Parents are the most important people in their children’s lives. We all know that, as hard as it is, positive parenting is the best way to bring out the best in your child right from day one!
However, we all can use a bit of help and guidance at times – this doesn’t mean we are ‘bad parents’, far from it. It is better to ask for help than try and struggle and juggle. There is lots of information and support available in our area, from advice and courses to online guides.
"Being a parent is wonderful, exciting, rewarding and scary……..” - local parent
Advice is available for parents from many organisations, including:
- Children’s Centres, who can offer support, advice and a range of services for all parents & carers with children under 5 - find your nearest Children's Centre here
- Health Visitors can talk through concerns you may have - contact your GP's surgery
- The 117 Project in Bath who offer drop-in parent support and informal sessions in Bath & Keynsham. For details ring 01225 421686.
A poster which lists these parenting support services, and many more, is available to download in the Related Documents box. It is also available as an A1 poster for display. Contact the Family Information Service for a copy and for advice on other support available - call 0800 073 1214 or email fis@bathnes.gov.uk
A parenting course offers parents and carers the chance to come together to share ideas and learn new skills to help in the parenting of their children. B&NES run a range of parenting courses across the area, and all the programmes are run by trained facilitators and support parents to build positive relationships with their children, increase their self esteem and encourage better behaviour. Details of the courses are listed in the Parenting Programmes 2010-2011 document on the right hand side of the page, or you can download the Parenting Programmes Leaflet, also on the right hand side of this page.
The key Parenting Support Courses we run in B&NES are ‘Incredible Years’ and ‘Strengthening Families Strengthening Communities’:
- Incredible Years (Webster Stratton) is for parents with children aged 3 -8. For further details contact Tony Day, Incredible Years Co-ordinator at Barnardos on 01761 404262 or email Tony.Day@barnardos.org.uk
- Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities is for parents with children aged 8 -17. For further details contact Jemma Clark, SFSC Project Worker at the Youth Offending Team on 01225 396966 or email jemma_clark@bathnes.gov.uk
- You don’t have to be referred to attend these courses but you will need to register before you attend. It is therefore essential to check with the contact person listed for the up to date detail.
“Parenting … it’s a challenge that you will keep on re-visiting. Am I doing it right? What am I doing right?” - local parent
To support parents of school aged children, we have produced two guides, Useful Information for Families with Children 4-11 and Useful Information for Families with Children 11-18. Both these guides can be downloaded (see the Related Documents box on the right of the page) or read online at Useful Information for Families with Children 4-11 and Useful Information for Families with Children 11-18.
B&NES has a duty to provide support for parents. How we deliver this is outlined in the Parenting Strategy
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