From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
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01 June is Global Day of Parents and provides an opportunity each year to appreciate all parents. Over the past year in particular, parents have worked hard to care for their children in unprecedented circumstances.
To mark this year’s UN Global Day of Parents, Minister O’ Gorman is pleased to launch Tusla’s new online e-learning course for parents of young children, a new statistical spotlight report on parents in Ireland, a consultation with parents report and literature review on parenting supports in Ireland
The new online course for parents’ developed by the Tusla National Parenting Working group in collaboration with parents is called “Relationships are key”. It provides parents with reassurance, guidance and expert advice and the course aims to support parents and all carers to form stronger and more positive relationships with their young children. Parents are invited to work through the course in their own time and at their own pace. They can pick and choose topics that are of interest to them or are more relevant to them at a particular time.
Minister O’Gorman said:
“The past year has seen huge demand from parents for online supports and services. This new online course, which parents can do in their own time at their own pace, is a valuable resource.”
Developing good policies and services to support parents and their children requires good data and understanding of the lives of all parents in Ireland. The statistical spotlight published today by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth brings together data on parents from number of different sources and will be an important resource for policy makers and all organisations providing services to parents. Minister O’Gorman noted:
“to meet the needs of all parents and their children we need to understand the diversity of their lives and ensure that services are as inclusive as possible.”
The ‘Irish parents’ experiences of support and parenting support services’ consultation report was commissioned by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to capture the views and experiences of parents. Parents from a range of backgrounds and across a range of life stages and ages participated in the consultation providing valuable insights to help ensure parents voices are at the centre of policy developments.
The ‘Development of a national model of parenting support services – literature review’ collates and summarises the findings of recent Irish research with parents, capturing their views and experiences of parenting supports. These publications improve our understanding of parenting in Ireland helping us to develop better policy and services responses in supporting parents.
Minister O’Gorman has today also announced €6 million in funding to support outdoor play under the Summer of Play initiate to encourage children and their families to get outside and play as restrictions ease in the coming months.
ENDS