Welcoming Our Little Ones: Singing and reading

This guide is for anyone with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in their family. You don’t need to read the whole guide start to finish, just read the bits that suit you best right now.

Culture starts being built in our babies in the womb. Read about building the foundations for wellbeing and spiritual connections to Country and family from pregnancy.

From birth we can help babies connect to Country and culture. Read about ways of connecting and supporting belonging for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

From a young age, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children learn by experiencing their environment and spending time with family members, Community and other children. Read some ideas for supporting the development of spirit and kinship in their early years.

Ages 3 to 5 are an important stage of learning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Read about ways of supporting children to grow in independence, meet challenges, and become stronger in their culture and connections.

Figuring out how you want to bring your children into the world and parent them can be tricky. It might help to talk your partner, family and Community, and think about some of the ideas in this guide.

Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families have stories of survival and resilience. What keeps your family strong?

This information explains some of the words and meanings used in this guide if you want to read more.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dads have an important role to play in the lives of their kids. This guide shares stories and ideas from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dads. It covers pregnancy to five years old.

Return to the homepage for this guide to see all sections, and the guide for dads.

Download a version of Welcoming Our Little Ones that you can print out and read.