Parent Autumn-Winter Newsletter 2011

Communicare FDC Scheme
Parent Newsletter Autumn/Winter
A warm welcome to existing families and all new families to our Winter Newsletter.
We have had a busy introduction to the year with new educator training, staff changes with Melanie going on maternity leave,
Amelia taking on the responsibility of recruitment and staff training to support the transition to the National Quality Framework.
Over the last couple of months Educators and Co ordination Unit staff have enjoyed training with Ros Sambell from Nutrition Australia. Ros shared the importance and benefits of healthy eating, menu planning, strategies to encourage positive eating behaviours
and recipes. We have included one of the Heart Foundations “Eat Smart Play Smart” handouts “Managing Difficult Eaters” and
“Food as a “Reward” and encourage parents to access resources from Nutrition Australia at www.nutritionaustralia
We look forward to our impending validation visit from the NCAC—National Childcare Accreditation Council on May 2nd 2011
and the receiving of feedback from the NCAC to identify the Scheme’s strengths are and areas for improvement.
Unwell Children
Winter has arrived along
with flu and cold infections/viruses.
When children are unwell
it can sometimes be a
dilemma for parents when
making the decision in
relation to “Is my child
well enough to be at family day care today?”. If
your child is unwell, consider the following questions:

“Will my child feel
well enough to
participate in the
routines and experiences?”

“Will the educator
have to spend time
away from the
other children to
care for my unwell
child?’


“Does the child have
a fever? If so, they
should not go into
care
“Is there the potential for my child’s
infection to be
passed on to the
other children and/or
carer?”
If a child is showing signs
and symptoms of illness
whilst in care, you will be
contacted by the educator
to collect your child/ren as
soon as possible.
If children go into care unwell, there is a risk of not
only the other enrolled children becoming unwell but
also the educator and the
educator’s own family may
also become unwell. The
educator may then have to
close her service.
Children tend to recover
much more quickly when
they are able to rest and be
cuddled in the comfort of
their own home.
We do understand that parents/guardians are often
under pressure to be at
work, however, to minimise
the spread of infections
please adhere to Communivare’s Scheme’s Policy and
Procedure Manual
“Hygiene and infectious
disease control” policy on
page page 82 and
“Immunisation” policy on
page 85
Car Restraint
Legislation
All educators who travel with
children must undertake a
annual car restraint check.
This has been particularly
important with the new legislation for car restraints.
Educators and co ordination
unit staff attended travel safety training through SDERA
“Smart Steps” . In addition to
car restraints, the facilitator
highlighted the importance of
children being taught about
road safety, driveway safety,
and general safety tips related
to walking and riding near
roads.
If you would like to have your
car restraint check, you can
contact Roadwise
@www.roadwise.asn.au or
alternatively your local council can provide you with details of car restraint checking
stations.
Bookings can also be made
through Kidsafe WA .
Compliance
Interesting Websites
To ensure the Scheme meets compliance requirements,
statements of usage are mailed every eight weeks. The
statements provide clear information about the sessions
of care provided in a four week period, the charges for
care and the amount of Child Care Benefit (CCB) passed
on to individuals in respect of that care. To minimise
expense to the coordination unit, we request that parents
where possible, provide us with an email address.
There are many websites to support parents with ideas and
strategies to support positive parenting. Some of these websites provide regular articles and periodic newsletters.
They include:
Michael Grose—Parenting Ideas
www.parenting.ideas.com.au
Raising Children Network
www.raisingchildren.net.au
Maggie Dent Visits Communicare
Scheme educators and staff were
privileged to have the opportunity to
attend a training workshop at Communicare with Maggie Dent.
The theme of the evening was “Real
Kids in an Unreal World” -How to
build resilience and self esteem in
Maggie Dent is an author, parenting/
resilience specialist and inspirational
presenter and is a proud mother of
four sons and she has a special affinity with boys, men, women, children,
trees, dogs and ducks!
Maggie is known for her presentation
antics, she had carers and staff singing and laughing whilst at the same
time conveying the importance of
resilience in children.
today’s children”.
Maggie taught us this song..........enjoy singing this song with
your child/children. Ask your carer to give you the tune and
show you the actions......it’s good fun!
