The Power of Parenting: raising happy, healthy, and hopeful children
The nurses learned through evidence-based information, on topics such as child safety, positive discipline, and early learning activities.
Parenting can be a challenging task, but it is also one of the most rewarding experiences in life. UNICEF recognizes that providing parents with the right support, information, and skills to care for their children is crucial to promoting their healthy development. Innovative parenting programs that provide support for nurturing care are crucial to reach more families.
Home visiting is one of the most effective models of service delivery for providing the best early childhood experiences. This innovative approach involves training nurses to make regular visits at home and provide comprehensive support and guidance. The nurses learned through evidence-based information, on topics such as child safety, positive discipline, and early learning activities.
Over the years of service, they establish a close relationship with the families, creating a safe and supportive environment that promotes trust and open communication. By working directly with families in their own homes, nurses can understand better the family dynamics, cultural backgrounds, and socioeconomic factors that influence child development.
Studies have shown that children who receive these services demonstrate improved cognitive social and emotional development compared to those without such support.
Nurse Pashka has been serving in the Lezha healthcare center for 38 years. In the course of the parenting month, we visited one of the Lezha healthcare clinics to see the experience gained from the nurses and physicians on how they are able to administer medical visits.
"Even though home visits have been a tradition in the past as well, I regularly attend training provided by UNICEF and I have been able to gain insight on new approaches that go beyond just health issues. Just as the newborn is born and is released from hospital, I follow up on them at home, I advise the mother on how to breastfeed and how to also care for herself. In addition, based on the needs of the children, I refer them to a specialized physician. We also put a lot of effort into promoting the role of the father in child-rearing. Young fathers are more engaged than previous generations, but there is still much to do", Pashka tells us while holding an information leaflet on the latest Bebbo app, which she promotes with new parents.
The Bebbo app, supported by UNICEF and the Public Health Institute, provides parents of children up to 6 years of age with reliable information on a series of topics, including health, nutrition, breastfeeding, safety, and early learning.
Klodiana has been working as a nurse for just 3 years. She covers one of the biggest neighborhoods in Lezha. Thanks to the knowledge gained from UNICEF recommendations, she is assisting young couples on their path to parenthood. "I work in an area with well-educated families, but they are sometimes challenging with their attitude towards vaccination, for example. Even though vaccination coverage is good in Lezha, we still face some hurdles. I make regular visits at home two or three times a week, and I am very close to the children and their family members. I work a lot to promote the role of fathers during the first years of a child's life. I like my job and serving the community." - says Klodi.
Nurse Rudina's job is anything but easy. She cares for the society's community in need as she cares for the Roma community. While sharing her challenges with the participating colleagues, she said:
While in the past I only asked them about their health, I have now learned to look at the mother and child from a broader perspective. This community has many needs. Roma parents are not able to read and direct communication and door-to-door visits are the only way. Social services are of great help in following difficult cases.
While Ms. Marte, the director of the social service joins the conversation and talks about how institutions interact through the task force to ensure appropriate services for the children of this community. There are six social centers that are regularly monitored by the child protection unit as well, providing assistance so that children can receive integrated services.
UNICEF is working to strengthen the regulatory framework and implementation mechanisms, in order to improve the professional skills of healthcare workers and multidisciplinary groups; uses communication tools with parents like the Bebbo application, and encourages intersectoral cooperation mechanisms. Throughout of the parenting month, UNICEF calls on the government, businesses, and other stakeholders to scale up parenting programs and ensure universal access for all families.
