Parenting and Caring - Support for Parents or Carers
Types of Support
Informal
Informal support for parents and carers is not backed by an organisation or service. Without informal support, parents and carers may not be able to carry out their role successfully and fulfil their responsibilities. Informal support can come from relatives, friends and neighbours.
Relatives, friends, neighbours
Explain how relatives can assist parents and carers to:
Prepare for their role:
- Relatives who have had their own children can provide advice on how to prepare for a baby based on their experiences with children in their family
- Relatives can play a role in assisting with financial difficulty where formal means of doing so are unavailable
- Relatives can support both parents and carers through changing their own health behaviours to show their support.
- Relatives may have connections to where an individual can be educated to become a carer
Fulfil their responsibilities:
- Relatives, particularly parents or grandparents of the new parent, can assist providing duty of care by acting as a respite to ensure the parent gets adequate rest time now and then
- Relative can assist parents with discipline by upholding the discipline enforced by the parents such as not letting the child go out if they’re babysitting because the parent grounded them.
- Relatives of carers can instil disciplinary qualities in the individual through their own upbringing that they can then apply to their practice in disciplining their dependant/s
Maintain their own wellbeing:
- Relatives acting as a respite to allow for rest also maintain the new parent’s physical wellbeing
- Relatives of both parents and carers assisting via allowing the parent/carer to live with them or provide some other form of financial assistance will improve both emotional and economic wellbeing as it takes the stress out of monetary matters and allows money to be used elsewhere where needed.
- Relatives of carers may provide a means of letting off steam through being supportive in conversations whereby the carer discusses difficulties they face at work, supporting the stability of their emotional health.
Explain how friends can assist parents and carers to:
Prepare for their role:
- Friends organising a baby shower to obtain the more expensive and necessary items for new parents can take some of the strain of organising finances to e diverted to baby items.
- Friends can also provide hand-me-downs to use in modifying the environment such as cribs, baby gates, baby locks, etc.
- Friends who are already carers can provide assistance in locating the best places to be trained and further their education as well as provide support during this education
Fulfil their responsibilities:
- Friends can help by babysitting while parents go out and attend to necessary things such as groceries without the hassle of a small child
- Friends can provide limits at their house for the parent’s child, teaching them that other peoples’ homes are not like their own and have their own set of rules
- Friends within the same caring industry can provide advice on discipline techniques that have worked with their dependants to ensure their safety and development.
Maintain their own wellbeing:
- Friends can drive them to the doctor’s to ensure their physical wellbeing as they may feel too ill to drive or can babysit while the parent attends their appointment
- Friends who are in the same caring industry can uphold emotional health by sharing experiences and being a source of support and comfort through mutual experience
- Friends can ensure the parent/carer stays grounded and in touch with their spiritual connections, should that be an important factor in their life, promoting spiritual wellbeing
Explain how neighbours can assist parents and carers to:
Prepare for their role:
- Much like friends they can provide clothes and other items to modify the environment
- Neighbours with small children can provide a form of education by having the soon to be parent over to see how their child behaves and interacts
- Neighbours can look after new carer’s own children or pets in order to allow for possible long shifts in which their children/pets will be left alone and need someone to watch them
Fulfil their responsibilities:
- Neighbours can keep an eye on children who wander outside and ensure they stay within their limits (such as not getting too close to the road, not bringing certain toys outside, not talking to strangers, etc.)
Maintain their own wellbeing:
- Neighbours are also an option for providing a respite for new parents via babysitting to improve physical and emotional wellbeing
- Neighbours, if they live in a culture based community, can help parents stay in touch with their culture as well as educate their children in their experience of the culture, maintaining both the parent and child’s cultural wellbeing
- Neighbours can assist in a carer’s physical wellbeing by perhaps picking up some bread or milk from the shops when they go so that the carer can spend a little time just relaxing
Prepare for their role:
- Relatives who have had their own children can provide advice on how to prepare for a baby based on their experiences with children in their family
- Relatives can play a role in assisting with financial difficulty where formal means of doing so are unavailable
- Relatives can support both parents and carers through changing their own health behaviours to show their support.
- Relatives may have connections to where an individual can be educated to become a carer
Fulfil their responsibilities:
- Relatives, particularly parents or grandparents of the new parent, can assist providing duty of care by acting as a respite to ensure the parent gets adequate rest time now and then
- Relative can assist parents with discipline by upholding the discipline enforced by the parents such as not letting the child go out if they’re babysitting because the parent grounded them.
