Parent Information Centre opened at Rockingham City Shopping Centre

15/8/96

An innovative service to help parents raise their children and improve their family life was opened in Rockingham today by Family and Children's Services Minister Cheryl Edwardes.

Mrs Edwardes said the new Parent Information Centre located at Shop 66b Rockingham City Shopping Centre was an important development in providing community support for families.

The service is part of a $4.6 million State Government commitment to assist families and strengthen the role of the family unit by providing resources and skills development to parents.

"Being a parent is becoming more complex in our fast changing world and parents take on one of the most important responsibilities of their lives when they decide to raise a family," she said.

"The new centre will help by providing a wide range of information on parenting and child development, in addition to running workshops.

"I urge all residents in the area to take advantage of this service to help them and their children develop a far better family lifestyle."

Mrs Edwardes said the new service also aimed to increase community awareness of the important role and responsibilities which parents undertook.

The concept of Parent Information Centres was developed in response to research commissioned by Family and Children's Services in 1995 which found parents wanted to be better at raising a family.

The research highlighted that:

·       new parents felt under prepared for their role;

·       parents found problems easier to handle if they could talk to someone who understood what they were experiencing;

·       knowing what was normal or to be expected from their child was a key concern for parents; and -

·       parents found managing a stable, healthy family challenging and parenting difficult.

Mrs Edwardes said other Parent Information Centres were being established on a pilot basis in Mandurah, Mirrabooka, Joondalup and Midland.

Media contact: Peter Harris 321 2222