Over the last ten years Core of Life program (YFER P/L) has built a strong name and sound reputation with many key stakeholders both within Victoria and throughout Australia for its education of adolescents and community re the real journey through Pregnancy, Birth and Early Parenting.

Parents & Carers to reinforce sound health & lifestyle messages

It is with this background we feel YFER is ideally positioned to now undertake developing an education package that will assist Parents & Carers to reinforce sound health & lifestyle messages to youth, encourage school engagement and promote stronger families within Australia. In heightening the reinforcement of quality information from the home and their peers, young people will have the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding, appreciation and respect for parenting and enhancing their children’s educational outcomes.

YFER has a key objective to support the establishment, implementation and sustainability of collaborative partnerships within a community emphasizing the importance of schools as part of this community team. Teams of current COL presenters representing a cross section of services in each area, will be trained in the new modified education package designed for Parents/ Carers and will deliver the education package

Following the workshop, participants will take home a resource package of information and instructions as to how they may access the COL website to gain further information for assisting them to support their children with appropriate life education.

This package will be a user friendly resource which includes a Parents / Carers information guide on how & what to discuss re Pregnancy and Parenting with your teenagers, access to an online parenting education session and attendance to a community based education session for Parents and Carers

Parents and carers do have a duty of care to provide their young with information and education which will be empowering and assist them in making sensible, responsible decisions. Many parents / carers struggle when it comes to sharing information on sensitive topics of life education. In this case, COL is presented to youth in the school setting, which assists the conversation to begin and the young people are then encouraged to go home and discuss all matters with their parents.

Unfortunately, not all parents are firstly, able to follow through and advantageously launch into a discussion of this nature for any number of reasons. Predominantly though, it is because they do not know where to start first, do not know the facts themselves or are too shy. Alternatively a number of parents / carers will offer information totally based on their own personal experience which in many cases can be outdated or emotionally biased and therefore not necessarily factual or correct.

This education package will provide an opportunity for young people and their parents/carers to develop skills and knowledge in parenting, child development, community resources, and life skills to increase their self esteem and promote positive decision making. The contents highlight the physical, emotional and social consequences of parenthood as well as focussing on the needs of the new baby for optimal development and opportunity in life. To promote this continuity of crucial life education between school and home will strengthen school – youth – community connectedness and illustrate how the village can operate synergistically in supporting youth and young/future families.