INTRODUCING THE PARENTS’ HOUSE FAMILY 
15 YEARS, OVER 100,000 FAMILIES REACHED, 150 PLACES FOR CHILDREN IN FAMILY LIKE NURSERIES, 6 FAMILY CENTRES, 20 FAMILY LIKE NURSERIES, OVER 1000 CAMP SUPERVISORS AND VOLUNTEERS, OVER 100,000 FOLLOWERS
THE BEGINNINGS
The cultural community innovation of Parents’ House was launched 15 years ago in Gazdagrét district of Budapest by Judit Regős, a social politician, social worker and counsellor. Her original aim was to help parents and support families who otherwise could not afford such a service. She has created a place where not only children can play, but also their parents can relax.
The Parents’ House is not just a playhouse, it is a place where parents are welcomed together with their children, and we work with them in a structured way, helping them to become a more cohesive family. Judit saw that many mums were lost in the mass of information, so she tried to help them first and foremost with her expert colleagues. Professional assistance is available on the spot, while children are also looked after.
The system is about helping the whole family in a complex way, not treating the child and parent separately, but supporting them as a unit, as one big family. It provides a solution for the whole family, giving everyone the support, they need. All this is done according to an individually tailored methodology.
Its elements:
- family like nursery
- cultural and leisure programmes
- development programmes
- mental health support
- other family support services with the involvement of experts
INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS, RECOGNITION
The Parents’ House is a member of the UN ECOSOC Commission with consultative status. Membership in the Commission gives us the mandate to participate in the development of the UN’s strategy for the well-being of people, in particular with regard to the protection of women, children and families.
The Parents’ House is an internationally recognised parenting support methodology that has been recognised as a Best Practice by the European Union’s European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) and has been included among good practices by the Washington-based World Bank and is now also present in developing countries. Joining European Union projects, we involve international partners, we participate in many conferences around the world to reach out to other partners, and we aim to spread this Hungarian-developed cultural community innovation internationally as widely as possible, including in the USA, Africa and many countries of the European Union.
PARENTS’ HOUSE FOUNDATION, THE “TEGYÉL JÓT” (DO GOOD) PROGRAMME
The Parents’ House Foundation was established by Dénes Kemény in 2015 to further represent the principles and goals of the Parents’ House programme in an organisational form. The Foundation provides support for children in state care and disadvantaged families.
An important programme of the Parents’ House Family is the “Tegyél Jót” (Do Good) charity programme, in which we also organise fun days for children in state care throughout the year with the help of volunteer families and companies. Spending time together is the most important part of the programme, giving children living in children’s homes the opportunity to experience what it is like to live in a family. Judit has been working on the methodology for several years and is still working to bring the programme to more places, which is why she is building the network.
THE NETWORK
This method is becoming increasingly available in Hungary and beyond its borders, thanks to a franchise system based on a single professional concept. The Parents’ House Family Centre and Day Nursery Network (Parents’ House Family) currently provide services to families in 6 family centres and 20 family like nurseries in Budapest, Győr, Érd, Budaörs and Gödöllő. The network has 150 places in day nurseries across the country.
Locations:
- Bartók Kuckó (Bartók Shed) Parents’ House
- Győr szíve (Heart of Győr) Parents’ House
- Parents’ House in Érd
- Parents’ House in Kelenvölgy (Kelen Valley), Budapest
- Parents’ House in Kamaraerdő (Chamber Forest), Budapest
- Parents’ House in Gödöllő
PARENTS’ SHOP
The Parents’ Shop offers an online platform for parents, especially for mothers who make handicraft products or provide services, as well as a presentation opportunity within the Parents’ House Network. An opportunity for local artisans to step out of the virtual space with their business, to become part of an active community of thousands of families, to become part of a network of national and international families where they can quickly and easily reach their target group in Hungary and even abroad.
https://szulokboltja.hu/bemutatkozas/
REGŐS JUDIT “NAPIMAMI” – Parents’ Blog
In the meantime, Judit Regős helps parents with their family life under the “Napimami” (‘Daily Mum’) brand and continuously creates and shares content on the Napimami blog. Judit’s first book, Nem születtél anyának (You Weren’t Born a Mother), was published in 2015. Her second book, Válás vagy változás (Divorce or Change), on relationships, is due to be published soon. The third book is also in preparation, which will also make life easier for parents with young children.
PARENTS’ HOUSE ACADEMY
The Parents’ House Academy is a parenting skills development programme aimed at transferring the Parents’ House methodology to open-minded professionals and individuals. As a result of the training, participants will be able to organise their own community for families (e.g., baby-mum club, play house, support group) and to manage it on a professional basis. We also offer training in the labour market, self-awareness, communication, conflict management and child protection volunteering, some of which can now be delivered via e-learning.
https://szulokhazaakademia.hu/
DIGITAL DEVELOPMENTS
During the pandemic, we worked continuously on digital developments, and to ease the tensions of the pandemic situation, we created Parents’ House Digital Nursery, which is an extension of the services provided in Parents’ House nurseries to families’ homes. The programmes are mostly aimed at children of nursery age, but we have tried to involve the whole family in the activities, so that everyone can relax and recharge. The original aim of the Parents’ House Digital Nursery is to provide online daytime activities for children who stay at home, with a well-organised daily schedule, interactive and live programmes. Instead of the missing day care, we provided activities for families, turning their time at home into useful hours in the spirit of Parents’ House.
In 2019, the Foundation joined the European Union-funded Families Share project, which aims to make balancing work and private life easier for families with children by combining offline solutions with the development of its own online platform and mobile app, building on the power of communities. In 2022, we want to continue to promote this niche application and further increase the number of users.
