Media Release

2 March 2017 | For immediate release

Family Works Wairarapa celebrates Children’s Day with free parenting support programme.

Today’s children are tomorrow’s future. That’s why this Children’s Day Family Works Wairarapa is reminding the local community of the services they offer to help children and their families flourish.

Children’s Day - Te Ra O Te Tamariki, celebrated on Sunday 5 March this year, is an opportunity for families to share time together participating in specially arranged Children’s Day activities in the local community, explains Family Works Wairarapa manager Nici Nixon.

“Children’s Day is a day to celebrate children and how special they are, as well as how important family is,” says Nici.

“We focus on supporting and empowering families because we know that children thrive when they’re in a strong whānau.”

In keeping with Children’s Day, a free support programme is being offered to Wairarapa parents and caregivers who want to learn new techniques for dealing with their children’s challenging behaviour.

Incredible Years, a parenting programme run by Family Works Wairarapa, is for parents with children aged between three and eight years old, starts Tuesday 7 March and runs one morning per week for 14 weeks.

Family Works Wairarapa practice leader Mary August says Incredible Years gives parents the opportunity to learn practical skills that help them to build strong relationships with their children and promote positive behaviour.

“It can help parents to deal with challenging behaviours such as aggressiveness, answering back, refusing to follow rules and generally acting out, in a positive way,” says Mary.

“Being a parent is one of the hardest things a person can do and many have said the programme has given them valuable advice that has helped create a more positive culture within their family. It’s all about creating an enjoyable and harmonious family life!”

She says the programme is also an opportunity for Wairarapa parents to meet other parents in their community and learn from one another.

“It’s a really great opportunity to talk with other mums and dads in similar situations. Every parent has things that they find challenging. There’s a lot of wisdom in a group and to find out that your child isn’t the only one that misbehaves shows you that you’re not alone.”

The Family Works Incredible Years programme runs from 9am to 12pm, Tuesday 7 March to Tuesday 27 June, from the Family Works Wairarapa Centre located at 42 Fox Street in Featherston.

To find out more about Incredible Years of Family Works’ services, call Family Works Wairarapa on 06 308 8028 or visit www.familyworkscentral.org.nz

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