The Happy Parenting Program aims to investigate new ways to provide support to parents with young children from an early age. This will inform how we can better help parents establish a good relationship with their child from infancy and improve aspects such as parenting confidence, stress and long-term outcomes.
Who can take part? 
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We invite people from both ORIGINS and the local community to join this project
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Parents (or primary carers) of babies aged around 4 months
- Parents with a good understanding of spoken and written English and aged 18 years or older
- Parents willing and able to attend two sets of parenting classes with their baby
- Parents with access to the Internet and device to engage in online content
What does participation involve?
If you meet the criteria and agree to participate, we will ask you to attend two sets of parent-child parenting sessions.
Parenting Sessions
We are investigating two different types of parenting sessions; education-focused and play-focused.
You will be randomly assigned into one type of parenting session.
These sessions involve the following:
- Attending one-hour parenting sessions, once a week for eight consecutive weeks,
when your baby is around 4-6 months old and again when your child is around 12 months old.- We ask that at least one parent attend these sessions with their child.
- The sessions will be held either in person (location to be advised) or online.
- All sessions are free of charge and are facilitated by tertiary-educated early childhood specialists.
- Sessions will run during school hours and during the school term.
Assessments and Samples
You will also be asked to complete online questionnaires before and after each set of parenting sessions (there are two sets of sessions) to provide information on your thoughts around parenting, mealtimes and child development. We will also ask you to provide feedback on the sessions.
A nutritionist will speak to you by phone and we will ask you to record a message for the study team talking about your relationship with your child.
Finally we will ask you to collect four saliva swabs, from you and your child, to assess stress levels by measuring the amount of cortisol you are both producing. We will look at how these levels change throughout the day and how closely your child’s hormones mirror his/her parents'.
There are no costs to the participant for involvement in the project.
What are the possible benefits of participating?
By participating in this research you are helping the researchers to find a better way to support parents of young children. In addition, you may find some benefit from the increased social connection and support provided by the parenting sessions.
Further Information
Download the Happy Parenting Program Participant Information Brochure here
phone: Kathryn Webb 0480 158 664
email: parenting@ecu.edu.au
