College of Public Health and Human Sciences

Spanish-speaking home visitors and Mexican immigrant mothers in a home visiting program for first-time parents at risk for poor child outcomes were interviewed to assess the value of El Primer Año del Bebé (Parenting the First Year), a Spanish language, age-paced parenting newsletter series covering the first twelve months of life. Age-paced newsletters are widely used in Extension programs and typically delivered by mail, but in this program home visitors delivered them personally, using them as a one-to-one teaching tool for families. Home visitors reported that age-paced newsletters provided these parents with important parenting information, particularly to counter family advice that differed from recommended practices. Parents reported reading the newsletter, learning from it, and changing their behavior in response to newsletter content.