Charities exist because society and the government can’t support everyone, even with the best of intentions. Those who are vulnerable or face disadvantages can go unnoticed. Charities fill the gaps by providing dedicated resources and support to those in need. Many charities, including Kids Matter, operate exclusively for charitable purposes – so, for “public benefit”. Our activities are not for the financial benefit of any individual or board of directors. Our mission is to reduce the impact of poverty on children in need through community-based programmes, but we can only do this with the h ..read more

We have a bold vision to see every child in need raised in a strong family and are hugely aware that the only way to impact more than 4 million children living in poverty is to work in partnership with others. Our community-based parenting programmes need to be local, accessible, relational and have ongoing follow-up afterwards. The local church is in a unique position to be able to reach the most vulnerable children in society, supporting them to change negative trajectories set by the circumstances in which they are raised. Edinburgh City Mission is an organisation that shares our heart fo ..read more

“A challenge I have is that remote working requires a lot of self-motivation; you don’t have the same rallying that you would in an office space, but I love that I can ping a message on Slack and others in the team are there to motivate, encourage and have a laugh with.” – Katie Over the last couple of years, many organisations have revelled in the benefits of remote working (flexibility, mobility, autonomy) but it’s not without its challenges. Work-life balance can be tricky and people can struggle to switch off in a space that is home-and-work in one. Sometimes, motivation can be hard to f ..read more

When was the last time you went somewhere for the first time? Or you went somewhere that pushed you out of your comfort zone? How did you feel before you arrived? Perhaps you didn’t really want to go but you went anyway because it was the responsible thing to do, or you knew it would be good for you despite your feelings about it. There are many churches, community centres and charitable organisations that have opened their doors this winter to offer warm spaces to their communities as part of the Warm Welcome Campaign. Kids Matter has had the privilege of providing resources for children and ..read more

“It’s been so good to hear from others that I’m not the only one who finds this hard.” – Shahana, mum of 5-month-old There’s little doubt that parenting is the toughest job in the world. Sure, there’s climbing Everest, leading a country, performing heart surgery, but in the words of our very own Dr Eli Gardner: Nothing and no one, it seems, can prepare you for the physical and emotional onslaught that tiny humans can inflict on parents: the utter exhaustion and the multiple-collateral mini-impacts on your body, self-esteem, confidence, relationships and time. Likely, all parents will know ..read more

Living in times of crisis can shake us to our core, but there is also a chance for humanity to radiate the best parts of its nature – to be creative, compassionate and generous. What better time than now? We’re seeing generosity and creativity in the Warm Welcome Campaign, which currently has over 3000 warm spaces registered for those who cannot afford to heat their homes this winter. The voluntary sector is working hard to support millions living in poverty—those who cannot keep up with essential bills and are without food and/or warmth. Many councils are putting maximum effort in to ease th ..read more

New research suggests parental confidence and competence positively impacts child development. The study, featured in Wiley’s Journal of Community Psychology and led by Dr Eli Gardner, provides preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of Kids Matter.  The study contributes to a limited but growing body of research that highlights how the relationship between parental confidence and competence can positively impact child development. This is also critical to the practical implementation of our vision to see every child in need raised in a strong family, in terms o ..read more

It feels like just yesterday that there were five team members, one facilitator and a huge mountain of need to climb! Five years on, the mountain is still huge but we’re making our way up with grit, determination and 85+ facilitators trained to run parenting programmes in their communities. With one in three children living in poverty post-pandemic, our vision, to see every child in need raised in a strong family, is not only alive but necessary. Today, our team has tripled and every single member works with an urgent desire to see society transformed. As we celebrate five hears of hard wo ..read more

Having a stable and supportive family, whatever form that takes, can determine a child’s future success. At Kids Matter, we are often asked why parenting? If our mission is to reduce the impact of poverty on children in need, why are we partnering with the local church to run parenting groups? There are 4.3 million children in the UK who are hungry, cold and tired — shouldn’t we be distributing food, clothing and blankets? These are good questions and we have a good answer. A recent report by the Children’s Commission examined the wellbeing of family members, long ..read more

Clinical Psychologist Celia Dean, helps us understand infant mental health and what we can do to ensure that our babies flourish as they grow.  There’s a lot of talk about mental health at the moment as we deal with the aftermath of Covid-19, with all of us being impacted in different ways. But this week the spotlight is on infant mental health. You might be wondering, “What is infant mental health? I didn’t know babies can suffer from mental illness?”. If you are a new parent this might seem like another thing to add to the worry list, as if establishing feeding and weigh ..read more