From theory to practice: Issues arising for a novice home visitor

Home visiting has been widely viewed as an effective part of prevention and early intervention programs for children in their first few years of life. The actual practice of home visiting involves skills and decision-making that may be new or challenging to the novice home visitor. These reflections follow two years of home visiting as part of the Parents as Teachers program, and of teaching in professional development courses about home visiting. The paper presents examples of issues arising in my own experience as well as the experiences of others reported in professional development sessions. Issues include negotiating boundaries, dealing with expectations of expertise, learning to see from other perspectives, dealing with developmental issues for children and for parents, and maintaining flexibility of approach in a highly structured program. Implications for the training and support of home visitors and for the place of home visiting in family support are discussed.