Being a parent in Northwest Rodney over the past few years has been tough for a lot of families. COVID, the cost of living, rapid development, and natural disasters have left many parents feeling overwhelmed, and our children have been feeling this as well. This is why Kindred Family Services is offering a free workshop for all parents and caregivers, introducing parenting strategies and concepts to support our tamariki through times of change, uncertainty, heightened anxiety and trauma.
“Change and uncertainty are normal parts of life,” says Kim Wills, clinical manager at Kindred Family Services. “but over the last few years, the sheer scale and frequency of changes have outpaced our normal resilience factors”. Kim says that this has led to a huge jump in the number of families accessing Kindred support, with a lot of these parents seeking support for their children as well.
With these pressures in mind, Kindred Family Services teamed up with Parenting Place to create something specifically tailored to the needs of North West Rodney parents. The result is a 90-minute workshop named ‘Parenting Through Challenging Times’, that draws extensively on research, and is delivered in the entertaining and practical approach that Parent Place is well-known for.
“We’re all really looking forward to it”, says Gemma Rose-Peacock, Team Lead at Kindred’s Family Centre. She explains that “for kids who have been through uncertain times, a strong relationship with a parent or caregiver is by far the most important thing”, and she hopes that this workshop will reinforce what parents are already doing well and provide a few new tools and strategies for supporting children in these uncertain times.
There are six workshops throughout May at various locations and times, including in Kumeu, Waimauku, and Helensville, with both evening and day sessions available. The Kaipara College session on Monday 22 May will be catered specifically to parents of teens, while all other sessions are more suited to parents of primary-aged tamariki and/or younger.
Register free online at https://events.humanitix.com/parenting-through-challenging-times.
