ST. LOUIS — There’s a program in many of our area school districts that new parents need to know about. It’s called Parents as Teachers.
Basically, baby experts make house calls when you need them most.
Jessica Barks has been in education for 13 years and was first introduced to the program as a new mom herself.
"I started out with a parent educator coming to my house and I was just like oh my gosh this is wonderful. Even with an education background I just fell in love with it,” Barks said.
Now Barks is a parent-teacher and makes home visits for moms like Megan Meloy.
"Just trying to figure out how to get out of the house you know it’s a chore. I just want to do everything that I can to make sure that my kids are where they should be,” Meloy laughed.
That's where Barks comes in.
"Parents are their child’s first and most important teacher and they need the tools to be able do that," Barks explained.
Depending on the school district you live in, the parent-teachers make about five visits in the baby's first year. As they get older, that shrinks to two a year, until they graduate and enter kindergarten.
Barks checks on baby's milestones, brings developmental activities for parents to learn and get ideas from and answers any questions and concerns.
"So many of our conversations are did you experience this at this age and I think it just helps you feel like you're doing a good job,” Meloy said.
For more information on the program and if it’s offered in your school district, click here.