Mothers are doing it for themselves in Whittlesea.
Northern growth areas have morphed from country to ’burbs in just a few short years, but when Shannon Lachlan moved in, services for second and third-time mums were thin on the ground.
Pregnant with her second child, Shannon had formed close bonds with her previous mothers’ group – but these mates were no longer around the corner when she needed them.
Stymied by a first-timer-only service being available, Shannon went online to see what else was around. That’s when she came across Jo Hutchinson’s Facebook group, the Raising Mum Network.
Now two years on, the network has about 1150 preschool mums as members and its FB site has spawned a number of playgroups, including one Shannon started, each of which has its own Facebook page linked to Jo’s mothership.
“There’s a new group in Epping starting up and there’s one in Wallan as well, which started about three weeks ago,” Jo said.
Now Jo and Shannon find themselves stars of a documentary video showing how their efforts have empowered others throughout their communities and beyond.
The video was produced by Raising Children Network (RCN), a federal government program that provides a complete resource for parenting newborns to teens with comprehensive information on child health, development and behaviour in multiple formats.
RCN executive director Julie Green said the video showed how new mums in Whittlesea had been helped by online support in improving their parenting skills and gaining confidence.
The video is available at raisingchildren.net.au while its Facebook page is facebook.com/RaisingMum.
There is also a Raising Mum Network Helping Hands site, which distributes donated goods to families who need help through their social-media network.
