On Wednesday 4 September thirty people came to our morning tea to ‘share our passion for supporting kids to do well’ and to help us launch new The Garden Dyad Program for working one-on-one with a parent and their child, as well as the second edition of The Garden Group Facilitator’s Manual as part of National Child Protection Week. One of the messages of National Child Protection Week is ‘kids do well when parents are supported’. This concept is exactly the aim of The Garden Programs, to strengthen the relationship between parents and their infants/toddlers. The programs have been developed by Together4Kids, which is a specialised service supporting children (aged 0-12) during the uncertainty and distress of homelessness and/or domestic violence. The aim of our work is to assist children to overcome trauma, regulate emotions and self-expression, manage transitions and build resilience.
Deborah Lockwood, General Manager Children’s Services hosted the morning tea. Other speakers included: Rebekah Ferdinands (Centacare editorial team), Kerryn (coordinator Infant Massage at Relationships Australia), Carolyn Markey (team leader Together4Kids).
We would like to thank the Minister for Child Protection, the Hon Rachel Sanderson MP for her support by sending her advisor Chantelle Reed as her representative and to the Hon Jayne Stinson MP, Shadow Minister for Child Protection for attending.
For more information about training and resources, please visit here.
Watch the launch below: