A website specifically designed for parents covers all the issues, uncertainties, and opportunities faced by families with school-age children, writes Ms Rachel Holthouse, Chief Executive of Independent Schools Victoria.
As a parent or carer, you may be looking after a pre-school infant, or a senior student on the cusp of adulthood. Whatever your child’s age or stage of life, there will be questions to answer and challenges to overcome. Independent Schools Victoria (ISV) recognises this and has provided The Parents Website to support you whatever stage of the journey you may be at.
Take the perplexing question of whether to wait until your preschooler is at school before they start to learn to read. Ms Diane Bourke, an educator with decades of experience and now part of the team at ISV, explains how the simple act of reading to your infant means they will have an easier time learning to read when they go to school.
Writing on The Parents Website, a community service provided by ISV, she reveals that reading to your child can be not only pleasurable for you both – it can ‘fuel their mind’ by engaging multiple deep brain networks, including those responsible for language, visual imagery, and emotional processing.
She also explains how another simple and pleasurable act of parenting – engaging your child in nursery rhymes and riddles – can help their comprehension.
Her articles are among hundreds of others on the website that provide a wide selection of news, features and resources for all parents and carers on raising and educating children.
Now in its tenth year, ISV created The Parents Website as part of its mission to support parents and school communities. It seeks to create a trusted place where parents can find expert and engaging resources – some of it produced by ISV staff, some written by regular external education contributors, some republished from respected sources. It’s free, open to anyone, regardless of the school their children attend.
Its range of content traverses the many milestones and challenges parents and their children face as they navigate the formative years from pre-school to year 12. Topics cover all the issues, uncertainties, and opportunities faced by families with school-age children – issues like anxiety, bullying, cyber safety and the impact of social media, friendships, exam stress, study, health and wellbeing, adolescent turmoil, further education and careers.
Some of these issues emerge even before you child goes to school. Dr Michael Nagel is an Associate Professor at the University of the Sunshine Coast where he teaches and researches in the areas of child and adolescent development, behaviour and learning. He provides practical tips to help your young child prepare for their first days at school, in an ‘an environment rife with novelty, unpredictability, perceived threats, and situations beyond their control’.
Articles like this aim to be useful and reassuring, so parents are not left to muddle through or rely on the 60 second ‘parenting hacks’ they might see on Instagram. Instead, the website recognises that the challenges parents face requires more than quick fixes offered by social media.
The Parents Website has a strong focus on wellbeing, with expert resources about how to help children when they are uncertain, confused or doing it tough. Mr Andrew Fuller, an author and clinical psychologist specialising in the wellbeing of young people and their families, is a regular and popular contributor to the site. He explores areas such as overcoming exam stress, how to study effectively, increasing child motivation and confidence, and teen drinking.
Mr Fuller’s advice isn’t just on helping parents support their children, he also writes about how parents can support themselves as they ride the parenting rollercoaster, when they are often left ‘feeling edgy, overwhelmed, and exhausted’. He gives practical advice on regaining restful sleep, refocussing your concentration and reducing anxiety – all of which have flown-on benefits for children.
Common causes of anxiety and uncertainly for parents can relate to their child’s use of mobile phones and engagement on social media. Is there a right time when your child can have their own mobile phone? If so, how do you guide them and regulate their phone use? Time spent online can be a challenge, and not just the amount of screentime. Regardless of safeguards you put in place, your child will almost inevitably (even if unintentionally) come into contact with the unsavoury side of the internet. How do you guard against this?
Again, these are areas frequently covered by The Parents Website. So too are issues related to a child’s friendships and the harmful impact of bullying.
Content on the site aims to be accessible to a wide audience, written in a way that parents can not only absorb and apply themselves, but can also share directly with their children, especially older ones. Examples are articles to assist students with NAPLAN and exam stress, which can become particularly intense when they reach Year 12 at the culmination of their school education journey. To again quote Mr Fuller, when your child is doing Year 11 or 12, ‘everyone in the family is doing Year 11 or 12’.
Parenting doesn’t stop at Year 12, of course, and the site recognises this is another crucial milestone on a young person’s pathway to either further education or the workplace. The site offers articles to assist parents advise their children on the options that are open to them, such as university, TAFE, an apprenticeship or other direct entry into the workforce. This content has encouraged parents to avoid thinking there is only one path for their child. Instead, it’s about finding the right path at this stage in their development.
For example, careers expert Ms Helen Green, a regular contributor, has provided families with older children advice on topics such as the pros and cons of taking a gap year, how to get the most out of university open days, and how to respond when your ATAR isn’t what you expected.
There are plenty of ‘nuts-and-bolts’ articles too, on topics such as how to choose a school, how to help children stay safe online, and tips for learner drivers.
The Parents Website draws on a wide range of credible sources from Australia and overseas, including articles written by experts on platforms such as The Conversation.
More than three quarters of our readers are women, aged 25 to 54, but the site has a growing audience of men, confirming that parenting is increasingly a shared responsibility. Some 3,500 readers subscribe to our fortnightly updates. It’s one of the many ways Independent Schools Victoria is supporting the education needs of Victorians.
More reading: Victorian Independent schools back national campaign to protect parents’ right to choose
