Parent Linking - Smart Thinking

Parenting a baby is great, but not always easy, especially in an unfamiliar environment. Advice and information are crucial, as are support, a friendly ear and a window into the day-to-day (and night-to-night!) reality of parenting our children.
Most of us moved here from far away, many of us are still learning Italian. We came with young children or we had our first child here. Sometimes it was difficult to get in contact with other people and with other parents, to exchange experiences or simply to get the right information quickly. A lot of the time we just wanted an informal, welcoming space to meet people for socialising. This is our biggest idea: to have a drop-in centre where kids can run around and parents can relax. We will start off by building a "virtual house", this website; and by creating a network of people, by arranging one-off social events (with and without the kids), peer-to-peer support groups, seminars and counselling for particular parenting themes (like breastfeeding), regular playgroup sessions and regular art and outdoor activities aimed at under 10's.

Parentlink is a network of private individuals, not an association or club. We work quite hard, receive no grants and charge no fees. Our organisation structure is completely non-hierachical and open. Everyone can participate in our activities and can get in touch with others to organise activities, as long as they share our ideas. We emphasise family-focused, environmentally responsible activities carried out with full respect for all children and adults involved. All network activities are arrangements between private individuals