Our Strong Beginnings for Our Children, Hei Takinga Rangatira mō ngā Tamariki, programme focuses on New Zealand’s most vulnerable whānau with children aged 0-3 years old.
Previously known as First 1000 Days, this programme recognises the importance of this time in a child’s life when it comes to building early bonds with parents/caregivers and establishing a sense of security and belonging in a family unit.
Extensive research shows that when parents and whānau hold babies and children close and share the stories in books – reading the words, talking about the pictures, and singing the songs – children feel safe and loved, and learn to understand and use the language they need for life-long learning.
Storytime Foundation supports Tamariki Ora/Well Child providers and other agencies with story and picture books, training, and resources that they deliver through their work with families around Aotearoa.
Programmes of this nature have been shown to enhance the relationship between the parent and child, reduce parents’ stress, and improve educational and social outcomes for children.
“This service has been such an easy and awesome way to engage whānau around the idea of reading, bedtime routines and creating attachment ‘moments of meeting’ with their tamariki and pēpi. It is a very ‘non-threatening’ way to introduce the concepts of reading books to babies and children, as we can use the books to ‘role model’ pointing out things, naming things etc… and discuss what kind of books baby’s like at different stages. This has been a really helpful way to articulate the importance of reading not only for language and academic development, but also for the opportunity to be with your child and promote attachment, safe and consistent bedtime rituals etc…..I also love that these books are in other languages. Thank you for providing this excellent resource for our whānau and tamariki/pēpi that we work with.”
Mel Desmarais – Whānau Worker/Registered Social Worker (MappSW, MA)
Whanau Awhina Plunket Family Start
Strong Beginnings for Our Children, Hei Takinga Rangatira mō ngā Tamariki, in action
Strong Beginnings for Our Children, Hei Takinga Rangatira mō ngā Tamariki, was originally developed as Books for Babies in 1997 in association with Plunket, Auckland Libraries, and Auckland District Health Board. It builds on Books for Babies and amalgamates this with our programmes for toddlers and older children.
Strong Beginnings for Our Children, Hei Takinga Rangatira mō ngā Tamariki, uses books, games, activities, and storytelling as a medium to foster stronger whānau and a better society, for today and tomorrow.
To date, more than 350 Tamariki Ora/Well Child professionals have been trained to deliver its resources and education to families.
We provide a range of books in te reo Māori as well as bilingual books and titles in Pasifika and other languages. We are grateful to the Ministry of Education for assisting with funding titles in home and heart languages.
In 2018, we launched our first Storytime Book, Pepeha Cloth Book, which is a picture book for babies aged 0-12 months. Inspired by the rich Māori tradition of pepeha, it is designed to encourage the sharing of whānau purakau/stories and connections.
Strong Beginnings for Our Children, Hei Takinga Rangatira mō ngā Tamariki – research and results
Fostering a love of stories in a child’s first years is key to lifelong reading | RNZ News
Children’s literacy rates are falling around the globe. In response, a number of governments – including New Zealand’s – are overhauling the way reading is taught in primary school. Read More
Childhood poverty, brain development and the benefits of reading
Exploring the links between early childhood poverty and poorer brain development – and how reading can help counteract it. Read More
Spotlight on NZ preschooler development
An analysis of the prevalence and predictors of developmental health difficulties in New Zealand preschoolers.
Jin Russell, Cameron C. Grant, Susan Morton, Simon Denny & Sarah-Jane Paine (Tūhoe) (2022): Prevalence and predictors of developmental health difficulties within New Zealand preschool-aged children: a latent profile analysis, Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, DOI:10.1080/03036758.2022.2083188
Read Research Article