Future Parents of America
I'm an advocate of parenting education for young people...that is young people, kids, being taught best parenting behaviors and practices in an effort to prepare them for the responsibilities of parenthood. I believe parenting education for young people could be a powerful and proactive means for preventing child abuse.
About You
Location
Project Street Address
Project City
Project Province/State
Project Postal/Zip Code
Project Country
Your idea
Field of Work
education
If Field of Work is “other” please define in 1-2 words below
Year project started (or projected start date) (yyyy)
2009
YouTube Upload
Project URL (or link to any media coverage)
What is the primary problem your venture is trying to address and how are you addressing it (or planning to address it)?
The primary problem my venture is trying to address is child abuse and other forms of generational violence. Proactive parenting education will mitigate child abuse and generational violence.
Name Your Project
Future Parents of America
Describe Your Idea
I'm an advocate of parenting education for young people...that is young people, kids, being taught best parenting behaviors and practices in an effort to prepare them for the responsibilities of parenthood. I believe parenting education for young people could be a powerful and proactive means for preventing child abuse.
Innovation
Project Description
Over the long term, child abuse can be prevented by teaching best parenting behaviors and practices to every young person to better prepare them for the responsibilities of parenthood.
Unique and different
Most parenting education in the United States takes place in a classroom for court ordered parents who've hurt or neglected their children.
My idea is unique for two reasons: 1) Best parenting behaviors and practices will be taught using permanent, yet evolving, multimedia public service messages. 2) Young people, kids, not parents, will be the target audience. I feel strongly about teaching kids how to parent because preparation for adulthood is the reason we educate children, and parenting is by far the most important job they’ll have as adults. Additionally, trying to identify, round up, and change the parenting behaviors and practices of every adult who needs intervention is next to impossible for practical and psychological reasons.
The messages will be designed to teach young people how to engage in parenting behaviors and practices generally recognized as supporting the healthy physical, emotional, and intellectual development of children, and reject parenting behaviors and practices generally recognized as disrupting the healthy development of children. I can envision appealing school age spokespersons delivering these messages.
Project plan
My project plan for the next six months is to: garner support for this idea, enlist the help of foundations, and collaborate with the Ad Council in producing the first set of multimedia public service messages.
Partnerships
I've never done anything like this before.
Impact
Impact
Over time, teaching young people best parenting behaviors and practices will reduce the rates of child abuse and other kinds of generational violence.
Effectiveness
No one has been served as yet.
How do you engage and impact the community?
Young people will be bombarded with specific and unambiguous images, messages, and video on billboards, print, television, radio, products, and the internet that convey best parenting behaviors and practices.
How do you measure this impact?
Impact would have to measured by examining rates of child abuse and violence over time.
Obstacles
Teaching young people about parenting is primary prevention. In other words, you are acting to prevent a problem before it occurs.
Foreseeable problems include: Communities may not be ready for this, the highest, level of prevention; Organizations, agencies, and businesses that depend on a steady stream of broken individuals and families as clients may impede this initiative in their own self-interest.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
Financing source
(or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)
Foundation financed initially. Over the long term I expect it would become taxpayer financed.
Aside from financial sustainability, how do you plan to grow and sustain your project?
Using media to teach best parenting behaviors and practices to young people is such an obvious, proactive, and powerful tool for good I expect the project will sustain itself.
Finance details
NA
Creative funding
No funding has been acquired.
Other non finance needs
I need help from people and organizations who recognize the worth of this outside-the-box solution to society's knottiest problems.
The Story
Motivation
I'm a teacher and I've had students who were victims of child abuse and generational violence.
Everything we've done in the past to stop child abuse is reactive and interventionist. These strategies don't work well enough. It's time for real prevention.
Awards
No awards, no recognition.
Broader context
If all children were raised by parents who engaged in parenting behaviors and practices generally recognized as supporting and enhancing the healthy physical, emotional, and intellectual development of children we wouldn't have the problems communities are currently struggling with. Preparing young people for the most important job they'll have as adults is just common sense.
Ongoing
I see it expanding and bringing peace and happiness to communities worldwide.
What is your age?
24
How did you hear about this competition?
National Public Radio
 | 139 weeks agoDavid Dooley updated this Competition Entry. |
| 139 weeks agoDavid Dooley updated this Competition Entry. |
| 139 weeks agoDavid Dooley updated this Competition Entry. |
| 140 weeks agoDavid Dooley updated this Competition Entry. |
| 193 weeks agoDavid Dooley said: What sort of side activities or educational workshops did you have in mind? about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 193 weeks agoRomina Laouri said: Hi David, your idea is really innovative! It would be great if you could give some more information on what your multimedia ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
