First Time Parent Group Resource and Facilitation Guide for

MaternalChildHealth

Nurses

and

First Time Parent Group Resource and Facilitation Guide for

This document is managed by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Victoria (as of 27 August 2007)

First-Time Parent Group Resource and Facilitation Guide for

Maternal and Child Health Nurses


ii

Project Consultants and AuthorsProfessor Gay Edgecombe, Clinical Chair,Community Child Health Nursing, RMITSusanne White, Director, The ResolutionsGroup, Pty LtdGeraldine Marsh, Consultant, The ResolutionsGroup, Pty LtdCarol Jackson, Senior Lecturer, Child andFamily Health Nursing, RMITDr Barbara Hanna, Senior Lecturer, School ofNursing Deakin UniversitySue Newman, Maternal and Child HealthNurse, City of Greater Geelong.

AcknowledgmentsThe Project Team wishes to thank those peopleconsulted during the development of theGuide:Patricia Glynn, Maternal and Child HealthNurse, Wyndham City.Catriona Good, Maternal and Child HealthNurse, City of Darebin.Raelene Howgate, Maternal and Child HealthNurse, Whitehorse City.Sue Newman, Maternal and Child HealthNurse, City of Greater Geelong.Katrina Pfarrer, Maternal and Child HealthNurse, City of Greater Geelong.Hilary Robinson, Maternal and Child HealthNurse, City of Greater Geelong.Faye Stanesby, Maternal and Child HealthNurse, City of Yarra.Paula Walsh, Maternal and Child HealthNurse, City of Greater Geelong.Sue Walsh, Maternal and Child Health Nurse,City of Darebin.

The 150 maternal and child health nurses whoattended the eight One-Day First-Time ParentGroup Workshops, gave the Project Teamvaluable feedback on the developing Guide.The maternal and child health nurses whogave feedback on the Guide after trialling it intheir First-Time Parent Groups betweenOctober 1997 and February 1998.

Parent Group Resource GuideReference GroupA project Parent Group Resource GuideReference Group was established to provideexpert advice. The members of the ReferenceGroup were:Prue Ingram, Acting Manager, FamilyServices, Department of Human Services.Steve Ballard, Manager, Community ChildHealth, Department of Human Services.Miranda Adams, Program Adviser,Community Child Health, Department ofHuman Services.Warren Cann, Senior Program Adviser,Parenting and Neighbourhood Services,Department of Human Services.Vanessa Gati, Regional Parenting ResourceService, Western Metropolitan Region.Dr Dorothy Scott, Deputy Head, School ofSocial Work, The University of Melbourne.Marianne Mackay, Lecturer/Coordinator,Community, Child and Family HealthNursing, School of Nursing, Faculty of HealthSciences, La Trobe University.Nola Green, Maternal and Child HealthNurse, City of Yarra.

ISBN 0 7306 5078 2

Acknowledgements

Writen by G. Edgecombe, S. White, G. Marsh, C. Jackson, B. Hanna, S. Newman, D. ScottPublished by the Victorian Government Department of Human Services Melbourne, Victoria, April 2001.

© Department of Human Services

(0140598)


iiiCONTENTS

Section OneIntroduction to First-Time Parent Group Resource and Facilitation Guide for Maternal and Child Health Nurses1.1 Introduction 3

1.2 Aims of the Guide 4

1.3 How Was the Guide Developed? 5

1.3.1 Background to the First-Time Parents’ Sessions 6

1.4 How to Use the Guide 7

1.5 Information about the Guide 8

1.6 References 9

Section TwoSocial Interaction and Health2.1 Introduction 11

2.2 Benefits of Social Support 12

2.3 Facilitator’s Role and Related Benefits 13

2.4 References 14

Section ThreeBenefits of New Parents’ Support Groups3.1 Introduction 17

3.2 Parents’ Perceptions of the Value of First-Time Parent Groups 17

3.3 Maternal and Child Health Nurses’ Perceptions of the Value of First-time 19Parent Groups

3.4 Conclusion 20

Contents


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Section FourTips for Organising and Facilitating First-Time Parent Groups4.1 Introduction 21

4.2 Successful First-Time Parent Group Session Factors 21

4.3 Role of Facilitator 21

4.4 Encouraging Sustainable Connections Between Participants 22

4.5 Group Guidelines or Rules 22

4.6 Handling Difficult People in the Group Sessions 23

4.7 What to Do about ‘Drop Outs’ 24

4.8 Evaluating the Sessions 24

4.9 Debriefing the Facilitator 24

4.10 Engaging ‘Experts’ 24

4.11 Inviting Participants 24

4.12 Times, Days and Venues 25

4.13 Engaging Fathers 25

4.14 Maintaining and Continuing the Group 25

4.15 Developing and Improving Facilitation Skills 26

Section FiveAbout the First-Time Parent Group Sessions5.1 Introduction 27

5.2 The Purpose of the Group Sessions 28

5.3 Maternal and Child Health Nurse as Group Facilitator 28

5.3.1 Accessing Resources for Parents and Maternal and Child Health Nurses 295.3.2 Accessing Resources for Culturally Specific Groups 29

5.4 The Session Designs 30

5.5 Choosing the Sessions for Parent Groups 31

5.6 Notes on the Strategies Used in Following Sessions 32

5.7 Promoting Discussion in Groups 34

5.8 Assertiveness and First-Time Parent Groups 34


vCONTENTS

Section SixSuggested First-Time Parent Group Sessions6.1 Getting to Know Each Other: Beginning Our Group 35

6.1.1 Planning the Session 356.1.2 Workshop Session 36

Conversation Starters 38

6.2 Being a Parent: Changes and Challenges 39


6.3 Getting to Know Your Baby 43


6.4 Looking After Yourself: Exploring Mother’s Health 47


Raindrops Massage Text 52

Script for Raindrops Massage 53

6.5 Baby’s Ages and Stages: What to Expect 55


6.6 Managing Childhood Illnesses 61


Visiting a Health Professional 65

6.7 What to do in an Emergency (1): Resuscitation 67


6.8 What to do in an Emergency (2): First Aid 71


6.9 Keeping Your Child Safe: Preventing Accidents 75


6.10 A Settled Baby: What Does it Mean? 81

6.10.1Planning the Session 816.10.2Workshop Session 83


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6.11 Food: Your Baby and the Family 87


6.12 Teething and Looking After Baby’s Teeth for Life 91


6.13 Returning to Paid Work 95


6.14 Play: More than Fun and Games 99


6.15 Being a New Parent in Australia and Other Countries 103


6.16 Communicating With Your Baby Through Music and Books 107


Music and Your Baby 110

6.17 Where to From Here? 111


Section SevenResources for Nurses7.1 Figure 1 – Model for Parent’s Perception of Core Benefits of

First Time parent Group 115

7.2 Invitation 116

7.3 Pre-Group Information 117

7.4 Group Session Outline and Roster 118

7.5 Evaluation 119

7.6 Attendance Record 120


31. INTRODUCTION

1. Introduction to the First-Time Parent GroupResource and Facilitation Guide for Maternal andChild Health Nurses

1.1 IntroductionWelcome to the First-Time Parent Group Resource and Facilitation Guide for Maternal and ChildHealth Nurses (The Guide). This Guide has been designed to assist maternal and child healthnurses in their facilitation of the first-time parent groups for which they are responsible.

First-Time Parent Groups are funded by the Department of Human Services in recognition of thechallenges and stresses that may be associated with the transition to parenthood (Department ofHuman Services, 1997, p. 3). The purpose of groups for first-time parents is to:• Enhance parental and emotional well-being.• Enhance parent–child interaction.• Provide opportunities for first-time parents to establish informal networks and social

supports.• Increase parental confidence and independence in child rearing.

Parenting groups have been provided by maternal and child health nurses since the 1920s.However, it was not until 1994 that funding was formally allocated for first-time mothers’groups by the then Department of Health and Community Services (now the Department ofHuman Services). The name of the groups was changed to First-Time Parent Groups in 1997– 8in recognition of the role fathers play in parenting. The role of fathers as members of the First-Time Parent Groups is developing.

The Guide provides information about the theory and research which underpin the funding ofFirst Time Parent Groups and the consequent emphasis within the Guide on promoting socialinteraction, both within the formal group sessions facilitated by the nurse and outside thesessions as well.

The primary focus of the Guide is the role of the maternal and child health nurse as a groupfacilitator. Most sections of the Guide are dedicated to the work of group facilitation. There aresome tips for running effective groups and a series of sessions detailed. Nurses can selectdirectly from these sessions for their groupwork or they can adapt them to suit the needs oftheir groups and their own facilitation styles. There are some materials which can be copieddirectly or again adapted for use by maternal and child health nurses. Throughout the Guidethere are current references which have been provided for nurses and group participants tofollow up.

Numbers of maternal and child health nurses have been successfully facilitating first-timeparent groups for years. Many of the ideas within the Guide have been drawn from theirexperience and others have been developed to address the concerns which have been identifiedby nurses during the research and trialling phases conducted in preparation of this Guide.


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1.2 Aims of the GuideThe specific aims of the Guide are to:• Enhance maternal and child health nurses’ knowledge and skills in providing first-time

parent groups.• Provide information on the facilitation of groups.• Provide a range of group topic outlines.• Provide a range of group models for increased flexibility.• Provide information on suitable resources for groups.

First-time parents require a range of information which supports the development of theirparenting skills when they become a new parent. The provision of First-Time Parent Groups isone strategy used by Victoria’s Maternal and Child Health Service to provide parents with arange of information, while developing a supportive group environment for parents. TheDepartment of Human Services, Victoria, has formally funded First-Time Parent Groups sinceJanuary 1994. This new funding initiative was evaluated in 1995 by Deakin University (Clarke,Hanna, Rolls, Grant, Bethume, Horne and Ching, 1995, pp. 3–4). The areas of concern identifiedwere:• The groups should also include fathers and any other persons taking a major role in caring

for the new baby.• Consideration should be given to the flexibility of the timing of the groups, such as offering

evening or weekend sessions.• Greater involvement of participants in selecting the group topics may reduce the mismatch

found between the parents (development of long-term friendships and informal socialnetworks) and nurses’ needs (more interested in information provision and education).

• All nurses should evaluate their groups.• There is a need to have an interpreter present for some non-English speaking groups.• There is a need to provide continuing education for some maternal and child health nurses in

group facilitation.

Many Victorian maternal and child health nurses have the knowledge and skills needed formanaging and facilitating First-Time Parent Groups and group work generally. This Guide isdesigned to capitalise on their expertise and provide new information and resources to assistthem with this aspect of their practice.

While this Guide will be sufficient stimulus for many nurses in their group facilitation, othersmay find it advantageous to access some of the one or two day training programs in generalgroup facilitation which are available at various educational organisations throughout Victoria.The Guide will then be useful for its suggestions in the specific application to the issues of firsttime parents.


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1.3 How Was the Guide Developed?Since 1994, maternal and child health nurses have requested assistance with the development ofa package to assist them to provide high quality First-Time Parent Groups across Victoria. In1997, a project team from RMIT University successfully tendered for a Department of HumanServices Project Brief, Development of a First-Time Parent Group Resource and FacilitationGuide for Maternal and Child Health Nurses (April, 1997).

As it was several years since the evaluation of First-Time Parent Groups by Deakin University(1995) the project team undertook a series of focus groups with maternal and child health nursesand first-time parents in 1997, prior to commencing work on the design and layout of theResource and Facilitation Guide.

Key positive features of the groups identified by parents included:• The groups are fun.• Parents value the informality of the groups.• The information shared and discussed at the groups.• The new relationships developed with other parents.• Support received from the group.• Support networks discovered through the groups.• Parents also commented that they particularly liked the continuing use

of name tags for parents and babies within the groups and secondly, the opportunity tochoose their content from a list of group topics.

• Parents discovered that their maternal and child health nurse had knowledge and skills on awide range of topics.

The above findings have been illustrated in Figure 1.

First-TimeParent Groups

Informality

Information

Support Relationships

Figure 1 Model of Parents' Perception of Core Benefits ofFirst-Time Parent Groups

INTRODUCTION1. INTRODUCTION


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Key issues identified by maternal and child health nurses were:• Groups widely used.• Not all maternal and child health nurses are providing First-Time Parent Groups.• Maternal and child health nurses’ knowledge and skills in group facilitation appears to be at

different levels.• Quality of groups not known.• ‘Nurses need to be more innovative in how they facilitate groups’.• ‘Parents don’t only attend for information’.• ‘Getting discussion going and keeping on track is an issue for me’.

As the recommendations from the Deakin 1995 evaluation and the 1997 focus groups identifiedsimilar issues, the project team felt reasonably confident to begin designing the Resource andFacilitation Guide in August 1997, following the first meeting of the project’s Parent GroupResource Guide Reference Group on July 25, 1997.

The team recognised that nurses have varying experience in group facilitation, and work withnew parents across all regions of Victoria, with a wide range of needs and issues. In order todesign a practical and user-friendly document to address this range of requirements, a draftGuide was developed and distributed to 150 maternal and child health nurses, from all parts ofVictoria, who attended one of a series of one-day workshops. During the workshops, the nursesreviewed the content and layout of the Guide and experienced some of the suggested strategiesas group participants. Following these workshops, the nurses were invited to trial (some of) thestrategies with the next groups they were facilitating. The feedback from the 150 nursesprovided during the workshops and after their own trials was taken into account and the issueswere addressed in the final production of the Guide.

1.3.1 Background to the First-Time Parents’ SessionsMaternal and child health nurses have had many years of experience in facilitating groups fornew parents. The team which prepared this Guide observed numbers of nurses facilitating First-Time Parent Groups and have incorporated many of their ideas and activities in the sessions.

Although nurses have this extensive experience, they requested the writing team make thegroup processes as simple to prepare as possible. The authors determined that the style chosenfor the Guide would provide a step-by-step simplicity, and it is expected that nurses will adaptthe sessions to their own situations, groups and time constrictions. For example, nurses workingwith groups with low literacy levels will focus more on discussions than print materials.

In addition, the Reference Group for the Project was of the view that the Guide needed to payparticular attention to the process of group facilitation. Maternal and child health nurses arewell able to address the content for the Sessions presented in the guide, but have had lessopportunities to develop other aspects of group work.


71. INTRODUCTION

The session titles themselves were agreed after extensive consideration. They are designed fromthe parent perspective. In fact, this perspective has been used throughout and the content of allsessions has been planned to be both parent and nurse user-friendly.

The sessions have been developed through:• The experience of maternal and child health nurses who have been facilitating groups for

mothers and/or fathers for many years.• A process of consultation with a range of maternal and child health nurses and first-time

parents currently participating in groups.• Consideration of recommendations in recent literature which addressed the content and style

of first-time parent groups, particularly Lawson and Callaghan (1991) and Moran and Martin(1997).

• Discussion with older parents about the sorts of issues they would have liked to discuss aswell as what they had found valuable.

1.4 How to Use the Guide Sections Two and Three of the Guide provide some theory and point to some research about theincreasingly acknowledged value of social interation for first time parents. This material hasbeen provided as the rationale for the focus of the Guide on promoting social interactionthrough and within the First Time Parent Groups. It has also been included to encouragematernal and child health nurses to place an emphasis on their group facilitationresponsibilities, since during the preparation of the Guide, nurses frequently commented on thedifficulty of giving the time for planning and organising their group facilitation when there weremany other competing priorities, especially for one-to-one consultations.

Sections Four to Seven of the Guide have been designed to assist maternal and child healthnurses to meet two key objectives in their facilitation of first time parent groups. Theseobjectives are: • To develop a cohesive group with sustainable links between individual

participants.• To provide information and develop skills,where appropriate, which are

critical to the role and tasks of new parents.

The Guide highlights the group and discussion facilitator roles, in which maternal and childhealth nurses need to become expert, rather than the presenter role that some nurses still use inorder to ‘get through the information parents need to be aware of’. This facilitator role enablesnurses to empower parents to play an active role in the group process and development ofknowledge about parenting. In preparation of the session guides, the authors were very awarethat nurses need to ‘switch hats’ quickly, from providing individual consultations to facilitatinggroups, and so a detailed step-by-step process was used throughout the seventeen sessiondesigns.


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Seventeen different group session designs are provided in the Guide to enable selectionaccording to the interests, information and skill needs of the groups. Most First-Time ParentGroups run for a period of eight weeks and so it assumed that while (a version of) the first andlast sessions will be used in common, the other six sessions will be selected and mixed andmatched for different groups. Most groups run for approximately two hours and each sessionhas been designed to cover that time period, although it is possible to shorten each session ifthat is required. Each session has an introductory time to enable the group to re-form and aclosure time. It is anticipated that some of the activities suggested for these times will be mixedand matched in different sessions.

The session titles have been designed to reflect the language used by parents, rather than thelanguage maternal and child health nurses may traditionally use. However, the titles do reflectthe issues, topics and / or information that parents have been asking maternal and child healthnurses about for many years.

The sessions have been designed to include both parents, but at the time of writing it isacknowledged that the usual group participant is the mother. The time of day at which thegroup is conducted affects participation. Some sessions, such as What to do in an Emergency (1)Resuscitation and What to do in an Emergency (2) First Aid, lend themselves to promotion toboth parents, perhaps in an evening session.

Finally, as there is a need for all nurses to evaluate their First-Time Parent Groups, someexamples of evaluation tools have been included in the final section. These may be used directlyor adapted to meet the needs of the different users.

1.5 Information about the GuideIf you need information about the Resource and Facilitation Guide, contact Gay Edgecombethrough the Office of Clinical Chair, Community Child Health Nursing.

Telephone: (03) 9925-4321 Business HoursFax: (03) 9925-4398Email: [email protected]

Mailing AddressProfessor Gay EdgecombeClinical Chair, Community Child Health NursingRMITCity CampusGPO Box 2476VMelbourne 3001VictoriaAUSTRALIA

This package is funded by the Victorian Department of Human Services.


