Parenting help

Parenting is the hardest – but most rewarding – job you’ll ever have. All you can do is your best, and ask for help when you need it. 

There’s a lot of great support out there for parents. 

Plunket and PlunketLine, ph 0800 933 922 

Your Plunket nurse can help answer any questions you have about parenting. You can also call Plunketline 24 hours a day, seven days a week for free advice on parenting issues. 

Parent Helpline, ph 0800 568 856 

A free telephone advice line provides support, strategies and advice for parents, available from 9am to 11pm, seven days a week. The Parent Helpline also provides affordable family therapy, counselling, parenting education, mediation service and information on parenting. 

Family Start 

Family Start helps families and whānau who are struggling with challenges or problems that may make it harder for them to care for their baby or young child. It’s a home visiting programme that focuses on improving children’s growth and health, learning and relationships, family circumstances, environment and safety.  

Plunket has the Family Start contract for the Manawatu and Bay of Plenty. Other agencies offer this same programme in other areas of the country.  

You can be referred to Family Start by your LMC, doctor, Well Child provider or other agencies – or you can get in contact with us yourself.  

Plunket 

Plunket can also help increase your confidence and parenting skills with different free parenting classes, suited to your style of learning.   

Our courses are: 

• Whirihia, kaupapa Māori parenting and birth programme in the Hamilton area 
• Pregnancy and Parenting Education Programme in the South Island 
• Antenatal classes in the North Island  

Parents Centre 

The Parents Centre offers support and educational programmes around New Zealand.  You can also find them on Facebook. 

The Parenting Place 

The Parenting Place offers parenting education courses for different ages, right through to the teen years. They also have great parenting articles. 

Whakatipu kaupapa

Whakatipu kaupapa encourages strong whānau connections which nurture and develop tamariki. Tikanga and pakiwaitara are interwoven with child development information, ideas and activities for whānau. Whakatipu supports whānau to strengthen parent-infant relationship by learning together at every age and stage.  

Parentingresource.nz 

Designed for use by workers supporting parents with young children, this online resource has great information about your child’s different ages and stages, and how you can help them at each stage.  

For new dads 

The Great Fathers website has lots practical advice for new Dads including an information toolkit, a movie for first time fathers, and free brochures and posters on everything from managing stress to supermarket shopping with children. Available in different languages.  

Visit your local library 

Your local library is a good source of parenting books. Most books are free to borrow.