OCTOBER / NOVEMEBER 2018
Babywearing
Messy Play Why its important
12 ways it can change your life
Toilet Training Aids:
Products that really help
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PALMY PARENT â–ª PALMERSTON NORTH PARENTS CENTRE MAGAZINE
EDITOR’S NOTE The year really is flying past - how is it that 2018 is nearly done?! I’m writing this from the sunny south coast of England, where we’ve spent a month with our family and friends in beautiful West Sussex. From medieval castles to Neolithic ruins, zoos to museums, big cities to the rural South Downs, we’ve done an awful lot in recent weeks, and I can absolutely attest to the fact that babywearing makes life a thousand times easier when you have kids. Most of our photos include either Mr 4.5 or Miss 22 months - or both on our backs, and our trip would have been significantly harder without our trusty carriers. With this in mind I invite you to check out our babywearing features this month - and if you’re interested in learning more but unsure where to start, head along to a Babywearers Manawatu meeting, where you’ll find fantastic help and lots of things to try. Also in this issue, you’ll find some great play ideas, a book giveaway, and tips on surviving messy play. Our health feature covers iron and pregnancy, and we look at products that may help you survive toilet training a little drier in our reviews. There’s a feature on the excellent SPACE programme run through playcentre that helps so many new parents in the early days, we visit Mt Bruce for our family friendly outing, we have the first part of a fantastic series from the Brainwave Trust, and much more. Enjoy, and until next time, au revoir - next stop for us, Paris!
Erin Evis, Editor
ADVERTISE IN PALMY PARENT Palmerston North Parents Centre has a circulation of over 250 magazines per issue. These are sent to all current members as well as Plunket, midwives and other community groups. Our rates are extremely competitive and we would love your support by way of an advertisement. Also, in addition to our outstanding rates, we offer you a FREE advertorial on your business if you commit to either four or six adverts per annum. For more information contact our Business Relations Officer by email at: palmyparent@hotmail.com One-off price
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Mission s tatement Positive birth experiences and informed parenting in a community where parents are supported and highly valued in their role.
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Disclaimer: Opinions and articles in this magazine do not necessarily reflect Parents Centre NZ policy. Advertising in this magazine does not imply endorsement by Parents Centre. ISSUE 285 ▪ OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2018
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CONTENTS COVER STORY 12 Ways Wearing Your Baby Can Change Your Life
18
Why Messy Play is Important
22
FEATURES Babywearing week 2018
12
Space
14
The Amazing Social Capabilities of Babies
16
IN EVERY ISSUE
GOT SOMETHING TO SHARE? Want to share some helpful advice or a great book you’ve read? Let us know and we’ll share it with our members. Or, if you would like to have your baby’s photos printed, write about your birth experience, review a book or a family friendly venue you have visited recently, we’d love to hear from you! Email the Editor at:
palmyparenteditor@gmail.com
Editor’s note
3
PNPC seminars & events
6
Welcome to the World!
8
What’s on ... In our region
11
Book Review
12
Birth Story: Oliver’s birth story
20
Product Review: Toilet Training Aids
24
Development: “W” sitting
26
Family Friendly Outings: Mt Bruce Pukaha 28 Craft: Giant Bubbles
30
Community support groups
32
Member discounts
33
Playgroups in your area
34
CONTRIBUTORS
Erin Evis, Laura Wenden-Green, Saritta Burney, Steph O’Connor, Petra Price, Inez McCaughan, Rachel Mackay, Michelle Ir ving, Maria Foy, Kate Dent Rennie, Sue Wright, Lynsey Taylor Front cover:
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PALMY PARENT ▪ PALMERSTON NORTH PARENTS CENTRE MAGAZINE
Pexels/Pixabay
COMMITTEE News
(Saturday) we had 40 breastfeeding mothers, supporters and pregnant mothers attend and 32 latches. We had so much fun hosting and building support for breastfeeding one latch at a time. Parents Centre was also involved in co-hosting the Friday event at Te Papaioea Birthing Centre where there were over 95 latches – that’s a total of 127 latches in Palmerston North and over 2000 latches nationwide. We would like to thank our generous sponsors once again, your donations made the morning extra special. If you missed out this year don’t worry we will definitely be hosting an event again next year.
Our last edition of Palmy Parent Magazine was our first digital edition, and the feedback we have received so far has been positive; it’s great to think that we as a committee are supported by our membership to keep up with technology and reduce our environmental footprint. On the 4th of August Parents Centre and Palmerston North Breastfeeding Support hosted a Big Latch;
Coming up on Sunday the 14th of October 2018 we have the first Palmy Parent and Child Expo organized by Palmy Parents Centre. It’s at the Awapuni Function Centre from 10 am- 4pm. There will be a wide variety of stalls with over 40 different vendors, from pregnancy to pre-schoolers and beyond we aim to have everything under the same roof. There will be one goodie bag per family while stocks last - the goodies for these bags have been received and they are looking great. We would really appreciate our membership’s support of this event – come along, share the event and tell everyone you know about it – it’s going to be great, we will see you there. As always, we are always on the lookout for more volunteers to join our team, if you are interested in getting more information drop us an email on info@palmyparentscentre.org.nz
Parent Centre Partners:
ISSUE 285 ▪ OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2018
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PNPC Seminars & Events
October & November
BABYWEARING MONTH
October is Babywearing Month. Check out the Babywearers Manawatu Facebook Group for details of the babywearing celebrations.
BABY AND YOU CLASSES
Wednesday 17, 24, 31 October Wednesday 14, 21 28 November
This program follows on from antenatal classes and offers sound tips and strategies as you begin your remarkable journey into parenthood during the fourth trimester. The class is best suited to babies 0-6 weeks. Bring your baby with you for the 3 sessions of the course.
Cost: $40 per family
HOT TOPIC- KIDS CONFLICT
Thursday 18 October, 7.30pm
Want to help your children resolve conflict? Come along to this seminar presented by parenting mentor Tabitha Jonson and learn some practical skills and tips for a calmer and more peaceful household.
Cost: $10 members; $15 non-members
INFANT CPR
NEWBORN BREASTFEEDING
Thursday 8 November, 10am
Designed for ALL expectant and new mums who are intending to, or have recently started breastfeeding. Learn how to prepare for and get started with breastfeeding, along with strategies for an effective and sustainable breastfeeding journey. You can attend this seminar while pregnant and again in the early weeks with your newborn. Partners welcome. Presented by Cheryl Benn, Lactation Consultant, selfemployed midwife, and Regional Midwifery Advisor to MidCentral and Whanganui DHB
Cost: Free to all
PELVIC HEALTH
Saturday 10 November, 10am
A seminar with new content for both prenatal and postnatal women, covering: pelvic floor muscle training and relaxation, pelvic injuries, what’s not normal, exercise both during and post pregnancy, reducing pelvic and back pain during after after pregnancy, and important recovery tips after caesarean and vaginal birth
Cost: $6 PNPC members; $12 non-members
Thursday 25 October, 10am
This short course will cover baby and infant CPR, choking, burns, convulsions, fevers, illness warning signs and accidental ingestion of toxins. This is a baby friendly course.
Cost: $6 PNPC members; $12 non-members
RESPONSIVE PARENTING COURSE
Sunday 28 October and Sunday 4 November, 9am4pm Palmerston North Parents Centre’s Responsive Parenting Workshops are designed to encourage, support and equip families with positive, ‘responsive’ and non-punitive strategies for the parenting journey.
Cost: $20 single; $35 couple
COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR TODDLER
Saturday 3 November, 10am
Children can find it hard to express themselves so that others understand. One way to support your child through this stage, is by using sign language and providing them with some key signs along with spoken word and by listening to the way in which they express their needs, wants, and emotions. This workshop will provide parents some basic NZ Key Signs© (based on NZ Sign Language), in a fun and interactive way. You will walk away with some practical resources and skills to support you in using NZ Key Signs© in your home.
Cost: $10 PNPC members; $15 non-members 6
INTRODUCTORY WATER SKILLS FOR INFANTS
Venue: Freyberg Community Pool Thursday 22 November, 11am
Introduce your child to water in this “taster” swimming class. For babies and toddlers aged 5 months to 3 years old. Approximately 30 minutes duration.
Cost: Free; this session is kindly provided by CLM Swim Magic.
HOT TOPIC- RAISING A CO-OPERATIVE CHILD
Monday 19 November, 7.30pm
Does your child resist requests? Come along to this new seminar and find out how you can help your child to cooperate with you and others. Presented by parenting mentor Tabitha Jonson.