- Relatives of carers can instil disciplinary qualities in the individual through their own upbringing that they can then apply to their practice in disciplining their dependant/s
Maintain their own wellbeing:
- Relatives acting as a respite to allow for rest also maintain the new parent’s physical wellbeing
- Relatives of both parents and carers assisting via allowing the parent/carer to live with them or provide some other form of financial assistance will improve both emotional and economic wellbeing as it takes the stress out of monetary matters and allows money to be used elsewhere where needed.
- Relatives of carers may provide a means of letting off steam through being supportive in conversations whereby the carer discusses difficulties they face at work, supporting the stability of their emotional health.
Explain how friends can assist parents and carers to:
Prepare for their role:
- Friends organising a baby shower to obtain the more expensive and necessary items for new parents can take some of the strain of organising finances to e diverted to baby items.
- Friends can also provide hand-me-downs to use in modifying the environment such as cribs, baby gates, baby locks, etc.
- Friends who are already carers can provide assistance in locating the best places to be trained and further their education as well as provide support during this education
Fulfil their responsibilities:
- Friends can help by babysitting while parents go out and attend to necessary things such as groceries without the hassle of a small child
- Friends can provide limits at their house for the parent’s child, teaching them that other peoples’ homes are not like their own and have their own set of rules
- Friends within the same caring industry can provide advice on discipline techniques that have worked with their dependants to ensure their safety and development.
Maintain their own wellbeing:
- Friends can drive them to the doctor’s to ensure their physical wellbeing as they may feel too ill to drive or can babysit while the parent attends their appointment
- Friends who are in the same caring industry can uphold emotional health by sharing experiences and being a source of support and comfort through mutual experience
- Friends can ensure the parent/carer stays grounded and in touch with their spiritual connections, should that be an important factor in their life, promoting spiritual wellbeing
Explain how neighbours can assist parents and carers to:
Prepare for their role:
- Much like friends they can provide clothes and other items to modify the environment
- Neighbours with small children can provide a form of education by having the soon to be parent over to see how their child behaves and interacts
- Neighbours can look after new carer’s own children or pets in order to allow for possible long shifts in which their children/pets will be left alone and need someone to watch them
Fulfil their responsibilities:
- Neighbours can keep an eye on children who wander outside and ensure they stay within their limits (such as not getting too close to the road, not bringing certain toys outside, not talking to strangers, etc.)
Maintain their own wellbeing:
- Neighbours are also an option for providing a respite for new parents via babysitting to improve physical and emotional wellbeing
- Neighbours, if they live in a culture based community, can help parents stay in touch with their culture as well as educate their children in their experience of the culture, maintaining both the parent and child’s cultural wellbeing
- Neighbours can assist in a carer’s physical wellbeing by perhaps picking up some bread or milk from the shops when they go so that the carer can spend a little time just relaxing
Formal
Formal support for parents and carers includes support from a recognised agency or organisation. Individuals can gain access to these types of support through different means.
- Government agencies
NSW Department of Family and Community Services
Australian Government Department of Human Services that delivers Centrelink services.
- Community organisation
May receive financial support from the government, but they are administrated by the organisation itself, including:
Salvation Army, Anglicare, Barnardos, The Smith Family, Catholic Care of the Aged, St Vincent de Paul Society.
- Government agencies
NSW Department of Family and Community Services
Australian Government Department of Human Services that delivers Centrelink services.
- Community organisation
May receive financial support from the government, but they are administrated by the organisation itself, including:
Salvation Army, Anglicare, Barnardos, The Smith Family, Catholic Care of the Aged, St Vincent de Paul Society.
