Within the “Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care” project, which is implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and financed by the World Bank loan proceeds, the Novak Djokovic Foundation donated workshops to parents from vulnerable groups.
In the past two months, parents and guardians from Rača, Obrenovac, Novi Selo, Velika Plana (Bresje/Veliko Orašje), Batočina, Bođani, Kušiljevo, Dolovo, Čajetina and Pećinci had the opportunity to attend free workshops for parents where they discussed children’s need for:
- Stimulation,
- Understanding, and
- Happy parents.
At the workshops, among other things, there were discussions on healthy relationships, mutual understanding and appreciation, the principles of stimulating interactions, the importance of physical activity, and the healing power of understanding.
Results of workshops held in numbers:
- 10 preschool institutions included
- 195 parents/guardians attended
- 440 children who were indirectly influenced
Workshop in Velika Plana.
- 70% of parents belong to socially disadvantaged categories
- 20% of single parents/guardians
- 10% of fathers
Key messages and working principles that we adhered to in working with parents:
- Every parent wants the best for their child.
- No two families are the same, and no two children are the same, so there is no one-size-fits-all recipe for parenting for every child and every family at all times.
- There is no such thing as perfect parenting; children do not need perfect parents.
- With adequate support, every parent has the capacity to meet their child’s needs to grow up in a safe and stimulating environment with a caring adult.
- Every parent has knowledge and experience that others can learn from.
Workshop in Rača.
And, finally, we share with you the impressions of the parents-attendees to whom we send nothing but love:
“I have never attended a workshop like this, and I needed it so much: to ask, to hear, to understand, in order to be better for my children. I don’t know a lot, and that’s why it’s important to say that all this is very, very necessary.” – Father from Rača
“I will talk more and preach less. I will read more bedtime stories. We need more meetings like this.” – Mother from Obrenovac
“I started thinking about how much I need to talk to experts who know this problem, because I am under constant stress and I see that I can’t do it.” – Mother from Pećinci
“More games. More laughs. More conversations. Better communication.” – Father from Velika Plana
The “Inclusive Early Childhood Education and Care” project, which has been implemented since May last year, has so far helped preschool institutions in 31 municipalities in Serbia. During that time, 134 classrooms, i.e. 3,201 places in preschools for children throughout Serbia, were opened.
If you are interested in such workshops, you can apply for the workshops of our “Support, not perfection” program, which is realized in cooperation with Generali Osiguranje Srbija and The Human Safety Net. The program is implemented in 15 Parent Centers throughout Serbia and the next cycle begins in the spring of 2023. Follow the communication channels of the Novak Djokovic Foundation, where we will inform you in a timely manner when applications are open.
