Early Parenting Centres

Our EPCs are a free early parenting support for all Victorian Families with children from birth to their 4th Birthday.  We strive to support happy, healthy, safe and thriving babies and toddlers by promoting the parent-child relationship, and equipping parents with strategies to achieve their parenting goals

We support parents with strategies to achieve their parenting goals in areas such as

• Sleep and Settling

• Feeding

• Parent/Child relationship

• Getting to know your baby/toddlers’ cues

• Toddler Behaviour

• Parent and Child Health and Wellbeing

Parent/Carer Health and Wellbeing

EPC’s recognise the health and wellbeing of parents/carers is vital to their children’s development.  EPC’s support parents/carers to be healthy and well, feel nurtured, engaged and supported to have the skills and knowledge to be successful learners and teachers and feel safe and secure.

During our programs our clinical staff ask parents /carers to complete some questionnaires, these questionnaires are about their health including their mental health and about parenting and what they are finding challenging.

We support parents to identify their own strengths, challenges, and other factors that affect their parenting confidence levels.  As part of our Comprehensive program, we explore both physical and emotional elements of the parent / carer wellbeing.  We use evidence-based tools to learn about a parent/Carer’s Health and Wellbeing, connection with their child, and their feelings about parenting.

A parent/carers answers are discussed and in partnership, staff will connect parent/carers back to community services and support networks to provide ongoing support after the program in any area they have identified as a challenge and are wanting more support.

Programs

The Programs we run are:

• Day Stay – is a 6 hour program that runs from 8.30 am to 3.30 pm Monday to Friday at WEPC and Mondays at OFC

• Residential – 2-to-4-night program running between Monday and Friday

• Telehealth (WEPC only)– support in your home to continue working on your parenting goals after discharge from a program

Our EPCs recognise that the health and wellbeing of parents/carers and the whole family is vital to children’s development

Referrals

Referrals to our Programs can be from a health professional or completed by the family themselves.

https://portal.mercy.com.au/surveys/surveys/?s=LR9F9W8FRCPRX3C7

Once a referral is completed you will receive a call from our Assessment and Intake team within 5 days to talk about booking you into one of our programs.