Disadvantaged new parents in the North East to receive baby boxes

The partnership between Newcastle, North Tyneside, and Northumberland councils and a directly-elected metro mayor, has awarded £187,000 to The Children’s Foundation to fund the boxes which will include essential items as well as stimulating toys and books to encourage playing, laughing, reading, singing and counting.

The new grant means that the boxes will reach 750 families.

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The scheme is inspired by the original Finnish baby box and takes a developmental approach to a child’s wellbeing, rather than focusing solely on their physical needs.

Sean Soulsby, chief executive of The Children’s Foundation said: “Bringing a newborn home from hospital is an exciting, but often overwhelming time, and we want to remind parents, families, and carers that they are not alone during those critical early days.

“Over the last year we have delivered 110 Baby Boxes to first-time parents and this support from the North of Tyne Combined Authority is a game changer for the project, allowing us to rapidly scale the work we are doing to support first-time families across the whole region.”

The North East has the second highest rate of child poverty and people on relative low income in the UK after the Midlands, according to a report by End Child Poverty and the government.

The boxes have been created by listening to children, parents, midwives, family nurses, GPs and experts to understand how important the early years are for shaping children’s lives.

North of Tyne mayor, Jamie Driscoll, said: “Having a child is beautiful and joyous, but as any parent will tell you, it is also stressful and expensive. Household budgets are severely squeezed right now.

“We are the first combined authority to use our investment fund to tackle child poverty. You can’t build a resilient regional economy without providing security for families.”

The Children’s Foundation has a target of raising £1 million to make sure every child in the region gets the support that they need to thrive.