The years from birth to three are full of firsts. They can also be intense and isolating. At the Quadra Community Centre, Parents and Tots gives families a place to move through them together.

The free early childhood drop-in brings parents together while children play, learn, sing and hear stories. Families can attend as their changing routines allow, removing barriers during a demanding stage of life. Children meet safe, familiar adults and build their first friendships, connections that can make later transitions less daunting.

When Carly Smythe began bringing her daughter Helen in January 2023, the program had just reopened after the pandemic. For Helen, the friendships she formed there made the move to preschool much easier.

“Having friends in the community with whom she had bonded at Parents and Tots eliminated much of the anxiety of starting preschool, as many of them entered together,” Smythe says.

When the program could not recruit an early childhood educator for its Monday sessions, Smythe volunteered as facilitator. As president of the Children’s Centre board, she understood its value. Storytime became the part she treasured most.

“I loved nothing more than introducing a love of books to the kids through animated storytelling and songs,” she says. “Having all the kids sitting in circle time, laughing together at a good book, is truly a perfect way to promote a lifelong love of books and learning.”

Helen is now five and has moved on from Parents and Tots, but Smythe continues to attend with her second child.

That is the lasting reach of Parents and Tots… it’s when a child who first arrived to play walks into preschool beside friends, or when a mother who came through the door as a parent returns to lead the circle, and brings the younger siblings in.

“Our community is so grateful to Quadra Literacy for providing this important program,” Smythe says.