Government agencies
Explain how Government Agencies can assist parents and carers to:
Prepare for their role:
- Centrelink can provide information and payments for parental leave
- Centrelink can provide information and payments for carers allowance
- Department of health can provide antenatal information and care
- Commonwealth Home and Community Care (HACC) can provide information about available resources for carers
Fulfil their responsibilities:
- Paid Parental leave fulfils the financial responsibilities of the family whilst the parent is on leave
- The Family and Community Services can assist carers in accessing resources or information about where they may need to go for treatment or care
- Parents with children who have special needs are able to, if they are eligible, access payment to assist them to care for their child and their specific needs
Maintain their own wellbeing:
- Parents on parental leave can focus solely on nurturing their child, knowing they are on leave from their job = increases emotional wellbeing
- Family and Community Services offer workshops and parent/child camps for foster families to allow them to bond and understand aspects of their situation through discussions with the employees of the organisation = increased emotional wellbeing
- The financial assistance available to carers = increased financial wellbeing
Prepare for their role:
- Centrelink can provide information and payments for parental leave
- Centrelink can provide information and payments for carers allowance
- Department of health can provide antenatal information and care
- Commonwealth Home and Community Care (HACC) can provide information about available resources for carers
Fulfil their responsibilities:
- Paid Parental leave fulfils the financial responsibilities of the family whilst the parent is on leave
- The Family and Community Services can assist carers in accessing resources or information about where they may need to go for treatment or care
- Parents with children who have special needs are able to, if they are eligible, access payment to assist them to care for their child and their specific needs
Maintain their own wellbeing:
- Parents on parental leave can focus solely on nurturing their child, knowing they are on leave from their job = increases emotional wellbeing
- Family and Community Services offer workshops and parent/child camps for foster families to allow them to bond and understand aspects of their situation through discussions with the employees of the organisation = increased emotional wellbeing
- The financial assistance available to carers = increased financial wellbeing
Community organisations
Explain how Community Organisations can assist parents and carers to:
Prepare for their role:
- Organisations such as the Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul offer items of donated furniture (e.g. cribs and baby gates) at a low price some new parents may be able to utilise
- Mothers groups organised by the community for pregnant woman to share their experiences and feel more grounded in the sense they aren’t the only one in their circumstance
- Childcare services can inform parents of what they need to know prior to enrolling their child in their centre and how they care for children in their charge
Fulfil their responsibilities:
- It is within a parent’s duty of care to ensure children receive education and social interaction, both of which can be provided by playgroups or day care centres
- Seeing how other children interact with others and their parents in playgroups can teach children limits and discipline in how the parent then reacts to their child’s behaviour, showing whether an action was good or bad.
Maintain their own wellbeing:
- Mothers groups improve emotional wellbeing
- MyTime for grandparents can assist fulltime caring grandparents financially, improving economic wellbeing
Prepare for their role:
- Organisations such as the Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul offer items of donated furniture (e.g. cribs and baby gates) at a low price some new parents may be able to utilise
- Mothers groups organised by the community for pregnant woman to share their experiences and feel more grounded in the sense they aren’t the only one in their circumstance
- Childcare services can inform parents of what they need to know prior to enrolling their child in their centre and how they care for children in their charge
Fulfil their responsibilities:
- It is within a parent’s duty of care to ensure children receive education and social interaction, both of which can be provided by playgroups or day care centres
- Seeing how other children interact with others and their parents in playgroups can teach children limits and discipline in how the parent then reacts to their child’s behaviour, showing whether an action was good or bad.
Maintain their own wellbeing:
- Mothers groups improve emotional wellbeing
- MyTime for grandparents can assist fulltime caring grandparents financially, improving economic wellbeing
Types of Services Provided Through Formal Support
Note:
Types of Services Provided Through Formal Support = (CHEF Roasts Chicken)
Counselling (C)
Healthcare (H)
Financial Support (F)
Education (E)
Respite Care (R)
Childcare Services (C)
Types of Services Provided Through Formal Support = (CHEF Roasts Chicken)
Counselling (C)
Healthcare (H)
Financial Support (F)
Education (E)
Respite Care (R)
Childcare Services (C)
Health care
The health services available to parents and carers cover all dimensions of health, including physical, emotional, social, mental and spiritual.
Local Public Hospital --> Any Australian citizen with a Medicare card can access mostly free of charge
Local Public Hospital --> Any Australian citizen with a Medicare card can access mostly free of charge
Education
Education for parents can include formal support at all stages of their role. A variety of services are available to assist with skills and knowledge surrounding parenting and caring.
There are also a variety of helpful publications of online sources that parents and carers can access to learn more about their role
Tresillian --> Provides advice/assistance in regards to caring for a baby including sleep routines, controlled crying, etc
There are also a variety of helpful publications of online sources that parents and carers can access to learn more about their role
Tresillian --> Provides advice/assistance in regards to caring for a baby including sleep routines, controlled crying, etc
Financial support
Financial support for parents and carers can be gained from two main sources – The government (though Centrelink) and welfare agencies.
