About Us
Parent Guides is an Australian not-for-profit organisation committed to helping parents of school-aged kids educate themselves on a range of issues facing young people today.
We want teens, parents and educators to have the resources they need to openly discuss and learn about potentially tricky topics. With help from public donations, purchases of our guides and government funding, we are able to educate and equip the next generation with the tools and knowledge they need.
Communication is key.
Produced by experienced professionals passionate about making a difference, our guides inform parents, teachers and carers about sensitive issues. These are issues like drugs, social media and sex. We use engaging and contemporary content to tell it like it is without being alarmist. Ultimately, our aim to inform and spark open, honest and meaningful conversations between parents and teens.
Our tone lends itself to real discussions that have never been more important. The pressure on young people to perform at school, conform on social media and experiment with a wide range of legal and illegal drugs continues to grow. They need relevant and informed support to help them deal with all this and thrive into young adulthood.
Parenting today’s teenagers is daunting. The world has changed and parents who think they know it all probably don’t.
They may have “been there, done that” when it comes to sex and drugs but life is very different for their kids. They’re being exposed to a whole new range of drugs and the unprecedented challenges of social media. Our guides feature current research, experts and real-life stories about parents and teenagers doing their best to cope in an increasingly complicated world.
No holds are barred.
Message From the CEO // Yvonne Hackett
Young people never cease to amaze me with their ideas, passion and resilience. However, they need support as they take the journey to fulfil their potential. A big part of this is developing in them a healthy respect for others, no matter whether it is family and friends, the local community or society as a whole.
This is enhanced with help from their parents, carers, schools, community organisations and governments.
Parent Guides founder Eileen Berry and I are passionate about encouraging and developing the resilience of our youth.
As a business person, I come from a space of doing things differently: faster (not as fast as I would like at times!), cost-efficiently, and with good governance. Eileen speaks from experience, having helped family members struggling with mental health issues.
Together we developed Respect 101 after meetings with the Victorian Government’s Department of Education and Training and the Australian Government’s Office for Women through the Minister for Women, the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer. Ms O’Dwyer showed faith in our ideas.
When we presented our evidence-based data her department funded Respect 101, which seeks to show and build respect and tie in with the Stop It At the Start campaign.
These include respecting yourself and others, family values, violence, schools, social media, sexism, LGBTIQ+ issues, racism, disability, Indigenous issues, community aspects and helpful contacts.
The CEO of church body Kildare Ministries, Erica Pegorer, also helped with our first Parent Guides focus groups, which appear in Respect 101 (p4-6).
Yvonne Hackett and Hon Kelly O’Dwyer
Parent Guides owes a debt to its hard-working volunteers and professionals, who are committed to our mission of starting important family conversations about issues affecting young people.
Following the successful production of Drugs 101, Sex 101, Social Media 101 and Mental Health 101, we remain committed to provoking debate, inspiring change and making a difference with Respect 101.
We give parents and carers the confidence to enter the “secret teenage business”.
Our Guides
