Kit for New Parents

The Kit for New Parents is a statewide initiative to provide parent education to new parents throughout California. First 5 California Children and Families Commission developed the Kit and distributed it through prenatal care providers, hospitals, home visiting programs, a toll-free number, and other programs. The Kit contains: a celebrity hosted DVD, advice for new parents booklet, parenting guide, easy-to-read child health book, baby book, obesity prevention guides, Healthy Families leaflet, poison control magnet, and a oral health brochure. It is available in English and Spanish.

First 5 is funded through Proposition 10, which adds a 50-cent tax to each pack of cigarettes sold.

The initiative's mission is to provide parenting education to new parents throughout California.

An evaluation of the use and impact of the Kit during 2000-2003 revealed positive results.
Kit mothers made significantly greater gains in parenting knowledge than non-Kit mothers at 6-9 week and 14 months follow-up (P<.01). The Kit was shown to be most effective when received during pregnancy, and especially effective for Spanish speakers.