Hugh Mackay, Psychologist,
author and social commentator

Dr Len Syme, Emeritus Professor of Epidemiology, Berkeley University, California, USA states 'Control of destiny and learning how to succeed are the critical issues for humans health and well being'.

Dr Bruce Perry, Neuropsychiatrics Huston, USA. Research has emphasised the critical importance of a young child's experienced during the first years of life. Good experiences help the child's brain develop well whilst poor early experiences can have such a negative impact on brain development as to change intellectual capacity and temperament. At a recent NAPCAN Conference Professor Philip Gammage (Early Childhood Education, SA) stated that a child's brain was 'cooked by 3 years with some top up to 8 years'

This latest research according to Professor Graham Vimpani 'is the most powerful stuff I've come across in 30 years in paediatrics, because it enables us to integrate the resilience literature, the sociological literature about the environments and the psychodynamic literature about attachment and show how these things virtually affect the way the brain operates not only at the time but in the future.'

When Good Beginnings was developed we identified the quality of family and community life as having a profound influence on a child's health and well being. We didn't know how profound. However this latest information validates our belief in the importance of providing non-judgmental support to parents with young children to assist them in building their self confidence to raise happier healthier children.

The Good Beginnings National Parenting Project was made possible with funding provided by the Ministers for Family Service, the Hon Judi Moylan and Warwick Smith. The funding to test the Project was given to NAPCAN to manage. The Good Beginnings Volunteer Home Visiting Program is a major strategy of the Project and was adopted by the Lions Club of Greater Sydney as their major Project in 1995.

Good Beginnings receives:

• In principle support from all levels of government
• Local Government and non-Government agency support at each pilot site including membership of local management committees
• Advice from Expert Reference Group (professionals) on development of Good Beginnings and on-going evaluation

For Families the idea behind Good Beginnings for families is simple - to re-create 'extended families'

For communities: to encourage a level of community spirit which has been declining rapidly (to build social capital)

For Government and non-Government agencies:- to facilitate a collaborative approach to supporting families and communities which will be effective in both social and economic terms

For Corporations/Philanthropic Foundations: to encourage organisations to become part of the Good Beginnings extended family by providing support both financially and with business expertise

For Australia: to have a model for supporting children, parents and communities which is the best in the world

Experienced parents in each community 'connect with' new parents, offering friendship, a role model and emotional and practical support. Their mission is to help new parents build the self confidence they need to give their children a physically and emotionally health start in life.

The ultimate objective is to ensure that children experience a happy, healthy and loving childhood - from the very beginning.

The Program:

• In each area, an experienced professional co-ordinator becomes responsible for selecting, training, supporting and supervising volunteer 'community parents'. Community parents are carefully screened, usually in their own homes, before any training begins
• A team of approximately 10 potential community parents undertake 6 weeks of training at one time. Ultimately, each co-ordinator will supervise approximately 30-40 fully-trained community parents
• New parents hear about Good Beginnings through hospitals, general practitioners, child health nurses, community organisations and word of mouth. The program is available to all parents of children up to 24 months of age
• New parents are introduced to a community parent who will visit the family as required - generally once a week for an hour or two. This will continue for up to 12 months unless the new parents decide to leave the program
• Co-ordinators keep in touch with new parents by visiting occasionally along with the community parent. Should the new parents decide, for any reason, to ask for another community parent, the co-ordinator will make alternative arrangements. The some applies if a community parent seeks a change

When parents are calm relaxed and confident, free of anxiety and stress, their children are usually far more contented.

Their physical needs are met. They feel loved and worthwhile. They can trust and depend on those who care for them.

These are the basic necessities for any child to grow into an emotionally, physically and spiritually healthy young adult - the necessities that Good Beginnings strives to give them.

Learning that they are not alone is the first and perhaps most important step for new parents.

With a community parent to guide them through difficult times, congratulate them on their successes and relax into the role of parenting, a new parent's self confidence grows. There is a real sense of achievement as they discover a new pleasure and pride in parenting.

They develop a sense of belonging to the community, learn to access community services, share the load and give their children a sense of loving security. In return, most children will become happier and easier to care for.

Good Beginnings encourages partnerships with all professionals that ensures families who, because of inexperience or the nature of their problems services are able to access the resource they need in their own community. These partnerships facilitate the development of strong linkages and trust between agencies that serve children and their families recommended by all State and Territory Governments.

Independent Interim Evaluation

(Publication due early 1999)

"Even at this early stage……it is apparent that the immediate outcomes are very positive.

Friendship without Strings

Asked to describe their relationship with their community parent many parents said "friend" but as one of the community parents said" friendship without strings". The relationship does not have the reciprocal requirements of most friendships. The community parents ;listen to and support the mother — or the father as the case may be.

Non-judgmental Listening

Many community parents felt that the most important part of being a community parents was listening and not being judgmental. What parents said tends to confirm this view.

A shared experience

The only qualification that Good Beginnings community parents need is that they themselves are parents. Again and again parents interviewed affirmed the importance of this….They wanted someone who understood what they were experiencing.

A complementary Service

"Professional" was a word used by a number of the agency professionals to describe their local Good Beginnings. The training of volunteers, the support and supervision provided to them by the coordinator and the way in which referrals are handled were all commented on favorably. It is clear that fellow professionals hold the coordinators in high esteem.

For some professionals, Good Beginnings is already having an impact on their workload. They feel able to refer cases with high support needs to Good Beginnings, confident that the parents would receive the support they need. Good Beginnings was seen as a complementary service in which volunteers provide support and friendship to parents — usually mothers, relieving professionals of this concern. As one professional put it ‘It has been wonderful knowing that there is work done with counseling, mediation and parenting skills but also knowing that there is someone there at the end of the counseling relationship to give extra support.’"

Quote from a single mother with a young baby boy 3 months after a Good Beginnings Volunteer started visiting:

Mother from Katherine with 4 year old and 5 month baby (who was sick)

Further details:
Good Beginnings National Office
Suite 32, 8-24 Kippax St, Surry Hills 2010.
Ph (02) 9211 6767. (02) 9211 3775.