Seoul City to Recruit 100 More 'Parent Support Groups for Infants and Toddlers' to Alleviate Isolated Childcare

'Joint Childcare Support Project' Starts This March... 200 Families Including Parents and Infants, 2,580 Participants
540 Applications Received During 1st Parent Self-Help Group Registration Period... 100 Additional Groups Added Due to High Interest

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 24th that it will recruit an additional 100 "parent self-help groups for infants and toddlers," which began support for the first time this year to alleviate the difficulties of isolated and sole parenting.

The 200 parent self-help groups selected and started activities in March under the "Co-parenting Support Project" are actively engaged in various themes such as cooperative parenting, child play activities, sharing parenting skills and information, hobbies, and leisure. As of April, a total of 256 meetings have been held, with 1,364 caregivers and 979 infants and toddlers participating.

Applications for parent self-help groups are open under the same conditions as the existing recruitment criteria: caregivers in Seoul with infants and toddlers can apply, with a minimum of five participating households required. Support is available for all topics related to parenting.

Selected parent self-help groups for infants and toddlers will operate autonomously, and the provided activity fund of 400,000 KRW (Clean Card) can be used for necessary expenses related to co-parenting activities and other group activities. Additionally, parenting-related information provision, customized education, special lectures, and talk concerts will be conducted, along with psychological and parenting counseling by experts to enhance cohesion among group members and address parenting difficulties.

Applications can be submitted via email to the Seoul Childcare Comprehensive Support Center. The application form download and detailed information can be found on the Seoul Childcare Comprehensive Support Center website.

Kim Seon-soon, Director of the Seoul Women's and Family Policy Office, stated, "As social distancing measures are lifted and daily life recovery approaches, the demand for active gatherings among caregivers is increasing. We will strive to expand the self-sustaining group activities of parents tailored to caregivers' needs to alleviate the difficulties of isolated parenting and boost confidence in parenting, thereby fostering a healthy parenting environment."