Free glider rocking chairs for new moms

Research shows that holding, rocking, singing, feeding, gazing, kissing and other caregiving nurturing behaviors are crucial to the normal brain development of babies. Without early nurturing it is difficult for a child to become a healthy, happy, and productive person.

The Rocking Chair Project works with healthcare professional training programs and healthcare organizations. TLC Family Resource Center in Claremont was chosen as one of the partner sites. Pregnant moms who are enrolled in one the local home visiting programs provided by the family resource center may be eligible to receive a free chair.  Executive Director Maggie Monroe-Cassel explains: “Our parent educators visit the mom and new baby in the home and assemble the new chair together. After the donation, the parent educator continues to work with the new mom on parenting skills for up to three years.” 

Montana Hurd was the first local recipient of a free rocking chair. She helped build the chair with her parent educator Sandy Gassett. She did not have a rocking chair to soothe her new son who was a week old when she received the chair.

The Rocking Chair Project is a non-profit, 5O1C3 organization that was founded in 2001 by Trish Magee, an early childhood educator, and her husband, Mike Magee, a physician. That year, they purchased a glider rocking chair for their daughter-in-law, Susanna, a Family Medicine resident at Brown Medical School, who was expecting their first grandchild. Having raised four children of their own, they recognized the importance of having a comfortable rocking chair to sit in and nurture newborn babies.

For the parents and children, the gift of a rocking chair is a concrete expression that people care about them. Every new mother and baby, and especially those experiencing the pressures of poverty, needs time and space for nurturing. Giving a glider rocking chair to a mother will help her nurture her baby.

TLC Family Resource Center is one of 35 agencies across New Hampshire that are members of Family Support New Hampshire, a coalition of non-profit family resource centers (FRC) and family support programs (FSP) that are designed to meet the needs of the communities they serve. Programs and services provided by FRC and FSP vary, but they all seek to strengthen families by promoting health, wellbeing, self-sufficiency, and positive parenting through support and education. TLC serves families in Sullivan County and Lower Grafton County. 

For more information on qualifying for a free rocking chairs, contact Rene’ Couitt, Intake Coordinator for TLC Family Resource Center, at 603-542-1848 x 302 or go to www.tlcfamilyrc.org.