MONTEREY -- The state's Children and Families Commission Thursday launched an unprecedented statewide campaign aimed at helping new parents.

It's the first such program in the nation to combine comprehensive parenting resources with a statewide multi-lingual advertising campaign.

Becoming a new parent can be a confusing time. Babies never came with a "how to" guide, until now.

"You hear it all the time: 'I wish kids came with a manual,'" commission chairman and actor Rob Reiner said. "So now what we've done is created essentially a manual. It is six videos, and they give you all sorts of information (and) everything you need to help get your child entering school ready to learn."

The kit for parents was developed through extensive studies involving California parents of all income levels, ages and ethnicities.

The kits are free for new parents and caregivers.

Reiner said the parenting kit and related public awareness campaign are part of his overall effort to maintain continued support for children in California.

"It's all tied together to elevate the importance of early childhood," Reiner said. "You're not just taking care of a child, you're making choices that will shape their chances for the future."

The kit's six videotapes feature celebrities and experts covering topics like health and nutrition, discipline and even finding quality child care. Each video has its own companion booklet.

The kit also includes a valuable parenting guide developed by University of California-Berkeley researchers and a children's storybook.

"I believe the kit is going to help me, especially being a young parent, help me understand how to deal with the challenges of a child, how to discipline and what is nutrition-wise as well," parent Mireya Torres said.

Results from a pilot study through UC-Berkeley show nearly half of the mothers using the kit for parents reported a change in their parenting behavior.

"The parents really like the kit," Family Services Coordinator Luz Cubias said. "It reinforces what we bring to the home. Sometimes when they see it and it's in front of them, it puts things into perspective."

The state's Proposition 10 tax on cigarettes has raised more than $10 million for the Children and Families Commission. That money is also making it possible for the commission to fund the historic educational campaign and its companion tools.

County commissions will lead the effort to distribute the kits on a local level through hospitals, home visitation programs and parenting classes.

Additional Resources:

• If you'd like the Kit for New Parents from the California Children and Families Commission, it is available for free to parents at the following toll-free numbers:
  English: 800-KIDS-025
  Spanish: 5-0-NINOS
• Read more about Rob Reiner and the California Children and Families Act