Hello and firstly, for those of you who went to the Sevens, we hope you had a fun time. It was spectacular seeing all the costumes, there are some very creative people out there and it is so nice to see everyone getting into the spirit of things, even if the weather doesn't quite co-operate!
Also this weekend, it is Waitangi Day which gives us all pause to reflect on the history of New Zealand, as well as another public holiday to enjoy with our loved ones.
In this email:
Drop-in coffee groups
WNPC Recruitment:
Upcoming classes:
February event
Green Paper on Vulnerable Children Submission
Other events in our area:
Drop-in coffee group
Starting in February, come along and meet other parents in the Northern Suburbs. Bring yourself and your child(ren) to 1841 bar, Disraeli Street, Johnsonville on the last Friday of the Month from 10 am. Buy your own coffee and cake, and WNPC will provide massages for tired parents (Gold coin donation for non-members). Anyone is welcome, no RSVP required.
WNPC Recruitment
Come along to one of our events or classes and you can't help but be impressed by the dedicated hard-working team that run WNPC. What may surprise you is that apart from the class tutors, there are no paid staff! All our events, classes, resources, libraries etc are organised by volunteers. So, if you have been to one of our classes/events, loved it and want to give back, or if you have a long list of how it could be better, WE WANT YOU!
Committee members get free membership, free parent education classes plus access to lots of other courses run by head office. Come along to a committee meeting or, better yet, take a look at the list below and see if anything takes your fancy!
CBE Volunteers Co-coordinator
We really need a volunteer (or two) to arrange the CBE class volunteers. The role would suit someone with 1-2 hours to spare every 6 weeks and involves ringing potential volunteers and passing details to the CBE Convenor If you can in any way help us, please get in touch with Angela.
Resources Co-Coordinator
We need someone with a spare hour or two a week to photocopy class resources and prepare the CBE class volunteer boxes. The role involves ordering printing from the printers, picking it up and packing the CBE resource boxes. Please contact Angela if interested.
Special Events Sub-Committee leader
Enjoyed the Christmas Party? Want to offer your ideas for improvement? Special events are put on by WNPC and attendance is free for members. We are looking for someone to take over our Special Events Co-coordinator role to lead the events sub-committee which comprises 2-3 other committee members. If you want experience in planning and running events and project management this could be the role for you. Please contact Angela if interested.
Upcoming Parent Education Classes
Email Rebekah to book. Remember, if you volunteer to be 'Class helper' (open up and put out tea and biscuits etc) you can do the class for free.
Moving and munching - Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 February
Come and join our highly experienced tutors (Jeanette for Munching and Alena for Moving) and lean more about starting solids and baby development.
Tinies to Tots - Tuesday 21 and Tuesday 28 February
Tinies to Tots is a new informative programme for parents of children aged from 10-18 months. There are two evening sessions: Tuesdays 12 and 19 April. This class is run by Lena Florence who also runs Baby & You. Tinies to Tots will cover topics including those listed below and there will be lots of opportunity for asking questions.
* Moving from first solids to family foods * Safety * Common behaviour issues - including biting/tantrums * Feet & teeth care * Pets and our tots * Milestones and play * Things to do around town
Speech & Language Development - Tuesday 28 February
Children learn to communicate in different ways at different ages so it can be difficult to know what is 'normal' and when to be concerned. This workshop will give you the opportunity to learn practical skills to help support your child's communication.
The content will include:
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how language typically develops;
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ways to promote and develop emerging language skills;
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what to do if you have concerns about communication development; and
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how to support development of speech sounds and how to respond to speech sound errors.
Childhood illnesses
Once again Dr Rachael Waters of Johnsonville Medical Centre is back to give us invaluable insight into signs and symptoms of illnesses both severe and mild. This is traditionally a very popular course and Rachael (a mother herself) offers many useful hints and tips for coping with illness in children.
February event
As the weather did not play ball for the previous two events, February's event will be under cover! Join us at Te Rauparaha Arena Aquatic Centre Porirua from 2 PM on Sunday 26 February for fun and frolics in the water followed by afternoon tea (outside if warm and sunny, inside otherwise). WNPC will provide pool entry and afternoon tea to members. Non-members pay own pool entry and $2 per child and adult for afternoon tea. RSVP to Angela or on our Facebook page.
Green Paper on Vulnerable Children.
Background
The Green Paper is a consultation document intended to stimulate debate about vulnerable (abused and neglected) children and get public feedback. It is an opportunity for all New Zealanders to have their say before crucial decisions are made that will change the way we care for and protect children in the future. A full copy of the Green Paper can be found at: http://www.childrensactionplan.govt.nz/.
