LOS ANGELES—First 5 California has launched a new Asian-language Kit for New Parents.
The non-profit organization has made its popular comprehensive parenting resource free in four different Asian languages including Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean and Vietnamese.
"Babies don’t come with an instruction manual," said Kris Perry, executive director of First 5 California, during a press conference with members of the APIA community at the California Endowment Center. "But if they did, it would look a lot like the Kit for New Parents. We hope that Asian language-speaking parents will embrace this free resource and use it to help them make the transition into parenthood."
The Kit for New Parents offers resources for parents on topics such as prenatal care, nutrition, discipline and finding quality child care. Each Asian language kit also comes with a DVD that explains practical advice on prenatal care to information about a child’s first five years.
The parenting resource kit has been around since 2001. It was primarily in English but First 5 interpreted to Spanish. The success of the Spanish version is what led to First 5 California to translate it to Asian languages, according to Perry.
"We believe that this kit should be available for everybody especially in a diverse state like California," said Perry.
The kit is valued at $75 but available for free for any new parent. The kits can be found in hospitals, clinics, county agencies, home visitation programs and parenting education providers.
"First 5 California understands that being a new parent is challenging," Perry said. "That’s why we enlisted the support of bilingual child development experts and translators to help us create Asian-language Kits. These new versions are not only useful, but are also linguistically and culturally appropriate for the Asian-Pacific Islander American parents and caregivers we are trying to reach."
Perry said that they do not have any plans to create a parenting resource kit for other Asian languages like Tagalog.
For more information, please visit www.first5california.com.
( Published on January 17, 2009 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A3 )
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