Expansion of Resources for Parents and Caregivers
When the Alberta Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Network (now called the Alberta Network for Safe and Healthy Children)was created in 2005 we knew that we wanted to provide information for parents and service providers that was current and user friendly.
We wanted to honour the fact that people want to do the best job they can as parents but sometimes feel as though they lack enough experience, support, information, or patience.
It is very common for families to be separated by great distances and lack that natural support system provided by grandparents and other relatives. We are also aware the many more people are having their first child without having had very much, if any, experience with children.
Parenting is incredibly rewarding but it is also very tough work. There are times when we can easily see the strengths we have as a parent and there are times when we may feel lost and overwhelmed.
It’s all normal but…. normal doesn’t mean easy.
Developing materials that helped parents understand and respond to their child’s needs was a priority. We also wanted to encourage parents to take good care of themselves. Parents sometimes feel it is selfish to take time away from their child to relax or have fun. The reality is, if Mom and Dad are exhausted and stressed it is even harder for them to parent in a positive and healthy way.
This website for parents and caregivers on Coping with Crying has been visited by thousands of parents and caregivers. The response has been remarkable and suggests we are on the right track in terms of making useful information available to parents.
Service providers and professionals in communities across Alberta have encouraged us to expand our focus from Coping with Crying and Shaken Baby Syndrome to other aspects of parenting that people find stressful or often have questions about.
Our expanded focus…
We will be exploring topics such as:
Child Development: how children develop:
- physically – growth and abilities
- intellectually – understanding, thinking, and communication
- emotionally – attachment to family, range of emotions, appropriate emotional responses
- socially – developing friendships, sharing, negotiating
Discipline: what works…
Fathering: we know that fathering is different than mothering and is also important to a child’s development but sources of information about fathering are often not readily available and programs for fathers are even harder to find.
Check us out…
We hope you will check back to the site often to see how we are progressing.
Is there a specific topic that interests you?
Have you found some materials that really helped you deal with a situation?
Have you attended a program that was very helpful?
We would love to hear about it so we can provide information to others as well.
It is not our intention to reinvent the wheel – we will focus on finding existing information and resources that are current and of high quality. When necessary, we will try to fill a gap by creating suitable resources.
Excellent services exist in communities around the province and we strongly encourage you to seek them out for information and support. A few examples include:
- Parent Link Centres
- FCSS offices
- Public Health nurses
- Family doctors/pediatricians
- Health Link
If you have something to share, including feedback on our materials and website, please contact Susan Patenaude, the Provincial Coordinator of the Alberta Network for Safe and Healthy Children at susan.patenaude@albertahealthservices.ca
August 12, 2008