91. INTRODUCTION

1.6 ReferencesDepartment of Human Services, 1997, Project Brief: Development of a First-Time Parents Resourceand Facilitation Guide for Maternal and Child Health Nurses, Department of Human ServicesPublication, Melbourne.

Department of Human Services, 1997, Maternal and Child Health Program: Annual Report1995–1996, Department of Human Services Publication, Melbourne.

Clarke, V., Hanna, B., Rolls, C., Grant, A., Bethume, E., Horne, R. and Ching, M., 1995, Evaluationof Group Sessions for First-Time Mothers Provided by the Victorian Maternal and Child Health Service,Deakin University, Melbourne.

Lawson, J.S. and Callaghan, A., 1991, ‘Recreating the village: the development of groups toimprove social relationships among mothers of newborn infants in Australia’, Australian Journalof Public Health, 15(1) pp. 64–66.

Moran, C. and Martin, D., 1997, ‘What do Women Want to Know after Childbirth?’ in Birth,24(1)27–34.


112. SOCIAL INTERACTION AND HEALTH

2. Social Interaction and Health

2.1 IntroductionIt is well established that the transition to parenthood is a stressful time and the need for socialsupport, paramount. Why is this? It is now known that integration into a social network protectshealth and promotes recovery (Bloom 1990). In addition, social support enhances healthoutcomes and reduces mortality by fulfilling basic social needs and enhancing social integration,mediating the effects of stress on health and protecting individuals from harmful influences ofacute stressful events (Quittner, Gleuckouf and Jackson 1990). The need for social supportnetworks is recognised as an important feature of health-care delivery for parents as women areleaving hospital earlier than before following the birth of a child (Stewart and Tilden 1995).

An Australian study by Rogan, Shmied, Barclay, Everitt and Wylie (1997) reports the hurdlesnew parents face as monumental, leaving many women initially feeling drained, alone and witha sense of loss. Research by Majewski (1987) and others suggests that partners provide newmothers with the greatest levels of support. They also identified a different type of supportwhich is provided through parent groups. According to Majewski such groups offer parentalguidance and a network of friends which is sustained over time. It is through social support thatindividuals gain information, see new role models and are encouraged by others (Bloom 1990).

In a publication by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Centre forHealth and Society The Solid Facts: Social Determinants of Health (1998, p. 1-10) an attempt ismade to examine research and present it in a useful format for policy makers, managers andhealth care providers. The ten social determinants of health referred to in this publication are:1. The social gradient: People’s social and economic circumstances strongly affect their health

throughout life, so health policy must be linked to the social and economic determinants ofhealth.

2. Stress: Stress harms health. Social and psychological circumstances can cause long-termstress.

3. Early life: The effects of early development last a life-time; a good start in life meanssupporting mothers and young children.

4. Social exclusion: Social exclusion creates misery and costs lives.5. Work: Stress in the workplace increases the risk of disease.6. Unemployment: Job security increases health, wellbeing and job satisfaction.7. Social support: Friendship, good social relations and strong supportive networks improve

health at home, at work and in the community.8. Addiction: Individuals turn to alcohol, drugs and tobacco and suffer from their use, but use

is influenced by the wider social setting.9. Food: There is a need to ensure access to supplies of healthy food for everyone.


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10.Transport: Healthy transport means reducing driving and encouraging more walking andcycling, backed up by better public transport.

WHO states that (1998, p. 20-21):

Social support and good social relations make an important contribution to health. Socialsupport helps give people the emotional and practical resources they need. Belonging to asocial network of communication and mutual obligation makes people feel cared for, loved,esteemed and valued. This has a powerful protective effect on health.

Support operates on the levels of both the individual and the society. Social isolation andexclusion are associated with increased rates of premature death and poorer chances ofsurvival after a heart attack. People who get less emotional social support from othersexperience less wellbeing, more depression, a greater risk of pregnancy complications andhigher levels of disability from chronic diseases. In addition, the bad aspects of closerelationships can lead to poor mental and physical health.

Access to emotional and practical social support varies by social and economic status.Poverty can contribute to social exclusion and isolation.

Social cohesion - the existence of mutual trust and respect in the community and widersociety - helps to protect people and their health. Societies with high levels of incomeinequality tend to have less social cohesion, more violent crime and higher death rates.

Sir Donald Acheson (WHO, 1998, p. 5) states that "…scientific knowledge on the socialdeterminants of health is accumulating quickly. The need to direct our efforts there has becomeincreasingly clear. This means ‘upstreaming’ public health, spreading awareness and promotingdebate on social determinants."

2.2 Benefits of Social SupportBenjamin, Bessant and Watts (1997) are of the view that parents gain a range of benefits fromsupport groups. These include: • Therapeutic benefits.• Understanding emotional problems.• Developing relationships.• Shared reciprocity.• Knowledge acquisition which leads to a greater sense of control.• Gaining a sense of who they are.• Self determination.• Equality.• Empowerment.



Empowerment, which is about encouraging participants to exercise more control over their livesis receiving more attention in the literature. For example, Neville, Beak and King (1995, p. 28),through their work with The Centre for Fun and Families in Great Britain, aim to empowerparents who are experiencing behaviour and communication difficulties with their children.They have found that empowering parents results in a number of changes:

• Parents attain increased dignity and self respect.• Decision-making about individual services is based on the best, most accurate, information.• Services are more appropriate to parents’ needs.• Parents’ problem-solving skills are improved.• Greater diversity and choice of services develop to meet parents’ needs more appropriately.• Forward planning of services is based upon the best information and therefore more

accurately reflects client’s needs.

Crittenden (1985) is of the view that social support has the ability to:• Mediate environmental stress and personality deficits to enhance parent-child attachment.• Increase parental self-esteem and coping.• Foster healthy child development and prevent family breakdown.• Provides a protective element in avoiding child abuse and neglect.

Abriola (1990) reported on a descriptive study of postpartum support groups which exploredmothers’ perceptions of a support group which had been operating for many years. Specifically,the researcher investigated the reasons why the monthly support group continued and how ithelped the twelve participants. The study found that the supportive nature of the groups wasthe most important aspect. Benefits included:• Support and reassurance.• Knowledge.• Needs were met.• Information and support.• Networking.• Help with transition to parenthood.• Interaction with children of similar ages.

2.3 Facilitator’s Role and Related BenefitsGitterman (1989) offers advice to those who would be group facilitators regarding how to buildsupport in groups. He claims that professionals can do much to assist group members in feelingsupported while encouraging participants to be open with each other. The facilitating process,according to Gitterman, assists group members in the following ways by:• Reducing isolation.• ‘De-pathologising’ problems.• Diminishing stigma when experiencing problems.• Helping each other learn skills.


14

• Managing their own anxieties.• Improving their own problem solving skills.• Managing self-doubt’s and insecurities.

Facilitating adequate support networks promotes a positive state of health for individuals.However, when that support is not available or is inappropriate, then alternative ways ofobtaining support need to be facilitated. Maternal and child health nurses are in a key positionto facilitate the development of new social networks for new parents. This view is supported bythe work of Lawson and Callaghan (1991) who examined whether an educational ‘mothersgroup’ facilitated by the early childhood nurses in New South Wales, encouraged social supportand reduced isolation. They found that the early childhood nurse played an important role inhelping parents to overcome reticence to become involved with strangers. The studydemonstrated a strong commitment to the group process through education, but at the sametime it provided a subtle and socially acceptable way of facilitating interpersonal relationships.Facilitating supportive relationships within an interpersonal network has also been examined byBoyle (1989). Thus, it is increasingly being recognised in Australia and elsewhere that maternaland child health nurses have a central role to play in facilitating the development of supportivesocial networks during the transition to parenthood. They are often the "nucleus in theneighbourhood" network and so are ideally located to create lasting linkages between familiesand so enhance the social well-being of all family members.

2.4 ReferencesAbriola, D. (1990) Mothers’ perceptions of a postpartum support group, Maternal Child NursingJournal, Summer, pp. 113-134.

Benjamin, J. Bessant, J. and Watts. R. (1997) Making Groups Work: Rethinking Practice, Allen &Unwin, St Leonards, NSW.

Bloom, J.R. (1990) The relationship of social support and health, Social Science Medicine, 39(5), pp. 277-280.

Boyle, J.S. (1989) Constructs of health promotion and wellness in a Salvadoran population,Public Health Nursing, 6(3) pp. 129-134.

Crittenden, P. (1985) Social networks, quality of child rearing and child development, ChildDevelopment, 46, pp. 1299-1313.

Gitterman, A. (1994) Building mutual support in groups, Social Work with Groups, 12(2), pp.5-21.

Lawson, J.S. and Callaghaan, A. (1991) Recreating the village: the development of groups toimprove social relationships among mothers of newborn infants in Australia, Australian Journalof Public Health, 15(1) pp. 64-66.



Majewski, J. (1987) Social support and the transition to the maternal role, Health Care For WomenInternational, 8, pp. 397-407.

Neville, D. Bleak, D. and King, L. (1995) Promoting Positive Parenting, Ashgate, Aldershot.

Quittner, A. Glueckouff, R. and Jackson, D. (1990) Chronic parenting stress: moderating versusmediating effects of social support, Journal of Personal Social Psychology, 59(6) pp. 1266-1278.

Stamp, G.E. Williams, A.S. and Crowther, C.A, (1995). Evaluation of antenatal and postnatalsupport to overcome postnatal depression: A randomized controlled trial, Birth, 22(3), pp. 138-143.

Stewart, M.J. and Tilden, V.P. (1995) The contributions of nursing science to social support,International Journal of Nursing Studies, 32(6), pp. 535-544.

Rogan, F. Schmeid, V. Barclay, L. Everitt, L. and Wyllie, A. (1997) ‘Becoming a mother’ —developing a new theory of early motherhood, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 25, pp. 866-885.

World Health Organisation and International Centre Health and Society. (1998). The Solid Facts:Social Determinants of Health. WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen.


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3. Benefits of New Parents’ Support Groups

3.1 IntroductionOne of the ways of assessing the benefits of New Parents’ Support Groups is by evaluating thedegree to which they evolve into self-sustaining supportive social networks. Maternal and childhealth nurses have long heard the anecdotal reports of how some of the groups they ran over asix to eight week period at the centre went on to have a long lasting life of its own, with strongbonds being forged between the children and the families.

This has recently been the subject of research undertaken by Associate Professor Dorothy Scottand Sue Bradey of the School of Social Work at the University of Melbourne in association witha La Trobe University research Masters student and maternal and child health nurse, PatriciaGlynn, and her thesis supervisor Professor Judith Lumley.

The research involved doing a two year follow up of women who joined New Parent Groups intwo outer urban municipalities of Melbourne in which the nurses had expressed an interest innew parent groups. A total of 243 women from 24 groups were interviewed and the studyexplored a number of issues in relation to consumer satisfaction with the maternal and childhealth nurse facilitated group sessions. The primary focus of the study however was on theextent to which the group members had maintained contact with one another after the formalphase of the group was finished. Maternal and child health nurses in both municipalities werealso interviewed about the way in which they ran their groups and their attitudes to this aspectof their work.

3.2 Parents’ Perceptions of the Value of First-Time ParentGroups Some of the key findings of the study in relation to the first phase of the group were as follows:

Most of the women (75%) reported positive feelings about the prospect of joining a group, withthe remainder equally divided between those who were neutral, those who were negative andthose who felt hesitant about doing so.

The most important things women hoped to gain from the group were: child health anddevelopment information, and the sharing of experiences and mutual support with other firsttime mothers.

The majority of women (76%) reported that the members of their group got along well. Thosewho had been in groups where this had not happened thought that the reasons included: groupsize (too large for the group to "click" or "gel" as they described it); too great a diversity of ageand background; and differences in values and lifestyles, especially related to child rearing.

3. BENEFITS OF NEW PARENTS’ SUPPORT GROUPS


18

Most women (60%) were highly satisfied with the way their group was facilitated. Those whoexpressed dissatisfaction reported that the sessions were too didactic ("too much like a schoolclass") or that the physical attributes of the centre itself were a problem (for example, too small,noisy, too hot in summer).

Some of the key findings in relation to the later phase of the group were as follows: All but one of the 24 groups continued to meet informally after the sessions at the centre hadended with 5 ending by 12 months. At 12 months 18 groups (constituting two thirds of thewomen in the study) were still meeting, and 16 groups were still meeting at the time of followup (18 months to 2 years).

Women returning to paid employment was related to some groups not continuing but othergroups with members who returned to paid employment went to considerable lengths tochange the group meeting times to accommodate this and these groups continued to flourish.

Even among those groups which were not meeting 18 months later, there was considerable one-to-one contact between some members and significant friendships had been made through thegroups.

One-to-one relationships were classified as mutual aid friendships, social activity basedfriendships or acquaintance relationships. A large majority (80%) formed at least one mutual aidfriendship through the group, and had frequent contact with the friend(s) outside of the group,often assisting each other with babysitting, as well as being a confidante.

Social activity based friendships did not involve the sharing of personal information but werecharacterised by participating in activities such as children’s birthday parties, clothes parties andoccasional evenings spent together without the children. In some instances family to familycontact developed which involved the fathers (for example, barbecues and picnics with thechildren).

A small number of women formed only acquaintance relationships, and would occasionally’bump into‘ one another at the shops. This generally applied to women who had only attendedthe group for a short period of time or had returned to work and lost contact with the group.However, even this level of relationship was described by some women as giving them a senseof familiarity with others in their community.

Women gave multiple reasons for participating in the continuation of their group, with the mainreasons being: that they enjoyed sharing their experiences of motherhood with one another(96%); that the groups provided support (95%) and that it was beneficial for their child to havecontact with others (82%).

Most of the groups met in one another’s homes. As the children became increasingly mobile thispresented problems and some of the groups evolved into playgroups which met at community


193. BENEFITS OF NEW PARENTS’ SUPPORT GROUPS

venues. A few women spoke of their discomfort at meeting in one another’s homes, particularlywhere there was a discrepancy in the level of affluence among members.

Overall there was a high level of homogeneity among those interviewed in relation to maternalage, occupation, ethnicity and marital status. While to some degree this reflects the demographiccharacteristics of the two municipalities involved in the study, it also raises concerns identifiedin earlier research as to whether young single mothers, and women from low income familiesand women from non-English speaking backgrounds are less likely to participate in suchgroups.

3.3 Maternal and Child Health Nurses Perceptions of theValue of First-Time Parent GroupsA total of 17 maternal and child health nurses were interviewed about their experiences infacilitating groups. Most had facilitated a large number of groups (average 34 groups) over anaverage period of running groups of 10 years. Most of the nurses reported that they enjoyedrunning groups but that there was insufficient time allocated for the work which this entailed. A few expressed apprehension about facilitating groups and found the first group session ratheranxiety provoking. Many mentioned the inadequacy of the facilities for running groups(overcrowding, no space for prams, no air conditioning, parking problems).

All the nurses thought that the groups fulfilled a valuable function, but there were significantdifferences in the proportion of their first time mothers who joined their groups (ranging fromone third to over 80%). Nearly all reported that it was more difficult to engage young singlemothers, women from low income families and women from non-English speaking backgroundsin the groups, although some appeared to have had a lot more success than others in doing so.For example, some had successfully mixed women of very different ages in the same groupswhile others had run specific groups for young mothers in quite a different way from their othergroups. Another nurse had run a highly successful group for women of very diverse culturalbackgrounds and made the theme "mothering in a new land" a particular focus of discussion.Some nurses described how they introduced two mothers of the same non-English speakingbackground and that this had been more successful than trying to involve mothers with limitedEnglish in their groups. Others had linked such mothers to ethnic specific women’s associationsor referred young single mothers to a specific program designed to meet their particular needs.

Most of the nurses emphasised the importance of creating the right climate, particularly in thefirst group session, so that the group could develop a sense of cohesion and an informalatmosphere. Most of the nurses had a set content which they followed but tried to be flexible inresponse to the needs and wishes of the particular group. They varied in the degree to whichthey balanced the provision of information with open discussion and social contact. Somecommented that they had learned over time to become less preoccupied with getting through


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their prepared material and more oriented to encouraging participation and social interaction asthis is what mothers appeared to value most about the groups.

A few had successfully engaged men in their groups, some effectively using infant CPR sessionsin the evening to draw in the fathers. Others were unsure about the participation of fathers anda few were opposed to it, believing that it inhibited women from discussing some issues andmade the group less cohesive. One nurse had gone to great lengths to establish a group for athome fathers. The issue of paternal participation is obviously an area which requires moreresearch and discussion.

3.4 ConclusionIn summary, this study has demonstrated that at least in two outer urban areas of Melbourne, alarge majority of first time parent groups evolve into self-sustaining social networks and providesignificant social support for women having their first child. Because so many of the groups inthis study continued, it was not possible to identify the characteristics of those groups whichwere more likely to continue from those which were not. However, there is some evidence tosuggest that continuation is more likely to occur if the group is facilitated in a way which createsan atmosphere of trust and builds a sense of group cohesion. If the nurse is overly focussed ondidactic input, or if the group is too large or the backgrounds of the members too diverse, theremay be insufficient group cohesion to sustain it. Future research is required, particularly on theparticipation of men in groups, how to make groups more accessible to parents of differentbackgrounds, and what alternative ways might exist for increasing the level of social support forfamilies other than through groups.


214. TIPS FOR ORGANISING AND FACILITATING FIRST-TIME PARENT GROUPS

4. Tips for Organising and Facilitating First-TimeParent Groups

4.1 IntroductionMany of the tips for organising and facilitating the First-Time Parent Sessions are incorporatedinto the Seventeen Suggested Sessions (Section 6). This section of the guide expands upon someof those tips and adds a few more to assist with the planning and facilitation of each session.There are numerous books available, too, which expand all the following ideas. One of thesewhich many nurses have used is by Kerri Hamer, entitled Leading a Group: A Practical andComprehensive Handbook (1997) Published by Hamer, Maroubra, NSW (phone 02 9349 5170).

