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Parents’ Experiences of Early Parenthood – Preliminary Findings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 September 2014

Rachael Sanders ,
Jennifer Lehmann  and
Fiona Gardner
Rachael Sanders*
Affiliation:
La Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University, Bendigo, Victoria 3552, Australia
Jennifer Lehmann
Affiliation:
La Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University, Bendigo, Victoria 3552, Australia
Fiona Gardner
Affiliation:
La Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University, Bendigo, Victoria 3552, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Rachael Sanders, PhD Candidate, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia. E-mail: rachael_s50@hotmail.com
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Abstract

Parents are instrumental in the healthy development of their children, and consequently future generations, and should therefore be supported in their parental role. Using a Grounded Theory framework, 24 parents of 0- to 10-year-olds were interviewed about their experiences and preparation for parenthood. Despite their overall satisfaction, many felt underprepared, unsure, alone and inadequate during their transition to parenthood. Most of them felt like they struggled unnecessarily during the first year of parenthood, commenting on changes that would help support new parents. This paper reports the preliminary findings of the study.

Keywords

parentparenting resourcesantenatal educationtransition to parenthood
Type
Articles
Information
Children Australia , Volume 39 , Issue 3 , September 2014 , pp. 185 - 194
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2014 

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