Parents of all ages of children could be termed ‘postnatal’ so this section outlines some of the ways Cuidiú can support you whether you are the parents of a newborn baby or parents of school-going children. Issues and challenges change and evolve during the journey of childhood and Cuidiú’s aim is to support parents in their role in order to help make parenthood the joy it should be. 

Many Cuidiú branches have trained Parenthood supporters with facilitation, counselling and communication skills who are willing to provide a listening ear and support for anyone who would like to talk in confidence about the ups and downs of parenting.  Being able to talk about concerns and share experiences with others in the same situation as you can be very helpful.  Cuidiú also operates an Experience Register which is a list of parents who have or had a particular experience and are willing to talk and share with others about that experience.

• Having a baby is the biggest life change most of us will experience. It can be the most rewarding, but also the most challenging, not to mention worrying!
• That's why we in Cuidiú have found that general postnatal support is the most valuable service we offer.
• We are here to listen and help you through your life as parents, all the way from before you give birth to your first baby ...... right up until your offspring fly the nest.
• We do not provide advice and tell you how to be the best parents and turn little Johnny into a concert pianist by the age of 8.
• We do not have any magic solutions to the three year old who still isn't sleeping through the night, or a 10 year old who isn't too keen on his baby sister, or a 15 year old who's not telling you where she goes on Saturday nights.
• What we will do, however, is give you a comfortable and welcoming environment in which it is perfectly acceptable to be open and honest about the stresses and strains of having a three year old that still doesn't sleep through the night (of which there are many!), and perhaps there will be someone who found some way that encouraged her 15 year old to speak in words of more than one syllable!
• Having children is a difficult and frustrating job. We are all under pressure to be perfect parents and take it all in our stride. For 99% of us it is not like that. In Cuidiú we give you the freedom to tell it like it is. And you can be almost guaranteed to find someone at a meeting who has been through the same difficulty at one time or another. Often times it is of great benefit to hear that no matter how difficult the present problem - it usually passes, and more quickly than you would imagine. The very fact that we are worried about our kids enough to talk to other people about it, shows that we are sufficiently sensitive to be good parents.
• For those experiencing Postnatal Depression, nurturing and supportive friendship help speed up recovery and rebuild confidence and self esteem.
• So essentially we are a mutual self help organisation. We aim to empower parents to help and support each other and provide a network of friendship. As for the actual meetings available to parents, they are many and varied, depending on your branch and your kids' ages.

Most of the bigger branches offer the following:

• Mother and baby support meetings and playgroups
• Breastfeeding support meetings
• Bumps and Babes meetings
• Speaker nights / Evening discussion meetings
• Social outings for kids
• Support meetings for parents of school going kids
• Branch Library
• Social outings for parents

The smaller branches will be able to offer a selection of these services. Check with your local branch for more details.