PARS FOR PARENTS

Confused about what makes your kids happy?

  • Do you want your children to have a happy childhood but are not sure what that looks like?
  • Ever wondered why sometimes it seems like you and your child live on different planets?
  • Are you a 'lighthouse parent', a 'helicopter parent', a 'FAFO parent' - or just confused about what goes on in your kid's head sometimes?
  • Want to feel more relaxed about interacting with your kids, but feel it's all a bit hit and miss at the moment?

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PARS provides a unique, consistent framework for parents who want happy, self-controlled children now and independent and confident kids for life. 

PARS EMPOWERS PARENTS TO...

Let children be children

PARS programmes provide a new lens to help adults appreciate how children see the world. Learning PARS empowers parents with a toolkit of methods and techniques to make decisions about when and how to respond to children's different perspectives, and when and how to step back with confidence.

Research* has found that when adults use PARS practice, children benefit from increased social and emotional development and emotional resilience. Children tell us that they have more fun when adults use a PARS approach!
*Chan et al, 2020
LEARN HOW TO BE A PARS PARENT

Learn to see things from a child's perspective

Developed from research and now used around the world, PARS will teach you tried-and-tested methods and techniques to help you to...
  • recognise children's different perspectives
  • value children's culture in everyday family life
  • make consistent decisions about when to step in and when to step back
  • talk to your children confidently and sensitively when adult rules apply
  • play with your children the way they want you to play with them!

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Changed approach

Why do adults around the world love PARS?

Data from evaluation forms from learners on 14 PARS qualification courses in 2025 in Mexico, Singapore, Thailand, UK,  Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China, Australia, Qatar, New Zealand & Indonesia.

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Gained new skills and knowledge

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Trying to change approach

Sindy Shen, Shanghai

I believe that if our parenting goal is to raise generations of 'healthy, whole individuals' and sustain a thriving cultural ecosystem in families and society, PARS must be guaranteed as a fundamental right for children - throughout their entire childhood (not just preschool years) - before layering on formal education. It’s the essential space where their humanity can flourish.

Before joining PARS, as a diligent mother with a background in education, I had studied all the major early childhood education philosophies—such as HighScope and Montessori—to raise my two young children. I put them into practice by structuring their free time with carefully planned activities. The children cooperated well, following the routines I had arranged for them.


The experience of learning PARS was nothing short of revolutionary for my educational perspective. I immediately changed my approach. My children became more assertive about their own ideas, rights, and choices - growing more confident, proactive, and independent. After tasting the joy of autonomy, they became more motivated to take charge in other areas - whether completing homework or collaborating on household chores. This shift was profoundly meaningful to me as a mother because a relaxed, self-assured, and empowered state of being is the foundation for all future learning and skill development. PARS also made parenting much easier for me.

"I would definitely recommend your school to anyone hoping to pursue a career and be a professional. The support they provided to their students was simply outstanding and the genuine interest and care was obvious and incomparable."
Jenna Bright

Rachel Zetland, France

After my PARS programme, we moved into a new house. With PARS in mind, I wanted to make clear to my 11 year old son that his needs as a child would be valued and taken into account. The first night, we had his friends over for a pyjama party. I spread his familiar games around the house in the most unlikely places - Lego and car boxes in the living room, board games under the desk, balls and paints and paper all over.
The boys combed anything they could put their hands on, building structures and tearing them down, running through the house, hiding and seeking everywhere - for hours. They were joyful, rambunctious, wild, noisy, and I smiled. 
The PARS course offers a vital lens through which all adults can better understand and appreciate children's perspective. 
Saeed Mohammad, Qatar
This class taught me to be more involved in a child's world as a parent or an ally.
Ms Su, Taiwan
The childism philosophy helps me to be in my children's shoes and guide my actions whenever I'm around them. 
Evie Limijaya, Indonesia
PARS empowers children to...

Enjoy their childhood in the real world

When adults use PARS practice, children get to experience life at first hand. Children thrive on using their natural curiosity and creativity to explore and experiment, supported by parents who are confident in setting and maintaining appropriate boundaries. Parents who use PARS make life more interesting for their children than their screens!
become a pars parent

Ready to do parenting differently?

Learn from experienced PARS Licensed Trainers around the world and get ready to put PARS into practice straight after your first PARS for Parents session!

Introducing PARS for Parents

Learn the basics of PARS practice and how you can use it at home.

How (not) to play with children 

What's your first response when your children ask you to play with them? And how do you know if you're getting it right when you do?

Tantrum time

Finding it difficult when your child throws a wobbly? Or is it you who finds it difficult to keep your tantrums under control?!

Other parents

How can you share your PARS success with other parents? How can you respond to other parents with different approaches to parenting? Learn from great case studies around the world about how to build a local PARS parents community.

PARS - evidence based practice 

PARS has been published in academic and practitioner literature and policy guidance around the world in several different languages.

Childhoods & Leisure
Cross-Cultural and Inter-Disciplinary Dialogues

Chapter: Whose leisure is it anyway? The challenges of providing children’s leisure from a cross-cultural playwork perspective by Dr Shelly Newstead, Janine Dodge, Qian Zheng

Playwork Practice at the Margins

Chapter: Playwork Play Works by Dr Pauline Chan, Ada Wong, Serena Fung, Noel Kwok & Lam Pui, exploring the impact of PARS in kindergartens in Hong Kong.

Handbook on Specification on Child-Friendly Community Building (China)

Chapter by Qian Zheng on how PARS is used in communities in Shanghai (written in Chinese).

Tales from the Playground - playwork stories from contemporary adventure playgrounds

Includes chapters by PARS practitioners around the world.

Children, Youth and Environments

PARS Environmental Modification – an international ‘experiment’ in mirroring the nature of children and childhood in supervised settings by Dr Shelly Newstead. Children, Youth and Environments 35(2), 199-206

International Journal of Playwork Practice

PARS Playwork: Considering Who We Are Becoming and Why by Janine Dodge, Brazil.

Het Laaste Kind op Straat (Netherlands)

Chapter by Dr Shelly Newstead on PARS Environmental Modification (translated into Dutch).

Department for Education Workforce Toolkit for Wraparound Childcare (England)

PARS qualifications listed as recommended training for childcare workers.

All about OSCH (Australia)

PARS playwork - a model for embedding critical reflection in OSHC by Rarni Rothwell and Dr Shelly Newstead

Researching Play from a Playwork Perspective

Includes the chapter Playwork research as the art of ‘mirroring’ by Dr Shelly Newstead.

Our international learning community

PARS practitioners love learning and take every opportunity to learn from each other and from practitioners and academics outside the PARS community. Explore our current further learning opportunities and get involved - even if you are not a PARS practitioner!

PARS Book.Club.

PARS Book Club is for anybody who wants to develop their knowledge of literature about children and childhood. Practitioners and academics from any background are welcome to join Book Club!

Introduction to the Play Cycle

Join Dr Pete King for this one hour introduction to the original Play Cycle theory and to learn about recent updates and applications of the Play Cycle in research and practice.

Reflexions

Free quarterly meetings just for PARS practitioners led by Dr Shelly Newstead.

International Journal of Playwork Practice

IJPP is the official journal of PARS playwork practice. It includes peer-reviewed papers, practitioner articles and book reviews - all free to access and download.