Policy Resource
Alaska Promotes Early Learning with "Babies on Track"
Learn how Alaska is supporting parents of children under age two with an informational DVD and related events.
Parents of children under age two in Alaska obtained vital information about how they can support their children’s healthy development and early learning at “Babies on Track” premiere events that took place across the state in early 2012. “Babies on Track” is a 14-minute DVD that depicts Alaskan families interacting with babies in ways that help them learn language, sounds, and social skills.
The fundamental principle behind Babies on Track is that the baby brain grows more in its earliest years “before 3 years old“ than at any other time in human life. Its also the time when language is taking shape in babies brains. Talking, conversation, singing, and other forms of interaction are critical in this period.
The video introduces a simple model to guide interactions with young children:
- T: Talk
- R: Respond
- A: Ask questions
- C: Connect
- K: Keep at it
- S: Sing and tell stories
The primary message of the DVD is that the more parents talk with their babies and children “ the more conversation and interaction that occur “ the easier it is for babies to pick up language later. They have larger vocabularies, and they’re ready for kindergarten by age 5. The interactions that occur in the first years of life are critical for school readiness and later success.
In the 2 ½ years since creating Babies on Track, Best Beginnings has distributed nearly 8,000 sets. More than 4,000 were given out during 167 Babies on Track premieres in 80 Alaska communities in spring, 2012. The rest have gone out to parents and families, librarians and teachers, and other partners in learning around the state.
The following list includes some examples of how the DVD has been distributed and used throughout the state:
In Kotzebue, the Northwest Arctic Infant Learning Program does development screenings of young children. After the screening, the parent receives Babies on Track as part of a resource-filled Baby Backpack.
Visiting nurses at Nutaqsiivik Nurse Family Partnership, a home visiting program at Southcentral Foundation, use Babies on Track as a teaching tool, a way to talk to parents about the importance of talking, singing, reading and playing with their children. Nutaqsiivik has distributed more than 200 DVDs to families in Anchorage and Mat-Su.
The partner agencies of Juneau Partnership for Families and Children distribute Babies on Track to parents of infants or toddlers, as part of their conversations about literacy and language development. In 2014 the partnership collectively gave Babies on Track to 384 families, representing more than 25% of Juneau children under age 3.
The “Babies on Track” DVD was produced by Best Beginnings, a public-private partnership focused on early childhood. The DVD was supported by contributions from the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development and Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. Additional funding from the Alaska Children’s Trust, The CIRI Foundation, and ConocoPhillips Alaska supported production of board books that were distributed with the DVD.
For more information and to watch a preview of the “Babies on Track” visit: http://www.bestbeginningsalaska.org/what-we-do/babies-on-track-video-a-books.html
Updated November 2015
Read more about:
Explore more from Public Engagement and Political Will Building
-
Tool
Infant and Toddler Messaging Guide
This paper shares the results of a national scan of message trends in infant and toddler advocacy and offers guidance on how to develop effective infant-toddler messages.
Explore More Alaska Focused Resources & Initiatives
-
Article
Alaska Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Policy Vignette
Statewide Economic Challenges and High ACEs Rates Open the Door for Consideration of IECMH Coverage in the State’s Medicaid Waiver Application
-
Article
Alaska Promotes Early Learning with Babies on Track
Parents of children under age two in Alaska obtain vital information about how they can support their children’s healthy development and early learning at Babies on Track premiere events that took pl…
-
Article
Alaska Works to Increase Initiation and Continuation of Breastfeeding
Initiation of breastfeeding has increased through the efforts of the All Alaska Pediatric Partnership “Breastfeeding Workgroup" which includes representatives from various communities and programs ac…
-
Article
The Best Beginnings Early Learning Council was established in 2006 to oversee implementation of Alaska’s Ready to Read, Ready to Learn Task Force recommendations, and includes former task force membe…
-
Article
Alaska System of Early Education and Development (SEED)
The Alaska System for Early Education Development (Alaska SEED) is a system of professional development for Alaska's field of Early Care and Education.