Being a mum is hard work — especially when you’re a sole parent with an active toddler and no whānau support. Add full-time study and growing up in foster care, and the challenges multiply. At Barnardos, we work with many young mums like Renée*, helping them navigate parenting, education, and life with limited support.

Renée is a teenage mum with a two-year-old daughter, Ava. She’s working towards NCEA credits, learning how to parent, understanding her rights, and managing her budget. Alongside Barnardos Social Worker Chanelle, she’s learning to balance being a teenager and a parent. As Chanelle says, “Yes, Renée is a teenager, but she is also a parent. She needs to learn to balance both those parts of who she is.”

Growing up in care, Renée moved frequently, which disrupted her schooling. Without whānau connections, she had no one to turn to for advice or reassurance. A breakthrough in her relationship with Chanelle came when Renée started opening up. Chanelle describes it like an onion: “You peel back one layer and more and more comes out.” As trust has grown, Renée’s ‘onion’ is slowly being unpeeled, and outcomes for her and Ava are improving.

“Working with Chanelle has made an impact on my life so much. She’s basically the one I cry to when I’m going through so much. It’s such a good feeling cause when you don’t have friends to talk to or that one person you tell everything in your life about, she is the one to talk to! She’s helped me through a lot with parenting and being myself, basically. She’s helped through the good and the bad,” says Renée.

Together, Renée and Chanelle focus on Ava’s health, safety, and wellbeing, while developing practical skills for daily life. They set up a budget, planned meals, and made shopping lists based on what funds were available. Renée now feels confident managing money. She prioritises Ava’s needs, compares prices, buys nappies in bulk, and sticks to shopping lists. Because of the savings she’s made, she’s even started putting aside a small amount each week for emergencies and special occasions like birthdays and Christmas — an amazing outcome.

Study is also important for Renée. She wants to achieve qualifications to have more choices and give Ava opportunities she didn’t have. With Chanelle’s support, she’s learning to balance parenting with her study goals.

Chanelle is passionate about helping teenage mums become confident parents, improve their education, and understand healthy relationships. With consistent support, young parents like Renée and their children can thrive — no matter their circumstances.

*To protect client’s privacy, names have been changed and models used.

Providing positive outcomes for young parents and their children