Month: October 2015

Tips Not Tricks For Halloween

A few tips and reminders especially for those treating with little ones.

  1. Make Halloween a little healthier with non-candy treats like glow sticks, books, stickers or bracelets. You will also be making it easier for children with allergies to participate in the fun.
  2. Make sure your trick or treaters costumes fit nicely. Toddlers and preschoolers can trip in everyday clothes so make sure their costume isn’t oversized or include high heeled shoes. Trick or treating means lots of walking.
  3. Make sure children are easily visible. Wear light colored and reflective clothing so drivers can easily see your little goblins and ghouls. Glow sticks and flashlights should be carried after dark.
  4. Make sure children can see in their costume too. Masks and wigs can block their vision making their cute costume unsafe.
  5. Fill up on good healthy meal before you go out trick or treating. Overeating treats is even more tempting on an empty stomach.
  6. Go over pedestrian safety rules before you go out. Even on exciting treat-filled nights it is important to follow safety rules like being careful in driveways and while crossing streets.
  7. Only go up to houses with lights on and never go inside
  8. Throw away unwrapped candy

The Wisconsin Breastfeeding Friendly Child Care Initiative is a statewide coordinated initiative supported by the Wisconsin Breastfeeding Coalition (WBC) and the Wisconsin Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative (WECOPI) based on the Ten Steps to Breastfeeding Friendly Child Care Centers.

The Initiative offers child care administration and infant and toddler teachers receive training and technical assistance on breastfeeding basics and on how to best support breastfeeding as ECE providers. Activities include participating in general breastfeeding education, assessing current support for breastfeeding, developing action plans based on assessment results, making changes to improve policies, practices, and the ECE environment, and monitoring progress. The focus is on provider education and improving the child care environment so that mothers who choose to breastfeed can feel confident that they will be successful in meeting their breastfeeding goals with the help of their ECE providers.

Child care providers who participate are recognized by the Wisconsin Breastfeeding Coalition and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services as “Breastfeeding Friendly.” These providers have achieved the Ten Steps and have committed to supporting breastfeeding families, including providing continued staff training on this topic and connecting families to local resources when appropriate or necessary.

Child care providers will have:

  • Increased breastfeeding knowledge
  • Opportunities for family engagement
  • Assistance in achieving YoungStar points
  • Healthy child outcomes
  • Positive marketing to the community and local families

The training is approved for 1.5 hours of continuing education. The online version of the training is available at Wood County Breastfeeding Coalition website. In-person training is also available. Participating in this initiative could help you achieve Health & Well-being and/or Family Engagement points. Contact us or your local Child Care Resource & Referral agency for more information.

Find your local coalition on the Wisconsin Breastfeeding Coalition directory http://www.wibreastfeeding.com/resources/member-coalitions-and-directory/. If your county does not have a local breastfeeding coalition, your local health department or WIC office can assist you.

Email: wbcbreastfeedingfriendly@gmail.com

Website: http://www.woodcountybreastfeeding.org/BreastfeedingFriendlyChildcareCenters.aspx

Parent Cafés are grounded in building the 5 Strengthening Families Protective Factors.  The protective Factors act as buffers against the elements that place children and families at risk.   Learn more about our next Parent Cafe and join us. The 5 protective factors are that are proven to keep families strong are[i]:

