What to Expect in Our Programs
Richmond Family Place is a welcoming hub for families with children ages 0–6, with older siblings up to 12 also welcome. Through our drop-in programs, offered at locations across Richmond, families can connect with others in the community while enjoying a safe, supportive space to play, sing, and learn together. Our Family Support Workers are available to provide parenting support, resources, and information. All programs are drop-in based—no registration required—but an active Richmond Family Place membership is needed to attend.
Our Programs
Play & Learn
This drop–in program provides a welcoming environment for ALL families with children from birth to 6 years and siblings up to 12 years of age.
Outdoor Activities
Caregivers and children participate in outdoor activities that promote literacy, science and food security through seasonal planting, garden care and harvesting.
Parent Education Programs
Richmond Family Place facilitates multiple parent education programs for members.
Sing & Play
Enjoy making friends and learning songs and rhymes with your children 0-6 years old. We will have one part of the session for learning new songs and rhymes, then an opportunity to chat about different topics.
Toddler Time
The Toddler Time program is run in partnership with Touchstone Family Association, Richmond Family Place and Richmond Public Library.
Resources
See a list of available resources for families and new parents in Richmond.
Where Do We Run Programs?
We run programs in many locations throughout Richmond. View our Calendar for the most up-to-date information about our programs.
Program Guidelines
1. Supervision & Engagement
- Parents and caregivers must play and stay with their children. For safety reasons, please do not leave your child unattended for whatever reason – this includes visiting our thrift store.
- For the safety and comfort of all families, we request that each adult has no more than three children with them. Please speak to a member of staff if you have any concerns.
- Expose your children to all play experiences by showing them how to play safely.
2. Clean-Up
Encourage pick-up and clean-up before moving on to another activity – including when staff give the 5-minute warning – this will make your home life better too.
3. Participation & Circle Time
Parent and child participation is expected at circle time. If this is difficult for your child please inform a staff member and we can brainstorm ideas around this.
4. Distractions & Phone Use
Please turn your cellphone to vibrate and keep calls to a minimum as they can disrupt programming. To respect the privacy of other families, please do not take photos during programs.
5. Food
At the Mainsite, when children want a snack, families can use the Snack Room. We ask that families avoid bringing products containing nuts and request that food is only eaten in the Snack Room.
6. Overcrowding
To ensure the drop-in program at the main site is as safe and comfortable for everyone, a red stop sign will be put on the door and the fence if the program is full.
Health
We are asking families to keep their children at home if they have had any of the following symptoms in the previous 24 hours:
- A fever over 100F or 37.8C\
- Vomiting or diarrhea
- Runny nose with any coloured discharge
- Coughing, sneezing and/or other cold or flu symptoms
- Croup or inflamed mouth or throat
- Any unexplained rashes
- Unusual fatigue or irritability
- Ear pain
Children often will seem to recover very quickly after having some of these symptoms, however they often are still sick and need this extra time to rest and recover. We are asking for your cooperation with this for the benefit of everyone who uses the services of RFP.
If staff members feel that your child is too sick to attend the drop-in programs, they may ask you and your child to leave in the best interests of everybody.
We are grateful to work, play, and live on the traditional territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-waututh) and hən̓ q̓ əmin̓ əm̓ speaking people. We acknowledge their faithful stewardship of these lands and thank them for their generous welcome.
c̓∙iθamə cən (Thank You)