Cost: $10 members; $15 non-members
To register please see our website: http://www.palmyparentscentre.org.nz/ All seminars and events can be found in our calendar on the website. For any queries please email: info@palmyparentscentre.org.nz
PALMY PARENT ▪ PALMERSTON NORTH PARENTS CENTRE MAGAZINE
Members’ Offers: FREE barista hot drink or pair of grips socks when you present your membership card at a Coffee & Kids morning on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 10am-12pm for children under 6, $7 per child
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(parents get free entry)
Visit our facebook page @ fantailsnestnz and receive free shipping using the code: PALMYFLYSFREE
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Enter the coupon code PARENTS20 at the checkout to SAVE on selected items at The Sleep Store To see which items you can apply the discount to visit www.thesleepstore.co.nz/content/parentscentre
Unique Beginnings
Visit www.thesleepstore.co.nz/content/parentscentre for further details & exclusions on this offer. Coupon applies to selected items listed on this webpage, Offer cannot be used with coupons, vouchers, discounts, 2-pack offers or combo deals. Cannot be used on shipping fee or other brand items, gift cards or in conjunction with any other offer or discount. The Sleep Store reserves the right to update or amend this offer at any time.
with Rebecca Robinson
Birth preparation & beyond, Lactation Consultant support
www.uniquebeginnings.co.nz
5% OFF all services
ph: 021 066 0394
ISSUE 285 â–Ş OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2018
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Welcome TO THE WORLD!
Welcome to all the new babies born to our wonderful Parent Centre members! If there are any corrections to the list below, please email palmyparenteditor@gmail.com
Class: April 5th 2018 | Hostess: Charlotte Bolwell | CBE: Jen Geraghty
Baxter
Gian Han
June John
born to
born to
born to
Robert Hobbs Courtney Whyte & Gary Hobbs on
Jo-Anne Mullinger born to
GeunYoung Eom & Jun Hee Han
Virginia Husband & Andrew John
Brooke & Luke Mullinger
12 May 2018
31 May 2018
2 June 2018
on
1 May 2018
Max
Stanley Shilvock born to
on
on
Jack
Gerard Arber born to
Owen
James Turnock born to
Kerryn & Jared Shilvock
Lydia & Richard Arber
Charlotte Bolwell & Dan Turnock
9 June 2018
14 June 2018
20 June 2018
on
8
Addison
Maisie
on
PALMY PARENT â–ª PALMERSTON NORTH PARENTS CENTRE MAGAZINE
on
India
Zak
Jack
Kate Murdoch
Christopher Hedge
born to
born to
Edwin Laurence Tilson
on
Paula Hicks & Ben Tilson
Rachel & Daniel Murdoch on
23 June 2018
Natasha & Michael Hedge 26 June 2018
born to
on
28 June 2018
Chelan
William Jayasuriya born to
Khaushali & Chiran Jayasuriya on
2 July 2018
Johanna
Alice Jonker born to
Emma & Arjan Jonker on
3 July 2018
Leah
Rei Stevens born to
Emily Wang & Richard Stevens on
3 July 2018
As part of the Kind Hearts Movement
d n i K ea ts H
has bestowed a random act of kindness upon
Virginia Husband You will each receive a free coffee voucher! Don’t forget to pay it forward! Streetwise Coffee Cart, Rangitikei Street, Palmerston North ISSUE 285 ▪ OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2018
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Class: May 8 2018 | Hostess: Yunene Dawson | CBE: Jess White
Indie McInnes
Lea Franky
Harper Spring
born to
born to
born to
Jessica & George McInnes
Laura Franky & Michael Blaschek
Carly Chang & Jono Spring
21st June 2018
25th June 2018
26th June 2018
on
on
on
Zion Rowe
Marnie Woods
Lily Fisher
Ryan Silvester
born to
born to
born to
born to
Janet & Marshall Rowe
Nina & Jonathon Woods
Gemma & Adam Fisher
Hannah & Michael Silvester
1st July 2018
3rd July 2018
9th July 2018
16th July 2018
on
on
Aurora Broughton born to
Jessica van Weert & Michael Broughton on
17th July 2018
10
on
on
Keira Stubbs
Chloe Graham
born to
born to
Lennae & Cameron Stubbs
Amy & Barry Graham
24th July 2018
5th August 2018
on
PALMY PARENT â–ª PALMERSTON NORTH PARENTS CENTRE MAGAZINE
on
What’s On ... in our region SCHOOL HOLIDAYS AT
Te Manawa
Active Tots Self-directed and exploration focused play for under 4s Monday 1st October, 10.00am - Midday Monday 8th October, 10.00am - Midday Mask Madness Get creative at Te Manawa. Using a range of materials, create your very own mask to take home. Will you be a superhero, a monster or a superhero monster? Monday 2nd October, 10.30am - Midday Sensory Tots Explore your surroundings with Sensory Tots, a space for creative play and sensory experiences. Friday 5th October, 10.30am - Midday Friday 12th October, 10.30am - Midday Storytelling Pull up a cushion and get comfy and be taken on a journey with storytelling at Te Manawa - BYO morning tea Monday 9th October, 11.00am - Midday Plus many more activities for different ages , click the box for more details on their website.
Handmade baby linen & accessories Bassinet & Cot Sheets Change Mat Covers Blankets/Quilts Nursery Cushions Custom Orders
Visit our website to shop emmersonsnest.bigcartel.com
facebook.com/emmersonsnest @emmersonsnest emmersonsnest@gmail.com
FUN FOR THE FAMILY
Ailene’s Crafts - Rainbow Wind Socks Come and create a beautiful colourful rainbow wind sock to hang in your room. Suitable for the whole family. Monday 1st October, 2:30pm–4:00pm Te Patikitiki Libary, Highbury Avenue, Palmerston North Dr Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat Two bored kids. One rainy day. And one crazy cat wearing a red-striped hat. Spoiler alert: Things run amuck, and quickly. Family of 4: $100.00 - Reserved Seating: $27.50 Buy Tickets – 06 357 9740 Dates in early October 2018 Regent on Broadway, 53 Broadway Avenue, Palmerston North Teddy Bear Sleepover Bring you special teddy bear along to Events Central on the ground floor for their very own sleepover adventure at the library! We will be keeping you and your teddies busy and entertained from 4pm until just before 6pm when its time to tuck teddy in and say goodnight. Then sneak home and check our Children’s Library Facebook page later on to see if your teddy is getting up to mischief! Friday 5 October 2018 4:00pm – 6:00pm Palmerston North Central Library, 4 The Square, Palmerston North Ailene’s Crafts - Paper Tube Creations Create whatever you can image - birds, animals, beautiful butterflies, dinosaurs, aliens.... out of paper tubes and a range of creative supplies. Fun for everyone! Bring along your imagination. Monday 8th October, 2:30pm–4:00pm Te Patikitiki Libary, Highbury Avenue, Palmerston North Feilding Craft Market Christmas trees decorated by artists, carol singers and Santa’s workshop, and more, it is all about Christmas. Children under 12 free entry, adults $8.00 Friday 12 October 2018 9:00am Saturday 13 October 2018 9:00am Manfeild, South Street, Feilding, Feilding and District Olde English Faire - Lions Market Day The Plaza corner of The Square is filled with approximately 90 craft stalls. Stalls include: Collectibles, Arts & Crafts, Quality Wares, Clothing, Jewellery & Trinkets, Hot Food and Drinks. Entertainment is provided throughout the day with the Manawatu Scottish Pipe Band and a selection of local School Music Groups. Saturday 20 October 2018 9:00am – 4:00pm The Square, The Square, Palmerston North ISSUE 285 ▪ OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2018
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BOOK REVIEW
HOORAYfor Fish!
Written By Lucy Cousins Review by Steph O’Connor
Lucy Cousins is probably best-known for her Maisy books, but this is an incredibly sweet story of a little fish going on an adventure through the sea, and meeting all manner of ‘fishy friends’ - stripy fish, thin fish, curly wurly fish - until he meets the one he ‘loves best’: his Mummy fish. ‘“But where’s the one I love the best, even more than all the rest?”.... “Hello, Mum.” “Hello, Little Fish…”’ This book is a wonderful rhyming book which makes it fun for children to read aloud, and be read to. With a catchy and easy flow of words, children will enjoy this unique, bright and bold style. It is also great for counting and learning colours and shapes. With bright and colourful illustrations, this book brings underwater imaginings to life.
BOOK GIVEAWAY Be in to win this issue’s reviewed book!
FUN & A FIX
COFFEE & KIDS
find us on
To enter the draw to win this issue’s book, email your name, membership number and the title of the book to palmnthpc@gmail.com. Entries for the next draw must be received by November 15th. The winner’s name will be printed in the next issue of the Palmy Parent and the book will be posted to you.
