Life changes when a couple has a baby.
Often, new parents:
- Worry about being good parents
- Have a lot of stress
- Argue more with their partners
- Have less time to spend with their partners
Couple CARE for Parents has been proven to help unmarried couples with new babies:
- learn important parenting skills
- improve their relationships with their partners
How does it work?
In this program, parents learn by:
- Watching a DVD/video or doing an exercise at home
- Talking with a trained educator who visits the home and calls on the telephone
- Talking with their partners
Study Participation
In addition to offering Couple CARE for Parents free of charge to eligible families, researchers at Stony Brook University’s Department of Psychology are studying the effectiveness of the program. Program participants may also be a part of the evaluation study. Study participation involves completing a set of questionnaires at three different times: once before beginning the Couple CARE for Parents program, once immediately after completing the program, and once six months after completing the program. Each participant in the study will receive $25 for each set of completed questionnaires. Please note: Couples who wish to participate in the Couple CARE for Parents program are not required to participate in the evaluation study.
Here’s what some Couple CARE for Parents participants have said about the program.
“I used to think that becoming a dad should just happen naturally. After Couple CARE for Parents, I realized there is a lot that you can learn about having a great relationship with your partner and your child.” -Max
“I’ve learned a lot about the importance of being aware of the way I am in my relationship and some ways of improving things by actually making changes to my own behavior. Couple CARE for Parents trigger off lots of these ideas.” –Janice
Here are comments from Dr. Kim Halford, Professor of Psychology at Griffith University in Australia and one of the program’s creators, on maintaining happy relationships during parenthood and how Couple CARE for Parents can help.
We believe that raising a child is the most important task imaginable. You and your partner will care and nurture this new human being and help them develop. This truly is one of life’s great adventures. At the same time, the responsibility can be daunting. We hope that Couple CARE for Parents will help you plan how you want to approach parenthood, and to ensure you nurture your relationship with your partner and your child.
A great relationship with someone you love brings happiness, support and joy to your life. It also provides the best possible environment for a child to grow up happy, secure and loved. The approach in Couple CARE for Parents is to focus on the couple relationship, and helping the partners to work together to be great parents.
Most couple relationships start well, and the partners are happy. Many relationships stay happy, at least most of the time. The time of becoming a parent has some special challenges, as well as special joys. Those couples that stay happy and grow in their role as parents put in some effort in making their relationship work, and to ensure they parent well together. Couple CARE for Parents shows you how to strengthen your relationship and keep it strong and happy, and how to work effectively together to be good parents.
Unfortunately, quite a lot of couples that start happy in their relationship do not stay that way. Becoming parents is a time when strains in a couple relationship can develop. In Couple CARE for Parents we show you how to have the best chance to avoid future problems. Couple CARE for Parents helps you to recognize possible future problems, and how to prevent such problems.
There is no one right way to have a great relationship. So, in Couple CARE for Parents you decide how you want your relationship with your partner and your child to develop. At the same time, there are common challenges many couples share when becoming parents. In Couple CARE for Parents we offer ideas on how to address those challenges and strengthen your family. In each unit you are invited to consider the ideas and apply them as you see fit in your relationship.
Couple CARE for Parents is based on 20 years of research and practical experience with couples by our team of psychologists and nurses. Couple CARE for Parents also builds upon work by other teams from right around the world. Research shows that doing this program helps build stronger, more positive relationships.
