New Parent Support Program

Expecting a baby or welcoming a new child 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 and questions. You may be juggling many competing priorities that involve meeting the demands of military life, 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 the transition successfully. It is free, voluntary and staffed with home visitation professionals designed to help families thrive.

NPSP helps military parents provide a nurturing environment for their children. Parenthood is like any other job — there’s a lot of learning at first, regardless of whether it is your first child or not. The more guidance you can get, the more confident you are likely to feel in carrying out your duties.

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 it is impacted by deployments and other military operations.
• Remain flexible and responsive when navigating daily life or balancing more than one child’s needs.
• 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 your community when you need them.

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 shaken baby syndrome (abusive head trauma).

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

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

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

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

• Family Advocacy Program
• Military and Family Support Center
• New Parent Support Program

There are similar programs for new parents available in many locations. You can find new parent support programs 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 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 from birth to age 18.
• Supplemental modules — including content for exceptional families, grandparents as caregivers, mental health and wellness — are added regularly.