An exploratory study of parent perceptions of community resources and parenting support

ObjectiveSupporting parents of young children as they navigate their children's developmental needs is critical for the overall well-being of the family. Positive and supportive parenting is an essential foundation for parents and children; however, often parents may need some help in knowing what parenting practices to use to support their children. To this end, the overall goal for this study was to explore the perceptions of families in terms of parenting resources, challenges, barriers, as well as comfort seeking support for parenting challenges.MethodA total of 300 parents were randomly selected from the community and asked a series of questions during a phone interview about community level support for parenting, perceptions on parenting in general, and perceptions about seeking help for their children's challenging behaviour.ResultsOne in 4 parents reported that they felt others would think they were a bad parent if they sought assistance and 34% felt they would be embarrassed if they sought help. Importantly, additional analyses documented that individuals who are Black, Indigenous, People of Colour were 4 times more likely than White parents to report perceptions that others would think they were a bad parent if they sought help for their children's behaviour problems.DiscussionDescriptive results indicated that parents overwhelmingly reported they felt supported in their community. An important finding indicated that perceptions related to stigma were different for racial groups. The implications of these findings are discussed.