Strong Roots
Group-Based Programs to Support Families and Caregivers of Young Children
Promoting health and resilience by fostering safe, strong, and positive relationships for families, agencies, and communities from pregnancy to age 6.
Watch this video to learn more about Strong Roots
Early relationships lay the foundation for children’s developmental success and thriving families.
To be successful, children need emotional safety and strong connections, or Strong Roots. We use the metaphor of a tree to illustrate how, like trees, we all need strong roots to grow, branch out, and thrive. When parents meet their children’s needs for nurture and support, it builds and strengthens those roots, ensuring that children have what is needed for health and well-being. Our Strong Roots Programs recognize that parents also have needs for connection and support, and our programming strives to both meet parents’ own needs for support as they reflect on their experiences, and to encourage parents as they grow the skills and tools they can use to promote their own and their children’s health and wellbeing.
We believe that Strong Roots concepts are the universal foundation of all responsive service delivery systems that touch the lives of pregnant women and families with children age 0-6. By focusing on developing strong relationships, we inspire and support resilience in children, parents, service providers, communities, and the efficacy of systems.
Strong Roots Programs
Group-Based Programs to Support Families and Caregivers of Young Children
LOGIC MODEL
Strong Roots Core Components
The Strong Roots Programs include five pillars, or core components:
- Attachment-based parenting psychoeducation
- Supported parent-child interactions
- Enhanced social support
- Connection to culturally relevant resources
- Self-Care
The long-term outcome of these core components is to provide enhanced protective factors for families with young children. This includes an increased knowledge of parenting and child development, strengthened child social-emotional competence, increased social connections, improved access to concrete support in times of need, and strengthened parent and family resiliency.
Strong Roots Services
FULL MODEL
The Strong Roots (SR) Full Model includes a multifamily group with 10 group sessions and three individual sessions with participants that delivers the curriculum with full model fidelity. Each of the flagship programs has a fully developed and tested model with established training curriculum.
PRINCIPLES &
PRACTICES
Strong Roots (SR) Principles and Practices trainings allow organizations to identify specific needs that are addressed via short, targeted trainings and consultations that quickly infuse the SR concepts and skills necessary to promote resiliency in pregnant women and families with young children.
ENCOUNTERS
Strong Roots (SR) Encounters are very short (1-1.5 hour) Lunch and Learns, conference presentations, parent cafe, and consultations that present a specific SR concept that an organization identifies a need, a topic for training, and skill building.
The Tree Video
Mom Power uses The Tree as a metaphor to illustrate how parents can support young children’s social emotional development. Watch this brief video to learn about the Tree and how it can help parents recognize and understand young children’s behavior!
The Wondering Response Wheel Video
The Wondering and Response Wheel can help parents respond to children’s behavior and feelings in a way that addresses their needs and supports their positive emotional growth and development. Watch this brief video to learn how to use the Wondering Response Wheel!
Balanced Caregiving Video
Whether you are a parent, teacher, or another important adult, your child looks to you to figure out how to navigate the world. Zero To Thrive advocates for balanced caregiving, or responses to children that are warm and kind and strong and in charge. This brief video provides a more detailed explanation of balanced caregiving.
PARENT TESTIMONIALS
“I learned tools to be a better parent. I look back on handouts to help me continue using these Strong Roots ideas.”
PROVIDER TESTIMONIALS
“I use the Strong Roots tools, especially the Tree, in all of my work with families.”
PARENT TESTIMONIALS
“I didn’t really have roots growing up, but now I know I can help my daughter build her roots. By being the best parent I can I am giving her the best chance at life.”
PROVIDER TESTIMONIALS
“Parents find this to be a very user-friendly and empowering program, and when parents on my caseload participate I can see how it really ‘jump starts’ the work we do together through [home visiting program].”
PARENT TESTIMONIALS
“This program helps you realize that you have to take care of yourself in order to be able to take good care of your child. It gives parents the tools they need to care for themselves so they can be the best parent they can be.”
PROVIDER TESTIMONIALS
“Training in the Strong Roots programs helped our agency and team build stronger connections so that we are able to better support the families we serve.”
Please contact us if you are a professional looking for training or a parent looking for a group.