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New Parent Support Program

Benefit overview

Expecting a baby or welcoming a new child into your family is an exciting time that can be filled with joy as you embark on this journey. It may also be a time filled with some anxiety or uncertainty. You may be juggling many competing priorities that involve meeting the demands of military life, as well as working and taking care of toddlers or other children, while also trying to take care of yourself.

The New Parent Support Program — which offers parenting education and support — can help you navigate this transition and find a balance between competing life demands and welcoming your new child successfully. It is a free, voluntary program staffed with home visitation professionals that is designed to help families thrive.

NPSP helps military parents and caregivers provide a nurturing environment for their children. Parenthood is like any other job and has its challenges — there’s a lot of learning at first, regardless of whether this is your first child or your fourth. The more support and guidance you receive, the more confident you are likely to feel in carrying out the important role you have as a parent and caregiver.

The program offers support and guidance by helping parents:

  • Build strong, healthy bonds with their infants and toddlers, which will lay the foundation for their social and emotional development.
  • Manage the demands of parenting, especially when they are impacted by deployments and the many other challenges military life can bring.
  • Remain flexible and responsive when navigating daily life or balancing the needs of more than one child.
  • Build a strong support network through connections to other parents and local resources.
  • Respond to infant and toddler behavior sensitively and be attuned to their developmental needs.
  • Find services in their community when they need them.

How this benefit helps

The primary goal of NPSP is to enhance the lives of infants, toddlers, young children and parents; promote safety, health and well-being; and help families thrive by empowering parents with information to meet the challenges of parenthood while maintaining a military lifestyle.

It offers a variety of services, primarily through home visits, focused on parenting education and support. Topics include infant care, early child development, bonding with your baby, safe sleep environments and how to keep your child healthy and safe.

The program focuses on providing one-on-one support for expectant parents, to include those who are adopting, or those who may already have a young child. Some installations may also offer parenting classes and groups. Services vary by service branch and installation, but can include:

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Home visits

You may feel more comfortable asking questions and expressing your concerns about parenthood — including sleep, nutrition, behavior management, breastfeeding and sibling dynamics — in the privacy of your own home.

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Referrals to other resources

NPSP Home Visitors can help you find and take advantage of additional services — offered through the military health care system, your installation or the local community — that best suit your needs.

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Parenting classes

Interactive classes for parents of infants and toddlers focus on a variety of parenting issues, such as child growth and development, positive discipline and self-care.

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Playgroups

Structured activities in program playgroups help children build their social and motor skills. These playgroups also help parents get to know one another and develop a support system within the military community.

Contact your local NPSP to find out what is available on your installation.

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Eligibility for this benefit

The New Parent Support Program’s services are free to active-duty service members and their spouses or partners who have military medical treatment facility access and meet one of these criteria:

  • Expecting a child
  • Have at least one child age 3 or younger (Army, Navy and the Department of the Air Force)
  • Have at least one child age 5 or younger (Marine Corps)

How to access this benefit

If you would like to participate in the NPSP, you can enroll through your installation’s:

What happens if you don't live near an installation?

There are similar programs for new parents available at many locations. You can find one by:

  • Asking your pediatrician for help
  • Visiting Military OneSource’s non-medical counseling page for information about free, confidential sessions
  • Contacting Military OneSource to schedule a New MilParent Specialty Consultation, which provides personalized, confidential help covering a wide range of issues for expectant parents and parents of children through age 5
  • Locating additional resources about parenting and child care on the Military OneSource website, or by calling 800-342-9647 (OCONUS/International? View calling options)
  • Accessing Thrive, a parenting-education program developed by the Defense Department in partnership with the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State
    • The program’s free, interactive resources promote positive parenting, stress management and healthy lifestyle practices for children until they reach age 18.
    • Supplemental modules — including content for exceptional families, grandparents as caregivers, mental health and wellness — are added regularly.
  • Accessing the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, which provides free, confidential support to women who are pregnant or recently had a baby

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