Overview

Helping children grow up: ‘It’s ok to explain’

Thank you for joining us on this resource.

The resource has been developed for parents with a child with a disability in supporting your child’s sense of well being and safety as they move through their different developmental stages.

It has been developed in consultation with parents, and builds on the existing literature and knowledge of expert professionals, to provide additional resources for you and your family. It sits alongside our companion website, What to look for in a quality provider: A Guide for Parents and Families with a Child with a Disability.

Helping a child feel safe starts early in their life

This resource has been developed because we know that:

Helping a child feel safe starts from the beginning of their life.
It is always preferable to start early, promoting an environment where children become comfortable and familiar sharing lots of different topics,
Talking about general topics act as a stepping stone to introducing ‘important & sometimes harder topics’ about growing up, learning about your body and its changes, learning about friendships and relationships.
Talking about feeling safe then continues these building blocks to help you and your child feel confident and comfortable bringing these topics into everyday life.
Parents have told us that sometimes, some worries and beliefs can get in the way of raising these areas with their children.
As one parent told us… “It was too hard to teach him about his body, and I didn’t know how, so I didn’t do, it but parents need to know it is okay to explain.”

These resource have been developed because we know how hard these topics are and we want you to feel empowered, to assist you in your journey to develop and strengthen your skills to help children learn about their bodies and relationships as they are growing up. Our guides will also be there to assist you on the journey.