Launch of a parenting guide for First Nations, Inuit and Metis families in Manitoba
Child, Youth, and Family Health
The NCCIH recognizes that rebuilding Indigenous health and well-being starts with children and extends to youth, adults, parents, grandparents, families, and communities. Just as our knowledge resources explore First Nations, Inuit and Métis women’s journeys into motherhood, including pregnancy, maternity care, birth, and breastfeeding, we also document the significant role fathers and grandparents play in the development of strong infant attachment and bonding, child rearing, and the transmission of culture and language.
Though challenges continue to disrupt family and child health, most significantly the removal of Indigenous children through child welfares services, the NCCIH supports initiatives that move towards improving child and family health outcomes, such as equitable access to health care, midwifery, and the full endorsement of Jordan’s Principle. In order to detail supportive health practices, we include topics like First Nations, Inuit and Métis traditions around parenting, children’s health rights, traditional foods and nutrition, physical activity, tobacco cessation, vision care, and oral health, to name a few, within our informational resources.
We seek to support and strengthen the health of Elders and the next generation of First Nations, Inuit and Métis, and to identify strategies for optimal health outcomes, promising culturally-based prevention initiatives, linkages to networks and resources, and ways to close the gaps in health knowledge and data. Our work within the area of child and family health is grounded in the recognition that there are unique First Nations, Inuit and Métis knowledges and worldviews.
Launch of a parenting guide for First Nations, Inuit and Metis families in Manitoba
November 2021
Being a parent can be the most rewarding and the most challenging life experience. A new publication, Parenting in the Present: A resource for First Nations, Inuit and Metis parents and caregivers of children aged 6-12 years in Manitoba, offers culturally appropriate support for First Nations, Inuit and Metis parents and caregivers of children aged 6-12 years.
Dr. Margo Greenwood, Academic Leader for the National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health says: “This vital resource promotes positive parenting practices, including the importance of connecting to language and culture, and creating our own family traditions. It also emphasizes how raising children in a healthy way includes self-care for ourselves as parents.”
The resource emphasizes how children learn, what routines and responsibilities may be expected of them, what to consider for a balanced diet, how to ensure physical, emotional and online health and safety, and what to expect during puberty are some of the topics included in the resource.
Developed through a partnership between the National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health (NCCIH) and the Manitoba Department of Families, Child and Youth Services Division, Parenting in the Present: A resource for First Nations, Inuit and Metis parents and caregivers of children aged 6-12 years in Manitoba also highlights first person stories and practices that strengthen the relationship between parents and their children, and their extended family and community.
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