TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Child Development Resources at The University of Alabama has been awarded a $6,556 grant from the Community Foundation of West Alabama to conduct Baby TALK visits in Pickens County.

CDR, a community service component of the UA College of Human Environmental Sciences, will implement visits between parents and children each week in the waiting room of the Women Infants and Children clinic of the Pickens County Health Department.

CDR has successfully implemented the program in the Tuscaloosa County Health Department for the last five years. Organizers say this success is credited in part to the location of the program because it occurs in a place where families gather and where they have time to talk about the joys and challenges of parenting. Parents aren’t required to make time and find transportation to attend a parent support program because Baby TALK conveniently comes to them while they are waiting for other services.

The program has been credited with increasing attendance for WIC appointments, organizers add. Parents and caregivers have said they looked forward to talking with the Baby TALK personnel.

During the visits, families can ask questions, learn about normal child development and watch Baby TALK staff members and volunteers as they engage in activities that are appropriate for the child’s stage of development. Baby TALK is designed to be supportive and non-threatening while it builds upon the strengths of the family and encourages reading.

Baby TALK focuses on the support of parents with very young children, most under three years. The program uses every day language and activities, and it emphasizes the need to read to children. To assist families in forming a daily reading habit, the child is given an age-appropriate book to keep each time that they have a Baby TALK visit. Through the program, parents can learn about the usual growth process, and this can help them understand what is normal for a developing child.

For more information about Baby TALK, contact Leslie Black, birth-to-three coordinator, 205/348-2235.