In Their Own Words: Parenting in Peterborough
A participatory study to document everyday care work in Peterborough and learn how parents can be supported to raise healthy children
For children to be healthy, parents need to be healthy.
But parents and caregivers face so many pressures today. The cost of living is increasing. Public services are becoming harder to access. Adequate housing can be next to impossible to secure. And for some parents, an increasingly frayed community produces a sense of loneliness as they try to raise healthy children in this environment.
As is so often the case, these challenges are experienced most acutely by parents who are equity-deserving and who cannot draw on societal privilege as a mitigating tool.
In its current strategic plan, Peterborough Public Health identified underserved single parents and families as a priority group who deserve policy interventions to increase health equity.
But what do parents need? What strengths do they already bring to the table? And what do we risk if we do nothing, allowing our future generations to be raised in an environment of chronic stress caused by inequality?
To answer these questions, the Research for Social Change Lab has assembled a team of parent-researchers to lead a participatory study focusing on caregiving in Peterborough and how parents can be supported to raise healthy children. Through surveys, focus groups, and desk research, we aim to:
Document the everyday realities of equity-deserving caregivers and parents
Document what local parents are already doing to enable nurturing relationships with their children and ensure healthy development
Determine the information needs of local parents as they raise their children
Map the structural and societal dimensions that impact healthy childhood development in Peterborough-Nogojiwanong
Document the local resources currently available to parents, and identify gaps
How You Can Contribute
Fill out the survey
Peterborough Public Health is conducting a survey of local parents. Any local parent aged 14 and up is eligible, and participants will receive a $10 gift card for taking the survey, which will take about 25 minutes. Here’s where you can learn more about the survey.
Participate in a focus group
If you are a parent/caregiver of a child aged 0-12 and live in the City or County of Peterborough, Curve Lake First Nation, or Hiawatha First Nation, you can participate in one of our focus groups to help inform our research.
The focus groups are two hours long. Participants will be asked to discuss your experiences as a caregiver and visually represent those experiences on paper.
Your voice matters and your time is valued. Focus group participants will be given a $25 gift card. If you are interested in participating in a focus group, please complete the form at https://forms.office.com/r/yqGkMJ5tGu.
Project Partners and Funders
In Their Own Words is funded by Peterborough Public Health, with in-kind contributions from the Research for Social Change Lab and Trent University.