TUES, WED & THURS 10am-12pm
Bruce McKenzie’s Booksellers is situated in George Street beside the entrance to the Palmerston North Library. Bruce McKenzie’s carries an enormous range of books from children’s to specialist nonfiction and is definitely worth a visit. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask the staff who are always willing to help.
$7 PER CHILD PARENTS/CAREGIVERS FREE
06 355 2442 INFO@FLIPCITY.CO.NZ 12
The children’s book reviewed above has been generously donated by Bruce McKenzie Booksellers on George Street, Palmerston North to give away to a lucky Parents Centre Member.
Congratulations to: BREASTFEEDING WELCOME HERE
Amy Graham who has won a copy of ‘Goodnight Moon’
PALMY PARENT ▪ PALMERSTON NORTH PARENTS CENTRE MAGAZINE
FEATURE
BABYWEARING WEEK This year we are celebrating babywearing over a whole month, rather than just a week like it usually is, now known as Babywearing Month Aotearoa 2018 - Celebrating International Babywearing Week for the whole month of October! This change was based on feedback from babywearers around the country so that organisers were able to plan events outside of the school holidays. This year celebrates 10 years of International Babywearing Week, for those of us who have been babywearing for a significant period of time this is an important milestone as it’s a reflection of how much babywearing has become an accepted tool in our parenting toolkit. In the Manawatu we are hoping to celebrate the awesomeness of babywearing as well as sharing the babywearing love with people who aren’t already part of the community. We are planning to host a peer support training fundraiser (to help train up our new volunteers), carries of the day, babywearing/breastfeeding/ bottle-feeding photoshoots with Milldove Photography, a teddy bears’ picnic, a longer than usual library so we have plenty of time to
2018
chat and play, one or two babywearing walks of various lengths, and a flip city meet.
We hope to help host a Re-Carry event. ReCarry is an initiative that aims to give those with limited funds a free carrier and to teach them to use their carrier at a workshop with a trained carrying expert as well as essential baby carrying safety information. Carriers are then returned and recycled once the person has finished with them, creating a cycle of care and carrying. We have some carriers from the library we are able to donate to this event, but there will be a call out on our FB page for further donations, so we can help as many families as possible. All events for Babywearing month will be posted on our Babywearing FB page, so make sure you keep an eye on our page and watch this space! Saritta, Rachel, Chelsea, Siokkhim and Finda – Babywearers Manawatu Volunteers.
ISSUE 285 ▪ OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2018
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FEATURE
Space
It’s Friday morning, and I’m actually looking forward to beginning the unenviable task of getting myself and my nine month old out the door. As we flit from Feilding to Palmerston North, my daughter chats loudly to herself in the back seat and I feel the weight lift as I think about where we’re heading. It’s the first week of the new term, and after a two week break, we’re heading to our happy place – SPACE. Based in the ACROSS facility, next to the shiny new FMG building, Palmerston North’s SPACE programme has been running for several years now. It survived the PAFT funding cut in 2016 and was absorbed, along with the rest of the nationwide programmes, into the Parenting Place network in 2017. As of 2016 there were 371 SPACE groups across New Zealand, providing front line support to over 4700 new parents in many diverse communities. They are often funded by partnerships with community groups or religious organisations – the Palmerston North programme is heavily subsidised by ACROSS Social Services. The programme’s kaupapa is a simple and important one – all new parents need support, and that support should be readily available.
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The postnatal period can be difficult for a variety of reasons, and providing parents and infants with a support network is critical for ensuring that they thrive, both individually and as a new whānau. Through the weekly, group-based sessions, new parents can have the reassurance of a consistent, safe, welcoming environment where they can share their struggles and successes, build the relationship between them and their child, form bonds with other parents, and gain information, insight and perspective from the programme facilitators. The weekly, two hour sessions have a standard format. We start with a welcome song and a a waiata, and then the first hour is a discussion, led by the facilitators, about a parenting topic. These topics range from sleep, to food, to attachment, to motor skill development, and they are summarised and supported by the programme journal – an excellent parenting handbook provided at the start of the sessions. Then, there’s a break for a hot drink (as any new parent knows, the highest of luxuries!) and a bit of a chat. The second hour involves a craft – we’ve made sensory boards, embossed tiny baby footprints, and decorated picture frames among other things
PALMY PARENT ▪ PALMERSTON NORTH PARENTS CENTRE MAGAZINE
– and some songs and music. We finish with a goodbye song, and within weeks the babies all know the routine. There is also a thought of the week, usually linked to the topic of the day, and these have brought about many great discussions about the interpretation and application of our various parenting ideas and goals. Like any group of new parents, we have a wide scope of parenting styles and ideals, including some less orthodox approaches like Elimination Communication, babywearing, baby led weaning, and a decision not to undergo sleep training. When any of these topics are broached, the atmosphere created is so much less hostile than other forums for discussing parenting choices; information is presented without bias or agenda, and genuine conversations emerge about the ways in which our personal values are reflected in our parenting, as opposed to some of the aggressive, partisan parenting so often seen on the internet and in other social settings. When we began, back in Term One, I knew two of the other mothers there from my Childbirth Education Classes through Parent’s Centre. We were still going to coffee group together, but I felt I needed to be doing more both with and for my daughter, and desperately needed to be getting out and interacting with more people. When SPACE was suggested, I jumped at the idea, even before I really knew what the programme was about. No other decision in my parenting journey to date has paid off so wonderfully. Our programme facilitators, Yvonne and Rosalie, are talented, passionate,
caring women who have created an oasis in the tempest of new parenthood. The sessions are informative – no doubt about it – but they are also responsive, flexible, and there is room for the parents to bring up issues they are facing and seek advice and reassurance from the group. I outlined the format of the sessions, but, in truth, there have been multiple weeks where we’ve had to rush through or postpone our craft session because the ‘tea break’ in the middle ran too long, with us sharing and commiserating and supporting one another beyond the allocated 15 minutes. We have gone from sitting awkwardly in a large circle and chatting superficially when our babies were still too small to roll over, to cheering as they race each other around the room or pull themselves up on each other and ourselves, and cuddling each other’s tamariki while we savour a still-hot cuppa or nip to the loo. Come the school holiday breaks, we organise meet ups in the hole in our week left by SPACE’s absence. In the plan for my return to full time work, I was careful to organise that I wouldn’t have to go in on a Friday morning, specifically so that my daughter and I can still attend. This is the environment that Yvonne, Rosalie, and the kaupapa of the SPACE programme have created. They have built the village that so many parents are lacking by providing an environment where parents are empowered by information, choice and relationships. Truly – thank goodness it’s Friday.
For availability in your area visit
www.space.org.nz
mou, me te pepi Your Space Group Will...
Join Space for you and
Meet weekly
your baby to connect
Consider different parenting perspectives
with other new parents and their babies as you explore parenting and children’s development in a safe, facilitated
Explore music, rhymes, books and a variety of play experience Discover ways that work for you and your baby
environment.
connect
explore
contribute
belong
ISSUE 285 ▪ OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2018
15
FEATURE
The Amazing Social Capabilities
of Babies
Part One
Au t h o r s : K a t e D e n t R e n n i e a n d Sue Wright From birth babies have some sophisticated social capacities (Beebe & Lachmann, 2002), which they use to maintain a relationship with their primary caregiver. These social capacities are established in the days and weeks after birth. This three-part series shares some insights into baby’s amazing capabilities. Right from the beginning babies are capable of distinguishing between different people’s voices. They can detect the different ways in which we express ourselves. They are sensitive to rhythm (Condon & Sandler, 1974), intonation (Morse, 1972), and other features of speech (DeCasper & Fifer, 1980). A baby less than 3 days old will choose to listen to a recording of his/her own mother’s voice rather than another mother’s voice (DeCasper & Fifer, 1980), and they prefer to listen to her reading a familiar story (one read aloud during the pregnancy) over an unfamiliar one (DeCasper & Spence, 1986). Newborn babies also know and prefer their mother’s smell, and will turn their heads towards the smell of their own mother’s breast milk, rather than that of another mother (McFarlane, 1975, cited by Stern, 1985). Infants have an early tendency to orient towards faces (Johnson, Posner, & Rothbart, 1991). A study of face
processing found that baby’s of just 2 months old are using the majority of the parts of the brain that adult’s use in face processing (Tzourio-Mazoyer et al., 2002). They are already sophisticated readers of people. Infants are sensitive after birth to another’s gaze, this is reflected in their preference for looking at faces that have their eyes open rather than closed (Batkia, Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, Connellan, & Ahluwaliab, 2000; Schacter & Moscovitch, 1984) and a tendency to orient towards direct eye contact from others (Farroni, Csibra, Simion, & Johnson, 2002). By three months infants will orient more to direct gaze and a fearful adult expression than direct gaze with a neutral face or averted gaze and either neutral or fearful expression (Hoehl, Wiese, & Striano, 2008). Their survival instinct to identify danger and seek support from people is already well established. As Helen Fisher quoted “Touch is the ‘mother of all senses’”. Infants smile more to touch with an interactive face reaction than to still face and touch. Touch can reinforce and maintain high rates of infant eye contact responses, vocalisations
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PALMY PARENT ▪ PALMERSTON NORTH PARENTS CENTRE MAGAZINE
and smiles during face-to-face contact with their mother (Parsons, Young, Murray, Stein, & Kringelbach, 2010). From birth, infants work to maintain an optimal level of arousal, keeping themselves in a comfortable range. The limited strategies they have available to them to do this include: choosing what to look at, sucking, self-touching and restricting their range of facial expressiveness (Beebe & Lachmann, 2002). For example, when faced with a display of flashing lights, infants in a low state of arousal (fed & swaddled) look longer at the lights as the tempo of the flashing increases, whereas infants in a high state of arousal (unfed & unswaddled) look less as the tempo increases (Gardner & Karmel, 1984). In face-to-face interactions, infants use brief visual disengagement (i.e. looking away) from their parent, to regulate their arousal. A few seconds before the infant averts his gaze, his heart rate accelerates. Within 5 seconds of looking away (if the mother responds by becoming less active and ‘waiting’), his heart rate returns to baseline, and he quickly returns his gaze to her (Field, 1981).
