“Parenting in My Language”

‘Parenting in My Language’ is a project that’s goal is to adapt the knowledge and tools regarding parenting and child development for larger groups in Israel’s social periphery, members of which acquire information in various, culturally dependent, ways.

Studies show that often, parents in these groups aren’t aware of the fact that the parental challenges and experiences they are dealing with are well known and common in child development, or of the fact that there is information that can provide them with tools to deal with these challenges, routinely as well as in a state of emergency. These gaps are reflected in the parents difficulty to reach the information online, to filter it and to understand it – as a result of cultural differences, lack of digital access, or lack of academic and literacy skills.

The ‘Goshen’ organization collaborates with the Schusterman Foundation, Yad HaNadiv, the Beracha Foundation, and the Social Security Funds on this project, with the goal being to stress the need in making quality information regarding development accessible and suited to parents in Israel’s social periphery and to professionals working with them. The project focuses on the ultra-orthodox community, the Arab community and the Ethiopian-Israeli community.

As part of the project:

  • Research is done to better understand the cultural strengths and barriers in caring for children in each culture, and of parental perceptions and parental challenges, with the goal being to develop culturally sensitive materials that will encourage parents to perform beneficial parental actions.
  • Infrastructures for spreading information were developed: Time to Grow Up customized to the ultra-orthodox community and accompanied by a periodic newsletter, as well as a Facebook page in Arabic.
  • Content that’s fitted to Ethiopian-Israeli community, the ultra-orthodox community and the Arab community, is being developed, together with consultants and well-known professionals from each of these communities.