The least I can do is listen: Mum of 2 on why she wants to help young families
Marina Osman, a Learning and Development specialist at DBS Group Operations, volunteers at KidSTART to help young families with their children's development. She shares her own experiences as a mother and how she found support when she needed it.
Intelligence analysis by Llama
Marina Osman, a DBS employee, volunteers at KidSTART to help young families with their children's development. She shares her own experiences as a mother and how she found support when she needed it.
Marina Osman is a mother who wants to help other parents feel less alone. She volunteers at KidSTART, a group that helps families with their children's development. She shares her own experiences as a mother and how she found support when she needed it. She wants to help other parents by listening to them and providing them with the support they need.
Analysis
A Mother's Journey of Support and Empathy
Marina Osman's story is one of empathy and support. Growing up, she watched her mother care for her twin sisters with cerebral palsy, a group of neurological conditions affecting movement and posture. Her mother had little access to resources and guidance for raising children with cerebral palsy in the 1980s and 1990s, she says.
Marina recalls the physical, mental, and emotional demands her mother faced in caring for the three children. Her mother had to be on standby 24/7 to meet their needs, and people were not very open about sharing their problems, so she kept a lot of things to herself. Marina thinks it had been a very lonely journey for her mother.
Marina struggled as a mother too. She was frustrated and stressed when her milk supply fell short after her son was born in 2017. Confiding in others is what pulled her through, she says. That support – which she found, and her mother never had – is what she offers other mothers today as a volunteer at KidSTART.
The Power of Listening
Marina believes that the least she can do is listen to these parents without any judgment. She gives them a safe space to open up and share their concerns. It helps them to feel more comfortable opening up to her, and she is able to provide them with the support they need.
Building a Support System
Marina's experiences and motivations for volunteering at KidSTART demonstrate the value of community and resources for families in need. She believes that it takes a village to raise a child, and she wants to help other parents feel less alone. By volunteering at KidSTART, she is able to provide support and guidance to families who need it most.
The Importance of Early Childhood Development
KidSTART is a non-profit organisation that supports families from pregnancy until their child turns six. By reaching families early, KidSTART aims to build parents' confidence, strengthen the bond between parent and child, and connect families to the right support to enable their children meet developmental milestones for their age. Marina's story highlights the importance of early childhood development and the need for support and resources for families in need.
Key points
- Marina Osman is a mother who wants to help other parents feel less alone.
- She volunteers at KidSTART, a group that helps families with their children's development.
- Marina shares her own experiences as a mother and how she found support when she needed it.
- She wants to help other parents by listening to them and providing them with the support they need.
- KidSTART is a non-profit organisation that supports families from pregnancy until their child turns six.
If Marina's efforts at KidSTART continue to inspire and support other parents, it could lead to a stronger sense of community and a more supportive environment for families in need. This could, in turn, lead to better outcomes for children and a more positive impact on society.
However, if the resources and support provided by KidSTART are not sufficient to meet the needs of all families, it could lead to a sense of disillusionment and frustration among parents. This could, in turn, lead to a breakdown in the support system and a negative impact on the well-being of children and families.