“The Bottom Song”
Oompah pah, sitting on your bottom/
Oompah pah stops you feeling rotten
Oompah pah what have you forgotten/
Oompah pah
sitting on your bottom
Oompah pah looking with your eyes/
Oompah pah rub your ears on their sides
Oompah pah, tap your chest to energise/
Oompah pah looking with your eyes
Oompah pah sitting with your back
straight/Oompah pah shoulders back you
look great
Oompah pah, fold your arms look and
wait/Thanks mate, you look great
Lyrics courtesy of Leonie Cecichi “Kids
Page 2
We have provided two of Maggie Dents
handouts on the subjects of “Resilience”
and “The Magic of Silence and Stillness” with this newsletter. We hope you
enjoy reading them.
FREE downloads @ Maggie’s website
on www.maggiedent.com downloadownloads
The Wonderful World of Pets
Pets and other domestic animals are a valuable part of
many family settings and are often an important part
of family day care homes. Adapted from NCAC Fact
Sheet.
When parents give their written permission
for their child/children to have contact with
pets the requirements of Quality Assurance
must be adhered to. Principle 4.1 states in
the Satisfactory Indicator “Every domestic pet and
farm animal is kept in an area separate to and
apart from the areas used by children, unless involved in a specific activity that is directly supervised
by the carer, staff member or other adult. For example, brushing or bathing the dog, bottle feeding a
lamb, providing food or water for birds or chickens”.
Please also refer to:
Regulation 44. Animals on place
and Scheme Policy “Pets and other animals policy
Communicare FDC Scheme
The strongest oak of the forest is not the one that is protected
from the storm and hidden from the sun. It's the one that
stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for its
existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun.
Napoleon Hill (1883-1970)
Resiliency Tips
• Stay centred and fully present in your body
• “Now that's interesting!”
• Take the drama words out of your vocab!
• Give yourself some space outside
• Focus on your “STRAWBERRIES”
• Allow lightness and laughter into your world often
• Create moments of silence and stillness everyday
• Take note of your warning signs and then take action
• Remember to breathe –often, deep and slow
• “This too will pass.”
• Build real connectedness with people or animals you love
• Nurture your spirit as well as body and mind
• The magic eye scramble
• Learn some energy releasing techniques
• Hold a positive inner vision of yourself and your life
• When all else fails there’s always chocolate!
© Maggie Dent
www.maggiedent.com
How to Nurture the Spirit
• Take a nap on Sunday afternoons
• Cultivate friendships that matter
• Have a generous heart
• Practise random acts of kindness
• Love, accept and nurture your body
• Smile with your eyes and heart at the same time
• Believe in possibilities, dreams and miracles
• Develop a gratitude attitude to life, love and leisure.
• Cultivate your sense of humour, laugh often
• Learn to cry openly and enjoy it
• Be as real and honest as possible
• Celebrate life's moments - both special and unimportant
• Know where your special place is and go there often
• Play your favourite music everyday
• Breathe deeply and often
• Believe in the power of prayer
• Respect people of all ages
• Spend time in nature quietly and gently
• Learn how to make melting moments
• Live with people or animals who really love you
• Drink champagne for no reason at all
• Love rainbows, sunsets and your favourite flowers
• Learn to love, accept and appreciate yourself
• Learn how to show kindness through your touch
© Maggie Dent
www.maggiedent.com
The Magic of Silence and Stillness
Silence and stillness does have a magic to it! It doesn't matter where you find it – in your
home, your workplace or your classroom, when it occurs something magical happens.
Our children are more troubled than ever before in the history of mankind – especially those
in the Western world. More so than ever before we are seeing:
More violence and assaults in our schools and communities;
More children than ever before on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
medication to manage hyperactivity and inability to concentrate;
More children presenting with depression or emotional overwhelm and overload;
More cases of sexual abuse;
More children suffering obesity and diabetes;
More children suffering alcohol and drug abuse;
More children homeless;
More children being diagnosed with mental disorders like obsessive compulsive
disorder and severe anxiety disorders;
Children as young as five who are wanting to die;
Children as young as three on sleeping medication to help them sleep;
An increase in childhood and juvenile crime;
No real improvement in school retention rates for our indigenous children;
An ever increasing teen suicide rate.
Dr Fiona Stanley, a world authority on child health, expressed her concern at a recent
conference in Australia:
"Health and behaviour problems among children have reached frightening levels
and a national campaign is needed to avert a looming social crisis".
West Australian, November 9th 2002
Why is this happening to our children and in such epidemic proportions?
We have sped up the pace of life and living. We live in an instant world where we
expect everything NOW. Communication, food, pain relief, results, well behaved
children….you name it, we expect things instantly. This expectation works silently and
unconsciously creating stress when things do not always happen like that. Children take
all of childhood to grow - to learn how to think, learn, process information, behave
appropriately – manage their lives, dress themselves, find their way home and learn who
they are! We cannot rush this.