References Batkia, A., Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Connellan, J., & Ahluwaliab, J. (2000). Is there an innate gaze module? Evidence from human neonates. Infant Behavior and Development, 23, 223229. Beebe, B., & Lachmann, F. M. (2002). Infant Research and Adult Treatment: Co-constructing interactions. London: The Analytic Press. Condon, W. S., & Sandler, L. W. (1974). Neonate movement is synchronized with adult speech: interactional participation and
language acquisition. Science, 183(4120), 99-101. DeCasper, A. J., & Fifer, W. P. (1980). Of Human bonding: New infants prefer their mothers’ voices. . Science, 208(4448), 1174-1176. DeCasper, A. J., & Spence, M. J. (1986). Prenatal maternal speech influences newborns’ perception of speech sounds. Infant Behavior and Development, 9(2), 133-150. Farroni, T., Csibra, G., Simion, F., & Johnson, M. H. (2002). Eye contact detection in humans from birth. Proc. Natl. Acad. Science, 99(14), 9602-9605. Field, T. (1981). Infant gaze aversion and heart rate during face-toface interactions. Infant Behavior and Development, 4, 307-315. Gardner, J. M., & Karmel, B. Z. (1984). Arousal effects on visual preferences in neonates. . Developmental Psychology, 20(3), 374377. Hoehl, S., Wiese, L., & Striano, T. (2008). Young Infants’ Neural Processing of Objects Is Affected by Eye Gaze Direction and Emotional Expression. Plos One, 3(6), e2389. Johnson, M. H., Posner, M. I., & Rothbart, M. K. (1991). Components of visual orienting in early infancy: Contingency learning, anticipatory looking, and disengaging. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 3(4), 335-344. Morse, P. A. (1972). The discrimination of speech and nonspeech stimuli in early infancy. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 14(3), 477-492. Parsons, C. E., Young, K. S., Murray, L., Stein, A., & Kringelbach, M. L. (2010). The functional neuranatomy of the evolving parentinfant relationship. Progress in Neurobiology, 91(3), 220 - 241. Schacter, D. L., & Moscovitch, M. (1984). Infants, amnesics, and dissociable memory systems Infant memory (pp. 173-216): Springer. Stern, D. N. (1985). The Interpersonal World of the Infant. A View from Psychoanalysis and Developmental Psychology. New York (Basic Books) 1985. Tzourio-Mazoyer, N., De Schonen, S., Crivello, F., Reutter, B., Aujard, Y., & Mazoyer, B. (2002). Neural correlates of woman face processing by 2-month-old infants. Neuroimage, 15(2), 454-461.
This article was first published in Brainwave Trust Newsletter 19, Summer 2013
ISSUE 285 ▪ OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2018
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FEATURE
12 Ways Wearing Your Baby Can
Change Your Life
By Pinky McKay Parenting is arguably one of the most challenging things we’ll ever do. It also happens to be the most rewarding. Nikki Wilkins, Certified Baby Carrier Consultant, strongly believes that many of the challenges we face as parents can be reduced or eliminated with the use of a baby carrier. These are her top 12 reasons why babywearing is so helpful. Most adults have a fairly sound understanding of children’s needs and the importance of being responsive to them, but applying this in a practical sense on a day to day basis can be a challenge for many parents. In recent years we have seen the creation of many baby products designed to help make the lives of parents easier such as prams, bouncers, play pens, and cots. Many parents quickly discover that during the frequent moments throughout the day their children need them to meet their basic need for connection, these products aren’t very useful as they put a barrier between themselves and their children. Although often referred to as ‘baby’ carriers, it is not widely known that there are comfortable options from birth through to preschooler. You should be able to comfortably carry at least up to 20kg (that’s an average 4-5 year old). 1. Children who are carried cry less Crying can be exhausting for both the parents and their baby. If you halved the amount of time your baby was crying, how would that impact your life? How would it impact the experience of your baby? In a study published by the journal ‘Pediatrics’, researchers found that babywearing for three hours per day reduced infant crying by 43 percent, and during the evening hours it reduced by 54 percent. Babies who are not crying spend their energy calmly observing and actively learning about their environment and have more positive interactions with the world. Babywearing is especially useful for babies who are unsettled with reflux or colic who are far happier being worn and continuously kept in an upright position to provide relief from their discomfort. 2. Children who are carried are easier to get to sleep, and sleep longer Many babies nap better and for longer periods when being carried. If they begin to wake up during the end of their short sleep cycle, the person wearing them can simply sway a couple of times to gently rock them back to sleep. This saves a significant amount of time often spent trying to settle a baby in their cot, and also means they can have their nap when you are out and about running errands or doing things around the house rather than planning your life around nap times. More often than not, their night time sleep also improves when they have been carried during the day. One explanation for this is because regular close contact helps babies regulate their circadian rhythms better and allows
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them to better distinguish the difference between night and day sleep. 3. Families who use baby carriers have more time to do the things they love If you haven’t used a baby carrier regularly before, you’ll be amazed at what they can help a family achieve. Picture this: Your best friend is having an engagement party this weekend at her house. You aren’t ready to leave your baby with anyone (or you are but don’t have a sitter) but you still want to go and celebrate. You consider taking the pram so the baby has somewhere to sleep, but will there be any room to have it next to you? If you put the pram in a different room so the music doesn’t wake the baby, will the monitor reach that far? Will you hear the monitor over the loud music? Are you comfortable leaving your baby in an unfamiliar room with people you haven’t met wandering around inside? Instead, you decide to take your baby carrier. Your baby sleeps snuggled up against you, warm and safe. Every now and then she stirs, but you just bounce her up and down a little and she sleeps through. You stay and enjoy the party for as long as you like, dancing and catching up with old friends. If you enjoy walking the dog, hiking, or walking along the beach, you can enjoy the convenience of babywearing. You can go many places wearing a carrier that a pram can’t go – walk in the water or even in the soft sand as far as you want to go. This is just as handy with walking toddlers whose little legs tire easily. Travel. So many families have experienced traveling for longer periods or much earlier than they ever expected to thanks to the convenience and practicality of babywearing – at the airport, on the plane, public transport, and out and about. The possibilities are endless. Babies who are carried also become involved in their parents’ world and get to participate and be within close proximity to what their parents’ are doing rather than viewing things as a spectator. 4. Babywearing encourages independence and fosters a strong attachment You may not be ready for your child to be more independent yet, but you may have had someone say to you ‘carried babies will end up clingy’ or ‘you’re making a rod for your own back’ when they see you cuddling or carrying your baby. Actually, the opposite is true. Many studies have shown that children who have their needs met grow to become more confident to explore the world when they are ready than those who don’t have their
PALMY PARENT ▪ PALMERSTON NORTH PARENTS CENTRE MAGAZINE
immediate needs met, because they know you will be there for them when they need you. It’s also a wonderful opportunity for relatives to connect and bond with the baby. 5. Babywearing allows you to do more of the things that you need to do Vacuuming, doing the dishes, preparing dinner, mopping, doing laundry, working – basically anything you do to keep your household running can be done much easier (and generally faster) with a baby carrier. As parents we often feel overwhelmed with the day to day running of the household. It can be difficult to achieve these tasks when you have a baby who doesn’t want to be put down or wakes up as soon as you try to put them down for a sleep. If you’re using a baby carrier, you no longer need to worry. 6. Babywearing is practical Babywearing enables you to easily navigate stairs, leave the pram at home, duck in and out of small shopping aisles, and navigate crowds easily. The possibilities are endless (within reason, of course) And it’s so much easier and quicker to get out of the car than a pram! 7. Babywearing can increase your confidence as a parent A large aspect of parenting with confidence is being able to read your baby’s cues successfully. When babies are held close in a baby carrier, a parent quickly becomes finely tuned to their baby’s cues. The parent’s responsiveness to the baby’s needs increases the baby’s trust in their parent which enhances the attachment between the parent and child, creating strong family relationships and making parenting more enjoyable.
