What We’ve Learned

The Starting point of Our Own TLC Manifesto

At TLC Children’s Home we work really hard to make sure every decision we make is to serve the best interests of the vulnerable babies and children we care for; upholding our commitment to children’s rights and the constitution in every way.  Sometimes our lack of resources don’t allow us to achieve our dreams fully in every aspect, but every day, every moment we keep striving for the ideal. We have come a long way over the last 25 years and learnt a lot of lessons. So, we thought it would be apt to start compiling a manifesto to highlight what we stand for. Here are some of the big things we believe in:

We believe in the purposeful pursuit of the best possible outcome for each and every child and that raising secure children should be everyone’s responsibility.

We encourage:

• Family Preservation
• Family Empowerment and Support
• Rapid, Responsible Placement of Vulnerable Children into Forever Families
• Reunification if Possible
• Local Adoptions if Available
• International Adoptions after All Other Permanent, Non-Institutional, Local Options Have Been Exhausted
• Short-Term Transitional Care
• Post Placement Support
• Attachment Parenting/Childcare
• Positive Parenting/Childcare
• Responsive Care
• Holistic Development of Each Person as an Individual
• Ongoing Caregiver Education and Training
• Community Engagement
• The Value of our “Village”
• Baby Wearing/ Skin to Skin
• Memory Making and Keeping
• Kindness and Compassion
• Celebrating Diversity
• Consistency
• Transparency
• Equity as opposed to Equality
• Quality over Quantity
• Walking Gently on the Earth we Share
• Lifelong Learning

With 25 years of experience in providing quality childcare to vulnerable babies and children we take pride in keeping abreast of the most current, peer-reviewed research to inform our purposeful approach to childcare. From training our caregivers in attachment parenting with in-house Circle of Security® training, advocating and creating awareness around the importance of the first 1000 days from conception, to the training of our team in the Montessori method of teaching, and our road to compliance through the guidelines set out by Keeping Children Safe™, we are committed to doing what is best for our babies! We know this is why you have supported us and continue to support us. We value every person who has walked the road with us over the past 25 years and those who continue to support us as we venture forward into the uncertainty of the next 25 years. Our hearts are full and our hands are open.

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Photo by Benji Aird on Unsplash