Parent and Infant Relationship Service (PAIRS)
Spend quality time with your baby and improve your relationship through Together Time groups and 1:1 support
Being a parent/carer isn't always easy. It's common to feel overwhelmed and less confident. You might also have challenging feelings about yourself, your partner or even your baby.
How we can support you
If you have a baby aged 3-8 months, you can join our Together Time sessions with a welcome coffee morning. Support can also be offered on a one-to-one basis. All PAIRS support is free and run by early years professionals in a supportive environment.
Together Time groups
Together Time is a group for parents with babies between 3 and 8 months old. It's a safe space to explore your relationship with your baby, learn about baby-led play and share feelings and experiences with other parents.
A professional can refer you, for example, a health visitor, family worker, Stay & Play worker or social worker. Or you can get in touch yourself to sign up. You must register to join the group before it starts. Find out more and register by emailing PAIRS_Lambeth@slam.nhs.uk or call 07740421626.
Once referred or you've registered, our team will get in touch to tell you more about the group and answer any questions. If you decide to join the group, they will ask a little bit about you and your baby to get to know you better.
At the group you'll:
- Find a friendly environment with toys and songs for your baby, and drinks and snacks for you
- Meet other parents/carers with babies that you can chat to about parenting
- Learn about baby playtime
The group runs over 7 sessions with each session lasting 1.5 hours. Up to 8 other parents and their babies will be in the group.
Together Time is designed to:
- Help strengthen your relationship with your baby
- Support you to be with and observe your baby
- Explore your baby’s feelings and behaviours, and your ways of responding to him or her
- Give you a chance to discuss your experience of your child’s play and interaction
'I'm now doing Together Time at home, and I've learnt that observing and letting my baby take the lead can do so much for him'. Together Time Parent
One-to-one support
We talk about your experiences, hopes and day-to-day life.
We watch you and your baby play together - thinking about how you both communicate and your child's behaviour. You get to talk about your experiences and what you and your baby need.
Sessions can take place at your home, at a children's centre or another place where you feel comfortable.
A professional can refer you. For example a health visitor, family worker, stay and play worker or social worker. You can also contact us yourself to sign up. Once referred someone from our team will contact you to tell you a bit more about the service and get to know you.
Email: PAIRS_Lambeth@slam.nhs.uk or call 020 3228 7370
How we can support you
The relationship between you and your baby is vital to their development. This requires work and time, like all relationships. We understand that there might be things that get in the way of this.
We can work one-to-one with you and your child, or on your own if you're expecting a baby. You can also join a Together Time group, where you'll be able to share feelings and experiences with other parents.
Support from an interpreter can be provided if needed.
Watch our video to find out more from the team and parents who have taken part
Our partners
PAIRS is run in partnership with South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Lambeth Council. Find out more about Lambeth Parenting Support Service
We work with health visitors, midwives, social workers, children's centre teams and others to build a team around you and your child.
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