A new website filled with plenty of family fun has been launched just in time for the school holidays.
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Family Project will provide fun COVID safe ideas for families to connect over during lockdown, including rock art, backyard movies, herb gardens, chalk art and meditation.
The safe online portal will provide a new project daily to help support the mental and physical wellbeing of NSW families.
Minister for Mental Health Bronnie Taylor said COVID-19 was extremely challenging for both parents and children who may feel overwhelmed by the demands of remote learning, working from home and the juggling of competing expectations.
"Families are under pressure in lockdown," she said.
"Family Project will be the place they can go to find simple COVID-safe ideas to do within their local area, practical tips to support emotional and physical wellbeing and advice on home schooling.
"Family Project is designed to provide inspirational daily activities - everything from parents and kids meditation to creating a street library for the neighbourhood. For parents struggling to find things to do with their children away from screens, this website will have lots of answers.
"We want to give families something positive and hopeful to connect with, to enhance togetherness, when we are not together, and to foster resilience through adversity."
A NSW Government initiative Family Project is a collaboration between Gidget Foundation Australia and parenting organisation Tresillian.
Gidget Foundation Australia CEO, Arabella Gibson said when considering how a family connects, it was important to remember that adult interpretations of COVID-19 wre very different to that of young people.
For a person of 50 years old, this pandemic has taken up 3 per cent of their life. However, for an 8-year-old, this pandemic has taken up nearly 20 per cent of their life.
"That's why we're launching Family Project - to support parents in being thoughtful and engaged role-models as we know that can be a lot harder in practice than it sounds. If as a community we can demonstrate how it's possible to be part of the solution, everyone will benefit," Ms Gibson said.
Examples of future Family Projects include:
- Wellbeing tips for the family
- How to create your own worm farm
- Brickman's school holiday Lego challenge
- Parents and kids meditation and breath work
- Building a simple herb garden
- Being a new dad (in a pandemic)
- Tik Tok family dance demo
- Creating kindness rock art
- How to make Lebanese cuisine to gift to your neighbours
- Creating chalk art with kids to connect community
- Making a Street Library for your neighbourhood
- Dancing with The Beanies
- Building a fun volcano from your kitchen cupboards
- Making Spoonville for your street
For more information go to familyproject.org.au
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