4.2 Successful First-Time Parent Group Session FactorsThe success of the first-time parent sessions depends on a number of factors, including:• A definition and clear understanding of the purpose of the overall program and each of the

individual sessions.• Pre-session planning to address the purpose and objectives.• Active marketing of the sessions.• Articulation of group expectations and development of guidelines or rules.• Consideration of the diverse needs of participants, for example, cultural background, rural or

metropolitan setting.• Opportunities for equal involvement by all participants.• Effective facilitation.

While collection of information resources for participants often dominates early planning time,this issue may be of less importance than the discussion in the sessions themselves. It isimportant that nurses know their local services and resources well and prepare relevantdocumentation to encourage their group participants to learn about and use them. Nurses needto remind themselves too, that the objectives of the group sessions are additional to individualone-to-one consultations. Nurses may occasionally need to remind themselves and parents thatthese consultations provide opportunities to address individual health concerns of the parentsand babies, and the group time allows opportunities for shared issues and discussion.

4.3 Role of FacilitatorAs the facilitator of the session the nurse acts as a catalyst. They bring together first-timeparents, providing them with an environment which enables open communication andencourages the forming of networks and friendships.

An effective facilitator of First-Time Parent Groups:• Is a good listener.• Utilises all opportunities to encourage participant involvement.• Acknowledges and builds on participants’ knowledge and skills.• Allows and encourages participants to explore ideas.


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• Is the timekeeper.• Summarises, or encourages the participants to summarise, the process, issues and decisions

made in each session.• Does not dominate the group.

While it is important for nurses to have done plenty of homework to ensure they are adequatelyinformed about current parenting and health issues and local resources, they must take care notto be tempted to be the ‘fountain of all knowledge’. Participants will bring a great deal ofknowledge to most issues, although this knowledge may not be as complete or as wellorganised as the nurse’s. It is helpful to remember that most groups do not take in informationafter fifteen minutes of concentration.

It is likely that numbers of participants will not have had a group learning experience sinceschool and for some participants that past experience may not have been a positive one. Nursefacilitators may have a powerful impact through their role in modeling group skills like activelistening and encouraging resolution of differences as well as encouraging commitment toidentification and achievement of group goals.

4.4 Encouraging Sustainable Connections BetweenParticipantsThe group sessions are intended to create opportunities for socialisation within the formalgroup, but also to promote sustainable relationships and networks between participants afterthe formal sessions are completed. Mixing and matching participants in all sorts of variedcombinations early in the group development will promote the cohesion of the group and thelikelihood that all will be included in future. Groups are more likely to continue to meet beyondthe structured sessions if the participants have not become dependent on the facilitator. Thisrequires the nurse to be constantly alert to those situations and activities where participants willtake the lead themselves. This may begin with the organisation of tea and coffee at the sessions,but will have even more lasting effect if people take responsibility to organise a trip to thelibrary together, for example, with (or preferably without) the nurse’s participation. Thecirculation of names and contact address and phone numbers as early as the group iscomfortable with this will enhance the opportunities for connections to continue after thesessions.

4.5 Group Guidelines or RulesIn the session ‘Getting to Know Each Other: Beginning Our Group’ it is recommended that thefirst-time parent group develop their own guidelines or rules. It is important that participantsdevelop their group’s rules or guidelines and are not ‘given’ them, as they will be implementingthe guidelines and need to ‘own’ them. This process also provides an excellent model forparticipants in setting up their own formal and informal (community) groups in future.


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A process has been included in the session notes to assist the nurse in facilitating thedevelopment of the group rules or guidelines.

Possible areas for discussion and inclusion in the guidelines or rules are:• Confidentiality (within and outside the group).• Attendance at the group.• Listening to each other.• Positive communication.• Acceptance of a diversity of ideas.

The group’s guidelines or rules could be written onto butcher’s paper and displayed on the wallfor each session.

4.6 Handling Difficulties in the Group SessionsThe sessions in this guide have been designed to assist the facilitator manage any ‘difficult’situations for example where some participants may talk too much. Working in small groups,utilising personal stories and developing group guidelines will capture the needs of the groupand reduce the possibility of participants being ‘difficult’ for the facilitator.

Regular referral to, and if necessary, development of further group rules or guidelines are likelyto be the best methods for handling issues like time keeping and participants who put down,talk over or contradict other parents.

While acknowledging that parenting is a value laden area, it will be important that the nurseencourages the group to discuss and explore a range of strategies for all situations andparticularly for situations where inappropriate suggestions are made for handling someparenting concerns, such as ‘giving a baby a smack to help them to settle’. On occasion, it will beappropriate for a nurse to express her concern about some strategies suggested by parents but itis critical that the group be assisted to explore and discuss the pros and cons of options ratherthan focus on the negatives of any inappropriate suggestion.

Occasionally, members of the group may be upset or distressed, perhaps because of personalissues outside the group, exhaustion from being a new parent or sensitivity to the issues beingdiscussed. The nurse should be sensitive to personal needs within the group and can offer tospend time with the participant outside the group, but it is not the role of the nurse to be atherapist. The nurse could provide advice about where the participants could access help orresources.



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4.7 What to Do about ‘Drop Outs’If a participant attends a session and then drops out it would be appropriate to contact thatparent to talk through reasons for non-attendance.

Maybe it was a bad day for them and they intend to continue or the group may not have mettheir needs. Find out how the group could meet their needs, and what they are wanting fromthe group sessions.

If the reason for non-attendance is the group composition it could be appropriate to refer ortransfer the parent to another First-Time Parent Group.

4.8 Evaluating the SessionsSession evaluation should be considered during the planning stage of the First Parent Sessions.The facilitator needs to determine the areas they will evaluate, the evaluation process and howthe information collected from the evaluation will be used. Evaluation assists facilitators toimprove and or refine their practice.

4.9 Debriefing the FacilitatorFacilitators often need to talk about the success and/or failure of facilitated sessions, this processis called debriefing. The nurse may elect to do this with a professional colleague or someone elsewithin their professional group or agency. Talking through the highs and lows of a session canbe a form of self evaluation and new ideas for future sessions may come to the surface or beshared with others for inclusion in their groups. Care needs to be taken not to talk aboutparticular participants, but about the issues on which the facilitator needs to debrief.

4.10 Engaging ‘Experts’For some sessions, nurses will choose to invite a person with specific expertise to contribute tothe session. In these cases, it is important to clarify what the speaker is to address, and to briefthe person accordingly. Nurses may wish to photocopy and distribute the objectives of thesession and explain how the person’s information will be developed by group activities. It isimportant that the nurse is present at the session with the speaker so they can pick up on theissues for continuing the workshop process. The continuing role of session facilitation is criticalto achieving the intended outcomes of the overall program.

4.11 Inviting ParticipantsWord of mouth from new parents about the value to new parents of First-Time Parent Groups isthe most powerful marketing tool anyone can use. It will be important to encourage past



participants to tell others about the value they gained, and, of course, in some areas, the nursesin the maternity units of local hospitals can assist in encouraging participation.

Personalised, written invitations, with dates, times, venue and perhaps the names of streetswhere other anticipated participants live will also provide interest in participation. Remember,people are more confident when they know what to expect from the sessions, so it may be usefulto talk to new parents about the sorts of activities of past participants and some of the positiveoutcomes for those people.

If it is possible to put people who live near each other in touch prior to the first session or atleast at the first session, they may be able to travel together which will have the dual benefit ofpromoting connections and providing a familiar face at the early sessions.

4.12 Times, Days and VenuesThese will largely be determined by the demands of your organisation. However, some peoplecannot attend sessions because of transport access issues or work demands with the time of thesessions. It will be important to ask people about times, days and venues that suit them best andbe prepared to be adaptable if at all possible. Participants will generally appreciate the nurse’sresponsiveness to their needs. Obviously, if you wish to include working parents in the groups,then some special evening groups especially in daylight saving months, perhaps with a lightmeal included, will be more appropriate.

4.13 Engaging FathersTime of day (or evening) will affect the participation of many (new) fathers in groups. Inclusionof fathers will be promoted by providing at least one evening session. The content of theplanned session may affect some fathers’ interest too. However, if fathers are involved in theinitial session when the topics are chosen, they will have an equal chance to express theirinterests. If mothers only are present at the initial session, then the nurse can encourage thegroup to consider a topic they would like to choose for a shared parent session. Sometimeswomen are reticent about including fathers in some of their sessions. It may be useful to discusswhether there are some groups people would like as mothers only, some fathers only and somecombined.

4.14 Maintaining and Continuing the GroupGroup dynamics change over the life of a group. Regular review of participants’ expectationsand adaptation of group rules as required, will assist in maintaining a strong group. Continuingsome mixing and matching of small groups within the larger group for different activities willpromote cohesion among members and is a key strategy in addressing the issue of the ‘isolate’.


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Dynamics will also change with the introduction of new participants into an established group.Some introductory icebreakers or introduction exercises, especially with numbers of pairings asare described in the introductory session in Section 6, will be useful to quickly establish apersonal connection between participants.

As the group nears its formal ending, it will be important for the facilitator to invite participantsto explore opportunities for continuing the group without the role of nurse as facilitator and in anew venue. Encouragement of options which will provide for inclusion of all group members,addressing participants’ concerns about appropriate venues, for example, will assist incontinuing the life of the group. In some cases, the group may decide to meet in a low costcommunity hall on an ongoing basis rather than individuals’ homes, for example. Whatever thedecision, the nurse has responsibility for promoting and encouraging sustainable relationshipsamong all participants.

4.15 Developing and Improving Facilitation SkillsIn preparing this Guide, a number of highly experienced nurses asked permission of othernurses to watch them at work facilitating their groups. Without exception, the nurses reportedlearning a great deal about development of their own facilitation skills from this closeobservation. It is probable that nurses can arrange such collaboration themselves, rememberingalways to ask permission of the group beforehand, and remembering too, the importance ofproviding positive feedback which can be built upon.

For nurses practicing as maternal and child health nurses for the first time or for those who wishto develop their skills in facilitation of diverse groups, observation of skilled maternal and childhealth nurses facilitating First-Time Parent Groups may assist. This diversity includes peoplefrom a wide range of ages, family support systems and life experiences, as well as people from anumber of different cultural backgrounds.

Shared planning and co-facilitation also provides excellent opportunities for developingfacilitation skills. However, it must be noted that to work well for both group participants andfacilitators, the shared facilitation role requires a substantial time commitment to discusspersonal facilitation styles, and to clarify and plan each person’s expectations andresponsibilities.

Formal training in the process of group facilitation through tertiary education institutions andprivate education providers will also enable nurses to gain confidence in the facilitation rolequickly. The nurses will then be free to use and adapt the content of the sessions provided inthis Guide to suit their own facilitation style.

Some references have also been provided in this Guide for nurses for follow up reading aboutspecial facilitation issues.


275. ABOUT THE FIRST-TIME PARENT GROUP SESSIONS

5. About the First-Time Parent Group Sessions

5.1 IntroductionThe workshop sessions are provided as a source of ideas and have been written as recipes forfacilitation only. As with recipe books and cooking, those who are experienced in facilitationmay note the desired outcomes, suggested ingredients and method and then immediately adaptthe recipe (if required) to fit their own situation. Others will follow the recipe as detailed andmay continue to do so because it provides an effective result, while still others will need to makechanges along the way, perhaps because they prefer some slightly different outcome or perhapsbecause their ‘ingredients’ vary from those suggested. Feedback from the nurses who havetrialled the sessions has shown that the designs have worked for some of their groups and theyare already mixing and matching the strategies provided in the document with a range ofstrategies they were already using themselves. The following quotes taken from feedback on theuse of this Guide illustrate this:

Feedback One…Initially very time consuming getting resources and photocopying done and organising and planninggenerally. Initially some sessions can be expensive, for example, Session 5.9 cost $35.00 for RCH Safety Book andfor some appliances (not many). For 5.1 I have chosen to purchase an oil burner, oil, tape deck and tape – these, ofcourse, will be used frequently, perhaps each week. I chose to combine 5.7 with my CPR training (HeartFoundation) handbook and I think it went well.

Feedback TwoCongratulations on an excellent idea, presentation and resources. This is what we needed across the state to bringeveryone into line with running professional parent groups. It is one thing we never had any training orguidelines in and really is needed by us and by the parents who attend our groups. The resource will be evenbetter when it is complete with lots of wonderful pamphlets introduced that the nurses have collected, updatedand used as handouts or resources.

Feedback ThreeI enjoyed the workshop – good introduction to manual. Gave great spurt to own conduct of groups. Enjoying themmore, lots more ideas, from manual and from hearing of colleagues experiences. 75% of enrolments and birthnotifications (at my centre) are first-time mothers therefore greatly increased workload, particularly groups.However, great way to disseminate knowledge, confidence, networking, etc. Great feedback from parents. Thankyou to the team for putting together a useful, useable stimulating manual. I look forward to seeing the finalproduct and hope it won’t be too long.

Feedback FourMy main comment is that I found it hard to keep the group attention for two hours and usually had to cut thecontent down even though I found it relevant. The mothers were often tired and were easily distracted by babies.They needed more time just to relax and chat. Even so, the group became very cohesive and the feedback wasgood. They are continuing to meet in own homes. Ages varied from 17 years to 34 years.


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Group facilitation is challenging and requires quite different skills from one-to-one consultationand other practices well developed by maternal and child health nurses. Each group is differentand success depends on the willingness of the facilitator to reflect on each group’s specific needsand interactions and to develop the group processes accordingly. Most groups and particularlyvery diverse ones, will be more effective if the nurse provides a structured process, especially atfirst. The structure will reduce as the sessions progress, especially as group members know eachother and are keen to take the opportunity for discussions.

The workshop sessions described in Section Six have been developed for use by maternal andchild health nurses as facilitators of the First-Time Parent Groups which they are responsible fororganising for new parents in their municipality.

5.2 The Purpose of the Group SessionsThe workshop processes have been designed to enable the maternal and child health nurse, in her role as the group facilitator, to:• Engage parents.• Promote continuation of a group following the formal phase facilitated by the nurse.• Develop links between all individual participants of each First-Time Parent Group.• Acknowledge and build on the knowledge and experience which first-time parents bring to

their parenting role.• Create formal opportunities for participants to share their concerns, joys and learning.• Provide relevant information about health and parenting issues and encourage use of local

resources.

5.3 The Maternal and Child Health Nurse as the Group FacilitatorAs noted earlier, many nurses have been facilitating groups for many years, often well beforethese became an expected part of funding agreements. These groups were undertaken for avariety of reasons, not least of which was to save the time required if (health) information wasprovided by the nurse on an individual basis. Implementation of the following session designsmay not provide as much opportunity for information provision by the nurse to the groups aspreviously, but is likely to encourage participation by all group members and optimise thechances of all individuals developing sustainable relationships with other group participants.

We anticipate that much of the information provided and even some of the group processesdetailed will not be new to nurses. What may be new are the combinations in which they areprovided. We hope all nurses will test the session processes as they are described and adapt them as they develop strategies which are more effective in meeting the stated objectives of theindividual sessions, while keeping the objectives of the group sessions in total in mind.


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Traditionally, groups have very few fathers participating. In fact, they were usually called first-time mothers’ groups. The seventeen group sessions following have been designed to providethe facilitator with strategies to enable meaningful participation by either or both parents. Ifboth parents are participating together in the group, the facilitator will need to be alert toconcerns about group cohesion, as will also be required if there are two or three very closefriends joining the group together. In these cases, the group will probably be best served by thefacilitator treating the parents as individuals and, for example, inviting them to participate inseparate small groups when small groups are formed.

Setting group guidelines provides an initial opportunity for the group to discuss expectations ofeach other. A review of these guidelines, and perhaps encouragement of additional ones at sometime down the track can also be used to address any difficulties developing within the grouparound participation or future planning.

5.3.1 Accessing Resources for Parents and Maternal and Child HealthNursesIt is important to make sure that any resources being used in conjunction with the Guide forparents and/or to guide maternal and child health nursing practice, meet copyright regulations.Copyright regulations include obtaining permission to use materials from the author(s) of thematerial, including permission to copy a percentage of the materials for teaching purposes. Thispermission must be written on the materials and include the year of publication, publisher etc.

Most feedback from maternal and child health nurses on the Guide during 1997–1998 has beenrelated to resources, such as ‘who is to pay for resources referred to in the Guide’ and the ‘needto include contact phone numbers for all resources cited in the Guide’. As most resourcesreferred to in this Guide are not provided with the Guide, an allocation will need to be includedin annual budgets for resource purchase. This will be for both new resources and to updateolder ones already held.

The resources included in the outline of each session have been selected as the most appropriateat the time of the publication of this Guide and all were available.

5.3.2 Accessing Resources for Culturally Specific GroupsSome parents from culturally or linguistically diverse backgrounds may benefit from attendingculturally specific groups instead of or as well as First-Time Parent Groups provided bymaternal and child health nurses. Maternal and child health nurses can find out where thesegroups are held by contacting the Centre for Culture Ethnicity and Health, 23 Lennox Street,Richmond, Victoria 3121 (telephone 03 9427 8766) or the local Community Health Centre.



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5.4 The Session DesignsAll sessions have been designed to cover a two-hour time period. However, the two-hour layoutis only a guide. It is anticipated that the time for ‘cups of tea and chats’ will be either integratedinto the sessions which have been designed with informality in mind, or may be provided at theend when time for one of the suggested strategies has been reduced. It is important to note thatparticipant discussion and strategies like brainstorming and small group problem solving taketime to be effective, but they are the formal processes which are most likely to achieve theobjective of whole group cohesion and support.

Each session has an introductory time, with some suggested ice breakers and warm ups andfrequently a suggested process for reviewing the intervening week. These activities areimportant to enable a fairly speedy ‘regrouping’ after a week’s separation and will facilitatecommunication between participants quickly. The inclusion of name tags at first andintroductory or review activities every session are critical for group cohesion and will assistinclusion of latecomers to both the group and the individual session. There are some homeworksuggestions provided in relevant sessions. These are designed to build the links between thegroup and relevant community groups and services.

