Handle With Care

In 2015, Laura King and Marcia Nickerson began their journey in partnering with Handle with Care; they participated in phase 3 and 4 of national research and eventually became the only Master Trainers of Handle with Care in Nova Scotia.  They have partnered with Family Resource Centres across the province, Community Health Teams, HRCE Community Outreach Programs, Various Social Workers, Pre-natal Care Practitioners and various Early Childhood Educators.

Handle with Care at Allegro

With the majority of our staff trained, Handle with Care has become a part of our approach and every day interactions. You will find part of Handle with Care embedded in our policies, our Behaviour Guidance and support plans.

As facilitators, we offer the 6 week program to our families twice a year; allowing families the opportunity to connect with other families who share the same worries and struggles, to learn from each other and build community capacity within Allegro.

Handle with Care (HWC) is a national program designed for parents and caregivers to promote mental health in the early years (social and emotional well-being). The spirit of the Handle with Care program is one of celebrating parenting and caregiving, recognizing the value of every parent, caregiver, and child. The program uses a strengths-based approach that assumes every parent and caregiver has problem-solving skills, potential resources, and wants what’s best for the children in their lives.

Why Handle with Care

Handle with Care is a set of simple interactive strategies that support mental health during every day interactions. We fell in love with it’s simplicity yet effective approach, its inclusivity and its ties to attachment based theories. 

Allegro Child Care believes the mental health of young children is critically important to flourish, thrive and grow into healthy adults. Mental Health is how we think, feel, our level of self-esteem and how we cope with the ups and downs of everyday life. Handle with Care has been an excellent tool in promoting these skills within our centre.