Golden Babes: support for babies and parents
Mothers, fathers and babies get support, encouragement and reassurance out of their monthly get-together at Golden Babes. They get great snacks too.
The group, which is funded by the Ministry of Social Development, meets in the Church of Christ hall in Commercial Street in Takaka on the third Thursday of each month. It is open to all parents of newborns but people are welcome to bring their older pre-schoolers as well.
Last week’s session was led by Claudia Minguez, a mum as well as a dentist and prosthodontist. Unsurprisingly Claudia was speaking to the group about how to look after their children’s teeth. Parents heard how some of the common practices of parenthood - such as allowing children to snack throughout the day, work against good oral health.
Golden Babes is organised and run by the community workers. Public health nurse Helen Bracefield, midwife Celia Butler and community worker Emma Brazendale are all on hand to support parents and babies in any way they can. In a new development, Emma is also offering one-on-one sessions at the end of each group meeting to allow parents individual and confidential support on any issues of child behaviour and positive parenting. Emma is a trained teacher, with qualifications in behaviour management and in the care of 0 to 7-year-olds.
“Celia is here to support the mums through breast feeding,” explained Emma. “Every baby here today is breastfed and that’s obviously a wonderful thing. Helen has a mass of information and wisdom around children’s health. Being a parent can be a scary and isolating thing, especially if you’re away from your extended family. Golden Babes is a ready-made network of parents and other experts. Many of the challenges of parenthood can be pretty daunting. It’s good to have others in the group who you know are having similar experiences to yours.”
The group is run under the SKIP (Strategies For Kids; Information For Parents) banner. SKIP is a Ministry of Social Development initiative providing practical resources for positive parenting.
Golden Babes’ next meeting is on 17 June at 11am. The one-to-one sessions start at 12 noon and parents are welcome to come to either or both.
June’s session will introduce a new Ministry of Education initiative called Footsteps, which funds home-based care through approved adults to give parents time out or allow them to work.
“The Bay is crying out for day-care places for under-twos and this could be the answer,” explained Emma. “It can even be used for overnight care. It’s set up for little groups to work in people’s homes; you can’t be paid for looking after your own children but you can for other people’s children. I’d encourage mums especially to come along to next month’s session and see what’s in it for them. Aunties, granddads and neighbours can all be part of this scheme.”
Neil Wilson
