N.S. Launches National Family Support Program

Premier Russell MacLellan will join several national and local partners in Halifax today to launch an unprecedented public education campaign to support parents and caregivers of Nova Scotia's youngest children.

Nova Scotia is the first province to develop a grassroots focus for Get Set For Life --Making the Most of Your Child's First Five Years. The national multimedia campaign provides practical information to parents and caregivers based upon the latest findings in early child development.

"All children deserve a good start in life, and we all have to work together to ensure that they do," said Premier MacLellan. "Parents cannot do this alone. We need to come together as a society to value families with young children."

The premier will launch the campaign with representatives of the founding sponsors of Get Set For Life, including Nancy Birnbaum, president and CEO of Invest in Kids Foundation, Harold Redekopp, CBC vice-president, and Caren King, vice-president and publisher of Canadian Living magazine.

In addition, Christine Langlois, Canadian Living's health and family editor, and Dr. Robert Glossop of the Vanier Institute of the Family will speak about some of the key issues facing families today.

"There has been an explosion of scientific knowledge about the importance of the first five years in shaping the rest of a child's life --and the profound influence parents have on their children's future," said Ms. Birnbaum.

In a recent survey, Canadian parents confirmed their belief that being a good parent is the most important thing they can do, but the majority were not confident in their parenting skills. Most also felt unsupported in their role. Get Set for Life was developed to address these needs.

"The public, private and not-for-profit sectors are coming together in a unique way to support parents and caregivers," said Ms. Birnbaum. "CBC Television and Canadian Living have provided extraordinary support and commitment to bring our messages to millions of Canadians. And it's thrilling to see the Nova Scotia government taking the lead in bringing Get Set for Life to a grassroots level in Nova Scotia."

The Get Set for Life program has been under way for more than a year, but Nova Scotia is the first province to work with the campaign and local organizations creating a template for community partnerships around Get Set for Life.

A steering committee has worked since last fall to organize events geared to parents, caregivers and children. The committee consists of the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services, Nova Scotia Council for the Family, Partnerships in Action, the Auxiliary of the IWK Grace Health Centre, Association of Family Resource Centres, Early Childhood Education Programs, Health Canada, Lever Pond's, Cochran Entertainment Inc., and CBC Television Nova Scotia.

The Nova Scotia community launch of Get Set for Life will take place May 29 in conjunction with the Kermesse, a popular family fund-raising event for the Auxiliary of the IWK Grace Health Centre. Get Set for Life will have a family fun centre, with a series of activities and entertainment for children, parents and caregivers.

The Get Set for Life launch today will be held at Holiday Inn Select, Robie Street, Halifax. Presentations begin at 1:15 p.m. and are expected to last an hour.