The green paper roughly groups its discussion into the following areas:
Sharing responsibility
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When should government agencies step in?
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What should government agencies review, support and consider?
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How can communities help?
Showing leadership
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Development of an action plan
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Reporting requirements and responsibilities
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Partnership with Maori
Making child-centred policy changes, and child centred practice changes
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Provision of targeted services
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Prioritising/re-prioritising services to take into account needs to children
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Monitoring/tracking vulnerable children
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Information sharing
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Collaboration between providers
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Development of a ‘workforce for children’
WNPC have developed a submission to be made on the Green Paper. the text of the submission is below and we welcome any and all comments.
Submissions on the Green Paper close on Wednesday 28 February, 2012. After the submissions have been received, a White Paper will be drafted and further comment sought. Following this, it is envisaged that a 10 year action plan will be developed which includes milestones to assess its success.
Submission
Sharing responsibility
Education and support should be used to break the cycle of abuse and neglect and prevent subsequent cases of abuse.
Education and support should be readily available to all parents and carers. The sources and types of help available should be publicised and information made easily accessible to all on a dedicated website, which is maintained and up to date.
Communities and local groups should be encouraged to participate in helping vulnerable children in their area.
When abuse/neglect occurs and household members refuse to co-operate with subsequent investigations, all members of the household should be held accountable.
Information should be sought from previous offenders. Is there anything that could have been done to help prevent them abusing/neglecting their children?
Showing leadership
Provision should be made for a two-pronged approach to identify and help children who are currently being abused or neglected and to prevent future instances of abuse and neglect.
Effort should be made to progress the vulnerable from being dependant on society to contributing to society.
Parents/caregivers of vulnerable children should be treated in a non-judgemental manner and help offered accordingly. It is noted that often the parent/caregiver has to ask for help; however, more is likely to be achieved if the help/support from any source can be offered by each/every agency (government and non-government) with which the family has contact.
Education and support should be available to all.
Making child-centred policy changes
Making child centred practice changes
Abused and neglected children should immediately be helped.
Help should be easily available for those parents/caregivers that want it and, in that instance, that help and support should be preferentially available to those with children at risk of neglect and abuse.
Services should be prioritised for parents/caregivers with children provided the parent/caregiver needs the service and intends to make the most of such service.
There should be substantial information sharing between government agencies and other organisations involved in working with families in order to identify vulnerable children and offer support where required. To this end, consideration should be given to the development of a database to record information on each child for a finite period of time.
It should be possible to track parents of vulnerable children, identify all pregnancies within these families and monitor all children e.g. through transfer of data between DHBs.
Risk factors should be taken into account and should act as flags in any predictive analysis of data.
Responsibility should be taken and the system quickly updated if families are erroneously identified as ‘at risk’.
Feedback
Please contact Angela if you would like to add/change anything in the WNPC submission.
Other things in our region
Circle of Security Parenting Programme
Are you the parent of a 1, 2 or 3 year old child? You are invited to participate in a research study looking into the effects of a newly-developed parent education programme – the Circle of Security Parenting programme. This programme is designed to help parents of young children. It is a group education programme which includes watching DVD episodes and joining in group discussions about your experiences with your child(ren) and relevant experiences from your own childhood. Participation in the research is open to any parent of a 1-year-old, 2-year-old or 3-year-old child and involves :
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completion of several questionnaires at the outset
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attending a Circle Of Security Parenting group –one 1 ½ hour session per week for 8 weeks
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completion of several questionnaires at the end
Participating in the study will not cost you anything. The study is running in the first half of 2012.
If you are interested in taking part in this study or for more information please contact Kate Dent Rennie on (04) 568 9821
SIDS Tribute class
Baby Sensory in association with WNPC will be staging three one-off special session on Sunday 19 February in memory of Joshua Blake who tragically died as a result of SIDS earlier this year. Each session will cost $15 and will be followed by refreshments. Venue to be announced. To book your place contact Joanne Kane.
PND Workshop
Do you sometimes feel like being a new mother is not as simple or as easy as you thought? Sometimes motherhood can really stretch us. We can find it difficult to adjust to this new life. Feelings of isolation, anxiety or sadness are more common than we realise. This free workshop helps to find practical ways in our everyday lives to grow through our more challenging experiences. We all want to live purposefully and happily and its often our struggles that teach us the most, giving us the opportunity to emerge stronger and with a better understanding of ourselves. This workshop runs weekly for 6 weeks and a babysitting service is available onsite.
Start date : Thursday March 1St
Where : Waiwhetu Uniting Church, 4 Trafalgar St, Lower Hutt.
Time: 10am – 12pm
Charge: Free of charge
For more information: email the Wellington Post Natal depression group or ph 04 4723135
