The Government’s consultation paper on families and relationships, ‘Support for All’ was published on 20 January and sets out a wide range of measures to support all families as they bring up their children and to help families cope with times of stress and difficulty. The proposals recognise that while all families need some help, there are families in our society with complex needs and others who require additional — and sometimes non-negotiable — support.
The Paper’s proposals aim to influence factors that can strengthen or weaken family life, such as the choices available about balancing employment with bringing up children; and how welcoming and accessible public services are to families of all kinds.
The Paper focuses mostly on supporting family relationships by enabling families to help themselves. It also considers the position of children and other family members when family relationships have broken down.
The ‘Support for All’ consultation runs up until 21 April 2010. The full paper and a shorter summary document can both be accessed from the DCSF website (www.dcsf.gov.uk/supportforall) where you can also watch short video clips about family services. The DCSF is keen for as many families (and people working with families) as possible to give them their views on the six key questions Support for All asked – you can get involved at www.dcsf.gov.uk/supportforall

The new monthly edition of Dads Space has gone live at www.dads-space.com . This time it's "The Booze Issue" which gives a Dads Space take on the current "Why Let Drink Decide" government-run national campaign and tackles various drink related issues around parenting and being a good dad.

Did you know that Relate runs a number of courses and workshops ?

We believe that relationship skills can be learnt and that it helps to talk about relationships with other people who are going through similar things. Relate's workshops can help you to put things in perspective, learn how to deal with difficult situations, restore balance to family life and keep time aside for you and those close to you.

Click here for details of the parenting workshops we offer

Visit www.relate.org.uk for other courses and workshops

A BBC2 documentary about parenting, presented by Sophie Raworth, is looking at how rows impact on children. They are looking for parents who row a lot to take part in the programme.

If you are interested  and would like to find out more please email Bella at info@moonstonefilms.co.uk. Your reply will be treated confidentially at this stage. 

Lincolnshire County Council in partnership with Relate Lincolnshire have launched a comprehensive package of support for parents, children and young people in Lincolnshire who are in the process of separating or have separated.

Visit: www.separating-parents.org.uk or phone 0845 604 6206

Welcome to the new Relate for Parents web-site.

Our support library is full of ideas, guidance and interesting information that we hope will make a difference and stimulate your thinking. If you would like to visualise your family dynamics in a fun way, try our unique and innovative Family Mapping, or you can talk directly with one of our practitioners via our Live Chat or text message (SMS) services.