My family is separating — what now?
- Emotional support
-
Family violence support
- Are your children at risk?
- Child abuse
- Family violence orders
- Handing over children where there's potential for conflict or violence
- Planning ahead
- Support for children
- Support for me
- What the police can do
- What to do if you or your children are in danger
- What happens if you leave the family home
- What to do if you suspect child abuse
- Financial support
- Legal support
Managing Life Pressures
Dealing with government departments
- Ask for the name of the person that you are dealing with for future reference.
- Keep copies of documents provided to each department (record the date, person and section they are sent to).
Getting time off work
- Speak to your superiors and colleagues and explain your situation. Suggest a possible compromise - Friday afternoons off for an extra 35 minutes a day. Set a period of time for this then review it.
- Know your limitations and let others know them too.
Smaller social network
- Consider volunteering where the work is done on a group basis e.g. fire rescue service, life saving, your child’s school Parents and Friends network.
Learning to cook
- Ask a friend to teach you to cook in exchange for doing some handy work, mowing their lawn, baby sitting or help with some other project they might have on.
- Borrow a book from the library on cooking basic meals.
Maintaining the car
- Look on the web for information on your brand of car.
- Get road service membership such as NRMA or RACV for when you lock your keys in the car, have a flat tyre, you get a flat battery, or your car breaks down in an inconvenient location.
- Take a course in car maintenance.
Shopping for groceries
- Look on the web for home shopping grocery sites such as Coles or Woolworths. Browse through each section and make a list of what you need - use this as prompter each time you shop. It also gives you an idea of the costs involved.
- Generic food brands are often cheaper and just as good as the label brands.
- Join a group that buys groceries in bulk - this can be cheaper. Communicare is an organisation that offers help in this area.
Less money
- Contact your local utility service company to arrange instalment payments for your electricity, telephone, insurance, rates etc.
- Join a group that buys groceries in bulk - this can be cheaper. These are usually co-ops or local community groups.
Managing relationships
- Ensure that the important people in your children’s lives are invited to school plays, religious ceremonies, music recitals, sport events etc.
Understanding your children’s routine
- Have a calendar or notebook with important dates highlighted, e.g. sports carnival, swimming carnival, parent reading at school, doctors appointments, weekend sports locations etc.
Organising care for the kids
- Talk to your child’s school and see what school care programs you can access e.g. before and after-school care or holiday programs.
- Place a notice for parents in the school newsletter requesting child minding after school. In return, offer something that you can do for the other parent.
- Enquire with your local community service provider about available child care programs.