Children, now more than ever, require input into their learning and growing. They seem
to need more kindness and compassion than did previous generations. Children respond
to people who allow them to explore their own choices and give them the opportunity to
make more of their own decisions, while being aware they themselves will also be
responsible for the consequences of their decisions. They suffer from allergies and stress
related illness more than ever before and need us adults to make more conscious choices
about how to raise them in safe nurturing ways! To do this we all need to slow down –
simplify our lives and spend more time committed to being a positive part of our kid’s
lives.
Children now want to be the driving force behind their own learning. Many have no
desire to be rich and materially successful; they want to live effective lives with quite
different attitudes and ways to their parents. They are much more environmentally aware,
socially accepting of cultural differences, anti-war, aware of their own responsibility for
their health and wellbeing, or lack of responsibility as the case may be. Many young
people are in a spiritual void, where emptiness, a lack of meaning in their lives and
disconnection from society are part of their reality.
As an independent counsellor and educational consultant with a special interest in
emotional literacy and human resilience I see the broken spirits, damaged minds from not
raising children with love, awareness and correct information.. I know that our children’s
world can be made better. I know that because I am witnessing it in some homes and
schools where the emotional wellbeing of children does come first. Research has long
held the belief that happy children learn best. A safe environment where differences are
accepted and welcomed allows children to learn social skills as well as academic skills.
Humans are programmed to be social animals. Social behaviour is not inherent. It
happens through the constant interaction of humans with other humans over a long
period of time.
The magic of silence and stillness is something that helps shape the developing child in a
positive way. While there are many cognitive (left brain) benefits from teaching the magic
of silence, there are even more emotional and social (right brain) benefits. The inner
world of children today is in turmoil and the outer turmoil of the world that we have
created probably contributes. I believe that children who can build a doorway to their own
sense of value and worth will be better able to manage this chaotic rapidly changing
world. This doorway is found on the inside rather than the outside. As explained by John
O'Donohue
"We need to return to the solitude within, to find again the dream that lies at the
hearth of the soul. We need to feel the dream with the wonder of a child approaching a
threshold of discovery. When we rediscover our childlike nature
we enter a world of gentle possibility. Consequently, we will find ourselves more
frequently at the place of ease, delight and celebration."
Anam Cara : Spiritual Wisdom from the Celtic World, 1997.
So please open yourself to the magic of silence and stillness first. Then teach it to
children so that they too can take it out into the world and into adulthood as a skill that
sustains them during life’s challenges. Teach them so that they can hold more hope,
optimism and enthusiasm, and that our world can be a better place than it is now. Please
teach it now, before we lose any more of our teenagers to depression, mental disorders,
drug and alcohol abuse, and suicide.
Maggie Dent 2004
®
Out of school hours care (OSHC)
Food as a reward
Food is commonly used as a reward for
good behaviour and academic performance
in children. It is also often used as a tool for
persuasion. While it may work in the short-term,
using food as a reward can have some negative
long-term consequences.
If you encourage children to eat
healthily, yet also provide unhealthy
foods as rewards, children may become
confused. When food is used as a
reward, children may also develop
preferences for those foods.
Ideas for non-food
rewards for children
Rewarding a child with unhealthy foods
also contradicts the messages about good
nutrition and health given to them at
school and in the home. Children need
to be given consistent health messages
about food from all adults.
• stickers, pencils or bookmarks
Foods given as rewards are usually high in
fat, salt and sugars. If given regularly, these
foods can contribute to problems such as
tooth decay and excess weight gain.
• free time.
Rewarding a child with foods when
they may not be hungry may lead to
them developing poor eating habits,
such as eating when they are bored
and skipping meals.
To reward children for good behaviour,
you might give them:
• certificates
• bubble blowers
For heart health information
1300 36 27 87
www.heartfoundation.org.au
• water bottles
• a frisbee, a Jump Rope for
Heart skipping rope, a hacky sack,
a yoyo or a glow stick
Alternatively you might let them:
• e arn play money for privileges, or have
auctions with play money
• choose music to be played
• choose a favourite activity to do
• choose a non-food treasure from a box
•w
rite or draw on a chalkboard
or whiteboard.
Rewarding children for their efforts by
verbally congratulating them in front of
others is often the most effective tool
for encouraging that good behaviour to
continue. It also helps children to feel
good about themselves.