Some examples of government financial support include Parental Leave Pay, Child Care Benefit, Child Care Rebate and Carers Allowance. Centrelink also provides a Basics Card, which allows people to buy essential goods and services at approved businesses. The card cannot be used to pay for alcohol, gambling or cigarettes
Centrelink --> A government agency that provides welfare payments/benefits for people such as the carer’s allowance and paid parental leave
Some examples of government financial support include Parental Leave Pay, Child Care Benefit, Child Care Rebate and Carers Allowance. Centrelink also provides a Basics Card, which allows people to buy essential goods and services at approved businesses. The card cannot be used to pay for alcohol, gambling or cigarettes
Centrelink --> A government agency that provides welfare payments/benefits for people such as the carer’s allowance and paid parental leave
Childcare
The role of child care and early learning services is to provide certified and safe child care for parents who are working, studying, taking care of other dependants – including other children with disabilities – and taking time out for themselves. Examples of childcare and early learning services include preschools, kindergarten, long day care, occasional care, family day care, in-home care, out-of-school hours (before and after school care) and vacation care.
Childcare services are essential for working parents. Childcare can be expensive and a decision to return to the workforce must be made with an understanding of the costs of childcare.
While childcare services should not replace the role of apparent, they are fantastic facilities that allow children to learn, grow, socialise, explore and create.
There are strict guidelines and accreditations attached to childcare services. This includes the Australian Government approving services for Child Care Benefit purposes if a service meets certain standards and requirements.
The Australian Government’s MyChild website is a very useful tool for parents to gain information and explore appropriate childcare services for their children, although it may provide conflicting views or data about particular services
OOSH --> Allows parents to leave child under the supervision of qualified carers before and after school and during vacation
Childcare services are essential for working parents. Childcare can be expensive and a decision to return to the workforce must be made with an understanding of the costs of childcare.
While childcare services should not replace the role of apparent, they are fantastic facilities that allow children to learn, grow, socialise, explore and create.
There are strict guidelines and accreditations attached to childcare services. This includes the Australian Government approving services for Child Care Benefit purposes if a service meets certain standards and requirements.
The Australian Government’s MyChild website is a very useful tool for parents to gain information and explore appropriate childcare services for their children, although it may provide conflicting views or data about particular services
OOSH --> Allows parents to leave child under the supervision of qualified carers before and after school and during vacation
Respite care
Respite care is the temporary care of an aged, ill or disabled person, usually in an institution. It is designed to give carers a break from the demands of their daily routine. Respite care can occur in a hospital, nursing home, aged care facility, hospice or day centre. It can also occur in the dependant’s home. The carer may have a break for a few hours, overnight, for a number of weeks or in an emergency situation.
Respite care is often provided by community care services, such as those provided by the Home and Community Care Program, the National Respite for Carers Program, and by residual care homes. An Aged Care Assessment Team must assess an aged dependant to established eligibility. Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centres provide a link to a vast range of community, aged care and support services available locally and across Australia. These centres provide information about services available for older people, people with a disability, and those who provide care. Many carers benefit from respite care as it gives them a well-deserved break from the demanding role that is caring. This break can benefit both the dependant and the carer and help them to build a positive relationship. It is important to recognise that the demand for respite care is greater than what is available
Summit Care --> A private organisation that provides qualified carers to offer respite to the primary carer
Respite care is often provided by community care services, such as those provided by the Home and Community Care Program, the National Respite for Carers Program, and by residual care homes. An Aged Care Assessment Team must assess an aged dependant to established eligibility. Commonwealth Respite and Carelink Centres provide a link to a vast range of community, aged care and support services available locally and across Australia. These centres provide information about services available for older people, people with a disability, and those who provide care. Many carers benefit from respite care as it gives them a well-deserved break from the demanding role that is caring. This break can benefit both the dependant and the carer and help them to build a positive relationship. It is important to recognise that the demand for respite care is greater than what is available
Summit Care --> A private organisation that provides qualified carers to offer respite to the primary carer
Counselling
A counsellor is someone trained to offer a talk-based therapy. They are different from psychiatrists. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who have had extra training specialising in mental health. They can prescribe mood-altering medications to help manage the symptoms of mental illnesses, such as severe depression or anxiety.
It is important for parents and carers to be aware that not all counsellors are professionally qualified. In Australia, some individuals without training or skills can call themselves counsellors or psychotherapists – there is no law to protect against this.
A professionally trained counsellor would generally have spent three or more years studying counselling at university, often at postgraduate level, or in another accredited higher education institution.
Parent line --> Counsellors provide psychological and emotional assistance to those who require it
It is important for parents and carers to be aware that not all counsellors are professionally qualified. In Australia, some individuals without training or skills can call themselves counsellors or psychotherapists – there is no law to protect against this.
A professionally trained counsellor would generally have spent three or more years studying counselling at university, often at postgraduate level, or in another accredited higher education institution.
Parent line --> Counsellors provide psychological and emotional assistance to those who require it