Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Young People and Families today announced the detail of a Government parenting programme to help parents get extra help with issues such as bullying, school exclusions and dealing with the impact of divorce.
Taking forward a commitment from the Children's Plan to support parents and families with whatever information and support they need, when they need it, the Parent Know-How programme worth £44million is designed so that more parents can get access to information and help through the web, over the phone and text and instant messaging.
Hosting a day of Children Plan's debate with parents and young people in Leeds, Birmingham, Portsmouth and London, Ed Balls also announced that separated dads are to get a new online community space to help them stay in touch with their children, including online games, picture sharing and hints on how to make the most of their relationship with their children.
The initiative comes on the back of research showing that parents prefer to receive information online, with 63% of fathers saying it was their favourite way to get help and support.
Other projects to receive funding include a 'virtual school gate' for parents of older children- a place to spend time and get help from other parents.
Ed Balls said: "I want to make Britain the best place in world for our children and young people to grow up.
"Events like today in Leeds, Birmingham, London and Portsmouth have given me the chance to hear exactly what parents want and need, and helped us shape our Children's Plan to make all our children's lives even better.
"But while there are more opportunities for families and children now than ever before, parents say they sometimes find it hard to cope with a rapidly changing world. Government doesn't bring up children, parents do, but I want to do as much as I can to back parents and families and strengthen the support for all families.
"We want to continue to take views from parents, young people and those who work with children and young people, and today across the country we will be asking for their views on how we can take forward our work on young people and alcohol, parents and child health."
Children's Minister Kevin Brennan said: "Kids don't come with instructions so we all need a little help sometimes. These new projects are going to provide answers in a way that suits parents. We want to reach out especially to those parents who struggle to get information and are in most need - for example, parents of disabled children, fathers and parents of teenagers."
Dads will now be able to get quick parenting answers by text messages and talk to other dads online for help and support, thanks to two projects provided by Relate and Family Matters Institute. And parents will continue to get support from telephone helplines, which the Department will fund for three years.
The virtual school gate will be run by Parentline Plus, which takes calls from around 100,000 parents each year.
Dorit Braun, Chief Executive of Parentline Plus said: "Parenting can be a challenging role for many people and it is not surprising that many of us need extra support and information to help us along the way.
"The digital age has seen the need for us to expand our services beyond our telephone helpline and provide web and social media tools.
"The funding from the Government will help us support even more parents in a range of ways, providing them with information and support about a wide-range of issues, including discipline, education, the youth justice system, impact of divorce, setting up a new family, smoking, drugs and alcohol and teen issues."
Other projects to receive funding include:
* Help and advice on school admissions and exclusions from the Advisory Centre for Education
* Help for lone parents with vodcasts, podcasts and social networking from the Single Parent Action Network
* Information and professional advice to any adult concerned about the mental health or emotional well being of a child or young person - through the Young Minds helpline
* Online peer to peer and professional support for mums via the Netmums site