less than 30 minutes to devote to their children in the evenings. Many working parents have reported that babywearing has been crucial for them to reconnect with their children after time apart due to going to work. Often children become unsettled in the afternoon, and the time between picking them up from childcare and bed time is often referred to as the ‘witching hour’ as children can become quite unsettled and wanting our undivided attention. Babywearing allows you to find additional opportunities to connect – by wearing your children when you are preparing dinner or doing various household tasks. 11. Babywearing saves your back A large percentage of adults complain of back problems, and even those who don’t have back problems find carrying a child on their hip quite tiring on their body. A good baby carrier will distribute the weight evenly across your body. This can be lifechanging for a parent who has a disability or for any reason has difficulty carrying their child. Whether it be for short trips or longer cuddles – a baby carrier is perfect if you need a bit of extra support. 12. Babywearing facilitates breastfeeding Babywearing allows you to breastfeed on the move discreetly. For those who have had problems with breastfeeding, babywearing has been shown to help. Some babies nurse better on the go as they are more relaxed when in the comfort of the motion of being in a baby carrier. The close proximity can also help babies to feed more frequently and help mothers to respond to cues more frequently.
8. Babywearing reduces the risk of postnatal depression Postnatal depression (PND) affects between 10 to 15% of new mothers, and many are never diagnosed. In 2014 the Royal College of Midwives reported that nearly 60% of mothers felt down or depressed after giving birth. Keeping your baby close improves bonding and attachment through the release of oxytocin, and reduces anxiety and depression. It can also help parents get out and about and exercise which is also shown to help with PND. 9. Babywearing helps you have one on one time with all of your children Having a new sibling is a big change for a child, and for the parents. As parents we try to divide our time up between both children but the reality is that newborns or young babies generally require our immediate attention more often. Babywearing allows you to keep meet many of the immediate needs of your new baby by keeping them close in a baby carrier leaving your hands free to spend time with your other children. Many parents wonder how they would have got by without babywearing once they have more than one child, and it becomes particularly useful when taking your older child to kindy or even walking to school together. 10. Babywearing helps you to reconnect after time apart A recent study has found that the average parent has ISSUE 285 ▪ OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2018
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BIRTH STORY
Oliver’s BIRTH STORY
When I was pregnant with our first baby I was given the book “Hypnobirthing” by Marie Mongan to read. Judging the book by its title I was pretty sceptical that there would be anything of value in there. As soon as I started reading it, however, I found it made perfect sense. In essence the book teaches that women are designed to give birth and therefore there should be no reason to fear the birth process. Fear and stress work against the progression of birth and are inextricably connected with pain. If you can remove fear and stress from your birth, and concentrate on being in a relaxed state, you can have a comfortable birth. Hypnobirthing gives you the tools to help you achieve a deep state of relaxation and allows you to let go of fears and have faith in your body’s natural ability. I had heard many, many stories of friends and family having induced labours, and most of these seemed to be very long and stressful, often ending in caesarean. I had my heart set on having a natural birth with minimal interventions. When I was diagnosed with Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy (ICP) in my last trimester and was informed that I would have to be induced at 37 weeks for the safety of the baby I was sent into a head spin. Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy is a a serious condition which causes intense itchiness in the mother and has risks of preterm labour, foetal distress and foetal loss. Diagnosis is made by liver function and bile acid testing.
We made the decision when we became pregnant to move to the Manawatu in order to be closer to family. This has been a wonderful choice but we were, of course, sad to leave our fantastic midwife Heather Featherstone behind in the Waikato. We were very lucky to find a lovely new midwife, Alison Nelson, in Palmerston North who happily took over my case. In between selling our house, searching for a new house, moving across the country and hospital visits due to ICP I didn’t devote as nearly as
much time as I had hoped to practising hypnobirthing techniques. I was feeling anxious and worried for the health of my baby. I was afraid about the likelihood that, like others, needing an early induction meant I was in for a difficult birth and a quite possibly a caesarean. At this point I sought out the advice of Aileen Devonshire from the Holistic Birth Company in Palmerston North. A meeting with her helped to ground me and I realised that although I couldn’t control the changes happening to my birth plan I could take back the power by being in control of how I perceived and reacted to these changes. I spent the next few weeks practising hypnobirthing visualisations and also every technique available to try and ready my mind and body for induction.
Being my first birth I was told to expect the induction process to take a long time; days, in fact. The day of my induction my husband and I met our midwife at the hospital at 7am, and I was administered the prostaglandin gel. We brought along lots of snacks, a portable speaker and a couple of movies. We were pleased with the birthing suite; it was spacious and there was a bath available. Alison encouraged me to move around a lot throughout the day and so we walked around the hospital, climbed as many stairs as possible and went to visit a family member who was staying in hospital at the time. When we got back to our room, I was feeling some uterine tightenings and we settled in to watch a movie. At around 4pm a hospital midwife checked my progress and found that I had dilated enough for her to break my waters. Contractions started soon after that and I spent time relaxing in the bath and listening to the birth day visualisations. My husband Chris was the perfect attentive birth partner, reminding me to breathe through the waves of contractions as we had practised. I found I retreated more and more within myself as the intensity increased. There was certainly a moment of doubt when I wondered if I would be able to withstand the increasing intensity.
Megan Shaw
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PALMY PARENT ▪ PALMERSTON NORTH PARENTS CENTRE MAGAZINE
When I voiced these concerns my husband encouraged me to keep going as we were, and we would reassess in half an hour. Looking back I was in transition at that point and I soon felt the downward pressure begin. As soon as active labour began I found it much easier to cope and concentrate on my breathing. Chris coaxed me through every contraction and I changed position often from standing supported to leaning and kneeling. Alison was wonderful and unobtrusively supervised the progression of the birth. I didn’t do any active pushing, instead just allowing the involuntary forces of my body work as a they needed to. Our son, Oliver, was born into my husband’s hands at 10.08pm that evening. First stage labour was just three hours and active labour was 45 minutes. After the birth we quickly informed our families that our beautiful little boy had arrived. I was able to spend an hour of skin to skin contact with Oliver but he was having some breathing difficulty and couldn’t latch onto the breast. I had brought expressed colostrum with me and syringe fed him some of this before he was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. Oliver’s stay in the NICU was by far the most challenging aspect of his birth. At first I felt quite detached from the situation. We watched as Oliver had blood drawn and X-rays taken. I expressed more colostrum and then we left in the early hours of the morning and went to our room where we fell into a dreamless sleep. We were awoken a few hours later and informed that Oliver needed more milk and that he had been placed on a CPAP unit to help him breathe. My tears were flowing immediately as we went up to the NICU to see our son.
I was overcome with emotion as we looked on at Oliver in his incubator. I put my hand through the window and touched my baby, he grabbed onto my finger and I just cried and cried. Oliver was doing ok but not being able to hold him close was heart wrenching. A kind nurse reminded me that I needed to rest. I couldn’t bear to leave Oliver alone and so my husband stayed with him in the NICU which was a great comfort. The nurses there were incredibly skilled and compassionate and we were extremely grateful for the excellent care Oliver received. I continued to express colostrum for Oliver until he was able to breast feed the following day. Oliver was released to me after 36 hours and we continued to stay on in the maternity ward for the rest of the week, while he received twice daily medications. I relaxed immediately once we were reunited and our anxiety was quickly replaced with love and joy. We made the most of our stay in hospital, learning from the midwives and being well looked after. Although my husband returned home in the evenings he was able to spend all day with us, bonding with Oliver. Oliver’s birth was a positive and beautiful experience. While I wouldn’t say it was a completely pain free, it was certainly manageable, and despite being an induction it progressed quickly. We were so pleased to have experienced the natural, gentle birth we had hoped for. I believe hypnobirthing was especially helpful in allowing me to accept the change of plan of induction and go into it with a relaxed and positive mind frame. Now that we are expecting our next baby we plan to practise hypnobirthing and build on the skills we learnt for Oliver’s birth. We hope to birth either in the hospital or Te Papaioea Birthing centre and are delighted to be adding a new little person to our family.
