Parenting Matters ... learn and grow together
As the Parenting Alliance of Waterloo Region, we believe in the following shared principles:
- Parent(s) are their child’s first teacher and they know their child best. Learning is a dynamic and active process shared by parent and child together that changes and continues across the lifespan.
- Parenting contributes to supporting optimal child development throughout the ages, recognizing the importance of the impact in the early years.
- Parents help children to learn effective strategies for regulating emotions and behaviors by modeling, co-regulating, teaching and adapting to meet their child’s needs and stage of development.
- Parenting supports are accessible for all and provide opportunities to enhance connections between parent(s), their peers and their communities, where parents feel valued, heard, seen and accepted as part of a group.
- Prioritizing the well-being of parents contributes to the well-being of children. Healthy parent. Healthy child.
Our
History
The exploration of a comprehensive approach to positive parenting in Waterloo Region was initiated by a recommendation from the One Stop Planning of Services for Young Children and their Families through Multi-use Community Sites (One Stop) research project conducted by Region of Waterloo Public Health.
This recommendation led to the planning of a community-wide forum to discuss the interest and possibility of working together on a comprehensive approach to positive parenting in Waterloo Region.
The Parenting Alliance of Waterloo Region (formerly known as the Positive Parenting Community Committee) began meeting in the spring of 2011 and has become a thriving community-based initiative for parenting.