Road Map For Raising Kids
Parents and carers will be assisted to better understand and communicate with younger children with the help of a new Australian Government booklet, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Larry Anthony said today.
Mr Anthony launched the booklet with Parliamentary Secretary for Defence and Member for Petrie, Teresa Gambaro at the Sesame Lane Child Care Centre in Redcliffe.
“Road Map for Raising Kids is an easy to read booklet that has been produced by the Australian Council for Children and Parenting (ACCAP). It has been written for parents to help them better understand young children’s development by showing everyday situations from a child’s point of view.
“It is important, as parents and carers, that we know what children can understand and do at different ages. We also need to learn how children communicate with us. This booklet will help parents and carers to develop better skills and knowledge in these areas,” Mr Anthony said.
The Chair of ACCAP, Professor Alan Hayes, said that the Road Map for Raising Kids is another step in the Council’s strategy to promote understanding about children and to reinforce the importance of learning and development in the early years of a child’s life.
The booklet builds on the successful promotional campaign, A Happy Childhood Lasts a Lifetime. The Happy Childhood campaign has been so popular that we are now making available more of its posters and brochures for distribution.
The Happy Childhood campaign reinforces the importance of early childhood development and its impact on later life. The Campaign encompassed posters and a brochure as well as community service announcements shown throughout Australia.
Some of the key messages of the Happy Childhood campaign are ‘Babies learn from day 1’, ‘Their first five years will shape the next 50’, ‘It’s how you touch and talk that helps them learn’ and ‘Have fun with them’.
The Road Map for Raising Kids will be distributed to approved child care services, through the next edition of Child Care News, and to a range of other relevant organisations and groups, and to anyone interested in the resource.
Contact the Council Secretariat on (02) 6212 9199 or by email on Australian Council for Children and Parenting (accap@facs.gov.au)for information about these resources and their availability.