Many sessions suggest the use butcher’s paper for small group work in particular. As the size ofthe venues vary, it may be necessary for nurse facilitators to be creative about the materials usedand the placement of the small groups. Butcher’s paper can be fixed to walls or A3 sized papermay prove as effective for the whole group to see. Most important is the chance for small groupdiscussion on particular issues and notation to a congregate sheet provides the means ofchecking understanding among group members and for feedback to the group as a whole. Theuse of small groups and paper with babies and associated paraphernalia will probably not bevery tidy, and the nurse facilitator’s attitude to the process will be critical to the group responseto and management of the recommended strategies.

More than 50 maternal and child health nurses have provided feedback from trialling thesessions. The following quotes are examples of their feedback and show the ways they haveadapted some aspects to meet their group’s needs:

I actually became excited using some of the suggestions, for example, Home Safety. Everyone had to close theireyes and visualise their homes, room by room, and this method generated a bit of conversation with safety issues.

I am finding butcher’s paper too ungainly – have found blank paper on a clipboard with a scribe very good.

I think the whole idea of being able to rev up a group so quickly in preparation time can work, and each activitygives me time to think through to the next.

I find the guide really useful in planning an actual session with regard to the timetables supplied.

My first session was last week, and with plenty of participation from mothers present. We have outlined aninteresting series of sessions to be undertaken over the next seven weeks.

I have found the parts of the Guide I have used wonderful.



I found the layout very clear and informative. Easy access to information for busy professionals who find it hardto spend much time accessing literature.

I have started using butcher’s paper and brainstorming at some sessions which is going okay… Overall I havefound the resource guide helpful and am starting to incorporate some of the suggestions. Also, the guide is usefulfor planning – collecting leaflets, and resources…

I thought I was going along quite well with my groups – it was really challenging to make the group sessionsmuch more two-way – rather than me doing the majority of the talking. The skills illustrated at the workshophave really helped me with this.

5.5 Choosing the Sessions for Parent GroupsFunding agreements provide for eight formal First-Time Parent Groups. There are seventeensessions developed in all to provide opportunities for choices according to everyone’s interestsand group needs. Two of the sessions: Getting to Know Each Other and Where to From Here?are designed as the first and last meetings, which, it is assumed, are likely to be used andadapted by most nurse facilitators.

It is expected that the other six sessions can be chosen by the group participants and the nurse.A careful reading of the session designs will show that some topics have lent themselves to morecontent developed from participants’ personal experience than others. For example, the sessionsBeing a Parent: Changes and Challenges and Returning to Paid Work rely mostly on issuesraised and strategies developed (brainstormed) by the group, whereas, What to do in anEmergency(1): Resuscitation and Looking after Your Teeth for Life both demand more healthinformation content from the nurse. Those groups which undertake a mix of these session typeswill have more opportunity to fully address the two objectives of the program which werestated earlier. These are:• To develop a cohesive group with sustainable links between individual participants

and• To provide information and develop skills which are critical to the tasks and role of new

parents.

Session 6.15 Being a New Parent in Australia and Other Countries has been specifically designedto assist those groups which include parents from a variety of other countries, particularly thosefrom a non-English speaking background. We recommend that nurses who facilitate groupswith such a composition plan to include this session early in their series, as we believe it willassist with group cohesion and development of confidence and understanding betweenparticipants.

Some of the sessions, like sessions 6.4 Looking after Yourself: Exploring Mother’s Health,demand an understanding and knowledge of a broad range of health issues. It is not likely thatall issues will be addressed in the session, but it is helpful for the nurse to have done somereading and have accessed one of each of the resources listed so they can enable participants to


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follow them up themselves. The group will discuss the issues relevant to the majority if theprocess described is followed. A display of relevant literature, whether or not it is available forloan, is likely to support the information needs of the participants. While we have supplied up-to-date information sources, resource recommendations and, in some cases, the appropriatesupport materials for the facilitators’ use, it is expected that nurses will need to continue theirreading to maintain the currency of their own information as well as the recommendations forresources to be used by participants.

5.6 Notes About the Strategies Used in the FollowingSessionsCareful reading of the workshop sessions will show that a range of strategies are incorporated.Of particular note are:• Chalk and talk.• Discussion.• Brainstorming.• Problem solving.• Rehearsing or practising a role.• Use of butcher’s paper and group notes.

The process for using each of these is described in at least one session, and particular pointsabout the use has been noted in the Suggestions for Nurse column. As you become familiar withusing these processes in the sessions as provided, you may wish to take the strategy and use itto meet objectives in a different topic area.

Chalk and TalkThe didactic mode allows the nurse to provide some carefully planned and organised materialquickly and concisely by talking about it with support materials provided either on the board,overhead transparency or video. This is an excellent mode for information provision but thisinformation only becomes the knowledge of the participant when they are able to relate it totheir own lives and situations in a meaningful way.

DiscussionThis is one method whereby participants are able to consider information, talk about it inrelation to their own situations, and determine their level of understanding of the information.This is the process which allows incorporation of the information provided. It is also likely tobegin building ‘connections’ between participants as they learn more about the interests andvalues of the other participants.



BrainstormingThis strategy promotes lateral thinking and frequently provides a creative outcome or result. Itrequires that all ideas are accepted and noted so that participants can contribute without fear ofrejection.

This is particularly important where some group participants lack confidence within the group.The brainstorming process provides the opportunity for participants to build on each other’sideas, so that quite exceptional solutions, which are not likely to have ever been reached throughlinear, and logical thinking, are developed. The facilitator’s skill is required to maintain the‘creative flow,’ prompting ideas and limiting people’s inclination to evaluate ideas as they arepresented. When the group’s ideas dry up, there is plenty of opportunity to toss out suggestionswhich are not feasible.

Problem SolvingThis is a group process which utilises brainstorming as one step in the process. Critical to thesuccess of problem solving is the initial clarification of the issue; then determining that theproblem is one which can be solved; and then determining whether or not the problem is onewhich can be solved directly by participants. The issue of parental response to baby’s sleepingpatterns is one which demands this type of clarification. Parents can change their responses tosleep cues, but they may have little effect on the number of times a baby wakes at night whenthe baby is very young. The exercise in Session 6.2, ‘Being a Parent: Challenges and Changes,’where participants are asked to explore ‘locus’ or point of control is a good beginning for theproblem solving process. This is then followed by a brainstorming of strategies, which can thenbe refined and developed by individual participants.

Rehearsing or Practising a RoleNot to be confused with formal role play, practising saying the words and showing the actions isa particularly useful strategy for building confidence in a safe environment. It is very differentfrom ‘talking about’ what might be said in a situation from actually saying it. This strategy issometimes difficult for facilitators to initiate, but if nurses encourage participants to work inpairs or threes, as if they were actually talking to the person, they can become quite confidentwith the process. If using role rehearsal in a group, it is best to begin with brief examples inpairs, and debrief by talking about how it went and how the participants felt. Actually showingthe rest of the group will be of limited value to the individual, and probably only of use for thefun of watching a brief drama. Whole group role play is best used when the group feels safe andcomfortable with each other as a large group, but may seldom be used in First-Time ParentGroups.

Use of Butcher’s Paper and Group NotesThe use of butcher’s paper and/or writing on a board are suggested regularly as a strategy. Thisis particularly important to enable feedback or if the group is to be asked to work on the ideasthey initially generate as in 6.2 Being a Parent: Challenges and Changes. Comfort and


34

willingness to write will vary between groups and between participants within groups. It isimportant to stress that in these sessions, spelling is not an issue as it is the ideas the group istrying to capture. Some people will not want to write at all and it is important for the facilitatorto accept that and manage the strategy in a different way, perhaps with the maternal and childhealth nurse or a participant writing on a central board or sheet of butchers paper for the wholegroup.

5.7 Promoting Discussion in GroupsDiscussion which involves all participants in a large group is usually more productive where allparticipants know and are confident with each other. The use of pairings, trios and small groupswill encourage participants to connect with each other in discussion.

Inviting people to work and discuss in small groups means that the facilitator has less controlover the content of the discussion, but it promotes the connections which are an objective of thesession. Mixing and matching participants by numbering off or other means provides theopportunity for all participants to spend time with others on an individual or small group basis,and limits the formation of cliques (and isolates) within the group. This mixing and matchingrole of the nurse is critical in the early sessions as a means of promoting comfort by allparticipants with each other. However, if the group comprises only three or four participants, asmaller group will actually be impossible. In this case, the group will work as a whole. Pairingsbecome possible with five people and more, when the nurse forms one of the pair with a five-participant group.

5.8 Assertiveness and First-Time Parent GroupsOn reading through the various sessions, it will be noted that many include an assertivenesscomponent. Many of the difficulties for new parents result from trying to deal with others’expectations and advice, which frequently threatens the confidence of the new parent. Theassertiveness exercises are designed to assist parents to hear the conflicting advice or view, takeit on board to the extent they are willing and able, and then to respond appropriately to theadvice giver. This response is critical to new parents maintaining the relationship with theadvice giver, while still feeling confident about their own behaviour. New parents have enoughchange to manage in their lives without the added burden of guilt about their inappropriateresponses to a well-meaning advisor!


356.1 GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER: BEGINNING OUR GROUP

6.1 Getting to Know Each Other: Beginning OurGroup

6.1.1 Planning the SessionObjectives of the Session• To provide a non-threatening environment in which participants can get to know each other,

feel acknowledged and listened to.

• To create an opportunity for first-time parents to share ideas and concerns about aspectscommon to parenting.

• To promote sustainable connections between parents of children of similar ages.

• To determine topic areas for a series of seven sessions of interest to the group.

• To agree on a suitable time frame and arrangements for refreshments, and safety strategies toprevent accidents with hot drinks.

• To agree on a set of operational rules for the group, including about degree of commitmentover the next series of sessions.

Anticipated Outcomes of the Session• Participants will have talked individually with all other group members and will have begun

to know each other’s names.

• Some participants will have identified shared interests.

• Participants will know of the planned program for the next seven weeks.

Pre-session Planning• Organise name tags for babies and parents.

• Prepare a sheet so participants can note program plan and dates of meetings.

• Write or type out introductory statements onto individual file cards.

• Organise tea, coffee and drinking water for this session.

• Collect sheets of butcher’s paper and textas.

Resources for Nurses’ Information Prior to Session• Letter to invite parents to first-time parent group.

• Read the related sections of the Resource Guide.

Handouts to Group Participants• Pre-Group Information Questionnaire.• Eight Week Topic Outline for parents to complete.• Conversation Starters.


36 6.1 GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER: BEGINNING OUR GROUP

6.1.

2 G

ettin

g to

Kno

w E

ach

Oth

er: B

egin

ing

Our

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and

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pers

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itti

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o th

em a

nd ta

lk a

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follo

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allo

w a

few

min

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)In

trod

uce

your

self

and

your

bab

y.H

ow d

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ou c

hoos

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ur b

aby’

s na

me?

Wha

t is

you

r id

ea o

f fun

?R

epea

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tim

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se a

sks

two

pair

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par

tici

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s to

join

toge

ther

and

talk

abo

ut th

e fo

llow

ing:

At

thes

e se

ssio

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wou

ld li

ke t

o…W

hat

wou

ld m

ake

you

wan

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re e

ach

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ive

each

gro

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pie

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pape

r an

d a

sk p

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nts

to r

ecor

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eir

idea

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hen

smal

l gro

ups

are

finis

hed

ask

them

to r

epor

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k to

larg

er g

roup

.Pa

rtic

ipan

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tay

in th

e sa

me

grou

ps.

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ups

are

aske

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wri

te d

own

all t

he to

pic

area

s th

ey w

ould

like

to a

dd

ress

ove

r th

eei

ght w

eeks

. Whe

n th

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eir

lists

, ask

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all g

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•co

nfid

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atte

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t gro

up•

liste

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to e

ach

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saft

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se g

ives

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rtic

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ard

wit

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conv

ersa

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tten

sta

rter

on

it. (

see

Han

dou

t – C

onve

rsat

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Star

ters

)•

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te p

arti

cipa

nts

to p

air

and

talk

abo

ut w

hat i

s on

thei

r ca

rd.

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fter

3 m

inut

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sk p

arti

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nts

to s

wap

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sk p

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w p

air

and

rep

eat e

xerc

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wit

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eir

new

car

d.

•C

onti

nue

unti

l all

part

icip

ants

hav

e ta

lk to

eac

h ot

her

at le

ast o

nce.

Ask

par

tici

pant

s to

get

them

selv

es a

cup

of

coff

ee/

tea

and

dis

cuss

as

a la

rge

grou

p:I

expe

ct y

ou a

re lo

okin

g af

ter

your

bab

ies…

wha

t so

rt o

f thi

ngs

are

you

doin

g/co

uld

you

do t

olo

ok a

fter

you

rsel

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as

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to c

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Invi

te p

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to p

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up a

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ll th

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part

ners

wha

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y ar

e co

mm

itti

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to c

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follo

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38

Conversation StartersSession OneSince I became a parent I feel.................................................................................................................

Since I became a parent ...................................................................................................has changed.

In the month before I had my baby I....................................................................................................

In the 12 months before I had my baby I.............................................................................................

I have learnt most about babies from...................................................................................................

I spent the first five years of my life .....................................................................................................

A really enjoyable experience I have had is ........................................................................................

Since having my baby my time is mainly spent.................................................................................

The people I rely upon most are ...........................................................................................................

One thing I really love to do for myself is...........................................................................................

The best holiday I ever had was ...........................................................................................................

I am looking forward to..........................................................................................................................

It is useful to prepare two cards for each statement — it does not matter if people have twoof the same cards

6.1 GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER: BEGINNING OUR GROUP6.1 GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER: BEGINNING OUR GROUP


396.2 BEING A PARENT: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES

6.2 Being a Parent: Changes and Challenges

6.2.1 Planning the Workshop

Objectives of the Session• To create an opportunity for first-time parents to share ideas and concerns about aspects

common to parenting.• To promote sustainable connections between parents of children of similar ages.• To provide an opportunity for participants to express and discuss some of the frustrations

and joys of being a new parent.• To clarify the issues which new parents can influence and those which they must accept or

live with.• To develop strategies to address some of the challenges and changes within the realm of

parents’ influence.• To consider the concept of ‘self talk’ as a strategy for coping with the issues which new

parents cannot control or change.• To encourage parents to put some of the strategies discussed throughout the session into

practice.• To consider some of the resources in the community which participants can access for

personal issues.

Anticipated Outcomes of the Session• Some participants will have identified shared interests.• Participants will be alert to a wide range of the (positive and negative) stresses which are

experienced by first-time parents.• Participants are able to clarify the issues which are within their influence and those which

they must accept.• Participants will know of, and feel encouraged to use, a range of strategies they can use to

address some of their stresses in their own lives.• Participants will be alert to a range of community resources which they could access to assist

them.

Pre-Session Planning• Investigate and prepare list of local resources which parents can access.• Collect approximately 12 sheets of butcher’s paper and textas (at least two colours).

Resources for Nurses’ Information Prior to Session• For information on ordering Positive Parenting Program resources contact the Victorian

Parenting Centre, 24 Drummond Street, Carlton South, Vic 3053 Ph: (03) 9639 4111fax: (03) 9639 4133.

• Local Council’s Community Resources Directory.



40

• How to Survive Becoming a Father, by WYETH. WYETH prefer you to obtain these pamphletsfrom your local WYETH representative.

• Sarros, N. and Sarros, A., 1991, Stress Busters, Lothian, Port Melbourne.• Bernard, M., 1991, Staying Rational in an Irrational World, McCulloch Publishing, North

Carlton.

Handouts for Group Participants• Positive Parenting Program, Parent Tip Sheets.• Handout on local resources.




6.2.

2 B

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aren

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ange

s an

d Ch

alle

nges

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ch g

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h th

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adin

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Posi

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a pa

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cha

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xcit

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me

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mes

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are

goin

g to

brai

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rm id

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oth

of t

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are

as, s

ome

of o

ur t

houg

hts

or id

eas

will

fit

unde

r bo

th h

eadi

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List

the

m u

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bot

h.In

you

r sm

all g

roup

ele

ct s

omeo

ne to

be

your

scr

ibe.

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scr

ibe

is to

wri

te d

own

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idea

s or

th

ough

ts o

f eac

h pe

rson

in th

eir

own

wor

ds.

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abo

ut t

he p

osit

ives

and

neg

ativ

es a

bout

bei

ng a

par

ent

now

and

as

you

imag

ine

in t

he

near

futu

re.

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orry

abo

ut s

pelli

ng o

r th

e id

eas

– ju

st g

et e

very

thin

g do

wn.

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n th

e gr

oups

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r th

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all

part

icip

ants

tost

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alk

arou

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om to

look

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utch

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pape

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king

aro

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room

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shee

ts t

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e if

ther

e ar

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y th

emes

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ncou

rage

par

tici

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s to

cha

t am

ongs

t th

emse

lves

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mak

e co

mm

ents

to

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larg

er g

roup

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urse

to in

trod

uce

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conc

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ontr

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flue

nce.

Ask

par

tici

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s to

mov

e ba

ck in

to th

e sm

alle

r gr

oups

.

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aim

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this

sec

tion

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enc

oura

ge s

mal

l gro

ups

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lk th

roug

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view

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infl

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Thi

s ta

sk m

ay ta

ke a

long

tim

e.T

he d

iscu

ssio

n be

twee

npa

rtic

ipan

ts a

t thi

s ti

me

is th

ecr

itic

al p

art o

f th

e se

ssio

n so

do

not p

ush

the

grou

ps to

com

plet

eth

e lis

t.

Wri

te F

, Pan

d N

defi

niti

ons

onto

butc

her’

s pa

per

and

dis

play

for

part

icip

ants

.


