Lynn Lyons, in her blog on how to deal with anxiety as a family and managing anxiety in children, explains how parents can model the behaviours they would like to help their children develop and, in the doing so, teach process skills that will build children’s problem-solving capacity.
Read MoreOn March 16, 2018, $10aDay Child Care posted a review of the B.C. Budget 2018 investment in child care on their website, welcoming the progress towards the key recommendations of the $10aDay Plan.
Read MoreJen Mantyka, Program Director for Healthiest Babies Possible, serving Surrey, Delta and White Rock, and Carol Dyck, a public health nurse and lactation consultant with Fraser Health, has developed a Breastfeeding Café to serve the needs of mothers who meet the CPNP criteria and are interested in breastfeeding their infants. To learn more about their experience of setting up their new program, click here.
Read MoreWe interviewed Chelsie Tierney, acting CAPC Site Coordinator in Kimberley, about their Family Supper Night program that allows them to reach out to mothers who are in daytime employment, to offer opportunities for working partners to participate in programming with their families, and for partners to be able to offer some respite cover so women can engage in community or educational activities on their own.
Read MoreTanya Lieberman, host of the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog, recently interviewed Penny Simkin about breastfeeding issues for mothers who are survivors of sexual abuse. In the interview, Penny talked about breastfeeding for survivors of early sexual abuse, including common feelings of survivors about breastfeeding and ways that breastfeeding support people can support survivors.
Read MoreA recent CBC News article highlights the challenges for women giving birth in rural areas. The report focuses on Fort Nelson, BC, where women are being asked to sign an agreement to make arrangements for delivering their babies at alternative medical facilities due to local staffing issues. This particular instance is part of a widespread issue in rural areas across Canada, as difficulties in attracting and retaining doctors cause significant challenges in accessing medical services.
Read MoreMaking Sense of Trauma: Practical Tools for Responding to Children and Youth is a free online webinar designed to help those working with families learn how to use a Trauma-Informed perspective to better understand the relational, neurobiological and developmental impact of trauma on children and youth.
Read MoreAll Kinds of Minds is a children’s book that has been made with and for children with neurological or psychological differences, in order to celebrate difference. A free copy is available to organizations and groups serving children aged 7 and under.
Read MoreHeart Mind Online have produced a three-minute emotional literacy video featuring an early childhood educator using books that express an emotional arc in order to help pre-school children learn to identify their feelings and relate to feelings in others.
Read MoreRaising Our Healthy Kids is a series of evidence-based 1-2 minute videos, consistent with information in PEN: Practice-based Evidence in Nutrition®, and providing information to parents and care providers on healthy growth and development of children up to 12 years of age. The videos were developed by a multi-stakeholder group including Dietitians of Canada and Alberta Health Services and with input from physicians and community stakeholders across Canada.
Read MoreLast autumn, First Call wrote a public letter to the new BC Minister of Health, Adrian Dix, asking for a reversal of the decision made by the previous provincial government to the Child Care Licensing Regulations, to reduce the outdoor space per child for licensed child care programs from 7 square metres per child to 6 square metres, and requesting that the minimum outdoor play space per child be increased.
Read MoreJourney to Perinatal Well Being: e-Tools and Resources to Identify and Support Women with Perinatal Depression and Anxiety is an online course, developed for public health nurses, but targeted, to support capacity to identify and respond to perinatal depression and anxiety. Access dates for the course are from February 1, 2018 to May 31, 2018. For more details, click here.
Read MoreIn their January 10, 2018 blog post, Healthy Families BC has published a FAQ about Perinatal Anxiety. They stress, “Whether you are a new parent experiencing perinatal anxiety, a partner to someone who is, a friend, or a family member, know that you are not alone. These conditions are very common. Having information about what you might be experiencing and knowing where to get support can help.”
Read MoreDr. Shannon McDonald, FNHA Acting Chief Medical Officer, has written letter to her community of care welcoming the move by BC Ferries to introduce a smoking ban, which took effect as of January 22, 2018. BC Ferries smoke-free policy applies to all vessels and terminals, and includes smoking medical marijuana, vapour products and e-cigarettes. The policy was put in place to promote the health and wellness of customers and employees by controlling exposure to second-hand smoke. Click here to read the letter.
Read MoreFamily Services of Greater Vancouver (FSGV) has offered a Single Moms’ Group, through its CAPC programs, based in New Westminster, for over a decade. The program offers support for moms raising children on their own, along with an opportunity to connect with other moms about the joys and challenges of solo parenting.
Read MoreJoelene Siemens Abbott is piloting a Mom and Baby Yoga program as part of her CPNP program based at Carrier Sekani Family Services in Vanderhoof. It is a first for their community and has been incredibly well received!
Read MoreThe BC Ministry of Children and Family Development is making a one-time $500,000 investment to enable Perinatal Services BC and BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre to increase the availability of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC), an innovative skin-to-skin attachment program, for at-risk and premature babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Read MoreDeveloped as part of the three-year BC Provincial Domestic Violence Plan, with collaboration amongst various ministries and community organizations, Early Childhood Exposure to Domestic Violence: You Can Help, is a recently-released toolkit designed for use by individuals working with children in the 0-5 age range.
Read MoreThe Hand in Hand: Growing Together Every Day family of resources provides activities and tips for caregivers to support social and emotional development during the early years, through the creation of a plan that is unique to the child and family. The toolkit includes a series of useful handout sheets for caregivers to assist in fostering.
Read MoreUnderstanding mothers experiencing homelessness: A gendered approach to finding solutions for family homelessness, a report produced for the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness Press, looks at the experiences of mothers and children in dealing with homelessness and makes recommendations for interventions based on trauma-informed care.
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