Parenting skills are taught so that babies get loving care in their first years of life.

Parenting skills are vital to babies getting the best possible start in life. Bringing up a child with all of its pressures and demands is even more difficult for mothers with little income and often no support from a partner. Our primary vision at Help the Rural Child is to help parents protect, nurture, love and support their child during its formative years.

Many parents have never experienced positive parenting themselves and have no role models to follow. Working with parents in the early months of a child’s life by providing input and moral support can make all the difference to a child’s future.

We also educate children about responsible parenting, with particular focus on the difficulties of teenage pregnancy. Keeping children in school and talking to young men and women about these issues has proven very effective in cutting teenage pregnancy rates in the areas where centres have been established.