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ISSUE 285 ▪ OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2018
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DEVELOPMENTAL PLAY
Why Messy Play is IMPORTANT By Maria Foy - Happy Mum Happy Child As much as I want to say I love Messy Play, there really is nothing worse than thinking of a kid getting all mucky and me having to clean them up. Truth be told, I avoid activities like painting, and playing in the mud, for that very reason. But after a little research, which I’ll share with you below, I’ve come to realise that messy play is ok, and with a little help along the way, we can all learn to embrace it.
All About Messy Play …
Firstly, when I think of messy play, I think of an untidy, disorganised mess, which inevitably I’ll have to clean up. In the house AND on their clothes. Coming to grips with letting your child play like this can go against all instincts, especially if you’re like me and always say “just don’t make a mess!”.
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Messy play is for mucking in. For letting your child get their hands dirty and experiment with the activity. Messy play is a great way for kids to develop their fine motor skills – the squishing and squeezing can help develop prewriting skills. Any pouring, measuring, mixing, or scooping actions can help develop hand-eye coordination. It can challenge them mentally, making them think of solutions to an issue within the activity: What can I do with this? Does it pour into something? Can I fit it in here? What does it taste like? Messy play is about so much more than getting dirty or messy. It’s about exploring what’s in front of them, and allowing them to use their entire being to do so. It allows them to use all senses to experience it – which is truly amazing.
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Dealing With The Mess …
As I said above, one of the things that holds me back from allowing my child to partake in messy play, is the MESSY part. I’m here to tell you that sometimes you have to suck it up, and don’t worry – I’ve got some tips below for helping to deal with the mess.
PALMY PARENT ▪ PALMERSTON NORTH PARENTS CENTRE MAGAZINE
1. USE A MAT Whenever I create a messy play activity, I always put down some kind of towel, or picnic rug, or even a large mat of some kind – this way 90% of the activity is contained to this area. I want to say 100% but we all know kids get it EVERYWHERE.
2. KEEP IT SIMPLE Even putting your child into a sea-shell shaped sandpit / paddling pool (empty), and then filling it with the activity, can be a wonderful way for your child to play, whilst minimising mess outside. Even a bucket to contain the mess is a good idea.
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3. THINK AHEAD When planning your messy play activity, think ahead to what “might happen”. Will water get everywhere? Are their clothes going to get paint all over them? Are they going to get covered in mud? If you think ahead, then you can plan. Perhaps put your child in older clothes, or think ahead about ways to get rid of stains.
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4/10/17 6:36 PM
PRODUCT REVIEW
Toilet Training AIDS By Cheree Myers
It can be an overwhelming time when your child is ready to begin toilet training. There are so many toilet training products available now it’s hard to know what is actually helpful and what is a waste of time and money. Here are some toilet training products that our committee members have tried and loved, and some new products you may not have heard of:
Raelene Close Pop In Training Pants RRP $24.95 These are pricey in terms of underwear but well worth the investment. They are reusable so saves you money in the long run on expensive disposable nappy pants while reducing your environmental impact. They are waterproof enough to absorb a medium-sized wee while still allowing your child to feel the wetness, assisting in the toilet training process and easy for your child to pull up & down themselves and looks like big-kid pants. They come in a range of cool designs too so they’ll never know they’re wearing training pants. Only downside is they can get a bit smelly if you don’t wash them properly.
Charlotte Weepal stickers from Looloo RRP$19.95 for 3 These were great. Mr. 2 loved seeing the fire-truck appear when he weed on it, it really helped to motivate him to use his potty. Would highly recommend!
Cheree VOMO Family Toilet Seat RRP$64.95 We purchased this seat as our middle daughter had a huge fear of falling into the toilet, but found the pop on toilet seats uncomfortable. This completely replaces your normal toilet seat and has a child sized seat that lifts up out of the way when an adult wants to use the toilet. A very simple but fantastic idea.
Raelene Kmart Waterproof Protector Sheet RRP $9 Hands down the best thing for toilet training at night! Nice & big for use lengthwise in a cot or width ways in a single bed so great value for money compared to other popular brands. Has a nice soft cotton top (feels almost like a towel) so your child can sleep directly on it. This means instead of having to change a sheet you just whip this off & place a new one on. The waterproof polyurethane lining is nice & quiet so doesn’t make a sound when your child is rustling around but also super absorbent. It also has wings to tuck under the mattress keeping it securely in place, and is light enough to use a second one as a top sheet for extra protection. These are also machine washable & quick drying which is perfect for cutting down washing time. So many benefits for such a small price.
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PALMY PARENT ▪ PALMERSTON NORTH PARENTS CENTRE MAGAZINE
Cheree Diono Car seat Protector RRP$32.90 I found these car seat protectors invaluable while toilet training my daughters. They just pop into any car seat and save you from having to wash the entire car seat cover hundreds of times! They are completely waterproof but easy to machine wash and they dry fast. They have also responded to parent feedback and recently redesigned the area around the car seat buckle to better catch leaks.
Saritta Conni Sleep Dry Absorbent Bed Pad RRP$64.95 These are a super quick way to deal with bedwetting, your child sleeps directly on the soft bed pad, which stays in place due to the backing on the pad. Any urine is ’trapped’ into the pad, so it still feels dry to the touch. Simply remove the pad and the bottom sheet is dry underneath. The absorbency of this bed pad is excellent, said to hold 2L of liquid, which is a lot. As the pad is not tucked in, it can be used on all sized beds and can be easily removed in the middle of the night if required. The Conni Kids Bed Pad is washable and reusable, it is easily removed from the bed and placed in the washing machine. The pad can be line dried or tumble dried then returned to the bed. The bed pad measures 85 x 95cm. We have used it in the family bed and in a king single – the size is appropriate for both. The pad comes complete with a free sticker chart and tips on helping your child become dry at night.
NEW PRODUCTS
WoBl Vibrating Reminder Watch RRP$59.95. This innovative watch is designed to vibrate and provide discreet reminders throughout the day (or night) for your child to use the toilet at time periods set by you. Plenty of cool colours available and it looks exactly like a normal watch.
KP Designs “Its Potty Time” printable download file RRP$5.00 Encouragement goes a long way with toilet training and these downloadable reward charts are an easy and stylish alternative to drawing up your own. You simply buy the design online and you are sent a file to print out on your own printer. An “its undie time” design is also available.
ISSUE 285 ▪ OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2018
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DEVELOPMENT
“W” sitting By Lynsey Taylor
So what’s the big deal about “W”sitting and why you should help your child to stop? Firstly, let me say that this is a perfectly normal developmental movement when a child is learning to crawl and go from sitting to standing. By the age of 15 to 18 months when most babies have become fully functional walking beings, this sitting posture should become a thing of the past. Children adopt this position to stabilize their posture to play or draw. However, continuing this widened base the core is no longer engaged and the “W” position becomes necessary to hold them upright. Don’t panic if your child is currently sitting like this. Children will move in and out of this position for the first few years of life, BUT sitting like this for prolonged periods is not recommended.
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PALMY PARENT ▪ PALMERSTON NORTH PARENTS CENTRE MAGAZINE
When sitting in the “W” position the child has reduced or minimal trunk rotation and also can delay hand dominance as they will just pick up the object with whatever hand is closer. A child not crossing their midline from the 15 to 18 month period can have a developmental effect on visual maturity, so reading and writing may become a difficult task in preschool years. “W” sitting can also impact the child’s walking and running pattern, and some may even toe walk, due to muscle tightening from the “W” position. I am a great believer in preventing this at a young age, as it is much harder to change a movement pattern at a preschool age.
at a small table, when playing on the floor sit crossed legged or lie on their tummy. • Encourage them to cross their midline wherever possible when playing i.e. encourage the child to reach across the body to grab a toy. The W sitting position:
So what can you do about this? • Physically correcting and moving the child’s legs whenever you see them “W” sitting, get them to sit on their heels, or bringing their legs in front of them. • I use prompt words such as “long legs”, this is where the child sits with their legs out in front of them or “learning legs”, and this is sitting cross-legged. • Change the areas in which the child plays, for example: play sitting at the table, stand
There are lots of interesting articles on this subject if you want to read further., check out my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ Move-To-Music-213806421985094/?fref=ts Lynsey Taylor Occupational Therapist Move to Music movetomusic@xtra.co.nz
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FAMILY FRIENDLY OUTING
MT BRUCE PUKAHA By Inez McCaughan Mt Bruce is a short, scenic 1 hour drive from Palmerston North towards Eketahuna / Masterton. With a NZ native bird obsessed 3 year old son it seemed like the perfect place for a family outing. We all piled in the car – myself and husband, 3 year old and 4 month old baby and my Mum. Over the Pahiatua track and a short drive through beautiful countryside and we were there. At Mt Bruce there is lots of of street parking and beautiful facilities, a gift shop and a café, as well as a large park with two walking tracks, a 2 hour loop track and a shorter 40 minute track and loads of birds!
