For Krystal, a busy parent with a full time job and two children to look after, there was a big discussion about commitment when she enrolled with HIPPY. Here is her story and feedback about HIPPY:

Whether you're a full-time stay-at-home parent, working part or full time, we know that each day, month, and eventually each year just rolls into the next. I believe, as said by Nelson Mandela, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." However, with the information overload of Google, we didn't know where to start when it came to education, but we knew reading would definitely help.

We read to Olivia most week nights, from when she was first born but eventually this turned into some weeknights and then no week nights at all. One day, I saw a HIPPY Facebook post calling for children aged 3 years old to participate using free resources to help their development—so I thought I would give it a go.

HIPPY welcome pack

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In order to participate in HIPPY, I was asked to meet for an hour each week and commit only 15 minutes per day or evening. Between a 40-hour work week, a three-year-old, a one-year-old, a household to run and my already growing mental list of 'things-to-do', the hour a week was a lot of time that I just couldn't be bothered with. The Mum Guilt set in as I knew that we were now spending less time reading to Olivia because of how hectic our lives had become and this wasn't fair for her. Yes, the first couple of weeks were hard, but it eventually became routine and turned out to be one of the best decisions I could have made.

We knew reading to her was beneficial, but it wasn't until we joined HIPPY that we realised the vast number of skills and learning children could soak up before school. Without HIPPY, Olivia would have gone without workbooks, learning to write, science experiments, decision-making and exposure to different cultures and languages.

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 Olivia's craft time

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I know that HIPPY has added a tremendous amount of confidence to Olivia and we have HIPPY to thank for her love of learning, the uninterrupted time we get with her every evening and for the magical moments we get to experience with her along the way.

HIPPY gave us a sense of accountability to complete each workbook for that week knowing we would be meeting with our tutor, structure around what was appropriate to learn, and more importantly, it gave us time to slow down and engage with Olivia one-on-one.

HIPPY is such a valuable programme. There is no alternative for low socio-economic areas and low-income families—for those families eager for their children to be more, HIPPY provides that escape and that powerful weapon to not only change the world but also break a cruel intergenerational cycle. 

I know Olivia will change the world, and you'll be proud that HIPPY helped to pave the way when that happens.

Thank you from Krystal and Olivia.