Here's a new diocesan service for parents and caregivers

It’s Friday evening. You’ve been thrashing away at work all week – and now it’s time to relax. Catch a good film, maybe. So what’s your next move? Chances are you’ll consult the film guide section of your newspaper. That way, you’ll reduce the likelihood of making a dud choice.

That’s the simple logic behind i-care parenting, a new parenting skills project that’s about to be rolled out by the Diocese of Wellington. There are a number of top parenting courses around, and heaps of parenting resources – but, till now, there hasn’t been one port of call when you could view the options, and check out whether a particular course or resource will meet your needs.

i -care parenting was conceived in May last year at the Diocese of Wellington’s Mission Council retreat – at about the time the brouhaha over section 59 was at its height.

The retreat’s reasoning went like this: there’s lots of energy being put in by a number of agencies into efforts to rescue dysfunctional families caught in the abuse spiral.

But there’s not as much attention being paid to ordinary mums and dads. And the feeling was that ordinary mums and dads who feel supported and confident in their parenting are more likely to be able to provide a safe and secure environment for their children.
The aim with i-care parenting is not to devise new programmes, but to make it easier to dial up the good programmes that already work.

i-care parenting will have a strong incarnational mission/outreach aspect to it. The diocese wants to better equip parishes so they can build relationships with families in their communities – by offering support, encouragement and education to parents and families.

So what, in practical terms, will i-care parenting be offering?

For starters, plans are well under way to launch an i-care parenting website. That’ll be a two-speed affair. Ministry units will be able to log in through a secure site and check out the resources on tap, the differences between them and (where the Christian sites are concerned) their faith content.

There will also be links there so parishes can network. The idea here is that parishes wanting to start something in the parenting skills line will be able to compare notes with others who’ve already gone down this road; equally, neighbouring parishes can avoid doubling up.

Then, there’ll be info for the community at large, including links to relevant webpages. The idea here is that you’ll be able to find out what’s on offer in your locality.

That’s the website. Then, there will be a library, based at The Anglican Centre, (the Wellington diocesan office) on Eccleston Hill. That library will aim to hold copies of the various courses and resources that are available. Some of this material will be for reference only.

But there’ll also be other material available to parishes so they can cut the cost of setting up courses themselves. The idea, too, is that by checking this stuff out, parishes will be able to avoid squandering money on something that isn’t suitable.

Of course, plenty of books will be on offer too – with the accent on material by New Zealand authors that’s relevant to our culture.
Finally, the aim is to offer support – online and phone support for parishes and members of the community seeking specific resources. What’s more, the i-care parenting team will be willing to talk to parishes who want to do more in this area.

PICTURE: Gendy Thomson is Wellington’s Archdeacon for Young People – and she’s provided heaps of energy getting the i-care parenting programme funded, set up and ready for liftoff. Gendy is an occupational therapist by training, and she says OT’s general aim – ‘helping people to achieve the goals they have set for themselves within the circumstances of their lives’ – is an ideal background for this project. Gendy and her husband John have just had their second child, and Gendy will be back on deck at the Wellington diocesan office in a few weeks. To find out more about i-care parenting, phone The Anglican Centre on 04 472-1057. Or email your inquiry to: families@wn.ang.org.nz