PolicyLab

Mother’s Day is a great reminder that we have an opportunity in pediatric health care to help children by supporting their caregivers through intergenerational family services. A great example is Child Adult-Relationship Enhancement in Primary Care (PriCARE), a six-week, group-based intervention that provides structured, positive behavior management skills and strategies for caregivers of children ages two to six. The CARE training has demonstrated improved outcomes for both parents and their children, including decreased behavioral issues in children (both externalizing and internalizing behaviors) and improved parenting attitudes such as increased empathy and views on appropriate disciplinary practices.

As a PriCARE trainer, one of my favorite parts of the training is that it is embedded within pediatric primary care offices, offering an opportunity for parents to receive support in a familiar and trusted setting. I work with caregivers of many backgrounds, cultures and education levels who dedicate their evenings to learning tangible skills for addressing their child’s behavioral issues, ask honest and open questions, and yes, tell that story about the time their child threw a tantrum in a grocery store over a bag of chips. For this reason, these mothers, grandmothers and caregivers deserve to be celebrated this Mother’s Day not just by their children and families, but by professionals within the pediatric health care system. We can all help fulfill our mission of improving children’s health by supporting children’s caregivers.

For more information on PriCARE, contact pricare@email.chop.edu or (267) 318 – 1707.

This post is part of our “____ in 200 Words” series. In this series, we tackle issues related to children’s health policy and explain and connect you to resources to help understand them further, all in 200 words. If you have any suggestions for a topic in this series, please send a note to PolicyLab’s Strategy & Communications Manager Lauren Walens.

​​​​​​​Leigh Wilson-Hall, MSW, LSW, is a former senior improvement advisor for the Population Health Innovation Team at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.