruz County. Parents and caregivers have attended classes and workshops as well as received individualized support. Triple P is proven to reduce the stress, anxiety, and depression felt by parents and increase their confidence to prevent and handle challenging behaviors, all while improving relationships with their children and teens.
POSITIVE PARENTING AWARENESS MONTH EVENTS
Laid Back Book Club at the Libraries (in English and Spanish)
Participate in a family-friendly book activity at your local library: read together and express your reflections inspired by the featured book, using art supplies provided by the library. Enter your name into the raffle box by Feb. 1, 2025, for a chance to win books! Participating libraries include Watsonville Public Library and the Santa Cruz Public Libraries – Branciforte, La Selva Beach, Live Oak and Scotts Valley branches.
Community Bridges Family Fairs
Explore local agencies and their services, meet the Triple P Parent Educators, and enjoy a fantastic event filled with food, games and prizes!
- Jan. 13, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Beach Flats Park, 160 Raymond St., Santa Cruz
- Jan. 27, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., La Manzana Community Resources, 521 Main St., Watsonville
Additional family-friendly events will be hosted by various community agencies throughout the month. Triple P providers also will offer virtual and in person parenting classes on a variety of topics in English and Spanish. Visit www.first5scc.org/triple-p-classes for details.
ABOUT TRIPLE P
The Triple P – Positive Parenting Program is a world-renowned program available to families in Santa Cruz County who have children ages birth to 16, including children with special needs. Backed by more than 30 years of international, scientific research, Triple P offers families proven strategies for strengthening relationships with their children and for preventing or managing a full range of parenting challenges. The program is available to all families in Santa Cruz County through a partnership between First 5 Santa Cruz County, the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency and the Santa Cruz County Human Services Department. For more, visit triplep.first5scc.org, facebook.com/triplepscc, or instagram.com/triplepsantacruz.
ABOUT FIRST 5 SANTA CRUZ COUNTY
First 5 Santa Cruz County invests in health, early learning and family support to promote the well-being of young children. A growing body of scientific evidence points to the economic and societal impacts of investing in the early years. First 5 Santa Cruz County is dedicated to ensuring early childhood systems and supports foster equitable health, development, and well-being for all young children and their families. First 5 Santa Cruz County was established by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors in December 1998 by urgency ordinance to ensure that family-friendly services and education are available, so that each child reaches the fifth year of life healthy, ready and able to learn, and emotionally well developed. We are committed to involving community members, as well as professionals working with young children and their families. For more information, visit www.first5scc.org.