rocks in the stream with a nearby pair of Pateke (Brown Teal) huddled at the edge of the stream trying to sleep; a group of Tui delightfully swooping and playing with some beautiful Korimako (Bellbird) in their huge aviary; a stunning tame Kokako named Kahurangi who has learnt to wolf whistle and likes to surprise park visitors by whistling at them out of the blue; and North Island Brown Kiwi poking around in the dimmed dark kiwi house. In their natural environment we saw lots of playful chirpy Piwakawaka (fantail) delightfully dancing around
At the information desk there is a gift shop jam packed with souvenirs, toys and educational resources about the wildlife found at Mt Bruce. There is also an amazing display where you can learn all about what endangerment and extinction are and learn about how land was claimed for farming; the effects this has had on the wildlife and what rehabilitation centres like Mt Bruce and the Department of Conservation are doing to boost numbers in various species. With the baby in a buggy (the one day I forgot a carrier!) we set off on the shorter option to explore what they have to offer. The major drawcard to Mt Bruce is a very cute and very rare white kiwi called Manukura. Unfortunately Manukura was a bit under the weather the day of our visit and was over at Massey Vets, however there was a person in a Manukura suit wandering the grounds much to the delight of my 3 year old! The large manukura was happy to pose for photos and get many hugs from Luca. On our walk we saw playful Kaka jostling at their food stations and climbing the netting in their enclosure; lumbering Takahe, slowly meandering across a lawn by a bubbling stream with some shy Pukeko scuttling across the lawn and into the reeds; some teeny tiny Hihi (stitchbird) popping from bush to tree; beautiful bright vibrant Kakariki chatting and singing to each other in the trees; a pair of Whio (blue duck) stationed on the
Congratulates
Angela Hastings For winning a Treatment, Cut and Blowwave for being a current Palmerston North Patents Centre member Ph: 358 4010 | Hotel Coachman,134 Fitzherbert Ave, Palmerston North | thehaircompany.co.nz Open Mon - Sat, late nights Tues and Thur
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PALMY PARENT ▪ PALMERSTON NORTH PARENTS CENTRE MAGAZINE
us as we walked the tracks; one large clumsy Kereru (Wood Pigeon) trying to sit on a branch far too small for him as so clumsily crashed through the bush above us; a staunch serious Kotare (kingfisher) perched on a tree above the marshland waiting for a snack to appear and in the distance we heard a screech and saw a Kahu (hawk) swooping on some prey.
Pukaha.org.nz Adult $20 | Child (5-15yrs) $6 | Child under 5 FREE Family pass (2 adults and up to 4 children) $50
As Mt Bruce is both a rehabilitation facility and a natural habitat you can see different birds each time you go. When we visited we didn’t see the Popokatea (whiteheads), Weka, Pipiwhararoa (shining cuckoo), Miromiro (tomtit), Ruru (morepork), Titipounamu (rifleman) and Riroriro (grey warbler) but as these birds are not in aviaries they may well have been seen had we completed the 2 hour nature walk in their natural environment. Wandering around the tracks and over bridges there were a lot of places to stop and sit to enjoy the environment and take in the surroundings which we used to give the boys a snack and chat about what we were seeing. We passed a few streams and saw a lot Tuna (eels) swimming below. There are information placards dotted around the tracks so you can read up on the wildlife you are viewing which is a brilliant learning tool for children (and adults – I learnt a lot of new info!). At the end of our walk we sat down for an icecream in the café and watched the Takahe and Pukeko from the balcony, such a beautiful setting to complete the afternoon spent at Mt Bruce. It was a brilliant afternoon and money well spent in our opinion, we have visited many similar places in Rotorua, Wellington and Tauranga and Mt Bruce Pukaha will definitely be a place we visit again.
All Parent Centre members receive FREE tea or coffee with food purchased.
MOTHERS’ GROUPS WELCOME WITH PLENTY OF PRAM SPACE!
The Verdict Cafe 95 The Square Palmerston North 7am till 4pm Mon to Fri 7am till 3pm Sat
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CRAFT
CRAFT:
Giant Bubbles
Ingredients: • 12 cups Water • 1 cup Dishwashing Liquid • 1 cup Cornflower • 2 teaspoons Baking powder
Method: Measure all ingredients into a large rimmed bucket or bowl and mix gently.
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PALMY PARENT ▪ PALMERSTON NORTH PARENTS CENTRE MAGAZINE
Leave to settle for about an hour. Use big round wands – the bigger the better, or make your own using wire/old wire coat hangers. Dip and wave! Huge bubbles to pop and catch around the back yard.
Recipes like this can be found in Recipes for Messy Play – 40 Sensory Experiences for Young Learners. It can be purchased from New Zealand Tertiary College website for $19.95 And for a chance to win a copy, see page 11.
Hire a Tens Machine Hire a Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) machine to help reduce your pain during labour and childbirth. Palmerston North Parents Centre (PNPC) has five TENS machines available for hire by our members for ONLY $20 for up to four weeks’ hireage (plus a $40.00 refundable bond). Machines can be booked for the two weeks prior to your due date until two weeks post due date. Watch a video interview with a TENS machine expert at youtube.com/ watch?v=4gUEtYAqPw8 Book your TENS Machine from: Junior Kids Store, 23 Broadway Ave, Ph 06 354 5516, info@juniorkidsstore.co.nz, Mon - Fri 9am - 5pm › Sat 9.30am - 4pm. Please pay by cash and bring your PNPC Membership card. Full terms and conditions on our Facebook page: facebook.com/PNorthPC ISSUE 277 ▪ JUNE / JULY 2017
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COMMUNITY SUPPORT GROUPS Across Te Kotahitanga O Te Wairua We can provide a range of social services which include: Counselling, Family support (including respite care for children), Parenting advice/information and programmes, Advice on other services available for parents and families. Contact: Graeme on (06) 356 7486 or visit www.across.org.nz Allergy New Zealand Support groups are a great way to meet others in a similar situation to you. They are very relaxed, informal sessions to share ideas, discuss your concerns, and get information and resources. Our regional support group is there to help put you in contact with others, to provide you with information such as those all important recipes, and to listen when you need someone to talk to. They are not medically qualified but can refer your queries on and seek information on your behalf. For further information phone 0800 34 0800 or visit www.allergy.org.nz Babywearers Manawatu This is a great way to try different carriers while finding a carrier that suits you and your baby. Babywearers Manawatu Sling Library is on most Wednesdays 12 pm - 1 pm (check FB for up to date info) at Palmerston North Parents Centre, 30 Waldegrave Street, Palmerston North. Membership is one off payment of $10 and carrier hire costs $5 for one week.https://www.facebook.com/groups/ babywearersmanawatu/ Brain Injury Association Central Districts We provide advocacy information and support for people with brain injury, their families, whanau and carers. For more information call (06) 354 3540. Breastfeeding Help An IBCLC (often called lactation consultant) is a breastfeeding specialist qualified to prevent, recognise, and resolve breastfeeding problems. All members of NZCLA hold the professional qualification of International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). Any mother, family member or health professional interested in obtaining the contact details of an IBCLC can phone 0800 4 LACTATION (0800 452 282) during daytime hours. HOPE An opportunity for parents of premature babies to meet and chat and to offer hope and support to those who currently have babies in the Neo-Natal Unit. Graduates welcome. Held at: Plunket Family Centre, 42 Albert Street, Palmerston North. Monday 1pm – 2.30pm. Contact: Karlyn Sullivan-Jones (06) 353 0663 or karlynandmark@xnet.co.nz Itchy Kids A national support group for parents and whanau who care for children with eczema and allergies. For more information contact Sarah Hartley 027 333 7385 or email hartleyfamilynz@gmail.com or visit itchykids.org.nz La Leche League coffee group 3rd Tuesday of every month at 10am, all welcome. Contact Jo Walsh 0273818546 for location Manawatu Toy Library Now located at 200 Church Street, Palmerston North, this fabulous toy library has a collection of over 2000 toys. Our members include families, carers, and educational groups. We have toys suitable for babies 5+ months through to school age children. Membership costs $95 per annum or $60 for six months. You are welcome to visit to see what we offer. To find out more, including opening hours: manawatutoylibrary.nz, or call 027 364 6911. Manawatu Down Syndrome Association Regional contact is Andrea Wales (06) 356 1767.
