Abstract

In 2016 Italy approved the IV national plan of actions and policies for the protection of children’ rights and the growth of subjects in developmental age. The paper develops some observations on the strategy of parenting support that the plan contains. It underlines the slippery terrain of the strategy, collocated between family support and parenting support policies and discusses its multiple purposes: protection and prevention. Parenting support introduces a more promotional approach in the Italian system of child protection, while the preventive approach to parenting is more uncertain. The paper questions if the parenting support represents a pillar for the recalibration of family policies also in Italy.