Presentation made at the Joint Council of Extension Professionals Galaxy Conference, Pittsburgh, PA. September 17, 2013.

1. Reaching a New Generation
of Mobile Parents “Just in
Time”
eXtension Just in Time Parenting
Community of Practice

2. Aaron Ebata & Jill Bowers
University Of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Pat Tanner Nelson
University Of Delaware
Jenell Kelly
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
Andrew Behnke
North Carolina State University
Ellen Abell
Auburn University
Sally Martin
University Of Nevada, Reno
Marissa Stone
Nova Southeastern University

3. Overview
•Delivering Parenting Education Just in Time
•Parents’ Preferences for Information and Advice
•Just In Time Parenting (JITP) electronic newsletters
•Monitoring the use and
impact of JITP
•How you can use and
promote JITP

4. Delivering Parenting
Education “Just in Time”

5. Early Innovations
•Parenting information mailed directly to parents
•Small bits of relevant information that are
delivered just when needed – keyed to parents and
baby’s needs and development
•Combining efforts of many states to create one up-
to-date, evidence-based national parenting
education tool

6. Goals of JITP
•Foster developmentally appropriate
expectations
•Normalize the challenges of normative
developmental changes or behaviors
•Promote practices that support the healthy
development of children
•Provide strategies for coping with the
stresses of raising children and managing
family life

7. When your
child is You get
2 month
2 month
newsletter
12 month
12 month
newsletter
1 month
1 month
newsletter

8. •Rate the newsletters as more useful than any
other source of information.
•Report more positive parenting behaviors and
provide more stimulating learning environments
for their children.
•Have age-appropriate expectations and feel
reassured about their child’s development
•Can identify emerging problems and quickly find
appropriate help.
Parents Using JITP
Newsletters:

9. Greater impact among first-time
parents, as well as the youngest,
poorest and least educated

10. Parent Voices
“I think it's great you are reaching out to the community to
educate parents. It is very much needed.”
“JITP is helpful and easy to understand.”
“My only suggestion is to send JITP more often. I always look
forward to receiving the issues.”
“I think this publication was very useful for myself as a single
parent.”
“Make sure that young parents sign up for this newsletter before
leaving the hospital after having a baby. They need help and
advice and this newsletter is the right source of information.”

11. Parents Online
Activities and
Preferences

12. Today’s parents are….
•Seeking information online
•Less likely to attend
traditional programs
•Increasingly using social
media
•Using mobile devices to
access the internet

13. Sources of Parenting Information
Parents w/ Children Under 10 Years (Florida)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Mothers
Fathers
Radey, M., & Randolph, K.A. (2009). Parenting sources: How do parents differ
in their efforts to learn about parenting? Family Relations, 58, 536-548.
%reportinguse

14. Metzler, Sanders, Rusby, & Crowley, 2011
Preferences for Parenting Information
Parents of 3-6 Year Olds (National)

16. Pew Internet and American Life Project, 2012, 2013
46% of American adults owned
smartphones (33% of 14-17 year olds)
Smartphone use highest for:
18-34 year olds
Blacks and Hispanics
Those making > $75,000
College educated
74% of 12-17 year olds access
the internet on mobile devices
Youth are using Mobile
Devices

18. Devices Used to Access JITP
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Desktop Laptop Tablet Phone
Parents of 1 Year Olds
Email Reminders Newsletters

19. Digital
Divide?
•Younger and unmarried
parents more likely to use
internet for parenting
information
(Radey & Randolph, 2009)
•Younger, poorer, less
educated report getting
more out of website for
parents (Steimle & Duncan, 2004)

20. Delivering JITP 2.0
Electronically
Mobile Ready, Ready for Sharing
jitp.extension.org

21. How Does JITP Work?
Subscribe
Monthly email
reminders
Monthly
eNewsletters
Invitation to
provide
feedback
Online survey

22. Email reminders

23. Web-based
“eNewsletter
”

24. Mobile Ready
iPad
Samsung Galaxy iPhone 5

25. Download PDF for Printing

26. PDF versions

27. Social Sharing

28. Facebook Twitter

29. Monitoring Use and
Evaluating Impact

30. Subscribers
Status 2013
Since Initiation
(July 2008)
Registered 1,592 8,180
Current active subscriptions: 4,897

31. Website Statistics (2012)
•111,057 visits from 75,969 individuals from 150
countries
• Top 5 were: US, India, UK, Philippines, and Canada
State Frequency
% Visits that
were new
California 5135 68
Iowa 3932 37
New York 3729 70
Texas 3539 71
Illinois 3515 62

32. 0 20 40 60 80 100
Text messages
Online course,webinar
Online videos
Smartphone apps
Classes, workshops
TV programs, DVDs
Online community
Social network
Support or playgroup
Brochures, newsletters
Childcare provider
Emailed newsletters
Website
Books, magazines
Doctors, health pros
JITP Newsletter
Parents of 2 Year Olds
Not useful Slightly-Moderately Very-Extremely Not Used
Survey: Sources of Information

33. Implications
•Electronic delivery systems and technological
applications are an important way for
reaching a large part of today’s parents
•But print and mail or hand-delivery may still
be important for those who have the most to
gain from the program
•JITP provides the “ready-to-go” content that
allows educators to use BOTH methods

34. How YOU Can Use JITP
Promote JITP directly to your clientele
Link to the JITP website from your website
Work with partner agencies to promote
print or electronic delivery
Attend an upcoming webinar

35. Just in Time Webinar!
Wednesday, Oct. 10th at 2:00 p.m. Eastern
How to broaden parent engagement and
increase the impact of your programming
with parents of young children.
1) text4baby – for moms with cellphones
2) Just in Time Parenting -- enrolling families and
tracking efforts

36. Aaron T. Ebata
ebata@illinois.edu
Pat Tanner Nelson
ptnelson@udel.edu
Jenell Kelly
jkelly@ag.ncat.edu
Contact Us!
jitp.extension.org
October 1, 2013