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Manawatu Home Birth Association Offering information, advice and support to women and their families seeking to birth their babies at home. Birth pools and other equipment available for hire. Library, sibling kits, and bimonthly newsletters also available. Call (06) 356 BABY (06 356 2229) for more information. Manline Manline services are unique in that we are the only “men helping men” organisation in the Manawatu and Tararua region offering services for men to explore issues within their lives. Our programs are designed to be educational, developmental, rehabilitative, and preventative. http://www.manline.co.nz/home or 06 358 1211 Miscarriage Support Miscarriage can be a very lonely experience and is often not talked about. Miscarriage support groups have produced quality information and pamphlets for women/couples who may need information and support. These invaluable resources can be downloaded from miscarriage.org.nz Methodist Social Services Offering free programmes for primary/intermediate aged children and their parents/caregivers, around the areas of anger management, grief loss and change, and confidence building. We also offer family, couple, and individual counselling, and have both male and female counsellors available. Advocacy and social work support services are provided along with an emergency food service. For all enquiries, please call 06 350 0307, 663 Main Street, Palmerston North. Palmerston North Breastfeeding support group We provide a relaxed place to come and ask questions about breastfeeding and parenting , we hold regular meeting on the first Monday of the month at ACROSS, 294a Church Street, Palmerston North at 10 am. We have a library with a wide range of books relating to breastfeeding and parenting. http://www. lalecheleague.org.nz/palmerston-north or https://www.facebook. com/PNbreastfeedingsupport/ Parent to Parent Supporting families of children with a special need, health impairment, or disability. For more information please phone (06) 355 0787or email manawatu@parent2parent.org.nz Parentline 24 Hour Crisis Line. Offering help and support for parents 24 hours a day. Phone 0800 4 FAMILY. Plunket Education Services For parent education classes please contact the Plunket family centre in Albert Street, Palmerston North, (06) 356 7248 for more information regarding classes in 2016. Reflux Support Contact: Sharon 354 7280 Sands A voluntary group who have lost babies before, during or after birth. They can provide first hand support, guidance, and information on miscarriage, stillbirth, or newborn death. Further information and support can be found by contacting Shaun and Gaylene Vivian (06) 356 9715 or visiting sands.org.nz Supergrans Manawatu Charitable Trust Supergrans Manawatu is all about helping people help themselves. A service to all to brush up on the basic skills needed to provide for oneself or for a family. Our motto is not a ‘do it for you today’ it is a ‘help you to do it tomorrow’ concept. This is a free service. It is concerned with encouraging better skills in those everyday tasks around the home that sustain life. We work with you in your own home. Phone (06) 354 3804 or 021 0669 442 for further information.
PALMY PARENT ▪ PALMERSTON NORTH PARENTS CENTRE MAGAZINE
MEMBER DISCOUNTS
10% OFF
FREE! Address labels with any birth announcement, thank you cards until 30/12/18
Coleman Mall, Palmerston North Ph: 06 357 1976
GRANT IRVINE PHARMACY
10% OFF 168 Albert Street, Palmerston North Ph: 06 357 8782
10% OFF Preggy tummy and baby hand or foot casts Call Carolyn Ph: 06 353 7153
PRECIOUS MEMORIES
$10 OFF Present this coupon and receive $10 off a framed sculpture. Ph: Katte 06 329 3262 or visit www.preciousmemories.co.nz
FREE TEA OR COFFEE Receive a free tea or coffee with the purchase of food. 95 the Square, Palmerston North
HAIR TRANSFORMER
15% OFF Discounted, low ratio childcare – For 30 hours WAIVED weekly admin & placement fees
TV aerial/satellite installer
10% OFF All current PNPC members receive 10% off labour only Call Now for a FREE Quote Robert Torok Ph: 06 354 5664 or 027 294 3972
Link Arcade, Broadway Avenue Palmerston North Ph: 06 358 1309
$10 OFF All current PNPC members receive $10 off, offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Sharlene Adkins (t) 06 355 4939 (e) sharlene@smallp.com (m) 021 185 2064. www.smallp.com ISSUE 285 ▪ OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2018
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PLAYGROUPS IN YOUR AREA Plunket Family Centre Playgroup
ASHHURST
Ashhurst Playcentre
AWAPUNI/WESTEND Kingston St Chapel
CENTRAL
42 Albert Street
021-808-340
Mondays & Fridays 10am to 12noon
118 Standford Street
326 9270
Mon to Thurs 9am - 12pm
Kingston St
358 0716
Tues & Thurs 9am- 11:30am
Crossroads Early Childhood Salvation Army Rudolf Steiner Seventh Day Adventist Church Playgroup with Hope
220 Church St 358 0669 cnr Church & Princess Sts 358 7455 187 Ruahine St 354 4514 257 Ferguson St 282 Cuba Street (opposite Briscoes) Contact: Heather 027 334 9981
Mon to Fri 9am to 12noon Thurs 9:30am to 11am Tues 9:30am - 12noon & Thu 2pm -3:30pm Wed 9:30 to 11:00am Tuesday 9.30-11.30am playgroup@hopevineyard.nz
FEILDING Feilding Playcentre Community Fielding Playcentre Doodlebugs SPACE Bright Sparks Preschool Programme
254A Kimbolton Rd 42 North St Knox Hall, North St 22 Bowen St Feilding Library
323 6100 323 1918 323 7240 323 7221 323 5373
Mon to Fri 9am to 1pm Mon to Fri 9am to 1pm Thurs 9am to 11:30am Contact for more details Wed 10:30am to 11:30am
12-32 Brentwood Ave
358 2255
Fri 8:30am to 12noon
339 Albert St Huia St extn
357 9411 357 0791
Wed 9:30am to 10:30am Mon, Tues, Thurs & Fri 9am - 12noon
HIGHBURY
Te Aroha Noa Community Services
HOKOWHITU
St Albans Church Park Road Playcentre
LINTON
Linton Playgroup
MILSON
Milson Playcentre
OPIKI
Opiki Playgroup
ROSLYN/KELVIN GROVE
Kelvin Grove Salvation Army Church on Vogel Plunket Roslyn Over 1’s Coffee Group
Linton Camp (Community Centre) 3519970
Mon & Wed 9am to 11:30am
1a Seaforth Ave
Mon, Wed & Fri 9am-12noon
356 9824
St Andrews Church, Main Road
Tues 10am to 12noon
99-103 Kaimanawa St 127 Vogel St 177 Vogel Street
Wed 9:30am to 11:30am Wed 9:30am to 12noon Wednesdays 9.30am to 11am
353 0917 357 7336 021-808-340
RONGOTEA
Te Kawau Playcentre Medway St 324 8246
SANSON
Sanson Playcentre
TERRACE END
St David‘s Presbyterian Church Terrace End Playcentre
2 Philipps St
329 3503
Tues and Fri 9am to 12noon
Cnr Main & Rainforth 77 Ruamahanga Cres
358 3246 0221400610
Tues 10:00am to 11:30am Wed, Thu, Fri 9.30am to 12.30 school term
SPECIALIST GROUPS
La Leche League 355 3104 Manawatu Multiple Birth Club Kingston St Church 357 9773 Parent 2 Parent Special Needs Matipo St 355 0787 ABCD early intervention group 9 Woburn Place 0800 693 724 - Down Syndrome French for Preschoolers 1st floor, 47 the Square 021 207 0114 Spanish Class – 2 yrs and up 355 8257 Plunket Bhutanese Playgroup 25 Franklin Ave 3574844 Book Bubs baby book club PN Library
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Mon to Thurs 9:15am to 12:15pm, Fri 11:45am to 2:45pm
PALMY PARENT ▪ PALMERSTON NORTH PARENTS CENTRE MAGAZINE
Contact for more details Every 2nd Wed,10am 1st and 3rd Tues each month, 1-3pm Once a month on Thurs 10am to 12noon Fri 3.30pm to 4.30pm Contact for further details Mon 12.30 – 2.30pm Thursday 10.30 – 11 am fortnightly.
PREGGY TO PRESCHOOL GARAGE SALE
Date: Saturday 29th April 2017 Time: 9.00am – 11.00am Place: Central Baptist Church, 190 Church Street (Opposite the Fire Station) Come along for great bargains on new & used baby/children’s clothes, toys, books, nursery equipment, maternity wear and more!
old Coin Entry – This is a fundraising event for Parents Centre
ok a table online at www.palmyparentscentre.org.nz
ISSUE 285 ▪ OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2018
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