Parenting resources

The aim of this page is to provide access via the Internet to resources that may be useful in supporting parents and families.

Help lines
Resources

Help lines

• Australian Capital Territory
  ParentLink aims to promote attitudes and behaviours in parents and the general community that nurture and support children and strengthen families. Its purpose is to increase parenting confidence and skills by linking parents with information, guidance and support services in the community.
  Tel: 02 6287 3833
• New South Wales
  Parent Line is a toll free telephone advice and information service for parents of children living in New South Wales.
  Tel: 13 20 55
• Queensland and Northern Territory
  Parentline is a confidential telephone counselling service aimed at providing professional counselling and support for parents and all who have the care of children.
  Tel: 1300 30 1300
• South Australia
  Parent Helpline is an initiative of the Government of South Australia established in 1996 to promote the value of parents and the important role of parenting.
  Tel: 1300 364 100
• Tasmania
  Child Health and Parenting Service provides child health, growth and developmental assessments; parent support and information; and early intervention services.
  Tel: 1300 808 178
• Victoria
  Parentline is a statewide telephone counselling, information and referral service for parents and carers with children from birth to eighteen years. It is a confidential and anonymous service for the cost of a local telephone call throughout Victoria.
  Tel: 13 22 89
• Western Australia
  Parenting Line is a free telephone service providing information and advice for people caring for children up to 18 years of age.
  Tel: 08 9272 1466 or 1800 654 432

Resources

• Centre for Community Child Health - Practice Resources for professionals working with children and families. Designed to bridge the gap between research and practice, Practice Resources translate research evidence into easily understood practical strategies to address a range of concerns affecting children and adolescents.
• Contemporary motherhood: The impact of children on adult time (PDF 433K)
  Dr Lyn Craig, Research Fellow, Social Policy Research Centre, University of New South Wales
  In this seminar, Lyn Craig discusses her research on the impact of parenthood on household time-use. It is this research that underscores Lyn's new book: Contemporary motherhood: The impact of children on adult time (Ashgate). Using large-scale quantitative time-use data, Lyn provides a unique picture of how parenthood affects daily life within households, and how people's paid and unpaid workload is affected by parenthood. Lyn also compares how parents divide their time between caring for children, housework, paid work, and leisure in Australia and other nations. Following a careful analysis of the data and an astute conceptual synthesis of the issues at hand, Lyn provides an insightful and comprehensive account of the time demands of parenthood and outline the 'big picture' of the costs and benefits of children in modern society.
• Community.gov.au provides information for parents of children with a disability as well as specific condition information and links to National Support groups.
• Early Childhood Australia

  Early Childhood Australia is the peak national, non-profit, non-government organisation that acts in the interests of young children from birth to eight years of age.  This site hosts a huge range of information, including a section on supporting best practice for emotional wellbeing, child development, speaking out for children and professional development.

• Good Beginnings aims to create a caring environment with families, communities, service agencies and governments working together so that all children can have a good beginning.
• Guide for Parents is published by Copeland Publishing Pty Ltd. Their magazine Best guide for parents is available on subscription. Freely available on their website are online guides for parents which include book reviews, an events calendar and resource guides: Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney.
• Kids Count website is part of the Every Child is Important campaign which has been developed by the Australian Childhood Foundation. This website explores a number of important topics of interest for parents.

• Interrelate Resources
  Catalogue from the Interrelate Resource Centre, including "The Listeners" sock puppet family books, posters and colouring books for children experiencing family difficulties. [PDF 608kb]

• MyTime - supporting parents of children with disabilities. This website helps parents of young children with a disability or chronic medical condition by bringing them together with other parents to socialise and share ideas. Groups act as a support network for parents, where they can discuss experiences, thoughts and ideas. Parents will be kept up to date with new information and resources at meetings and can communicate online with other MyTime members throughout Australia.
• Parenting - NSW Department of Community Services Parenting site promotes the safety and well being of children and young people and works to build stronger families and communities. This section of their website provides some tips, advice and guidelines for parents and carers.
• ParentLink - ParentLink is designed to increase parents' confidence and skills by supporting and linking them with a network of information, ideas and community services in the ACT.
• Parenting Plus - A UK site that has a range of information on parenting and message boards.
• Parenting Research Centre is a national, independent, not-for-profit research and development organisation established to help parents raise happy healthy children.
• Parenting SA is an initiative of the Government of South Australia established in 1996 to promote the value of parents and the important role of parenting. It is funded through the Community Development Fund from gambling revenue raised in South Australia.
• Positive Partnerships for Families with Young Children (PDF 1MB), by Dorothy Scott, et al., 2007
  The paper focuses on the elements of effective partnerships with parents, rather than on working relationships with children, and the principles of practice and the personal qualities required for developing and sustaining positive partnerships with parents.
• Raising Children Network is a national parenting information website. The site is funded under the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy - Invest to Grow program, and grew out of research into what parents and practitioners want and need. It is part of the Australian Government's commitment to ensure every Australian child has the best possible start in life by supporting parents in their most important role. Suggestions about the website and input from parents, professionals and others caring for children are encouraged.

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