Family Cookery
Equipping families to make long lasting changes in their diets by teaching foundational cooking skills and nutrition is proven to help develop resilience against food poverty, poor diet and poor health outcomes.
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Full-time dad Matt used to spend his days alone at home with his daughter Chloe unsure how to fill their days. Now they’re the first ones through the door at our Play Pals group – and the last to leave.
When Matt first arrived, he was very quiet and kept himself to himself. His three year old daughter Chloe did not really engage with any of the toys or activities, instead walking around the room lots, rocking on her feet, and taking things in.
Even by week two, we noticed a difference. Matt shared with a member of our team that he is autistic, and a stay-at-home dad. He said, ‘if I wasn’t going to play pals, I would drop my older children at school, and then just go and sit at home with Chloe for the rest of the day’. It was clear how isolated he felt.
Week by week we saw Matt become more confident. He built some strong friendships with other Play Pals parents and will often do activities with other families now. He started attending our coffee mornings and walks there with other parents. Matt brought Chloe and her sibling to our recent Community Event. All three of them were able to spend precious time together as a family, as well as with the new friends they had made.
Matt has also loved the play prompts that we give out each week. Recently he messaged the team to say he had been using them at home and how this had revolutionised them spending time together. He said, ‘I have loved all the play prompts, but playdough has to be my favourite!’
It has taken time for Chloe to gain confidence. To start with she would spend most of the session pushing a doll’s pushchair around, rather than engaging in the toys and activities, or with any of the other children or team. After a couple of weeks, as she started to feel more comfortable in the Play Pals setting, we started to see her and other children interact as they both pushed pushchairs around the room together.
It has been a real joy to see Chloe begin to interact with our team, including confidently initiating play. As she approaches school age, this newfound confidence will make a very significant difference in her experience of starting school.
Matt and Chloe are no longer isolated. They are always at the front of the queue waiting to come in, and Chloe never wants to leave!
We couldn’t change lives without the support of our partners.
Equipping families to make long lasting changes in their diets by teaching foundational cooking skills and nutrition is proven to help develop resilience against food poverty, poor diet and poor health outcomes.
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