“Legacy for Children”

A group of seven mothers and their children are participating in a study in Muskingum County.

The Muskingum Valley Health Center is participating in the Legacy for Children program. The study looks to see how mothers and children benefit from group intervention type meetings. Each week, the group meets for an hour and a half. It provides kids an opportunity to play and moms an opportunity to learn.

“All of our moms but one are first time mothers, and they really show an interest in supporting one another,” said the Director of Behavioral Health at MVHC, Kristin Rinehart. “Many [of the participants] don’t have support through friends or family. The ones that do, they utilize that, but within the group they utilize each other in respect to supporting the choices that they’re making.”

Rinehart said legacy creates a comfortable place for parents to build confidence and expand on their knowledge of raising a child. One mother in the program, Victoria Taylor, said legacy helps her and all the mothers bounce ideas off one another.

“We all don’t know what we’re doing when you come into parenthood, so it’s nice to have other people tell you how they do things, so you can kind of pick up as you go,” Taylor said.

A $21,000 grant from the American Academy of Pediatrics provides the funding for the study. But Rinehart said it is really helping the participants and wants to continue it beyond the end of the study.