More city parents set to get help
A ‘Big Parenting Debate’ is being launched on Monday 16 September in Brighton & Hove to raise awareness of the support available to local parents and to find out what parenting issues are most important to them.
The multi-media debate is being run by Brighton & Hove City Council as part of a plan to make one of the world’s most effective parenting programmes available to a wider range of people.
It is also hoped that opening up a debate around parenting issues will help remove the stigma that some parents feel about asking for help.
The Positive Parenting Programme – known as Triple P – is about making small but very effective changes to how you relate to your children. It helps you:
- Create a stable, harmonious family environment
- Deal positively with problem behaviour and encourage behaviour you like
- Take care of yourself as a parent.
More than 1,500 Brighton & Hove parents have completed Triple P courses run by the council’s parenting team over the last six years. Their satisfaction levels with the course are amazing – feedback shows that:
- 99% of parents said Triple P helped them deal more effectively with their children’s behaviour
- Two thirds said they felt less stress.
The council’s director of public health, Dr Tom Scanlon, said: “We want to use Triple P not just when families reach a crisis point but also to nip problems in the bud.
“We want all parents to feel comfortable about asking for help, and we also want to get more men involved – at the moment only 15% of the parents using Triple P are male.”
The chair of the council’s children and young people committee, Councillor Sue Shanks, said: “Quite simply, by providing early help we can help prevent problems later on.
“I believe our decision to offer a wider range of parents the support they need to create happy, stable family environments could make a massive difference to the future of our city.
“We’re looking forward to getting the detailed individual feedback from residents that will help us understand how best to reach out to people – whether it be through attending weekly groups, drop-ins or online learning.”
Printed questionnaires will be available as of Monday 16 September at children’s centres, libraries, GP surgeries and other venues around the city.
To find out more about the Big Parenting Debate and fill in an online questionnaire online please visit www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/parentingdebate
You can also join in on Twitter at #bhparenting or Facebook at www.facebook.com/brightonandhovecitycouncil
For further information about what parenting support is available in Brighton & Hove please:
- Phone the council’s family information service on (01273) 293545
- Visit www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/fis
- Email triplep.parenting@brighton-hove.gov.uk