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Parents Café

Setting

Parents Café

A parents café is an open space for families to meet, connect and spend time together. It can have a fixed date (ex. every first monday per month) and it can have a fixed place (library, community centre, kindergarten etc.). It has a loose structure, children are welcome and can come and go freely.

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Overview

  • Preparation:
    0.5–1 h
  • Target audience:
    Parents looking for connecting to other families, single parents, families who appreciate a nonformal setting and cozy atmosphere; less suited for parents who focus on information
Example

In cooperation with the public library the kindergarten Sunflower has established a parents café that takes place every other month at the library. The parents frequenting the café vary as do the topics discussed. The librarian and one kindergarten teacher bring low threshold methods to spark conversations among the parents and if required bring flyers and information material.

Advantages
+ Opportunity for connecting with other parents
+ Children can be brought to the parent café too
+ Open space where parents can bring their questions and ideas
+ Good environment for interactive and creative methods
+ Relaxed and welcoming
+ Suits informal discussion (peer-to-peer)
+ Family-inclusive
Challenges
− Noncommittal — difficult to plan
− New parents café takes time to be established
− Availability of a fitting space?
− Can be noisy/distracting
− Needs careful facilitation
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