Parenting Week 2026: Making Connections
Monday 19 – Friday 23 October 2026
We’re delighted to announce that Parenting Week 2026 will take place from Monday 19 to Friday 23 October, led by Children in Northern Ireland (CiNI).
This year’s theme is Making Connections.
Throughout the week, we’ll be highlighting the importance of connection in family life and creating opportunities for parents and carers to get involved, connect with others, discover support and celebrate the relationships that matter.
What is Parenting Week?
Parenting Week is an opportunity to celebrate and support parents and carers, raise awareness of the experiences and challenges of parenting, and highlight the support available to families across Northern Ireland.
This year, we’re encouraging parents, carers, organisations, schools and communities to think about the importance of connection – whether that’s connecting with other parents, finding support in the local community, spending time together as a family or simply reaching out to someone who might need it.
There are lots of ways to get involved.
Get Involved
Make a Connection Pledge
What will you do to make a connection during Parenting Week?
We’re inviting parents, carers, organisations and communities to make a Connection Pledge – a simple commitment to connect with someone during Parenting Week.
Write your pledge, take a photo and share it on social media using:
#ParentingWeek2026
#MakingConnections
You can also share your pledge in whatever way works for you – you could post a photo of your completed pledge card, or simply share your pledge as a social media post.
Download the Connection Pledge Card.
Schools – Explore Making Connections
We’re inviting schools to explore what “Making Connections” means to children and young people.
Children can share their ideas through posters, visual boards, drawings, word displays or other creative approaches.
Our school resource includes questions to help get the conversation started, including:
- What does connection look like to you?
- How do you make connections?
- Who are your important connections?
- How does connection make you feel?
- Why is connection important?
Schools can share their pupils’ creative work on their own social media channels during Parenting Week.
Download the school’s activity resource pack.
Download the schools blank poster.
Please follow your school’s usual procedures for permissions and sharing children’s work online.
Parents and carers – Pick a Connection Activity
Looking for a simple way to connect with your child during Parenting Week?
We’ve created a set of Connection Activity Cards with simple ideas for things you can do together.
Print or download the cards, let your child pick one and then try the activity together.
The activities are designed to provide simple opportunities to spend time together, talk, have fun and make a connection.
Download the connection activity cards.
Organisations – Host a Pot-Luck Lunch
We’re encouraging CiNI members and organisations to bring people together by hosting a Parenting Week Pot-Luck Lunch.
Brings something to share, make time to eat, chat and connect with each other.
It doesn’t need to be elaborate – the important thing is creating an opportunity to come together.
You could bring together colleagues, parents, volunteers, members or people from your local community.
Download the Pot-Luck Lunch flyer.
Host your own event, activity or campaign
Is your organisation planning an event, activity or campaign for parents and carers during Parenting Week?
We’d love to hear about it.
We’ll feature relevant activities in our Parenting Week guide and help signpost parents and carers to what’s happening in their local area.
Your activity doesn’t have to be specifically about the theme of connection. If it supports, celebrates or engages parents and carers, we’d love to hear about it.
Please complete our Parenting Week Activities Form by Friday 9 October.
Help us spread the word
You can also get involved by helping us promote Parenting Week to parents, carers, families and your networks.
We’ve created a range of ready-to-use social media graphics and suggested posts that you can download and share across your own channels.
Please tag Children in Northern Ireland and use:
#ParentingWeek2026
#MakingConnections
Resources
We’ve put together a Parenting Week 2026 Partner Activity and Asset Pack with information, ideas and downloadable resources in one place to help schools, organisations, and community groups get involved.
You can download the pack for an overview of the campaign and links to all of the available resources.
Download the Parenting Week 2026 Partner Activity and Asset Pack.
You can also use the links throughout this page to download individual resources, including the Connection Pledge Card, Schools Resource, Connection Activity Cards, Pot-Luck Lunch flyer and more.
Together, we can make connections
Together, we can help parents and carers across Northern Ireland make meaningful connections this Parenting Week.
Thank you for your continued support and for everything you do to support children, young people and families.
