Parenting in the first year of an infant’s life is filled with incredible moments as well as challenges. For parents and those in a parenting role of an infant, now is the right time to grow a healthy parent-infant relationship. It may feel as if life revolves around your infant’s feeding, sleeping, and crying, yet an amazing amount of growth is happening as your infant’s brain doubles in size during the first year of life. The tools shared in this podcast from ParentingMontana.org will help you do small things right now that support your infant’s healthy development by strengthening communication, building your relationship, and developing social and emotional skills.

ParentingMontana.org was created to provide parents and those in a parenting role a process and tools to raise their children to be confident, respectful, and to make healthy choices. Although these tools were originally developed for parents in Montana, they are relevant and applicable for parents anywhere. The Montana Department of Health and Human Services partnered with the Center for Health and Safety Culture at Montana State University to promote healthy mental, emotional, and behavioral development through the tools on ParentingMontana.org that are available to you in this podcast.

The tools you will learn to use in this podcast will prepare you for your journey as a parent with a five-step process that includes: Gaining Input, Teaching, Practicing, Supporting, and Recognizing. This process allows you to address specific parenting issues while building a strong relationship with your infant and promoting healthy growth throughout their life. Becoming familiar with the tools available through ParentingMontana.org will grow your confidence as a parent now and allow you to use the same process to face future challenges in healthy, positive ways. Parenting is not easy, and every parent wants to feel successful. Growing your parenting skills will allow you to support your child with confidence, empathy, and love. Listen now to invest in yourself as a parent, and your child will reap the benefits for a lifetime! The specific tools available to help you build skills with your infant include: Confidence, Empathy, Kindness, Reading, Discipline, Happiness, Listening, and Resilience. Listen now to begin strengthening your relationship with your infant today.