DESIGN TOOLKIT FOR PARENTING SUPPORT An integrated approach with communities in vulnerable contexts

Parenting support is crucial for the well-being of families and children, especially for those living in situations of economic, social and cultural vulnerability. Several studies have highlighted how parents living in disadvantaged contexts find themselves facing difficulties in responding to their children’s developmental needs, aggravated by the lack of adequate resources and support (Britto et al., 2017). In particular, families living in conditions of economic and social poverty, as well as multiethnic or single- parent families, experience higher levels of stress, social isolation and difficulties in managing parenting and family interactions (Boddy et al., 2020; Save the Children, 2024). In the perspective of increasing the well-being conditions of vulnerable families, the research idea intends to develop a set of functional co-design tools applicable to complex, interconnected and dynamic territorial and cultural contexts, following the Social Design approach (Nasadowski, B., 2014). In particular, it proposes the development of a toolkit as support for designing enabling inclusive services that actively involve parents and their children, but also the set of local stakeholders such as institutions, healthcare personnel and cultural mediators. The toolkit’s objective is to facilitate the creation of highly accessible services and solutions that intercept immediate needs, and at the same time favor the growth and self- sufficiency of parents in the long term. The adopted research methodology provides for a literature review to map existing practices and theories, with particular attention to family vulnerability and resilience dynamics. Adopting a bottom-up approach, the research will be developed for and with the users it is aimed at, in order to promote family resilience and recognise the potential of plural communities. Meetings with users will therefore be conducted, including qualitative interviews, focus groups and field observations, to collect contextualised and relevant data. Expected results include the creation of inclusive and open access parenting support tools, which can be easily scalable, collaboratively implementable and accessible from different geographical areas. This design strategy facilitates parents’ access to information, resources and support through dialogue services, educational programs and support activities, thus contributing to reducing isolation and sense of inadequacy (Chami et al., 2023). The research idea offers new perspectives on inclusive service design, with a focus on parent empowerment and improving the quality of life of vulnerable families.