Parenting Week 2026: Making Connections
Monday 19 – Friday 23 October 2026
We’re delighted to announce that Parenting Week 2026 will take place from Monday 19 to Friday 23 October, led by Children in Northern Ireland (CiNI).
This year’s theme is Making Connections.
Throughout the week, we’ll be highlighting the importance of connection in family life and creating opportunities for parents and carers to get involved, connect with others, discover support and celebrate the relationships that matter.
What is Parenting Week?
Parenting Week is an opportunity to celebrate and support parents and carers, raise awareness of the experiences and challenges of parenting, and highlight the support available to families across Northern Ireland.
This year, we’re encouraging parents, carers, organisations, schools and communities to think about the importance of connection – whether that’s connecting with other parents, finding support in the local community, spending time together as a family or simply reaching out to someone who might need it.
There are lots of ways to get involved.
Get Involved
Make a Connection Pledge
What will you do to make a connection during Parenting Week?
We’re inviting parents, carers, organisations and communities to make a Connection Pledge – a simple commitment to connect with someone during Parenting Week.
Write your pledge, take a photo and share it on social media using:
#ParentingWeek2026
#MakingConnections
You can also share your pledge in whatever way works for you – you could post a photo of your completed pledge card, or simply share your pledge as a social media post.
Download the Connection Pledge Card.
Schools – Explore Making Connections
We’re inviting schools to explore what “Making Connections” means to children and young people.
Children can share their ideas through posters, visual boards, drawings, word displays or other creative approaches.
Our school resource includes questions to help get the conversation started, including:
- What does connection look like to you?
- How do you make connections?
- Who are your important connections?
- How does connection make you feel?
- Why is connection important?
Schools can share their pupils’ creative work on their own social media channels during Parenting Week.
Download the school’s activity resource pack.
Download the schools blank poster.
Please follow your school’s usual procedures for permissions and sharing children’s work online.
Parents and carers – Pick a Connection Activity
Looking for a simple way to connect with your child during Parenting Week?
We’ve created a set of Connection Activity Cards with simple ideas for things you can do together.
Print or download the cards, let your child pick one and then try the activity together.
The activities are designed to provide simple opportunities to spend time together, talk, have fun and make a connection.
Download the connection activity cards.
Organisations – Host a Pot-Luck Lunch
We’re encouraging CiNI members and organisations to bring people together by hosting a Parenting Week Pot-Luck Lunch.
Brings something to share, make time to eat, chat and connect with each other.
It doesn’t need to be elaborate – the important thing is creating an opportunity to come together.
You could bring together colleagues, parents, volunteers, members or people from your local community.
Download the Pot-Luck Lunch flyer.
Host your own event, activity or campaign
Is your organisation planning an event, activity or campaign for parents and carers during Parenting Week?
We’d love to hear about it.
We’ll feature relevant activities in our Parenting Week guide and help signpost parents and carers to what’s happening in their local area.
Your activity doesn’t have to be specifically about the theme of connection. If it supports, celebrates or engages parents and carers, we’d love to hear about it.
Please complete our Parenting Week Activities Form by Friday 9 October.
Help us spread the word
You can also get involved by helping us promote Parenting Week to parents, carers, families and your networks.
We’ve created a range of ready-to-use social media graphics and suggested posts that you can download and share across your own channels.
Please tag Children in Northern Ireland and use:
#ParentingWeek2026
#MakingConnections
Resources
We’ve put together a Parenting Week 2026 Partner Activity and Asset Pack with information, ideas and downloadable resources in one place to help schools, organisations, and community groups get involved.
You can download the pack for an overview of the campaign and links to all of the available resources.
Download the Parenting Week 2026 Partner Activity and Asset Pack.
You can also use the links throughout this page to download individual resources, including the Connection Pledge Card, Schools Resource, Connection Activity Cards, Pot-Luck Lunch flyer and more.
Together, we can make connections
Together, we can help parents and carers across Northern Ireland make meaningful connections this Parenting Week.
Thank you for your continued support and for everything you do to support children, young people and families.