© 2009 National Heart Foundation of Australia
ABN 98 008 419 761
INF-031-C
Terms of use: This material has been developed for general
information and educational purposes only. It does not constitute
medical advice. Please consult your health care provider if you have,
or suspect you have, a health problem. The information contained
in this material has been independently researched and developed
by the National Heart Foundation of Australia and is based on
the available scientific evidence at the time of writing. It is not an
endorsement of any organisation, product or service.
While care has been taken in preparing the content of this
material, the National Heart Foundation of Australia and its
employees cannot accept any liability, including for any loss
or damage, resulting from the reliance on the content, or for its
accuracy, currency and completeness.
This material may be found in third parties’ programs or materials
(including but not limited to show bags or advertising kits). This does
not imply an endorsement or recommendation by the National Heart
Foundation of Australia for such third parties’ organisations, products
or services, including these parties’ materials or information. Any use
of National Heart Foundation of Australia material by another person
or organisation is done so at the user’s own risk.
The entire contents of this material are subject to copyright protection.
®
Out of school hours care (OSHC)
Managing difficult eaters
Children’s appetites vary a lot, and sometimes they may not feel
like eating very much at all. However, it is very common for
children to become picky with their food. Children are described
as ‘difficult eaters’ when they regularly do not want to eat foods
that you have prepared, refuse to try new foods, or only eat a
limited range or amount of food.
Most children become difficult at
some stage in childhood to test their
independence and push boundaries.
Giving in to a child’s demands can
escalate the issue, because they learn to
repeat this behaviour to get their own
way. It is important to manage difficult
eating so that food dislikes that are not
genuine are not reinforced.
Changing habits is challenging and
takes time, particularly if the children
have been difficult eaters for a long time.
It is important to persevere, while staying
positive and encouraging.
Tips for managing difficult
eaters in OSHC
Remember the division of responsibility
around eating. It is your responsibility
to provide nutritious meals or snacks.
It is the child’s responsibility to decide
whether or not to eat, and how much
they want to eat. For example, you should
offer a range of healthy foods on a plate
and let the child choose what they would
like to eat, and how much.
If a child refuses to try or eat a food,
encourage the child to try the food or offer
a healthy alternative. If the child refuses
these options, do not make a fuss. Simply
offer the meal or snack again another time.
If a child refuses food, assume that they
are not hungry at the time, but that they
will be hungry later on and can then eat
the food that they refused earlier.
At meal or snack times, take a break from
activities and have children sit down to
eat. Make the break relaxing and social.
Involve the child in choosing healthy foods
that are served at meal and snack times.
They could even help with planning and
preparing the menu, where appropriate.
Make meals interesting by using lots of
colours and different shapes.
Persuasion, food as a reward
and role modelling
Avoid using unhealthy foods to persuade
a child to complete a meal. For example,
avoid saying ’if you eat your fruit, you can
have a biscuit’. This puts unhealthy foods
on a pedestal and can make the child
think that eating healthy foods is a chore.
Children learn from watching and copying
others. Research has shown that children
will copy their peers and significant
adults. If other children are eating healthy
foods, congratulate them for trying it. If a
child tries a new food, give them positive
reinforcement, even if they don’t eat the
whole serve that is offered to them. Also,
be a good role model and eat the food
yourself. This will increase the likelihood
that the children will try new foods. Use
healthy food examples in other activities
that you are involved in.
For heart health information
1300 36 27 87
www.heartfoundation.org.au
© 2009 National Heart Foundation of Australia
ABN 98 008 419 761
INF-030-C
Terms of use: This material has been developed for general
information and educational purposes only. It does not constitute
medical advice. Please consult your health care provider if you have,
or suspect you have, a health problem. The information contained
in this material has been independently researched and developed
by the National Heart Foundation of Australia and is based on
the available scientific evidence at the time of writing. It is not an
endorsement of any organisation, product or service.
While care has been taken in preparing the content of this
material, the National Heart Foundation of Australia and its
employees cannot accept any liability, including for any loss
or damage, resulting from the reliance on the content, or for its
accuracy, currency and completeness.
This material may be found in third parties’ programs or materials
(including but not limited to show bags or advertising kits). This does
not imply an endorsement or recommendation by the National Heart
Foundation of Australia for such third parties’ organisations, products
or services, including these parties’ materials or information. Any use
of National Heart Foundation of Australia material by another person
or organisation is done so at the user’s own risk.
The entire contents of this material are subject to copyright protection.