Third Ward Wellness Study for Families

Dietary and activity habits begin to develop in early childhood. Parents have the most influence on children's health behaviors at this age. Many parents, particularly those from lower income and underserved areas may benefit from programs to inspire and enable them to raise their toddler age children with good health habits. The experimental group was developed to help parents instill healthy habits in their children through a healthy home environment. This study will pilot test the experimental group among parent-toddler dyads residing in Greater Third Ward neighborhoods, where \> 80% of the residents are AA or Hispanic and 35%-54% have annual household incomes \<$25,000. The aims are to ascertain 1) recruitment and retention barriers and facilitators, 2) treatment success barriers and facilitators, and 3) the estimated effect sizes of outcomes to inform a fully powered RCT. The exploratory hypotheses are that compared to those in the control group, parents in the experimental group will have greater increases in positive parenting skills (Comprehensive General Parenting Questionnaire), and toddlers will have greater increases in indicators of a healthy home environments, diets and activity habits (MVPA, sedentary activity, and sleep).