Early Start Project

02/06/2026

Mōrena Koutou 👋

If you’re in the thick of Toddler life right now 😵‍💫🫣🤪, experiencing those big emotions, constant boundary testing, sleep battles, meltdowns over the wrong coloured cup… you’re not alone. And you don’t have to figure it all out by yourself....

Early Start Project is bringing the Incredible Years Toddler Programme to Rolleston - AGAIN!

This is a FREE, evidence-based parenting course designed specifically for Toddlers (12-36 months)

This programme supports Parents and Whānau to:
🌱 build strong, loving relationships with their Tamariki
🌱 Encourage positive behaviour through play and praise
🌱 Support to navigate those BIG toddler emotions
🌱 Helpful ideas on setting routines and boundaries
🌱 Ways to support social and emotional development

It runs over 12 weekly sessions plus Morning kai is included too 🥙🌯

🗓 Tuesdays 9.45am to 12.45pm
📍 Salvation Army Generation House - 645 Springston Rolleston Road
📅 18 August to 24 November 2026
(No sessions during school holidays)

If this feels like something you need right now, or you know another parent who would benefit, please share this with them!

To register your interest or find out more, contact Kerry at Early Start Project:
📞 0275 678 158 or 0800 378 278
📧 [email protected]

26/05/2026

Mōrena e te Whānau

The amazing team at Clothed in Love - Christchurch are seeking support for some clothing items and books in specific sizes so they can continue to provide the wonderful support they do for our community. If you can tautoko, please see the information below 👇🤎

25/05/2026

Mōrena e te Whānau

Early Start Project would like to acknowledge the passing of New Zealand's anti-stalking legislation, (Stalking and Harasssment) officially creating a distinct criminal offence for stalking punishable by up to five years in prison.

On the back of this, Auckland Woman's Centre have also released a kaupapa Māori Resource guide for Whānau Māori experiencing stalking and coercive control through a te ao Māori lens.

https://awc.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Recognising-and-Responding-to-Stalking-and-Coercive-Control-4-compressed.pdf

Early Start advocates for the care and protection of all tamariki and the right to feel safe, and we recognize and acknowledge the importance of supporting Whānau Ora 🧡🤎

21/05/2026

Did you know...

Research shows that our Tamariki often “save” their most challenging emotions for their Māmā, not because they’re ungrateful, but because they feel safest with her.

Your tamaiti might hold it together at school, with friends, or even with relatives; smiling when they’re told to, following rules, keeping their voices at a reasonable level. But the moment they step inside your arms, something shifts. The weight they’ve been carrying finally finds a place to land 😬🌋

They unravel because you are their safe space.

Securely attached children release built-up tension in the presence of their primary caregiver. Their stress hormone levels drop. Their bodies soften. Their emotions, held in all day, spill out not as defiance, but as trust.

This is why your tamaiti might seem like two different people: calm with others 🤗, explosive with you😡. Because in your presence, their body no longer needs to perform survival.

Why does this matter?
Because when we don’t understand this, we start believing the lie:
“They only act up with me.”
But science and love whisper otherwise:
“They’re safe enough to be real with you.”🧡

Here’s what supporting that can look like:
🫂 Seeing their meltdown as communication, not chaos.
🤗 Saying, “You’ve had a big day, haven’t you?” instead of “What’s wrong with you?”
😇 Remembering that your calm presence, not your perfect reaction, is what restores their balance.

Because love isn’t just in the hugs and laughter, it’s also in the moments you stay, breathe, and choose not to match their storm🌪

Māmā often become the emotional anchor of their children’s world, not because they are superhuman, but because their love feels like home🏡🤎

Because the world doesn’t need perfect Māmā. It needs steady ones, the kind who make it safe for their children to come undone, and still be loved the same ❤️

21/05/2026

E mihi nui to PIPS Pregnancy Infancy Parenting Support for highlighting this impactful and important korero for Whanau and Pēpi in regards to safe sleep and 'safe sleep products'

Please reach out to your Whānau Āwhina or health professional if the story raises any questions or concerns in regards to the sleep space of your little one 💖 We are here to tautoko you!

Trigger warning: infant loss 💔

Recent media coverage has shared the findings of a coroner’s report into the tragic death of baby Bodhi in 2022. Our hearts are with his whānau, who continue to live with an unimaginable loss every single day. 🤍

Stories like this are incredibly difficult to read — especially for Whānau and caregivers navigating the exhaustion, information overload, and constant pressure that can come with caring for . Most parents are doing their absolute best with the knowledge, advice and products available to them at the time.

One of the important things highlighted through this report is the need for ongoing, clear and compassionate safe sleep education. Safe sleep guidance can change over time, and many products sold or marketed for babies can appear safe or even claim to support better sleep, despite experts later raising concerns about their safety.

This korero should never be about blame or judgement. It should be about supporting whānau with accessible, up-to-date information in a kind and understanding way.

Current safe sleep recommendations include:

💜 Placing babies on their back for every sleep

💜 Using a firm, flat sleep surface

💜 Keeping baby’s sleep space clear of loose blankets, pillows, pods and soft items

💜 Having baby sleep in their own safe sleep space

💜 Following current guidance from trusted health professionals

Every sleep matters, but so does the way we talk about safe sleep. Parents deserve support, not shame.

