This article gives a number of reasons why parents are so important for the working and outcomes of an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) (the author specifically discusses this with regard to very young children). This is primarily because parents have so much intimate knowledge of their child and hold dreams for their child even if still very young. The article also gives a list of some of the things parents can contribute to any 'assessment' of the child (which is especially important for safeguarding the child's needs) and to the IFSP team in general. Keyword: Individualisation