Family services: an obstacle course?

Did you know that just a single impediment is enough to discourage a parent from using a family service?

Many parents report experiencing at least one impediment, or even more. Roughly 14% of parents report one or two impediments that limit their use of available services, 28% list three or four impediments, and 56% cite five or more impediments.

Impediments can range in type from personal to family to service-related. Approximately two thirds of all parents consider time to be a major impediment, either because they don’t have enough time (69%) or because activities are scheduled at inconvenient times (65%). Some other impediments that limit parents’ use of available services include the lack of activities, or activities that aren’t adapted to their realities or that cost too much.

Avenir d’enfants’ partners are taking action to overcome these impediments

These numbers illustrate the difficulties parents encounter when using the services available to them. In the light of the impediments identified, it is possible to better adapt available services to parents’ realities. Throughout Québec, initiatives to help overcome these impediments are underway.