Seven projects were highlighted in a study by the World Health Organization on how programs have been able to respond to the need of parents and children during the pandemic, and a Saskatchewan initiative is one of them.

Connie Hermann with the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute says the Nobody’s Perfect national program for parents of young children was developed in the 1980’s, but when COVID-19 hit, they had to quickly adapt.

She and a colleague pilot-tested the first online program with good results, so they connected with other coordinators across Canada and then pilot-tested the facilitator training.
Hermann says many facilitators were nervous about providing effective programming online, but what they have learned from this experience is that you can still have really good connections with interactive activities.

It’s not just staring at a screen and listening to a lecture.
From there, the program has spread and is being implemented in France, Chile, Viet Nam and the Dominican Republic.