by Deb Delaney

National Families Week is celebrated by tens of thousands of people and hundreds of organisations each year.  This is an annual Australian celebration which coincides with the United Nations International Day of Families on Tuesday 15 May.

Each year the Port Douglas Neighbourhood Centre Playgroup takes a fun trip on the Bally Hooley as a celebration of this family day.  

This year 155 individuals from our local area, and a few tourists, enjoyed the ride.  Children, mums, dads, aunties, grandparents, neighbours and friends came along to share in the fun and treasure the sense of family and community that is reflected on  this day.
 
Families from the Mossman State School Indigenous Playgroup and Mossman Community Playgroup were amongst the crowd and thoroughly enjoyed the morning out. Some children experiencing their first train ride.

Our Family Support Volunteers, Carly, Miche and Marg,  who tirelessly give their time for free each week to bond with local families at Playgroup and New Parents group also attended and very much enjoyed the morning out.  A big thank you must go to them for their contributions to our team.

Each year the Bally Hooley volunteers run this trip especially for National Families Week. We appreciate their assistance in the overall organisation and understand it takes some effort to coordinate this event.  For their support and assistance we are very grateful. We look forward to doing all again next year.

This year the National Families Week theme was “Families Make all the Difference”.  Everyone was encouraged to think about the valuable role that families play in helping our children to grow, develop, learn and reflect on the influence families have on our children’s wellbeing.

Children are shaped by their interactions with family, their early learning experiences happen in the home, with family.  Families give children a sense of belonging, of self-identity and provide a network of supports for children as they grow.

What we often see in our community is families that have moved to Port Douglas and do not have these extended family networks.  Playgroup can provide this support network that is essential to raise a child, allowing for friendships and relationships to build over time for both children and parents.

These relationships ensure that our local children have a sense of belonging and assist their physical, social, emotional and cognitive development to blossom.

The Family Support Worker at the Neighbourhood Centre is able to refer families to a Playgroup in their area. Call the centre on 4099 5518 for more information.

Deb Delaney is a Family Support Worker at the Port Douglas Neigbourhood Centre.

Make your business move  - advertise on The Newsport - 07 4099 5122