42 6.2 BEING A PARENT: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

1.10

Stat

egie

s to

dea

l wit

hth

e ch

alle

nges

and

chan

ges

of p

aren

ting

Nur

se a

sks

each

sm

all g

roup

to c

hoos

e an

issu

e th

at a

ll be

lieve

is a

n F

and

tell

the

rest

of

the

grou

p w

hat i

t is.

Nur

se m

ay w

rite

the

issu

e on

but

cher

’s p

aper

and

put

up

on w

all.

For

each

F c

hose

n, a

sk th

e la

rge

grou

p to

dis

cuss

the

sort

s of

thin

gs th

at p

ut th

is w

ithi

nou

r co

ntro

l or

infl

uenc

e. ‘W

hat c

an w

e d

o to

man

age

this

issu

e?’ F

or e

xam

ple,

wha

tm

akes

it a

n F?

Not

e th

e lis

t of

idea

s un

der

eac

h he

adin

g.

If ti

me

allo

ws

cont

inue

dev

elop

ing

thes

e id

eas

and

dis

cuss

ing

stra

tegi

es f

or e

ach

F an

dso

me

Ps.

1.40

Way

s of

‘liv

ing

wit

h’or

cop

ing

wit

h th

ech

ange

s w

e ca

nnot

affe

ct.

Self

talk

.

The

re a

re s

ome

Ns

on a

ll lis

ts. T

hese

are

thin

gs w

e ca

nnot

cha

nge

— w

e ha

ve to

live

wit

h th

em.

Wha

t so

rts

of t

hing

s ca

n pe

ople

do

to li

ve w

ith

the

fact

the

y ca

nnot

cha

nge

thes

e is

sues

?

Wha

t is

som

e of

the

sel

f tal

k pe

ople

use

to

live

wit

h th

ese

chan

ges?

The

gro

up c

an ju

st d

iscu

ss th

ese

or if

the

nurs

e ha

s so

me

expe

rtis

ein

sel

f ta

lk, i

t is

poss

ible

to u

seth

is ti

me

for

som

e br

ief

inpu

t. A

usef

ul r

efer

ence

for

peo

ple

is‘S

tayi

ng R

atio

nal i

n an

Irr

atio

nal

Wor

ld’b

y M

icha

el B

erna

rd.

1.50

2.00

Com

mit

men

t to

usin

gso

me

stra

tegi

esTo

win

d u

p th

e se

ssio

n, a

sk e

ach

pers

on to

men

tion

one

way

they

pla

n to

use

to a

ssis

tth

em to

man

age

the

chal

leng

es a

nd c

hang

es o

f be

ing

a ne

w p

aren

t.

May

go

roun

d th

e gr

oup

or ju

st a

sk o

ne o

r tw

o fo

r th

eir

idea

s.

Som

e of

the

se is

sues

may

hav

e ra

ised

con

cern

s an

d is

sues

for

you

whi

ch c

an’t

be a

ddre

ssed

here

. Let

’s lo

ok a

t w

ays

they

can

be

follo

wed

up.

Bra

inst

orm

the

sort

s of

peo

ple

or o

rgan

isat

ions

or

book

s pa

rtic

ipan

ts c

an f

ollo

w u

p to

assi

st th

em w

ith

add

ress

ing

any

of th

e is

sues

rai

sed

.

Be

awar

e th

at th

is p

roce

ss m

ayha

ve r

aise

d is

sues

for

part

icip

ants

whi

ch r

equi

res

som

ed

ebri

efing

.

Nur

se c

ould

hav

e av

aila

ble

aha

ndou

t of

loca

l res

ourc

es o

ror

gani

sati

ons

whi

ch a

re a

vaila

ble

for

supp

ort.

Clo

se

Som

e of

you

may

kno

w t

he ‘s

tres

s m

anag

emen

t pr

ayer

’:G

ive

me

the

stre

ngth

to

chan

ge t

he t

hing

s I

can

chan

ge, t

he g

race

to

acce

pt t

he t

hing

s I

can’

tch

ange

and

the

wis

dom

to

know

the

diff

eren

ce.

Thi

s ex

erci

se a

ssis

ts u

s to

wor

k ou

t th

at d

iffer

ence

.W

hen

grou

ps a

re fi

nish

ing

this

task

, ask

for

any

com

men

ts.

Are

the

re a

ny id

eas/

thou

ghts

you

did

n’t

expe

ct?

The

re m

ay b

e qu

ite

a nu

mbe

r of

ind

ivid

ual c

omm

ents

.

Con

trol

or

Infl

uenc

e(c

ont)


436.3 GETTING KNOW YOUR BABY

6.3 Getting to Know Your Baby

6.3.1 Planning the SessionObjectives of the Session• To create an opportunity for first-time parents to share ideas and concerns about aspects

common to parenting.• To promote sustainable connections between parents of children of similar ages.• To encourage participants to take the time to concentrate on and get to know their babies.• To inform participants about the critical importance of touch as part of a child’s development.• To encourage participants to develop a broad range of strategies and make use of all possible

times to enhance their touching connection with their babies.• To demonstrate baby massage to first-time parents and show the variety of appropriate oils.

Anticipated Outcomes of the Session• Some participants will have identified shared interests.• Participants will know about the importance of touch for young babies.• Participants will be aware of a range of times and situations when they can increase touching

of their baby.• Participants will have practiced the skill of gentle baby massage.• Participants will be alert to the importance of taking time to concentrate on their babies.

Pre-Session Planning• Organise name tags for babies and parents.• At previous session, ask participants to bring a ‘bunny rug’ and towel.• Review information on ‘touch’.• Warm room prior to the session.• Collect oil for massage and oil burner.• Collect CD player or tape recorder and gentle music tape.• If required, brief invited speaker or demonstrator.Resources for Nurses’ Information Prior to Session• Auckett, A., 1981, Baby Massage, Hill of Content, Melbourne.• Field. T., 1995, ‘The benefits of infant massage on growth and development’, Pediatric Basics,

Winter, 71:8–12.

Handouts to Group ParticipantsNone.


44 6.3 GETTING KNOW YOUR BABY

6.3.

2 G

ettin

g to

Kno

w Y

our B

aby

Wor

ksho

p Se

ssio

n

* A

ppro

xim

ate

tim

e al

loca

tion

for

eac

h ac

tivi

ty

Ask

par

tici

pant

s at

the

prev

ious

sess

ion

to b

ring

to th

is s

essi

on:

•bu

nny

rug

or•

tow

el.

Out

line

the

sess

ion.

Prov

ide

nam

e ta

gs f

orpa

rtic

ipan

ts a

nd b

abie

s.

Allo

w ti

me

for

part

icip

ants

tore

spon

d to

intr

oduc

tion

acti

vity

… Y

ou m

ay w

ant t

o gi

vea

few

pro

mpt

s.

Wat

ch f

or p

arti

cipa

nts

who

mig

ht h

ave

som

ethi

ng to

say

but

may

be

a lit

tle

relu

ctan

t.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

0.00

Wel

com

eD

o an

y of

you

hav

e co

mm

ents

or

quer

ies

from

last

wee

k?M

aybe

som

ethi

ng h

as h

appe

ned

or y

ou h

ave

beco

me

awar

e of

som

ethi

ng s

ince

we

last

met

.A

ny s

peci

al o

ccur

renc

es —

a t

ooth

, a s

mile

, a t

ime

out

hour

for

you?

Allo

w ti

me

for

dis

cuss

ion

abou

t the

se c

hang

es, e

ithe

r in

pai

rs o

r a

big

grou

p.

Par

ents

oft

en s

pend

man

y ho

urs

thin

king

abo

ut w

hat

thei

r ba

by w

ill b

e lik

e. A

ll ba

bies

are

diffe

rent

and

the

way

we

have

imag

ined

the

m w

ill o

ften

be

very

diff

eren

t fr

om t

he w

ay t

hey

are

whe

n th

ey a

re b

orn.

Ask

par

tici

pant

s to

dra

w th

e ba

by th

ey im

agin

ed b

efor

e th

ey a

rriv

ed. D

iscu

ss h

ow th

ism

ay b

e si

mila

r or

dif

fere

nt f

rom

thei

r ba

by in

rea

lity.

How

did

you

wor

k ou

t w

hat

was

sim

ilar

or d

iffer

ent?

How

did

you

get

to

know

you

r ba

by?

Wha

t w

as y

our

impr

essi

on o

f you

r ba

by a

t on

e w

eek

and

one

mon

th?

Was

it d

iffer

ent?

The

se im

pres

sion

s ar

e an

impo

rtan

t pa

rt o

f our

iden

tity

, as

is h

ow w

e fe

el a

bout

our

bod

ies.

Touc

hing

, suc

h as

mas

sage

can

con

trib

ute

to h

ow p

eopl

e fe

el a

bout

our

selv

es.

0.25

Mas

sage

and

Tou

chIn

vite

peo

ple

to ta

lk a

bout

thei

r ex

peri

ence

of

mas

sage

.

Has

any

one

ever

had

a m

assa

ge?

Foot

, bac

k, w

hole

bod

y?W

hat

did

it fe

el li

ke?

Wha

t di

d yo

u lik

e an

d w

hat

didn

’t yo

u lik

e?N

urse

talk

s ab

out o

ur s

kin

whi

ch is

our

larg

est s

ense

org

an g

ivin

g vi

tal f

eed

back

to th

ebr

ain

(ref

er to

ref

eren

ces

to a

ssis

t wit

h ta

lk),

for

exam

ple,

touc

hing

is th

e m

ain

way

we

tran

smit

love

.T

here

is n

o fo

rmul

a fo

r m

assa

ge, a

s lo

ng a

s yo

ur b

aby

and

you

enjo

y it

. It

can

be d

one

at a

nyti

me

— w

hen

chan

ging

a n

appy

, aft

er a

bat

h, fu

lly c

loth

ed o

r w

ith

clot

hes

rem

oved

. It

is a

chan

ce t

o co

mm

une

wit

h yo

ur c

hild

— t

alk,

laug

h an

d re

lax.

Hav

e th

e ro

om p

repa

red

, war

m,

oil f

or m

assa

ging

, aro

mat

hera

py—

oil

burn

ing,

mus

ic p

layi

ng.


456.3 GETTING KNOW YOUR BABY

Invi

ted

gue

st c

ould

be

a m

asse

uror

a p

hysi

othe

rapi

st.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

0.35

Mas

sage

Dem

onst

rati

onSh

ow th

e vi

deo

Mas

sagi

ng Y

our

Bab

y. S

top

at a

ppro

pria

te s

tage

s an

d d

iscu

ss.

or

Nur

se o

r pa

rtic

ipan

t or

invi

ted

gue

st d

emon

stra

te m

assa

ge o

n on

e of

the

baby

’s o

rpa

rtic

ipan

ts.

Dis

cuss

the

type

of

oils

whi

ch c

an b

e us

ed, b

enefi

ts o

f m

assa

ge, a

nd w

hen

part

icip

ants

thin

k th

ey c

ould

mas

sage

thei

r ba

bies

.

0.50

Mas

sage

Pra

ctic

eIn

vite

par

tici

pant

s to

mas

sage

thei

r ba

bies

.

Exp

lain

that

the

mas

sage

may

last

one

min

ute

or te

n m

inut

es, d

epen

din

g on

the

baby

. It

is im

port

ant t

hat p

arti

cipa

nts

don

’t fe

el p

ress

ured

or

feel

that

ther

e is

an

appr

opri

ate

resp

onse

by

the

baby

.

The

nur

se n

eed

s to

org

anis

e a

war

m r

oom

, war

m o

il, s

oft m

usic

and

sce

nted

oil

burn

ing

to c

reat

e a

rela

xed

atm

osph

ere.

Em

phas

ise

that

par

tici

pant

s d

on’t

need

to d

o al

l thi

s at

hom

e w

hen

they

mas

sage

thei

rba

by.

The

nur

se c

ircu

late

s ar

ound

the

room

, tal

king

qui

etly

and

ass

isti

ng a

ny p

arti

cipa

nts

who

requ

ire

help

.

Enc

oura

ge p

arti

cipa

nts

to e

xper

imen

t wit

h th

eir

baby

(lo

ng, s

low

, sof

t str

okin

g) a

nd ta

lkam

ongs

t the

mse

lves

as

they

mas

sage

.

The

tow

el is

to c

atch

uri

ne a

nd p

rovi

de

a so

ft s

urfa

ce.


46 6.3 GETTING KNOW YOUR BABY

If p

arti

cipa

nts

don

’t su

gges

tm

any

oppo

rtun

itie

s, n

urse

may

assi

st d

iscu

ssio

n w

ith:

•A

t nap

py ti

me

•W

hen

feed

ing

baby

•W

hen

wat

chin

g T

V.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

0.50

Mas

sage

Pra

ctic

eE

xam

ple

of m

assa

ge:

Stro

ke f

rom

sho

uld

er d

own

acro

ss tu

mm

y to

hip

.

Dow

n w

hole

leg.

Cir

clin

g th

e le

g, s

low

gen

tle

stro

kes.

Dow

n th

e ar

ms

— a

gain

cir

cle

from

sho

uld

er s

low

ly d

own

the

arm

to th

e ha

nd, g

entl

yun

clas

ping

the

fist.

Turn

the

baby

ove

r st

roki

ng d

own

the

back

fro

m th

e ne

ck.

Ove

r bo

ttom

, thi

ghs

and

legs

.

Enc

oura

ge ta

lk to

the

babi

es b

y th

e pa

rtic

ipan

ts:

‘You

rea

lly e

njoy

hav

ing

your

tum

my

rubb

ed.’

‘Do

you

like

havi

ng y

our

face

str

oked

?’

‘Wha

t abo

ut y

our

feet

?’

As

peop

le s

eem

rea

dy

to s

top,

sug

gest

they

dre

ss b

abie

s an

d g

et a

cup

of

tea

or c

offe

ean

d c

hat u

ntil

all a

re r

ead

y.

Fini

sh th

e m

assa

ge s

essi

on w

ith

dis

cuss

ion

arou

nd th

e fo

llow

ing

ques

tion

s:

Wha

t so

rts

of t

hing

s di

d or

did

n’t

you

like

abou

t m

assa

ging

?If

you

wer

e to

con

tinu

e at

hom

e, w

hat

tim

es w

ould

wor

k be

st?

Lots

of p

aren

ts s

ay t

hey

don’

t ha

ve t

ime

for

this

. How

els

e ca

n yo

u pr

ovid

e lo

ts o

f tou

ch?

Apa

rt fr

om o

ur t

ouch

, how

els

e ca

n w

e ge

t to

kno

w o

ur b

abie

s w

ell?

Wha

t so

rts

of t

hing

s ca

nw

e do

?A

sk p

arti

cipa

nts

to s

ugge

st a

ny id

eas

they

hav

e or

hav

e no

tice

d o

ther

s us

ing.

1.40

2.00

Get

ting

to k

now

you

rba

by

Clo

se


476.4 LOOKING AFTER YOURSELF: EXPLORING MOTHER’S HEALTH

6.4 Looking After Yourself: Exploring Mother’s Health


common to parenting.• To promote sustainable connections between parents of children of similar ages.• To develop awareness of some health (particularly physical) issues for new mothers.• To consider and share ways of addressing some of the physical health issues.• To encourage new mothers to practice pelvic floor exercises regularly.• To introduce and experience a gentle form of massage which relaxes shoulder area.• To alert participants to a range of local resources which new mothers can access for their own

(physical) health issues.

Anticipated Outcomes of the Session• Some participants will have identified shared interests.• Participants will be alert to their own and some of the physical health concerns of other

participants.• Participants will be aware of the importance of continuing practice of pelvic floor exercises

and exploring times for their practice.• Participants may continue to provide ‘Raindrop Massage’ to each other or encourage their

partners to do so.• Participants will be aware of local resources which can support them with their physical

health issues.

Pre-Session Planning• Review current information regarding aspects of managing physical aspects of a new

mother’s health.• Collect handout on pelvic floor exercises for participants.• Collect and tape together body size sheets of butcher’s paper and textas (at least two

colours).• Collect a CD player or tape recorder and an appropriate relaxation music tape, for example,

Titania: The Fairy Queen by Mike Rowland.• Read through the raindrop massage text and practise appropriate speed and trial it with

someone because the practice is critical to the ultimate success for all participants.• Explore and list contacts (with date of handout) for local resources re: mother’s physical

health, for example, physiotherapy service, local dietitian, local walking group.

Resources for Nurses’ Information Prior to SessionChiarelli, P., 1992, Women’s Waterworks: Curing Incontinence, Gore and Osment.

Millard, R., 1995, Bladder Control – A Simple Self-Help Guide, MacLennen & Petty.


48 6.4 LOOKING AFTER YOURSELF: EXPLORING MOTHER’S HEALTH

Pelvic Floor Exercises, a two-page tip sheet published by Pharmacy Self Care. Contact MelBlachford (03) 9903 9600.

Raindrop Massage’ script.

Additional resources needed regarding:• Breasts• Abdominal exercises• Veins• Dry skin• Haemorrhoids• Hair care• Teeth• Sexuality• New parents.

One agency that you could contact for useful information for this session is:Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria1 Rathdowne StreetCarlton South, Victoria 3053Phone (03) 9279 1111

Handouts to Group ParticipantsPelvic Floor Exercises — a two-page tip sheet.



6.4.

2 Lo

okin

g A

fter Y

ours

elf:

Expl

orin

g M

othe

r’s H

ealth

Wor

ksho

p Se

ssio

n

* A

ppro

xim

ate

tim

e al

loca

tion

for

eac

h ac

tivi

ty

Prov

ide

nam

e ta

gs f

orpa

rtic

ipan

ts a

nd b

abie

s.

Allo

w ti

me

for

part

icip

ants

tore

spon

d to

intr

oduc

tion

act

ivit

y…Yo

u m

ay w

ant t

o gi

ve a

few

prom

pts.

