Over 250 parents and children of all ages came out to Kapiti Parents Centre’s 50th birthday celebration on Saturday, for a day of family-friendly fun.

“It was great to see so many smiling faces and catch up with so many parents who had memories of their Parents Centre experience,” said event organizer Mary-Ann Moore. “We were really pleased with the turnout. This spoke volumes about how much Parents Centre means to the families it supports in the Kapiti community.”

The event was emceed by Tee from Beach FM, and included a speech and cake cutting by Mayor Gurunathan, who acknowledged that the structure of families has changed over the last 50 years but what remains the same is the importance of the first 3 years of a child’s life, and the importance of guidance and support for parents.

Attendees included National Office staff, past and present Childbirth Educators, past and present committee members including four friends who met during their CBE classes with the Kapiti Parents Centre 46 years ago and still catch up three times a year for dinner.

Kapiti Parents Centre, one of the 46 community-based Centres, have been offering support and education for new and existing parents since 1968. They run well attended pregnancy, childbirth and parent education programmes, on-going support networks for new mothers, activities for pre-schoolers and hot topic events.

Parents Centres have achieved many milestones which are now part of everyday childbirth and raising a family in New Zealand. These milestones include:
• Advocating for mother’s maternity needs, including informed consent to obstetric procedures such as anaesthetisation;
• Fathers and partners / whānau present at the birth;
• Initiation of antenatal education classes in New Zealand;
• Successful lobbying for open visiting hours and parents-stay for children in hospital;
• Promoting flexible working conditions for parents.

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