$4 million over four yearsThe new
Raising Children website will provide up-to-date, evidence based and quality assured early childhood and parenting information for parents, professionals and the broader community via a national website. The website is due to be launched on Wednesday 17 May 2006 during national Families Week.
One of the findings of the National Agenda for Early Childhood and the Parenting Information Project consultation process was the need for easily accessible, up-to-date, quality assured parenting information.
The
Raising Children website will help to meet this need by providing information about early childhood development, positive parenting, behaviour, nutrition, sleep, health, daily care, play, learning, communication and safety. The website will also link people to local services and activities and act as a conduit to the vast array of parenting information already on the web and provide a central source of information.
The Australian Government, as part of the
Early Childhood – Invest to Grow initiative of the
Stronger Families and Communities Strategy, has committed $4 million over four years to the development, implementation and maintenance of a website to give parents and professionals quality assured information on early childhood development, the health and well-being of children and positive parenting.
The Raising Children Network (RCN) was selected to develop the new website in February 2005. RCN is a consortium consisting of the Smart Population Foundation, Murdoch Children's Research Institute and the Victorian Parenting Centre.
The RCN is inviting stakeholders, including parents and practitioners, to visit the
Raising Children website to make suggestions that will help make the website the best possible resource for Australian parents, professionals and others caring for children.
This resource will also provide invaluable support to health professionals who are often the community's first point of call for information and advice on parenting and early childhood development.
The development, implementation and ongoing management of the website will be supported by advice from experts in the early childhood and parenting support fields. A Scientific Advisory Board made up of external reviewers will assess content to ensure that the site is based on the best available science and clinical practice.