One chance to raise a child

The Scoop with Coop - A number of parents of young children in the Lewisporte area are speaking out, and with good reason.

Parents are concerned that their children aren't getting all the benefits they should in the early years of their lives due to what they feel is a lack of facilities for parents and children. A parent and their newborn child, up until the age of one, can attend the BURPS program put off through Central Health. But once the child hits age one, there aren't any organized program that incorporate mother (or father) and child until pre-school.

The parents I spoke with last week are all concerned because they feel their children need that interaction with other children at an early age. They are confident that this is essential to the social skills such as sharing and interacting with other children that they learn at an early age.

The parents also felt that they could offer up support and knowledge to each other through the services of a family resource centre. Similar centers are set up and operating in Gander Bay (which takes in New World Island, Stoneville, Horwood and Norris Arm) as well as Fogo Island.

These centers seem to be working well and providing many opportunities for both parents and their young children. Parents in the Lewisporte area feel that they too need such a service.

Certainly setting up a resource centre in the area couldn't be a bad thing. Any facility that can help parents find answers to questions they have about raising a child in today's society should be a welcomed addition to any community. Also having an avenue to have a child involved and interacting with other children at such a critical stage of their development and learning can only be a win-win situation.

All the great masterminds started learning somewhere, so why can't the future geniuses start learning their skills at a family resource centre in Lewisporte? Perhaps they could, if there was one.

These parents I spoke with feel very strongly that there is a need for such a facility, hopefully their plea for help won't go unnoticed. Hopefully someone can help point them in the right direction. After all you only get one chance to raise a child.