In brief:

• The ACT’s Child and Family Centres provide parenting support and advice.
• Services are available for anyone pregnant and for families with children up to 8 years old.
• Centres are located at Tuggeranong, West Belconnen and Gungahlin.

Parenting isn’t always easy. Sometimes we all need a bit of help.

The ACT Government’s Child and Family Centres can be that helping hand when you need it.

The centres offer assistance and advice to support your child’s:

• health
• wellbeing
• learning
• development.

“Primarily, our major focus is around parenting. But this exists around all the other things that are going on in a person’s life,” Gungahlin Child and Family Centre Team Leader Shiobhan Tunks said.

“How someone parents children might be impacted by so many factors. The most important thing to know is the range of things we can help with is really varied, is matched to the family’s needs and it is 100% free.”

Three centres across Canberra

Centres are located at Tuggeranong, West Belconnen and Gungahlin.

Each offers families and carers free help with:

• parenting support and advice
• child development assessments through the Child Development Service
• referrals to other health, wellbeing and support services
• advice from a qualified social worker
• playgroups and parenting groups.

A caring and welcoming staff member will chat to you about available support.

You can help yourself to tea and coffee and there is a parents’ room and children’s play space in each centre.

Your questions answered

Whatever you need to ask about your child’s health, wellbeing and development, staff are here to listen and help.

“Parenting doesn’t always come naturally. There are always things to learn about how we can parent our children. What we find, is that all parents want what’s best for their children. We can give parents new tools that they weren’t aware of, that can actually make things feel a lot easier for them and their children," Shiobhan said.

Most services are for families with children up to 8 years and some services are available for children up to 12 years.

Services are also available when you’re pregnant and continue after the birth of your little one.

Skilled, compassionate staff

Shiobhan says working in a Child and Family Centre is very rewarding.

“It feels like a very important job. It’s diverse; each family is different. And there’s a level of creativity and flexibility in the work because we want to be able to work with where parents and families are at, in the moment.

“Staff continue to receive ongoing training and supervision, and what we are offering is current best practice. The programs we use are evidence based, they are effective. And we work with our colleagues in the Child Development Service and Maternal and Child Health so there is a lot of cross pollination of ideas and skills,” she said.

To find out more about Canberra’s Child and Family Centres visit act.gov.au/community/families/child-and-family-centres

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