An expert is calling for a ban on padded sleeping pods for infants as a coroner finds a baby's death was partly due to one.

Read more ⬇

18/05/2026

Mōrena e te Whānau

It will be a crisp autumn day today 🍂, however if you are looking for something to do with your little one, Canterbury Plunket are offering a range of experiences and opportunities across Ōtautahi. See the link below for more information! 👇

Kia pai tō Rātu, enjoy your Tuesday 🫶

18/05/2026

T a k a r o k i a h a u ....
Play with me 😊

Did you know that just fifteen minutes of focused play a day can change a tamaiti's brain more than hours of half-present time ever will...

Tamariki are not asking for hours, they’re not asking for perfection or for endless activities.

They’re asking, in the only language they have....
“Be with me"

Because here’s the truth:

When a parent or caregiver pauses for fifteen intentional minutes to read a book 📖, build a tower 🧱, play pretend 🦹‍♀️, explore a puzzle🧩; a child’s brain isn’t simply occupied. It’s transforming 💡

Their mind is learning:
“I matter.”
“I am worth undivided attention.”
“Learning feels safe.”
“Connection feels good.”🥰

Fifteen minutes of presence wires the brain for curiosity, focus, emotional security, and long-term learning. Tamariki don’t thrive because we entertain them endlessly. They thrive because we join them fully, gently, without rushing.

This means:
Their invitations are real 😁
Their need for connection is real 🔗
Their developmental leaps depend more on presence than perfection🧠

And here’s the part so many parents never hear:
- You don’t need hours ⏲️
- You don’t need a spotless home 🫧
- You don’t need more toys or more time 🧸
- You don’t need to be “fun enough.” 🥳

You just need fifteen minutes of you and your tamaiti 👩🧒👩‍🍼

💛One shared laugh
🧡One steady gaze
🤎One slow conversation.
🌏One tiny world built side by side

That’s all it takes for a child to think,
“My Māmā/Papa likes me.”
“I’m safe.” “I belong.”
“This world is worth exploring.”

You’re not just playing. You’re shaping their brain, their resilience, their self-worth.
One intentional minute at a time ⏳️ ❤️

12/05/2026

P ā n u i m a i 📖 📚 Read to me.....

Pukapuka or books play a powerful role in shaping a child’s emotional, cognitive, and relatiotional development.

Children aren’t just learning words....
They’re learning meaning ☺️
They’re learning how to make sense of feelings🤨
They’re learning how the world works 🌎

📖 When a child sits with a pukapuka/book, their brain isn’t only decoding letters. It’s practicing attention, it’s rehearsing empathy and it’s exploring fear, courage, loss, joy, and hope from the safety of someone else’s story.

📖 A pukapuka/book gives a child distance and closeness at the same time. Distance, because the feeling belongs to the character. Closeness, because the child feels it anyway 🥰

Their mind is learning:
“I can feel something hard and stay safe.”
“I can imagine another person’s world.”
“I can slow down.”
“I can stay with a story.”

And practicing that can look like...

❓️Asking deep questions after a story ends,
🫠 Replaying a favorite book again and again,
🤩 Finding comfort in the same pages during hard seasons
📖 Using story language to explain feelings they can’t yet name.

🧠 Research shows that shared reading supports language development, emotional regulation, empathy, and executive functioning. When tamariki are read to, especially in warm relational settings, their brains build stronger neural pathways for attention, self understanding, and social awareness 💡⚡️

Books are not passive, they are relational experiences. Especially when shared.

And here’s the beautiful part:

You don’t need hundreds of books.
You don’t need perfect reading routines.
You don’t need educational pressure.

All you need is presence 🥰
A voice 🗣
Time⏳️
And a story 📚

Because the books children grow up with often become the inner voices they carry into adulthood.
The voice that says,
“I am not alone.”
“I can think.”
“I can imagine.”
“I can understand myself and others.”

Not every child remembers what they were taught. But many remember how it felt to be read to ❤️ 🥰

One story, one safe lap,
one growing mind at a time. 🤍

07/05/2026

Te rā o te Māmā 💐🌻🌸🌼🌷

The team at Early Start Project would like to take a moment to celebrate the incredible Māmā, Grandmother's and those who are in the role of mothering within our community.

You are the first teachers 👩‍🏫
The steady anchors ⚓️
And the greatest advocates 💖

- So, as we acknowledge those late night comforts 🌙 and early morning smiles 😃

- Every bed time story that sparks imagination 📚

- The endless patience to navigate those "firsts" 😵‍💫

- Giving all your aroha to ensure your tamariki grow feeling loved and supported 🥰

Māmā, you make these foundational years truly magical and know that your impact lasts a life time ❤️

Ngā mihi nui mō te rā Māmā. Love and best wishes for Mothers Day 🫶✨️🧡

06/05/2026

E mihi nui and a huge thank you once again to the talented knitters at Blanketed with love for their Koha of beautifully hand crafted taonga that we are so grateful to be able to pass on to our Early Start whānau 🧶💛🧡🤎

Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi ❤️
With your basket and my basket the people will thrive 🌱