  1. Resilience:  Parent Resilience- Be Strong and Flexible.  As parents, in order to deal with the stressors of life, we need to be strong and flexible, and we need to be able to bounce back when adversity hits.  When we as parents are psychologically and emotionally healthy we are better able to consider long-term solutions instead of just reacting to every situation as it comes up.  It helps to have role models, resources, and encouragement to be able to deal with challenges while nurturing your children, especially if you were treated harshly as a child.  Family-serving programs can help us form trusting friendships with people who can help us stay healthy and resilient.  By creating a welcoming atmosphere; providing time, space, and opportunities for supportive relationships to develop among parents; and being available to parents for informal conversation or formal problems solving, staff and other parents at these programs help us become and stay resilient by encouraging us and providing us with concrete strategies.
  2. Relationships: Social Connections- Parents Need Friends.  When parents have positive, trusted friends in the community, they have a support system for meeting both practical and emotional needs.  We can brainstorm about problems together, give and receive back-up childcare, give each other rides, and meet other needs as they come up.  Together, we workout and model the family and community we want to have.  Whether at an after-school program, church, or just on the corner playground, it’s important that we get to know each other so that we know we always have support and we’re not alone in dealing with the challenges of parenting.  These relationships also give us people to celebrate with when things are going well.
  3. Knowledge- Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development- Being a Great Parent is Part natural and Part Learned.  Children don’t come with a manual.  Parenting is a continuous learning process, and it’s important to understand normal child development so that we can have reasonable expectations for our children.  When our children are acting out or engaging in challenging behavior, we need to have good strategies for dealing with that behavior that don’t involve overly harsh punishments.  Being involved in a quality family-serving program helps us learn what to expect from our children, and allows us to see how other people effectively manage children’s behavior.  We can watch our own children interact with others and strategize with staff and other parent’s ways to resolve problems.  We can also request and take parenting education workshops on topics we’re interested in.  
  4. Support- Concrete Support in Times of Need- Everybody Needs Help Sometimes.   Everybody needs helps sometimes, and families that can get help when they need it are able to stay strong and healthy.  It is a sign of strength to ask for help when you need it.  Whether the need is caused by a sudden crisis- like a death in the family or loss of employment- or an ongoing issue such as substance abuse or depression, being able to ask for and receive help is important in keeping our families strong.  Sometimes the first step in getting help is seeing that our children’s well-being depends on it.  Often it takes a caring person in the community to help connect us to what we need, whether it is job training, transportation, food assistance, or mental health services.  Parents and staff of family-serving programs band together to help families going through difficult times and provide various kinds of concrete support, including food and clothing.
  5. Communication: Social and Emotional Competence of Children – Parents Need to Help Their Children Communicate.   Children need to learn how to manage their emotions, express their needs and feelings, deal with conflict, and get along with others.  When children can do these things, our job as parents becomes less stressful.  There are quality programs – family support, early childhood education, after-school, and other programs – that help children develop social and emotional skills and work with parents to understand children’s feelings and behavior.  They can help us understand what is normal and what is not for children in a given age group, and they can help detect signs that a child has special needs or developmental disabilities or has suffered trauma.  They can work with parents to intervene effectively and get specialist help.

[i] Be Strong Families- bestrongfamilies.net

Be Strong Families / Strengthening Families Illinois developed the first parent café process to support programs and communities in engaging parents, building protective factors, and promoting deep individual self-reflection and peer-to-peer learning.  Parent Cafés are based on the principles of adult learning and family support as a gateway to providing parent leadership opportunities. (http://www.bestrongfamilies.net)

Parents do the best they can to assure their children will be productive and successful citizens in life.  However, sometimes things happen that get in the way.  The purpose of the Parent Cafés is to introduce, promote and build upon Protective Factors through a peer to peer learning process and individual self-reflection. Parent Cafés provide a safe and nurturing environment for parents to have authentic, intimate conversations about their families and ways in which they can strengthen their families and communities.  Parent Cafés assist parents with enhancing their social and emotional skills while appreciating and responding to challenging situations.  Throughout the process, parents are encouraged to acquire leadership skills necessary to engage, train and lead Parent Cafés within their own community.

We invite parents in Brown County to join our Parent Cafés on November 4, 11, and 18 from 5:30-7:30 P.M. at Family and Childcare Resources of NEW, 201 W. Walnut Street, Green Bay, WI.  A free dinner will be served at 5:30 for parents and children. After dinner, free childcare will be available for children while parents join together in discussions surrounding the joys and struggles of raising children. This is a safe, casual environment where everyone is invited to share their stories, learn from one another, and create lasting friendships. Call today to reserve your spot at 432-8899.

Program possible thanks to funding from the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families.

Family & Childcare Resources of N.E.W. Newsletter

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