Triple P has successfully launched in the Georgetown area as awareness of the program continues to build.
The message of positive parenting is spreading quickly across Georgetown County.
As the Positive Parenting Program, better known as Triple P, takes root across the county, its impact is already being felt by families. The evidence-based program provides parents, grandparents, and caregivers with the skills to manage parenting challenges while building healthy family relationships and promoting positive child development.
Through a grant from Children’s Trust of South Carolina and The Duke Endowment, Triple P is being led by the local coordinating agencies of the program – Tidelands Health, Black River United Way, and Children’s Recovery Center – and it is being put into practice by a group of community-based service delivery organizations.
Since being launched in early 2020 in Georgetown, 47 practitioners have been trained in Triple P, and they have served 652 families to date and reached 4,475 children.
Mariah Kowalkowski
A Triple P back-to-school event was held in August at the Beck Recreation Center, where 18 parents and 33 children enthusiastically participated in the activities and discussion. Mariah Kowalkowski, Children’s Trust Triple P community capacity coach in Georgetown, called it an absolute success.
“In addition to reaching more families about Triple P, it also gave the chance for several other service delivery organizations that deliver Triple P in the community, Waccamaw EOC and Miss Ruby’s Kids, to come together with Tidelands to serve families,” Kowalkowski said.
Tyler Owens, Tidelands Health community wellness supervisor, believed the event provided a jump start for Triple P awareness as the program moves forward. The Tidelands Health implementation team also includes Amanda Cohen, community wellness manager, and Takia Daniels, community health worker.
“The event was definitely considered a success, and we hope to build upon the recognition of Triple P throughout the school year,” Owens said.
Owens pointed out awareness has grown due to social media ads and area billboards during a campaign called “Level Up Your Parenting Game!”
Kowalkowski noted the billboards, which have run over the last two months, are very noticeable throughout the county, and she added the reach of social media is making a big difference as well.
“Several Triple P Georgetown members have also commented that they’ve received screenshots or messages from friends and family members that they’ve seen the social media ads,” Kowalkowski said. “The word of Triple P is spreading throughout the community.”
As part of its Triple P outreach, Tidelands Health also hosted a virtual workshop in September for parents on how to navigate the uncertain environment created by COVID-19 pandemic. Parents were shown skills that will help them better manage challenges with their children and create a stronger family environment.
Triple P, which has proven effective across cultures, socioeconomic groups and in many kinds of family structures for four decades, offers a wide array of parenting supports that range from broad to specialized so that all parents and caregivers can access tools that provide practical assistance in improving behaviors for children.
Georgetown parents already have commented in surveys that the program has helped teach their children to cope and deal with emotions, allowed their children to be more confident and independent, and shown them how their interactions with children can have a negative or positive lasting effect.
Triple P’s five steps to positive parenting are:
- Create a safe, interesting environment,
- Have a positive learning environment,
- Use assertive discipline,
- Have realistic expectations, and
- Take care of yourself.
All the partners in this effort are these community-based service delivery organizations: Tidelands Health Pediatrics; Black River United Way; Children’s Recovery Center; Riverside Pediatrics; Inlet Pediatrics; Miss Ruby’s Kids; Waccamaw EOC Headstart; Family Bridges; Riverside Behavior and Learning Collaborative; Waccamaw Center for Mental Health, Georgetown County; and Access Family Services.
Abby Wilson, Children’s Trust director of community initiatives, acknowledged all the work that has led to a successful program launch.
“Our partners in Georgetown are continuously excited for what Triple P is bringing to their community. From the beginning, they saw the potential for their entire community to have access to parenting support, and they have been working nonstop to make that happen,” Wilson said. “From pediatricians to educators to child care providers, partners in Georgetown are coming together.”
