It was a truly beautiful day at South Coast Correctional Centre as five excited children arrived for a Child & Parent Day, a rare chance to spend uninterrupted, meaningful time with their dads.
These Child & Parent Days are designed to be child-focused, relaxed and fun. With games, activities, and support for families, they create a positive space where children and their parents can reconnect, create memories and enjoy being together.
For many families, these moments of connection are deeply needed and treasured.
On this particular day, there was no shortage of fun!
Children decorated their own craft “pets” to take home, built worlds out of Lego, and played a super fun zombie smash game. There was also bowling, curling, Jenga, colourful chalk art, and plenty of creative crafts to take home as lasting reminders of the day spent with Dad.
“Seeing the connections and special moments made really shows the overwhelming value and importance of SHINE for Kids and our programs,” said our team.
“The smiling faces of the children, loved ones in custody and carers makes all the hard work worth it. It is an extremely rewarding job.”
The feedback was lovely and included:
“Thank you for a good day with my Dad.” – Child with a dad in custody
“Thank you for a fun day with my Dad.” – Child with a dad in custody
“Thank you for letting me have a day of fun with my kids. I really appreciate it.” – Dad in custody
“[The thing that has changed most for me or my children because of SHINE for Kids is] greater connection to their parent.” – Carer
“[These days are a] fantastic organic way for kids to connect.” – Carer
“[The thing that has changed most for me or my children because of SHINE for Kids is] caring and empathy.” – Carer
*Images changed to protect privacy or participants.
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