Talk Parenting Education Program II

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether Talk Parenting, a voice-based program delivered through an Amazon Echo Dot (Alexa), can help parents and caregivers of children ages 3-5 years improve challenging bedtime and morning routines. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does using Talk Parenting improve families' bedtime and morning experiences and children's sleep/wake habits? Does using Talk Parenting improve parents' routine-related parenting practices and confidence, strengthen the parent-child relationship, and reduce children's behavior problems and parents' stress? Researchers will compare families who receive Talk Parenting right away to families who wait 6 weeks to receive the program (a waitlist control group receiving usual services during the wait). Participants will: Complete online questionnaires at the start of the study and again about 6 weeks later (and a follow-up questionnaire later in the study). Receive a pre-configured Amazon Echo Dot (to keep) and instructions to use Talk Parenting routines at home, including a bedtime routine, a brief calming routine, and a morning routine (enabled after the first 2 weeks).

Inclusion Criteria: * Referred by a participating agency * Child 3-5 years old who lives with the parent at least half time * The primary parent in the home (typically the mother but not always) * Speaks English * Has access to a computer, tablet, or mobile phone at home * Access to high-speed internet at home is desired but not required. The project will cover internet costs for a small number of participants if needed. The participating agencies all serve families who are low-income and/or experiencing economic hardship, stressful family relationships, children's behavior problems, or household instability; thus referred families will be experiencing one or more of these risk factors for an at-risk family environment. Exclusion Criteria: * Families of target-age children with a developmental disability severe enough that the child cannot speak or follow simple directions will be excluded * Families of target-age children whose needs are beyond the scope of Talk Parenting will be excluded