The project emerged in response to a significant gap between families' need for professional parenting support and their use of existing municipal services. While many parents expressed a clear need for guidance and advice, participation in services delivered through municipal facilities remained consistently low. Led by the South Tel Aviv Development Unit within the Community Administration, in partnership with the Municipal Parenting Center in the Education Administration, the initiative was shaped by a key insight: for many families in South Tel Aviv—who often balance financial pressures with the demands of daily life—the mere act of entering a formal municipal building can present a significant psychological barrier, evoking feelings of hesitation, discomfort, or exclusion.
At the heart of the initiative was the goal of normalizing parenting support by making it an integral part of community life. The underlying premise was that increasing participation required bringing high-quality professional support directly to families, rather than expecting families to seek it out, thereby removing both psychological and practical barriers to access. To this end, public parks were chosen as the primary setting for the initiative, as they provide a natural and accessible gathering place for families, allowing them to engage directly, without the mediation or bureaucracy often associated with formal services. The project's objectives were to:
Building on insights from a similar project developed by the Adler Institute in Lod, the municipal pilot was designed for rapid implementation and low cost. The model incorporated the "Rolling Play Space"—a portable play kit that created an engaging play environment for infants and toddlers, who might otherwise lose interest in standard playground equipment. The innovation behind the play kit lies in its ability to keep young children safely engaged within their parents' sight, creating the mental space parents need to have a focused conversation with a professional facilitator in the heart of the public space.The pilot was held in the park adjacent to the community center, with the aim of partnering with the center and encouraging local residents to become familiar with the range of services it offers. The sessions took place over three consecutive weeks and attracted dozens of parents who received focused, on-the-spot professional guidance. The conversations reflected the everyday challenges of raising young children, with the most common topics including toilet training, adjusting to childcare settings, sleep difficulties, and managing tantrums. Most parents' questions centered on the developmental characteristics and challenges of two-year-olds.
The findings showed that the average consultation lasted approximately 13 minutes. From the second session onward, parents became noticeably more open and at ease, allowing conversations to become longer and more in-depth. Participant satisfaction was exceptionally high, and every parent who completed the feedback questionnaire expressed a clear desire for the program to continue in a similar format.
Building on the pilot's success, the initiative is now set to expand to additional parks across South Tel Aviv, while continuing to refine the professional model and adapt it to the needs of diverse communities.
Municipal Partners:
1.5-hour sessions, held on the same day and at the same time each week
Public parks
Transporting the Rolling Play Space, setup and dismantling; on-site presence of a community center staff member
Professional facilitators' fees; printing of branded materials
Parents of children from birth to age 6, with a particular focus on communities that tend not to access formal public services
