Make Parenting A Pleasure (MPAP), Second Edition
About This Program
Target Population: Highly stressed families with children ages 0 to 8 years at risk for abuse or neglect
For parents/caregivers of children ages: 0 – 8
Program Overview
MPAP is a comprehensive curriculum designed to strengthen parenting skills and provide support to highly stressed parents of children from birth to 8 years of age. Grounded in the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework that aims to reduce the potential for child abuse, MPAP helps parents gain the tools to manage their own life challenges while developing skills to nurture the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development of their children. MPAP brings parents together to share and normalize their parenting experiences, learn about typical early childhood development and parenting strategies, and develop a support network.
Parents meet in two-hour interactive discussion sessions for 12 weeks in small groups, facilitated by professional parent educators. Topics range from self-care to child development and dealing with challenging behaviors.
Haga de la Paternidad un Placer is a culturally adapted, Spanish-language version of Make Parenting a Pleasure for Spanish speaking families.
Program Goals
The goals of Make Parenting a Pleasure (MPAP), Second Edition are:
- Improve overall parent functioning
- Improve positive parenting behaviors such as:
- Knowledge of child development
- Knowledge of positive discipline practices
- Knowledge of practices supporting children's cognitive development
- Improve perceived stress
- Improve psychological well-being
- Improve family functioning
- Improve parenting self-efficacy
- Improve development of social support networks
Logic Model
The program representative did not provide information about a Logic Model for Make Parenting A Pleasure (MPAP), Second Edition.
Essential Components
The essential components of Make Parenting A Pleasure (MPAP), Second Edition include:
- A group-based facilitated model:
- 12-session program
- 10-15 families per group
- Facilitated discussion-focused group sessions led by professional Parent Educators or other professionals
- Structured and detailed modulated guide
- Road-tested experiential activities and homework assignments with next-session feedback to reinforce concepts and skills
- Adaptability and universality of program enabling curriculum to be culturally responsive to diverse populations
- Culturally reviewed and adapted to reflect and respect diverse families across race, ethnicity, socio-economic class, gender, sexual orientation, family structure, age, and geographic location
- DVD with video clips used for conversation starters to enhance discussion and meeting flow
- Facilitator's booklets with icons to identify key concepts, session agendas, and meeting material requirements
- Parent booklets and reproducible handouts
- Forms for tracking attendance and collecting feedback with Parent Evaluation forms
- Protective Factors Framework to strengthen families with key topics:
- Self-care, including identifying community resources
- Stress and anger management including identifying sources and symptoms
- Understanding child development including developmental stages and potential delays
- Positive discipline including specific techniques, exercises to practice techniques, and dealing with challenging behaviors
- Communication skills including verbal, nonverbal, and listening skills
- Curriculum linguistically and culturally adapted for Spanish speakers called Haga de la Paternidad un Placer:
- Reviewed by experts in family research and culture
- Used with families representing cultures from 9 countries of origin
Program Delivery
Parent/Caregiver Services
Make Parenting A Pleasure (MPAP), Second Edition directly provides services to parents/caregivers and addresses the following:
- Highly stressed families at risk for abuse and neglect, teen parent, poverty, unemployed or underemployed, struggling with addiction, homeless, immigrant isolated by language and culture, and life circumstances that increase risk for abuse and neglect and their children at risk for school failure
Recommended Intensity:
2-hour weekly meeting
Recommended Duration:
10-12 weeks
Delivery Settings
This program is typically conducted in a(n):
- Community Daily Living Setting
- Community-based Agency / Organization / Provider
- School Setting (Including: Day Care, Day Treatment Programs, etc.)
Homework
Make Parenting A Pleasure (MPAP), Second Edition includes a homework component:
Homework assignments with next-session feedback reinforce concepts and skills, (e.g., developing personal anger management plan, practicing active listening, etc.)
Languages
Make Parenting A Pleasure (MPAP), Second Edition has materials available in a language other than English:
Spanish
For information on which materials are available in this language, please check on the program's website or contact the program representative (contact information is listed at the bottom of this page).
Resources Needed to Run Program
The typical resources for implementing the program are:
Parent Educator or other professional facilitator, room with chairs for 10-12 participants to sit comfortably, A/V for DVD, white board or pad, copier for handouts and, ideally, a separate space for a fully staffed childcare component
Manuals and Training
Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications
Parent Educator experience or Bachelor's or Master's level degrees in early childhood education, education, social work, public health, psychology, or related field or related experience; familiarity with curriculum or Parenting Now! Parent Educator Training desirable
Manual Information
There is a manual that describes how to deliver this program.
Training Information
There is training available for this program.
Training Contact:
- Mika Singer
msinger@parentingnow.org
phone: (866) 310-4601
Training Type/Location:
The training is offered several times a year at Parenting Now! in Eugene, OR. Training is also available on request onsite. Fees and other costs are associated with the training.
Number of days/hours:
2 days, 8 hours per day
Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research
Munger, K., Seeley, J., Mender, L., Schroeder S., & Gau, J. (2020). Effect of Make Parenting A Pleasure on Parenting Skills and Parental Depression. Child and Family Behavior Therapy, 42(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/00168890.2019.1689915
Type of Study:
Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants:
59
Population:
- Age — 20-41 years (approximate)
- Race/Ethnicity — 39 White, 7 Hispanic/Latino, 4 Multiracial, 4 Native American, 2 Asian, 2 Declined, and 1 Black
- Gender — 95% Female
- Status — Participants were parents with children aged 0–8 who voluntarily sought parenting training through Oregon agencies currently offering the MPAP curriculum.
Location/Institution: Oregon
Summary:
(To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to explore a feasibility trial examining the effects of the Make Parenting A Pleasure (MPAP). Participants were assigned to either a treatment group (MPAP) or a waitlist control group. Measures utilized include the Protective Factors Survey (PFS), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the Parenting Skills Ladder Scale, and the Parental Stress Scale (PSS). Results indicate that participants in the MPAP treatment group demonstrated an increase in parenting skills and child development knowledge as well as a decrease in parental depression when compared to waitlist control group participants. Limitations include small sample size, reliance on self-reported measures, and length of follow-up.
Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 12 weeks.
Additional References
Alvarado, R., Kendall, K., Beesley, S., & Lee-Cavaness, C. (Eds.). (2000). Strengthening America's families: Model family programs for substance abuse and delinquency prevention. University of Utah.
Collins, C. L., & Fetsch, R. J. (2012, August). A review and critique of 16 major parent education programs. Journal of Extension, 50(4).
Swartz, L., Seeley, J., Gau, J., Singer, M., & Schroeder, S. (2016). Results from a randomized control trial of a parenting intervention for highly-stressed families: Make Parenting A Pleasure. https://parentingnow.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/MPAP-Evaluation-Results3_1_2016.pdf
Contact Information
- Mika Singer
- Agency/Affiliation: Parenting Now!
- Email: msinger@parentingnow.org
- Theya Joslin
- Email: tjoslin@parentingnow.org
- Phone: (541) 484-5316
Date Research Evidence Last Reviewed by CEBC: January 2023
Date Program Content Last Reviewed by Program Staff: October 2022
Date Program Originally Loaded onto CEBC: May 2016