Wat

ch f

or p

arti

cipa

nts

who

mig

htha

ve s

omet

hing

to s

ay b

ut m

aybe

a li

ttle

rel

ucta

nt.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

0.00

Intr

oduc

tion

s an

dre

view

Hel

lo a

gain

. Let

’s b

egin

wit

h a

brie

f rev

iew

. Las

t se

ssio

n w

e lo

oked

at

such

and

suc

h a

topi

c…W

hat

sort

s of

idea

s or

tho

ught

s ha

ve y

ou h

ad a

bout

tha

t is

sue

sinc

e th

en?

Any

thin

g yo

u ar

eha

ppy

to d

iscu

ss a

bout

tha

t w

ith

the

rest

of t

he g

roup

?W

hat

abou

t yo

u… h

as a

nyth

ing

com

e up

abo

ut t

he is

sue

for

you?

We

are

goin

g to

sta

rt t

oday

by

finis

hing

the

sta

tem

ent:

Sinc

e I

have

had

my

baby

I fe

el...

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

. abo

ut m

y bo

dy.

Com

plet

e as

a la

rge

grou

p or

ask

par

tici

pant

s to

talk

wit

h th

e pe

rson

bes

ide

them

.

0.15

In T

ouch

wit

h ou

rB

odie

sTo

day

we

are

expl

orin

g ou

r he

alth

.

We

are

goin

g to

com

men

ce b

y ge

ttin

g in

tou

ch w

ith

how

we

feel

. We

ofte

n kn

ow w

e ar

e ti

red,

sor

e, e

tc.,

but

don’

t st

op t

o pi

n po

int

any

spec

ific

area

s of

our

bod

ies.

We

are

goin

g to

do

this

now

.

We

are

goin

g to

thi

nk a

bout

our

bod

ies

and

how

diff

eren

t pa

rts

feel

.

Can

you

ple

ase

clos

e yo

ur e

yes

if yo

u fe

el c

omfo

rtab

le a

nd r

elax

. You

may

wan

t, or

be

mor

e co

mfo

rtab

le t

osi

t or

lie

on t

he fl

oor.

Star

t at

the

top

of y

our

head

, fee

l you

r ha

ir a

nd s

calp

, slo

wly

mov

e do

wn

your

face

ove

r yo

ur e

yes,

nos

e,m

outh

to

your

nec

k. N

ote

how

the

se p

arts

of y

our

body

feel

. Are

the

y ti

ght,

rela

xed,

dry

, tin

glin

g?

Be

awar

e of

you

r sh

ould

ers,

slo

wly

mov

e do

wn

your

arm

s no

te h

ow t

hey

feel

Mov

e ac

ross

to

your

che

stw

hat

do y

ou fe

el t

here

? G

lide

dow

n to

you

r st

omac

h.

Nur

se c

onti

nues

dow

n to

the

toes

.

Rea

d th

roug

h th

is a

ctiv

ity

very

slow

ly. A

llow

ple

nty

of p

ause

s so

part

icip

ants

can

thin

k ab

out

dif

fere

nt p

arts

of

thei

r bo

die

s.


50 6.4 LOOKING AFTER YOURSELF: EXPLORING MOTHER’S HEALTH

You

will

nee

d a

s m

any

shee

ts o

fbu

tche

r’s

pape

r, ta

pe a

nd te

xtas

as th

ere

are

grou

ps.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

0.30

1.00

Our

Bod

ies

We

are

finis

hing

at

your

toe

s. N

ow s

pend

a fe

w s

econ

ds fl

owin

g ba

ck u

p yo

ur b

ody,

Thi

nkab

out

how

eac

h pa

rt fe

els.

Slow

ly o

pen

your

eye

s.N

urse

dem

onst

rate

s sh

akin

g.

Stan

d up

and

giv

e yo

urse

lf a

shak

e. H

ave

a w

alk

arou

nd t

he r

oom

.N

umbe

r pa

rtic

ipan

ts o

ff s

o th

ey a

re in

gro

ups

of 3

—4

(or

wor

k as

a la

rge

grou

p if

few

part

icip

ants

).

Giv

e ea

ch g

roup

a r

eally

larg

e sh

eet o

f pa

per

(cou

ld b

e a

few

she

ets

of b

utch

er’s

pap

erjo

ined

toge

ther

).

Exp

lain

to th

e gr

oups

that

they

are

goi

ng to

mak

e a

bod

y ou

tlin

e. T

hey

need

one

volu

ntee

r in

eac

h gr

oup

to li

e on

the

shee

t, w

hile

som

eone

trac

es a

roun

d th

eir

bod

y.

We

are

goin

g to

use

thi

s bo

dy o

utlin

e to

hig

hlig

ht w

hat

you

felt

and

dis

cove

red

whi

le w

ew

ande

red

dow

n ou

r bo

dies

.D

iscu

ss, t

hen

mar

k w

ith

cros

ses

on t

he o

utlin

e an

y ar

eas

of t

he b

ody

whi

ch h

ave

been

chal

leng

es, f

rust

rati

ons

and

exci

tem

ent

sinc

e ha

ving

you

r ba

by.

The

nur

se c

ould

wan

der

aro

und

the

room

to p

rom

pt p

arti

cipa

nts,

or

stay

aw

ay f

rom

the

grou

ps.

Whe

n th

e gr

oups

hav

e fin

ishe

d th

e ac

tivi

ty a

sk p

arti

cipa

nts

to w

and

er a

roun

d th

e ro

oman

d lo

ok a

t eac

h ot

hers

dra

win

gs. A

sk th

e gr

oup

to lo

ok f

or a

ny s

imila

riti

es b

etw

een

the

pict

ures

(en

cour

age

talk

ing

amon

gst t

hem

).

Ask

the

larg

e gr

oup:

Wha

t qu

esti

ons

or c

omm

ents

do

you

have

abo

ut t

he a

reas

mar

ked

on t

he o

utlin

es?




Thi

s as

sum

es n

urse

has

don

eso

me

hom

ewor

k on

:•

Bre

asts

— s

ore,

siz

e•

Pelv

ic fl

oor

exer

cise

s•

Abd

omin

al e

xerc

ises

•V

eins

•D

ry s

kin

•H

aem

orrh

oid

s•

Hai

r an

d te

eth.

Han

d o

ut lo

cal r

esou

rce

list.

Ens

ure

you

don

’t hu

rry

the

proc

ess.

You

cou

ld in

vite

apa

rtic

ipan

t to

read

the

scri

pt if

any

is in

tere

sted

.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

1.00

1.40

1.40

2.00

Rai

ndro

ps M

assa

ge

Clo

se

Nur

se u

ses

the

com

men

ts a

nd q

uest

ions

to p

rovi

de

info

rmat

ion

to p

arti

cipa

nts

abou

tho

w to

dea

l wit

h or

alle

viat

e he

alth

con

cern

s an

d e

ncou

rage

s pa

rtic

ipan

ts to

sha

re th

eir

stra

tegi

es.

Wha

t ha

ve y

ou fo

und

help

ful s

o fa

r?If

the

pelv

ic fl

oor

is m

enti

oned

(or

not

men

tion

ed)

expl

ain

the

need

for

pel

vic

floo

rex

erci

ses

and

do

an a

ctiv

ity.

Ask

par

tici

pant

s to

rec

all a

ny d

iscu

ssio

n re

: pel

vic

floo

r at

ante

nat

al c

lass

es o

r ho

spit

al. A

sk w

hat t

hey

rem

embe

red

abo

ut th

e ex

erci

ses.

Ask

part

icip

ants

to p

ract

ise

an e

xerc

ise.

Pro

vid

e th

em w

ith

a pr

acti

cal e

xam

ple.

Who

can

you

get

hel

p fr

om w

ith

any

of t

hese

con

cern

s?L

ist t

hese

idea

s on

to b

utch

er’s

pap

er.

Nur

se p

rovi

des

loca

l are

a re

sour

ce li

stin

g to

par

tici

pant

s an

d p

arti

cipa

nts

are

enco

urag

ed to

dis

cuss

and

ad

d o

ther

s.

We

are

all g

oing

to

mak

e so

me

com

mit

men

ts a

bout

whe

n an

d ho

w o

ften

we

will

do

our

pelv

icflo

or e

xerc

ises

. Whe

n is

the

bes

t ti

me

of t

he d

ay a

nd h

ow w

e w

ill r

emem

ber

to d

o th

em?

On

butc

her’

s pa

per

brai

nsto

rm id

eas

of w

hen

and

how

oft

en.

Cho

ose

your

pre

ferr

ed o

ptio

n.

We

will

see

how

you

hav

e al

l gon

e w

ith

your

exe

rcis

es n

ext

wee

k.N

ow is

a c

hanc

e to

try

som

ethi

ng d

iffer

ent.

It’s

wha

t w

e ca

ll th

e R

aind

rops

Mas

sage

, and

we

need

to

pair

up.

One

tou

ches

the

hea

d an

d sh

ould

er o

f the

oth

er. Y

ou m

ight

like

to

expe

rien

ce a

rain

drop

mas

sage

of t

hose

are

as.

Rea

d s

crip

t (bo

th p

ages

).

Enc

oura

ge p

arti

cipa

nts

to ta

lk a

bout

whe

ther

or

not t

hey

enjo

yed

it a

nd w

hen

next

they

mig

ht d

o it

.


52

Raindrops Massage TextAllow approximately 2—3 minutes per massage

Explain to the group:This massage extends from the top of the head, across the shoulders to the top of the back. Some peopledo not like being touched in the head area and may prefer to try the same experience on their hands andarms. Still others would prefer not to be touched at all and will prefer to listen to the music. While weare encouraging you all to try this at least once, it is not compulsory.

It is useful to talk a little about tension across the shoulders as people feed their babies, andthat this helps reduce this tension.

Now let’s organise ourselves. Please pair with another participant. You will both have an opportunityto receive the massage, decide who would like to go first.

• Ask the masseur to stand behind the receiver of the massage (who is preferably sitting ona chair).

• The nurse will demonstrate the massage (on a participant) while the others follow.• As the name of this massage suggests, the masseur uses all the fingers to tap the

participant, replicating the feeling of rain falling onto them.• Start the massage at the top of the head. After giving the crown lots of ‘rain drops’, move

down the sides of the head (still rain dropping) to the top of the shoulders and across theupper back.

The ‘rain drops’ start gently and few in number on the top of the head and crescendo to adown pour on the shoulders and back. Finish the massage by gently ‘rain dropping’ back upfrom shoulders to the top of the head.

6.4 LOOKING AFTER YOURSELF: EXPLORING MOTHER’S HEALTH6.4 LOOKING AFTER YOURSELF: EXPLORING MOTHER’S HEALTH



Script for Raindrops MassageStart the soothing music.

Place your hands gently onto participant’s head.

Read the script slowly.

Commence the massage.

Clouds gather on the horizon – it looks as if it may rain!I can feel a gentle shower.A few drops are softly falling.It feels like a sunshower.

The raindrops are increasing.There is a steady falling of light rain.Feel the light rain.It is raining in a steady stream.It is warm, balmy, gentle rain.

The drops are getting heavier,Rain is falling quickly.Drumming on the tin roof.

Down comes the rain.It is a downpour!It is a downpour!The rain is pounding the dry earth.

Slowly the rain is beginning to subside.It’s no longer a downpour, but steady, continuous rain.

The drops are becoming lighter and lighter,Lighter and lighter.It is a light shower.A few more drops.

The rain has stopped.

Leave your hands resting gently on the head of your partner for a few seconds.

Lift your hands away.

Spend a few minutes talking about the massage with your partner

Swap positions!

Repeat the massage.


55

6.5 Baby’s Ages and Stages: What to Expect


common to parenting.• To promote sustainable connections between parents of children of similar ages.• To identify the variety of expectations and comments which new parents deal with, especially

related to developmental abilities.• To inform new parents about the range of ages at which children reach developmental stages

and what can be expected at each stage.• To assist participants to develop (and practise, if enough time) appropriate (assertive)

responses to expectations of others.• To explore the types of activities which stimulate and limit baby’s development at the

developmental stages of the first year in particular.

Anticipated Outcomes of the Session• Some participants will have identified shared interests.• Participants will know about stages of babies’ development and the breadth of ages at which

they are reached.• Participants will be alert to the types of comments about their baby’s development which

they find difficult to manage and will have had an opportunity to prepare appropriateresponses which maintain their own confidence in their parenting.

• Participants will be alert to the types of stimulation which enhances development at variousages.

• Participants will be aware of the limitations and problems of a range of equipment inparticular.

Pre-Session Planning• Organise name tags for babies and parents.• Ask participants on previous week to bring Child Health Record to this session.• Collect four or five Your Child’s Health and Development—Birth to Six Years Poster from the

Department of Human Services. It may be useful to laminate them.• Prepare two sheets of paper, with headings Activities and Alerts ready for input by

participants.• Collect ‘SafeKIDSnow’ safety sheets for each participant.

Resources for Nurses’ InformationPrior to Session• Department of Human Services poster, Your Child’s Health and Development—Birth to 6 Years *• ‘SafeKIDSnow’ safety sheets.• Positive Parenting Program, Parent Tip Sheet: ‘Promoting Development in the First Year.’

6.5 BABY’S AGES AND STAGES: WHAT TO EXPECT


56 6.5 BABY’S AGES AND STAGES: WHAT TO EXPECT

Handouts to Group Participants• Department of Human Services Ages and Stages poster• ‘SafeKIDSnow’ safety sheets.• Positive Parenting Program, Parent Tip Sheet: ‘Promoting Development in the First Year.’

* It is suggested that the nurse facilitator will need to highlight to participants that although stagesof development follow the sequences on the chart, the ages at when these stages occur are likely tobe different for each child.



6.5.

2 B

aby’s

Age

s an

d St

ages

: Wha

t to

Expe

ctW

orks

hop

Sess

ion

* A

ppro

xim

ate

tim

e al

loca

tion

for

eac

h ac

tivi

ty

Prov

ide

nam

e ta

gs f

orpa

rtic

ipan

ts a

nd b

abie

s

Whe

n fa

cilit

atin

g th

ebr

ains

torm

ing

part

of

the

sess

ion

ensu

re y

ou a

llow

eno

ugh

tim

efo

r th

e pa

rtic

ipan

ts to

thin

kab

out t

he q

uest

ions

and

res

pond

.

It m

ay ta

ke ti

me

for

the

part

icip

ants

to w

arm

up,

and

will

req

uire

enc

oura

gem

ent.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

0.00

Wel

com

e an

din

trod

ucti

on to

sess

ion

At t

he p

revi

ous

sess

ion

ask

part

icip

ants

to b

ring

thei

r C

hild

Hea

lth

Rec

ord

— th

e‘Y

ello

w B

ook’

to th

is s

essi

on.

As

an ic

e br

eake

r fo

r th

e gr

oup

ask

part

icip

ants

to:

Try

to r

ecal

l you

r ea

rlie

st m

emor

y yo

u ar

e ha

ppy

to t

alk

abou

t.A

llow

par

tici

pant

s to

sit

and

refl

ect f

or a

few

mom

ents

.

Ask

par

tici

pant

s to

sha

re th

eir

earl

iest

mem

ory,

incl

udin

g ho

w o

ld th

ey w

ere.

Nur

se m

ay c

hoos

e to

com

men

t tha

t:

We

are

rare

ly a

ble

to r

ecal

l how

we

deve

lope

d in

to t

hese

sta

ges,

and

yet

by

the

age

of t

wo

year

sm

ost

child

ren

can

com

mun

icat

e, a

re m

obile

, hav

e fa

vour

ite

acti

viti

es a

nd p

eopl

e in

the

ir li

ves.

All

thos

e th

ings

hap

pen

by t

he a

ge o

f tw

o, b

ut t

hey

occu

r at

diff

eren

t sp

eeds

for

child

ren.

Are

al c

halle

nge

for

us a

s pa

rent

s in

our

com

peti

tive

soc

iety

is c

opin

g w

ith

our

own

and

othe

rpe

ople

’s e

xpec

tati

ons

and

cons

eque

nt fe

ars

abou

t ou

r ch

ild’s

dev

elop

men

t. Yo

u ar

e en

cour

aged

to c

onti

nue

visi

ting

you

r M

ater

nal a

nd C

hild

Hea

lth

Nur

se u

ntil

your

chi

ld is

six

yea

rs o

f age

so y

ou c

an d

iscu

ss a

ny in

divi

dual

con

cern

s an

d ca

n be

rea

ssur

ed a

bout

you

r ch

ild’s

deve

lopm

ent.

Wha

t ar

e th

e m

ost

com

mon

com

men

ts y

ou h

ave

hear

d m

ade

by fr

iend

s or

fam

ily a

bout

a b

aby’

sde

velo

pmen

t, ag

es, s

tage

s an

d ex

pect

atio

ns.

For

exam

ple,

‘Sho

uldn

’t yo

u be

giv

ing

him

rea

l foo

d by

now

?’or

‘Isn

’t sh

e ad

vanc

ed c

ompa

red

to h

er c

ousi

n!’

On

a bo

ard

or

butc

her’

s pa

per

wri

te u

p al

l the

com

men

ts p

arti

cipa

nts

can

reca

ll. (

Cou

ldbe

rec

ord

ed b

y ei

ther

nur

se o

r pa

rtic

ipan

ts. P

rovi

de

extr

a bu

tche

r’s

pape

r ar

ound

the

room

or

on th

e fl

oor

for

reco

rdin

g by

the

part

icip

ants

)

Let’s

leav

e th

ose

com

men

ts fo

r th

e m

omen

t, w

e w

ill c

ome

back

to

them

soo

n.


58 6.5 BABY’S AGES AND STAGES: WHAT TO EXPECT

Dis

trib

ute

to p

arti

cipa

nts

the

Hum

an S

ervi

ces

Your

Chi

ld’s

Hea

lth

and

Dev

elop

men

t —

Bir

th t

o 6

Year

spo

ster

, pre

fera

bly

one

post

er b

etw

een

four

par

tici

pant

s.

