Parents & caregivers' confidence to protect their children

% of parents and caregivers who report feeling more confident in supporting the psychosocial wellbeing and protection of their children.

Parents’ capacity to support their children is a key factor in the children’s wellbeing. Tdh’s ecological model highlights the vital role parents play in supporting their children's development and well-being by emphasizing the need for empowerment, strengthening relationships, and providing access to community resources.

By focusing on supporting parents, Tdh aims to create a nurturing environment which fosters positive outcomes for children and strengthens families and communities.

This indicator is designed to assess the impact of Tdh’s and partners’ interventions by measuring the extent to which parents and caregivers feel more confident in supporting their children's psychosocial wellbeing and protection (self-perception). By tracking this outcome, we can gain insights into the effectiveness of support interventions and systems, and resources aimed at strengthening caregivers’ skills.

Tdh supports and accompanies caregivers with adapted tools to strengthen their resilience and help them to care for children’s and youths’ development in appropriate ways (this support is usually taking place through MHPSS interventions located at level 2 and 3 of the IASC MHPSS pyramid such as parenting curriculum, MHPSS support to caretakers, Case management support).

These approaches include the provision of practical support and information, helping parents and caregivers to cope with their role and feel confident, learning parenting/caregiving skills such as non-violent discipline, and helping them to develop social support networks or groups and activities that strengthen the intergenerational relationships, particularly in the case of adolescents and young people.

These programmes are combined with socio-economic support interventions such as livelihoods opportunities. All this helps parents and caregivers provide a more protective and positive environment for all children and reduces negative family or household coping mechanisms. 

People (Parents and caregivers)

Numerator : # of parents surveyed who report their confidence has improved.

Denominator : all parents and caregivers surveyed.  Ideally, all parents should be invited to take part in a final reflection session, as a key element of the curriculum.

Parents and caregiver

Survey at the end of the intervention to all participants to measure parents’ sense of confidence.

Specific questionnaire can be developed linked with specificity of the context and the intervention’s objective, in line with Tdh MHPSS framework (see below proposed statements linked with 5 wellbeing pillars).

existing validated instruments can also be used, such as the Parenting Self-efficacy Measuring Instrument (P-SEMI).This scale comprises of different sub scales, including categories such as (non-exhaustive): Showing affection and empathy; engaging in play; facilitating routines; establish discipline strategies; provide appropriate activities for learning and development and promote communication interaction. (this list is non exhaustive).

To measure caretakers' confidence in supporting their children's well-being in the areas of feeling safe, connected, worthy, respected, and hopeful, here are proposed statements. Caretakers could respond using a Likert scale (e.g., strongly disagree to strongly agree) to assess their confidence levels:

Feeling Safe

• " I feel confident in my ability to make my child feel physically safe."

• " I am confident that I can protect my child from potential harm and help them feel safe."

• "I feel capable of providing my child with emotional reassurance to help them feel secure, even when our situation is uncertain by establishing consistent routines, maintaining open and honest communication, creating a calm environment, offering physical and emotional comfort, and being present to address their concerns and fears as they arise"

• "I know how to recognize and respond to my child’s emotions”

Feeling Connected

• "I am confident in my ability to maintain a close emotional connection with my child, even during times of stress or uncertainty."

• "I feel capable of helping my child stay connected to family and community, even when our social situation is disrupted."

• "I am confident that I can create meaningful moments of connection with my child, even when life feels difficult."

• "I know how to support my child in feeling less isolated, even if our environment or circumstances limit our social interactions."

Feeling Worthy

• "I am confident in helping my child feel valued and important, even when resources or opportunities are limited."

• "Despite the challenges we face, I feel capable of giving my child the encouragement they need to believe in their own worth."

• "I know how to support my child in building self-esteem, even when external circumstances may make them feel discouraged."

Feeling Respected

• "I feel capable of modelling respectful behaviour for my child, even when we are facing stress or uncertainty."

• "Despite the challenges we face, I make sure to listen to my child’s thoughts and feelings, ensuring they feel respected."

• "I feel confident that I can foster an environment where my child feels their opinions and feelings are valued, no matter our situation."

Feeling Hopeful

• "Even during challenging times, I feel capable of helping my child stay hopeful about the future."

• "I feel confident that I can help my child find small goals or positive moments that give them hope, even when things are tough."

• "I am confident that I can help my child remain resilient and maintain a sense of hope, even when we face uncertain or difficult circumstances."

Gender & age.

This indicator measures parents reported sense of confidence – which is a self-reflective assessment.

Attribution to Tdh’s action must be put into perspective depending on the “intensity” of the intervention and all other interventions from other actors providing support.