Ask

par

tici

pant

s in

sm

all g

roup

s to

look

at t

he p

oste

r an

d d

iscu

ss it

bet

wee

nth

emse

lves

.

You

may

be

able

to

iden

tify

the

sta

ges

your

ow

n ba

by h

as r

each

ed a

nd n

otic

e ho

w a

like

and

yet

how

diff

eren

t ea

ch b

aby

is e

ven

as e

arly

as

this

.A

sk th

e w

hole

gro

up:

Doe

s an

yone

hav

e an

y co

mm

ents

or

ques

tion

s th

ey w

ould

like

to

mak

e ab

out

the

info

rmat

ion

on t

he p

oste

r?O

r, if

par

tici

pant

s ar

e re

tice

nt w

ithi

n th

e la

rge

grou

p, a

sk th

e sm

all g

roup

s to

dis

cuss

thei

r qu

esti

ons

and

to n

ote

thei

r co

mm

ents

and

que

stio

ns a

nd n

omin

ate

one

part

icip

ant

to ta

lk o

n be

half

of

the

smal

l gro

up.

The

nur

se th

en a

sks

for

a qu

esti

on o

r co

mm

ent f

rom

eac

h gr

oup

unti

l all

are

read

out

. If

tim

e is

lim

ited

, ask

eac

h gr

oup

to c

hoos

e on

e qu

esti

on o

r co

mm

ent t

o fe

ed b

ack.

As

each

que

stio

n is

pos

ed, t

he n

urse

may

res

pond

wit

h an

ans

wer

and

invi

te o

ther

s to

com

men

t as

wel

l.

Ref

er b

ack

to th

e ea

rlie

r co

mm

ents

rec

ord

ed o

n th

e bo

ard

or

butc

her’

s pa

per

(firs

tac

tivi

ty).

Ask

par

tici

pant

s to

sta

y in

the

smal

l gro

ups.

Nom

inat

e on

e or

two

of th

e co

mm

ents

fro

m in

itia

l but

cher

’s p

aper

not

es to

eac

h gr

oup

to d

evel

op a

res

pons

e to

the

com

men

ts.

Hav

ing

look

ed a

t th

e po

ster

and

dis

cuss

ed it

s co

nten

t, w

hat

resp

onse

s w

ould

be

best

mad

e to

thes

e co

mm

ents

we

wro

te u

p on

the

boa

rd o

r bu

tche

r’s

pape

r ea

rlie

r?A

sk f

or p

arti

cipa

nts

to f

eed

bac

k th

e su

gges

ted

res

pons

es o

r id

eas

to d

eal w

ith

com

men

ts m

ade.

Wha

t w

ould

you

say

to

thos

e co

mm

ents

?

For

this

sec

tion

of

the

sess

ion:

Nur

se m

ay h

ave

3—5

Age

s an

dSt

ages

pos

ters

(m

aybe

get

them

lam

inat

ed).

or Show

slid

es, h

and

outs

.or G

ive

a te

n m

inut

e pr

esen

tati

onab

out a

ges

and

sta

ges.

or Invi

te p

aren

ts o

f ba

bies

of

vari

ous

ages

and

sta

ges

to a

tten

dth

is s

ecti

on o

f th

e se

ssio

n an

dta

lk a

bout

thei

r ba

bies

’ age

and

stag

e.

NO

TE

It is

impo

rtan

t to

choo

se:

•A

vari

ety

of b

aby

ages

•Pa

rent

s w

ho e

njoy

sha

ring

.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

0.45

Dea

ling

wit

hE

xpec

tati

ons

and

Myt

hs

1.15



If th

e gr

oup

seem

s co

nfid

ent,

ask

for

volu

ntee

rs to

dem

onst

rate

(ro

le p

lay)

the

resp

onse

.

We

wan

t to

spen

d th

e la

st p

art o

f th

is s

essi

on c

onsi

der

ing

acti

viti

es to

sup

port

bab

y’s

dev

elop

men

t and

thin

gs to

be

awar

e of

at t

he d

iffe

rent

age

s an

d s

tage

s.

The

nur

se r

ecor

ds

the

follo

win

g on

to p

repa

red

she

et o

f bu

tche

r’s

pape

r.

Let’s

bra

inst

orm

or

talk

abo

ut a

ny a

ppro

pria

te a

ctiv

itie

s (a

nd t

ypes

of s

tim

ulat

ion)

for

diffe

rent

ages

and

wha

t to

be

aler

t to

at

thes

e di

ffere

nt a

ges

and

stag

es.

Wha

t ac

tivi

ties

com

e to

min

d fo

r ea

ch a

ge o

r st

age?

The

nur

se c

ould

inpu

t id

eas

as th

e lis

t is

bein

g d

evel

oped

. For

exa

mpl

e, is

sues

rel

ated

toba

by w

alke

rs, j

olly

jum

pers

.

As

a fi

nish

ing

sugg

esti

on f

or h

omew

ork,

ask

par

tici

pant

s to

look

aro

und

thei

r ho

mes

and

con

sid

er th

e d

evel

opm

enta

l age

s an

d s

tage

s of

chi

ldre

n an

d th

ink

abou

t wha

t may

need

cha

ngin

g fr

om a

saf

ety

pers

pect

ive

by w

hen.

(M

ay li

nk to

saf

ety

sess

ion.

)

Ref

er p

arti

cipa

nts

to th

e ‘s

afeK

IDSn

ow’ s

afet

y sh

eets

.

Prov

ide

part

icip

ants

wit

h w

ritt

enin

form

atio

n on

age

s an

d s

tage

sto

rea

d a

t lei

sure

wit

h pa

rtne

r at

hom

e.

Not

e

It is

impo

rtan

t to

choo

se a

ges

and

sta

ges

not t

oo f

ar a

head

of

the

ages

or

stag

es o

f ba

bies

in th

egr

oup

or it

may

see

m ir

rele

vant

to p

arti

cipa

nts.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

1.30

2.00

Act

ivit

ies

for

Age

s &

Stag

es a

nd I

ssue

s to

be c

aref

ul a

bout

.

Clo

se


616.6 MANAGING CHILDHOOD ILLNESSES

6.6 Managing Childhood Illnesses


common to parenting.• To promote sustainable connections between parents of children of similar ages.• To inform participants about the signs of illness in a baby and appropriate ways of

responding to the illness.• To promote the confidence and competence of first-time parents in approaching health

professionals with concerns about their child’s health.• To encourage participants to consider using each other as resources in times of need.• To introduce first-time parents to a range of community resources to support families and

sick children.

Anticipated Outcomes of the Session• Some participants will have identified shared interests.• Participants will be aware of signs of illness in their babies.• Participants will know a range of strategies to appropriately manage a sick child.• Participants will express confidence in their anticipated dealings with health professionals.• Participants will be aware of a range of local community resources which they can contact for

support with a sick child.• Some parents will have expressed a willingness to be contacted by other group members if

their babies are unwell.

Pre-Session Planning• Develop a list of local community resources and contact numbers for parents (remember to

date the list as these become outdated quickly).• Organise sheets of butcher’s paper and textas and crayons.• Collect handouts for each participant – and Child Health Fact Sheets on Childhood Illnesses

from the Department of Human Services.• Visiting a Health Professional (copy of this handout at the end of this session).

Resources for Nurses’ Information Prior to Session• Department of Human Services Child Health Fact Sheets are:

• Vomiting • Asthma• Fever • Croup and Bronchiolitis• Gastroenteritis • Eczema.• Middle Ear Infections

Handouts for Group Participants• Department of Human Services Child Health Fact Sheets on Childhood Illnesses (listed above).• Visiting a Health Professional.


62 6.6 MANAGING CHILDHOOD ILLNESSES

6.6.

2 M

anag

ing

Child

hood

Illn

esse

sW

orks

hop

Sess

ion

* A

ppro

xim

ate

tim

e al

loca

tion

for

eac

h ac

tivi

ty

Hel

lo a

gain

. Let

’s b

egin

wit

h a

brie

f rev

iew

. Las

t se

ssio

n w

e lo

oked

at

such

and

suc

h a

topi

c…W

hat

sort

s of

idea

s or

tho

ught

s ha

ve y

ou h

ad a

bout

tha

t is

sue

sinc

e th

en?

Any

thin

g yo

u ar

eha

ppy

to d

iscu

ss a

bout

tha

t w

ith

the

rest

of t

he g

roup

?W

hat

abou

t yo

u …

any

thin

g co

me

up a

bout

the

issu

e fo

r yo

u?P

air

up w

ith

som

eone

you

hav

en’t

spen

t m

uch

tim

e w

ith

and

spen

d a

coup

le o

f min

utes

talk

ing

abou

t th

e be

st t

hing

tha

t ha

s ha

ppen

ed t

o yo

u th

is w

eek.

Toda

y w

e ar

e ex

plor

ing

man

agin

g ch

ildho

od il

lnes

s.A

s a

larg

e gr

oup

brai

nsto

rm th

e si

gns

of a

n un

wel

l or

sick

bab

y.

You

have

all

prob

ably

see

n a

sick

bab

y. W

hat

are

the

sign

s of

an

unw

ell o

r si

ck b

aby?

Dis

cuss

wit

h th

e gr

oup

and

wri

te th

e re

spon

ses

onto

a p

iece

of

butc

her’

s pa

per

or a

boar

d (

leav

e up

on

the

wal

l).

Thi

nk b

ack

to a

tim

e w

hen

you

had

the

flu. H

ow d

id y

oufe

el?

Dis

cuss

and

wri

te th

e re

spon

ses

onto

ano

ther

she

et o

f pa

per

(pla

ce b

esid

e th

e fir

stsh

eet)

.

Look

at

the

list

you

have

gen

erat

ed a

bout

the

flu.

If y

ouha

d an

y of

the

se s

ympt

oms

(wri

tten

on b

utch

er’s

pap

er)

wha

t di

d yo

u do

or

wan

t to

do

abou

t th

em?

Lis

t the

idea

s on

to th

e sa

me

shee

t of

butc

her’

s pa

per

and

dis

cuss

them

.

Exa

mpl

e pr

ompt

s fo

r th

e nu

rse:

Did

you

wan

t to

lie

dow

n?D

id y

ou li

ke e

atin

g an

d dr

inki

ng?

Did

you

wan

t pe

ople

aro

und?

Did

you

feel

like

sle

epin

g?W

ould

you

car

e fo

r ba

by in

the

sam

e w

ay?

Lis

t the

se id

eas

on th

e fir

st p

iece

of

butc

her’

s pa

per

used

for

the

baby

(fir

st e

xerc

ise)

plac

e th

em n

ext t

o th

e sy

mpt

oms.

Dis

cuss

the

idea

s as

they

are

wri

tten

up.

Prov

ide

nam

e ta

gs f

orpa

rtic

ipan

ts a

nd b

abie

s.

Whe

n fa

cilit

atin

g th

ebr

ains

torm

ing

part

of

the

sess

ion

ensu

re y

ou a

llow

eno

ugh

tim

efo

r th

e pa

rtic

ipan

ts to

thin

kab

out t

he q

uest

ions

and

res

pond

.

It m

ay ta

ke ti

me

for

the

part

icip

ants

to w

arm

up,

and

they

will

req

uire

enc

oura

gem

ent.

Any

res

pons

es a

re o

kay.

Rem

embe

r: it

is a

bra

inst

orm

.

Arr

ange

the

butc

her’

s pa

per

sid

eby

sid

e.

Mak

e su

re th

e fo

llow

ing

isin

clud

ed in

the

dis

cuss

ion:

•D

ehyd

rati

on (

sign

s, e

tc.)

•Fl

uid

inta

ke•

Tem

pera

ture

con

trol

.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

0.00

0.10

Intr

oduc

tion

Chi

ldho

od il

lnes

s



Oft

en p

aren

ts a

re u

nsur

e or

lack

con

fiden

ce w

hen

they

vis

it a

hea

lth

prof

essi

onal

wit

h a

sick

chi

ld. T

his

sect

ion

is to

ass

ist p

arti

cipa

nts

lear

n st

rate

gies

or

ques

tion

s w

hich

may

be h

elpf

ul w

hen

they

vis

it a

hea

lth

prof

essi

onal

.

If y

ou h

ave

take

n yo

ur c

hild

to

a he

alth

pro

fess

iona

l wha

t ty

pe o

f que

stio

ns w

ould

you

ask

them

and

wha

t so

rts

of t

hing

s w

ould

you

nee

d to

tel

l the

hea

lth

prof

essi

onal

?R

efer

to th

e ha

ndou

t: V

isit

ing

the

Hea

lth

Prof

essi

onal

to a

ssis

t wit

h th

e d

iscu

ssio

n.

Ask

par

tici

pant

s to

look

thro

ugh

the

hand

out a

nd n

ote

part

icul

ar p

oint

s.

Wha

t ty

pes

of r

espo

nses

or

reac

tion

s m

ight

you

exp

ect

from

the

hea

lth

prof

essi

onal

?W

rite

res

pons

es o

nto

butc

her’

s pa

per.

Are

the

re p

arti

cula

r on

es w

hich

are

diffi

cult

or

frus

trat

ing?

Mar

k pa

rtic

ular

one

s on

the

butc

her’

s pa

per

and

dis

cuss

why

.

Wha

t is

the

bes

t w

ay t

o de

al w

ith

or r

espo

nd in

the

se s

itua

tion

s?D

iscu

ss a

nd w

rite

res

pons

es o

nto

butc

her’

s pa

per.

Now

invi

te p

arti

cipa

nts

to p

air

off

one

ask

to b

e th

e he

alth

pro

fess

iona

l and

the

othe

rth

e pa

rent

and

pra

ctic

e th

e re

spon

ses.

Hav

e 2–

3 m

inut

es p

ract

ice

and

then

dis

cuss

lear

ning

’s w

ith

the

who

le g

roup

.

Not

e qu

esti

ons

for

dis

cuss

ion.

One

of

pare

nts’

gre

ates

t fea

rs is

kno

win

g w

hat t

o d

o w

hen

a ch

ild is

sic

k in

the

mid

dle

of th

e ni

ght.

The

fol

low

ing

ques

tion

s ar

e fo

r d

iscu

ssio

n as

a la

rge

grou

p It

isn’

t im

pera

tive

to r

ecor

did

eas,

but

it m

ay h

elp

the

part

icip

ants

to r

emai

n fo

cuse

d.

If y

our

illne

ss g

ot w

orse

wha

t w

ould

you

do?

How

wou

ld y

ou k

now

the

illn

ess

was

get

ting

wor

se o

r if

it w

as t

ime

to d

o so

met

hing

els

e?So

giv

en t

his

resp

onse

wha

t w

ould

you

do

if yo

ur b

aby’

s ill

ness

was

get

ting

wor

se?

Han

dou

t: V

isit

ing

the

Hea

lth

Prof

essi

onal

.

Thi

s se

ctio

n w

ould

be

grea

t as

aro

le p

lay,

if th

ere

was

tim

e an

d it

was

app

ropr

iate

wit

h th

e gr

oup.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

0.40

Whe

n an

illn

ess

doe

sn’t

impr

ove

At t

he H

ealt

hPr

ofes

sion

al’s

roo

ms

Wha

t to

do

in th

em

idd

le o

f th

e ni

ght

1.00

1.20



64 6.6 MANAGING CHILDHOOD ILLNESSES

Wha

t wou

ld y

ou d

o in

the

mid

dle

of

the

nigh

t if

the

baby

:

Had

a fe

ver?

Was

vom

itin

g?H

ad d

iarr

hoea

?H

ad a

noi

sy lo

ud c

ough

?W

as fi

ttin

g?L

ist t

he id

eas

onto

but

cher

’s p

aper

and

con

trib

ute

to th

e id

eas.

Who

wou

ld o

r co

uld

you

call

for

supp

ort

or h

elp

whe

n yo

ur b

aby

is s

ick?

Ask

gro

up to

bra

inst

orm

idea

s.

Nur

se m

ay b

e ab

le to

sug

gest

the

stat

emen

t:

Som

e gr

oups

hav

e de

cide

d it

wou

ld b

e ok

ay t

o co

ntac

t ea

ch o

ther

at

tim

es li

ke t

his.

May

be s

ome

of y

ou w

ould

feel

oka

y ab

out

cont

acti

ng o

ne o

f the

oth

ers

from

thi

s gr

oup.

Nur

se fi

nish

es b

y ta

lkin

g ab

out t

he r

esou

rces

ava

ilabl

e in

the

com

mun

ity

to s

uppo

rtfa

mili

es a

nd s

ick

child

ren

that

is, M

ater

nal a

nd C

hild

Hea

lth

Lin

e, C

omm

unit

y H

ealt

hC

entr

e, G

ener

al P

ract

itio

ners

, etc

.

Han

dou

ts: C

hild

Hea

lth

Fact

Shee

ts f

rom

Hum

an S

ervi

ces

onC

hild

hood

Illn

esse

s

Nur

se c

ontr

ibut

es id

eas

to e

ach

illne

ss o

r sy

mpt

om.

Lea

ve th

is a

n op

en in

vita

tion

for

dis

cuss

ion

over

thei

r cu

p of

tea

or c

offe

e.

The

nur

se s

houl

d d

evel

op a

hand

out w

hich

list

s lo

cal

reso

urce

s av

aila

ble

to f

amili

esan

d g

ive

to p

arti

cipa

nts.

Or

dir

ect p

arti

cipa

nts

to w

here

they

can

obta

in th

is in

form

atio

n.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

1.20

Wha

t to

do

in th

eM

idd

le o

f th

e N

ight

!

Clo

se

2.00


65

Visiting a Health ProfessionalVisiting a health professionals can sometimes be a daunting experience. This leaflet providessome tips to help you make the most out of the visit.

By choosing someone you feel confident about you also have the right to:• Have health professionals fill in relevant information in your baby’s Child Health Record.• Ask for explanations of words or statements you do not understand.• Obtain informative answers about your baby’s and/or your condition.• Obtain informative answers about proposed treatments, both positive and negative.• Ask for information about you or your family, either written or spoken, to be kept

confidential except for when:a) You have given your consentorb) You are referred to another worker.

• Feel that the health professional listens to you, and takes your ideas into account.• Be treated with respect.• Be treated as a person, not just a ‘condition’ or ‘case’.• Feel physically and emotionally safe with the health professional.• Know what the costs will be.

Information to take with you when you visit a health professional:How many times have you visited a health professional, meaning to ask about something,then totally forgotten to ask your question? These suggestions may help you to remember.

• Be clear about why you are attending the health professional. Write it down if necessary.• Make a note of:

– When the problem started.– The symptoms you have noticed, how long they have been present, and when they first

occurred.– What things make the problem worse, or better.– Any other situations or issues that might be associated with the symptoms.– Things you have already tried to solve the problem.

Developed by Carol Jackson, RMIT Faculty of Nursing, 1997



67

6.7 What to do in an Emergency (1): Resuscitation

6.7 WHAT TO DO IN AN EMERGENCY (1): RESUSCITATION


common to parenting.• To promote sustainable connections between parents of children of similar ages.• To equip participants with the basic knowledge and skill to apply in an emergency when the

child has stopped breathing or is choking.• To actively discourage parents from shaking their babies at all times and especially when the

baby has stopped breathing.• To encourage participants to join a CPR course if they are interested. (If the group seems very

interested, this may provide an opportunity to suggest that they organise a course to be runfor their group at a future time that suits participants.)

Anticipated Outcomes of the Session• Some participants will have identified shared interests.• Participants will know about CPR and be able to apply it at the appropriate speed for a baby

in an emergency situation.• Participants will be alert to a range of safety issues and particularly the behaviours which

may lead to choking.• Some groups and individual participants may be stimulated to follow-up with a CPR

qualification course.

Pre-Session Planning• Organise name tags for babies and parents.• Collect resuscitation doll and spare faces.• Prepare anatomy diagrams.• Prepare notes on CPR, EAR and DRABC.• List local CPR courses (date list) and contact numbers.

Resources for Nurses’ Information Prior to SessionNOTE: Only nurses who have completed a CPR qualification and are currently accredited willconduct this session.

Courses for parents available from:• St John Ambulance Australia, phone 131 394.• Royal Children’s Hospital Safety Centre (03) 9345 5085.• Australian Red Cross (03) 9685 9990 or 1300 367 428.


68 6.7 WHAT TO DO IN AN EMERGENCY (1): RESUSCITATION

Other related information:

• Pamphlet Information for Health Professionals – Never, Never, Never Shake a Baby, Department ofHuman Services.

Handouts to Group Participants• Nurses may wish supply parents with a list of contacts for local CPR courses.• CPR Chart Metropolitan Ambulance Service, Melbourne, phone 9840 3620.• Pamphlet Never, Never, Never Shake a Baby, Department of Human Services.


696.7 WHAT TO DO IN AN EMERGENCY (1): RESUSCITATION

6.7.

2 W

hat T

o D

o In

An

Emer

genc

y (1

): Re

susc

itatio

nW

orks

hop

Sess

ion

* A

ppro

xim

ate

tim

e al

loca

tion

for

eac

h ac

tivi

ty

Hel

lo a

gain

. Let

’s b

egin

wit

h a

brie

f rev

iew

. Las

t se

ssio

n w

e lo

oked

at

such

and

suc

h a

topi

c…W

hat

sort

s of

idea

s or

tho

ught

s ha

ve y

ou h

ad a

bout

tha

t is

sue

sinc

e th

en?

Any

thin

g yo

u ar

eha

ppy

to d

iscu

ss a

bout

tha

t w

ith

the

rest

of t

he g

roup

?W

hat

abou

t yo

u ..

anyt

hing

com

e up

abo

ut t

he is

sue

for

you?

To u

nd

erta

ke

this

ses

sion

th

en

urs

e m

ust

be

qu

alifi

ed t

o te

ach

CP

R.

Prov

ide

nam

e ta

gs f

orpa

rtic

ipan

ts a

nd b

abie

s.

Allo

w ti

me

for

part

icip

ants

tore

spon

d to

intr

oduc

tion

act

ivit

y.Yo

u m

ay w

ant t

o gi

ve a

few

prom

pts.

Wat

ch f

or p

arti

cipa

nts

who

mig

ht h

ave

som

ethi

ng to

say

but

may

be

a lit

tle

relu

ctan

t.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

0.00

Intr

oduc

tion

s &

Rev

iew

Bas

ic A

nato

my

0.15

The

top

ic t

oday

is h

ow t

o re

susc

itat

e a

baby

.H

ave

any

of y

ou d

one

a re

susc

itat

ion

cour

se o

r ha

d to

app

ly it

to

an a

dult

or

child

?D

iscu

ssio

n of

par

tici

pant

s ex

peri

ence

s w

ith

resu

scit

atio

n.

Nur

se e

xpla

ins

basi

c an

atom

y —

whe

re h

eart

is lo

cate

d, h

ow to

list

en f

or h

eart

bea

tan

d f

eel t

he b

aby’

s pu

lse

and

loca

tion

of

the

ster

num

.

Dem

onst

rate

on

the

babi

es in

the

grou

p an

d e

ncou

rage

par

tici

pant

s to

pra

ctis

e.

The

nur

se m

oves

aro

und

the

room

ass

isti

ng p

arti

cipa

nts.

Dis

play

ana

tom

y d

iagr

ams

for

refe

rral


70 6.7 WHAT TO DO IN AN EMERGENCY (1): RESUSCITATION

Dis

cuss

ion

abou

t a b

aby’

s he

art r

ate:

som

ewhe

re b

etw

een

120

and

160

bea

ts p

er m

inut

e—

app

roxi

mat

ely

dou

ble

an a

dul

t’s.

•W

hen

CPR

is d

one

on a

bab

y, th

at r

ate

is c

opie

d.

•B

reat

hing

rat

e of

bab

y is

twic

e as

fas

t as

adul

ts.

•E

ncou

rage

par

tici

pant

s to

list

en to

bab

y’s

brea

thin

g.•

The

rat

e at

whi

ch a

bab

y’s

hear

t bea

ts a

nd th

eir

brea

thin

g ra

te m

ust b

e co

nsid

ered

whe

n ap

plyi

ng C

PR.

Nur

se c

ould

ref

er to

any

hea

rtm

onit

orin

g w

hich

par

tici

pant

sm

ay h

ave

seen

in h

ospi

tal o

r on

tele

visi

on.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

0.40

Hea

rt R

ate

of I

nfan

ts

Intr

oduc

e T

hem

es:

EA

R, C

PR a

ndD

RA

BC

.

0.40

Use

exa

mpl

es w

hich

par

tici

pant

s ca

n re

late

to a

nd u

se th

eir

resp

onse

s to

sho

w th

emth

at th

ey w

ere

prac

tisi

ng e

lem

ents

of

DR

AB

C.

Hav

e yo

u ev

er o

vers

lept

and

tho

ught

: the

bab

y ha

sn’t

wok

en!

And

you

rac

ed t

o th

e co

t. W

hat

did

you

do?

Dem

onst

rate

how

to li

ft a

bab

y th

at is

not

bre

athi

ng f

rom

a c

ot, h

ow to

car

ry a

bab

y to

a ha

rd s

urfa

ce, c

lear

the

airw

ay, fi

nd th

e la

ndm

arks

and

do

CPR

whi

le r

ingi

ng f

or h

elp.

Rei

nfor

ce n

ot to

sha

ke th

e ba

by a

nd ta

ke th

e op

port

unit

y to

exp

lain

to th

e gr

oup

the

dan

gers

of

shak

ing

in a

ll si

tuat

ions

.

Enc

oura

ge q

uest

ions

and

dis

cuss

ion.

Prov

ide

note

s on

CPR

, EA

R a

ndD

RA

BC

1.00

1.50

2.00

Wha

t ty

pes

of t

hing

s do

you

thi

nk c

ould

cau

se a

bab

y to

cho

ke?

(For

exa

mpl

e, f

ood

, sm

all o

bjec

ts, t

oy p

iece

s.)

Rei

nfor

ce im

port

ance

of

safe

ty f

or e

xam

ple,

chi

ldre

n no

t wal

king

aro

und

whi

le e

atin

g,fo

od th

at is

uns

afe

for

babi

es.

Has

any

one

seen

a b

aby

or c

hild

cho

ke?

Wha

t di

d th

e ad

ults

do?

Dem

onst

rate

on

the

dol

l how

to d

islo

dge

foo

d. E

xpla

in w

hat i

s be

ing

don

e.

Invi

te e

ach

part

icip

ant t

o pr

acti

ce E

AR

and

CPR

on

the

dol

l and

rei

nfor

ce m

ain

poin

tsw

ith

each

par

tici

pant

.

Prio

r to

clo

sing

ask

par

tici

pant

s to

turn

to p

erso

n ne

xt to

them

and

talk

abo

ut m

ost

usef

ul a

spec

ts o

f th

e se

ssio

n.

Exp

lain

that

this

ses

sion

giv

es a

n ov

ervi

ew o

f C

PR a

nd if

par

tici

pant

s w

ant t

o at

tend

aco

urse

nur

se c

ould

pro

vid

e d

etai

ls o

f lo

cal c

ours

es o

r w

here

they

can

find

out

abo

utth

em. I

f gr

oup

seem

s in

tere

sted

, it w

ould

be

a go

od id

ea f

or n

urse

to s

ugge

st o

ren

cour

age

part

icip

ants

to o

rgan

ise

a fo

llow

-up

CPR

cou

rse

as a

gro

up.

Cho

king

Aha

ndou

t of

CPR

cou

rses

avai

labl

e in

the

loca

l are

a.

Clo

se


71

6.8 What to do in an Emergency (2): First Aid


common to parenting.• To promote sustainable connections between parents of children of similar ages.• To develop awareness of possible emergency situations for babies and young children.• To assist participants to develop personal strategies for staying calm in an emergency.• To inform parents about first aid strategies which are most effective in immediately

responding to a range of childhood emergencies.• To introduce participants to and promote exploration of an excellent resource which they can

read and discuss at their leisure.• To prepare participants’ responses for situations of which they are fearful.• To encourage participants to develop a list of people they could call for support in an

emergency situation (as in protective behaviours program — this list will be a personal onedeveloped from a brainstorm of roles or relationships).

• To provide participants with a list of local emergency contacts which they can post near theirphone.

Anticipated Outcomes of the Session• Some participants will have identified shared interests.• Participants will be alert to their own possible reactions in an emergency situation and have

developed some possible strategies for maintaining calm.• Participants will be aware of most common emergency situations for babies and young

children, and know of immediate actions to take.• Participants will know the range of content of the Royal Children’s Hospital safety and first

aid document.• Some participants will ensure they have a current first aid kit available at home and in the

car.• All participants will have a copy of local emergency numbers to stick by their home phone.

Pre-Session PlanningNurses must hold a current first aid certificate prior to facilitating this session.• Organise name tags for babies and parents.• Have several RCH first aid and safety booklet for participants to review in small groups.• Seek out current listing of local first aid trainers — participants may choose to continue first

aid as a group.• Collect a number of local emergency service stickers for posting near phone.

6.8 WHAT TO DO IN AN EMERGENCY (2): FIRST AID


72 6.8 WHAT TO DO IN AN EMERGENCY (2): FIRST AID

Resources for Nurses’ Information Prior to Session• Brown, J. and Walker, T., 1996, Royal Children’s Hospital, Safety and First Aid Book, Lothian

Books, Melbourne. Available from Royal Children’s Hospital, Child Health InformationCentre, phone (03) 9345 6429.

• St John Ambulance, 1997, Staying Alive: First Aid, St John Ambulance, Canberra. Availablefrom St John Ambulance, phone 131 394.

• St John Ambulance, 1996, Australian First Aid: Volumes One and Two, St John Ambulance,Canberra. Available from St John Ambulance, phone 131 394.

Handouts to Group ParticipantsParents may wish to purchase: Brown, J. and Walker, T., 1996, Royal Children’s Hospital, Safety andFirst Aid Book, Lothian Books, Melbourne. Available from Royal Children’s Hospital, ChildHealth Information Centre, phone (03) 9345 6429.


736.8 WHAT TO DO IN AN EMERGENCY (2): FIRST AID

Hel

lo a

gain

. Let

’s b

egin

wit

h a

brie

f rev

iew

. Las

t se

ssio

n w

e lo

oked

at

such

and

suc

h a

topi

c…W

hat

sort

s of

idea

s or

tho

ught

s ha

ve y

ou h

ad a

bout

tha

t is

sue

sinc

e th

en?

Any

thin

g yo

u ar

eha

ppy

to d

iscu

ss a

bout

tha

t w

ith

the

rest

of t

he g

roup

?W

hat

abou

t yo

u …

any

thin

g co

me

up a

bout

the

issu

e fo

r yo

u?

To u

nd

erta

ke

this

ses

sion

th

en

urs

e m

ust

hol

d a

cu

rren

t fi

rst

aid

cer

tifi

cate

.

Prov

ide

nam

e ta

gs f

orpa

rtic

ipan

ts a

nd b

abie

s.

Allo

w ti

me

for

part

icip

ants

tore

spon

d to

intr

oduc

tion

act

ivit

y.Yo

u m

ay w

ant t

o gi

ve a

few

prom

pts.

Wat

ch f

or p

arti

cipa

nts

who

mig

ht h

ave

som

ethi

ng to

say

but

may

be

a lit

tle

relu

ctan

t.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

0.00

Intr

oduc

tion

s &

Rev

iew

Acc

iden

tsW

hat

do y

ou t

hink

are

the

maj

or c

ause

s of

chi

ldho

od a

ccid

ents

wit

hin

the

first

tw

elve

mon

ths

of a

chi

ld’s

life

?W

rite

idea

s on

to b

utch

er’s

pap

er. N

urse

con

trib

utes

idea

s.

Wha

t is

like

ly t

o be

you

r re

acti

on t

o an

y of

the

se a

ccid

ents

if it

was

you

r ch

ild?

Lis

t res

pons

es o

nto

butc

her’

s pa

per.

Nur

se e

xpla

ins

that

it is

cri

tica

l to

keep

cal

m.

Gro

up b

rain

stor

ms

som

e of

the

way

s to

kee

p ca

lm, a

sses

s si

tuat

ion

and

not

pan

ic c

hild

furt

her.

Nur

se a

sks

part

icip

ants

to tu

rn to

the

pers

on n

ext t

o th

em a

nd d

iscu

ss th

e st

rate

gies

whi

ch w

ill b

e of

mos

t per

sona

l use

.

How

to r

espo

nd to

eac

h ac

cid

ent o

r si

tuat

ion

(ref

er to

acc

iden

ts li

sted

on

the

first

pie

ceof

but

cher

’s p

aper

).

The

nur

se h

and

s ou

t cop

ies

of th

e R

oyal

Chi

ldre

n’s

Hos

pita

l Saf

ety

and

Fir

st A

id B

ook

(Roy

al C

hild

ren’

s H

ospi

tal M

elbo

urne

) to

eac

h pa

rtic

ipan

t. T

hey

lead

the

part

icip

ants

thro

ugh

the

book

let u

sing

the

acci

den

ts li

sted

on

the

butc

her’

s pa

per

as th

e gu

ide

and

dis

cuss

es h

ow e

ach

situ

atio

n sh

ould

be

resp

ond

ed to

.

Nur

se in

vite

s pa

rtic

ipan

ts to

turn

to e

ach

rele

vant

sec

tion

in th

e bo

okle

t as

the

issu

esar

e be

ing

dis

cuss

ed a

nd e

ncou

rage

s sh

arin

g of

idea

s an

d s

tori

es b

y pa

rtic

ipan

ts.

0.15

0.30

Wha

t to

do

Maj

or a

ccid

ents

or

reas

ons

for

requ

irin

g fir

st a

id in

clud

e:•

Pois

onin

g•

Bur

ns•

Dro

wni

ng•

Falls

•B

ites

(in

sect

s or

ani

mal

s)•

Cho

king

•A

llerg

ic r

eact

ions

•Fi

ttin

g•

Ele

ctri

c sh

ocks

.

NO

TE

The

aim

is n

ot to

go

thro

ugh

the

book

let i

n a

‘nea

t’ or

der

but

toge

t par

tici

pant

s fa

mili

ar w

ith

the

book

let a

nd th

e in

form

atio

nw

ithi

n it

.

Follo

w th

e or

der

of

acci

den

ts o

ris

sues

on

the

butc

her’

s pa

per.

6.8.

2 W

hat T

o D

o In

An

Emer

genc

y (2

): Fi

rst A

idW

orks

hop

Sess

ion

* A

ppro

xim

ate

tim

e al

loca

tion

for

eac

h ac

tivi

ty


74 6.8 WHAT TO DO IN AN EMERGENCY (2): FIRST AID

Num

ber

part

icip

ants

into

gro

ups

of 3

—4

(if

grou

p is

larg

e en

ough

). In

vite

the

smal

lgr

oups

to ta

lk a

mon

gst t

hem

selv

es f

or a

few

min

utes

abo

ut:

Wha

t w

ould

be

your

mos

t fr

ight

enin

g em

erge

ncy

first

aid

sit

uati

on fo

r yo

ur b

aby?

Ask

the

grou

p to

cho

ose

one

of th

e si

tuat

ions

they

dis

cuss

ed a

s a

smal

l gro

up a

ndd

evel

op a

pla

n of

act

ion

of w

hat t

hey

wou

ld d

o. S

mal

l gro

ups

are

to w

rite

thei

r pl

anon

to b

utch

er’s

pap

er.

Invi

te th

e sm

all g

roup

s to

fee

dba

ck to

the

larg

er g

roup

thei

r em

erge

ncy

situ

atio

n an

dpl

an o

f ac

tion

.

Enc

oura

ge d

iscu

ssio

n, f

or e

xam

ple:

Are

the

re a

ny o

ther

ste

ps y

ou w

ould

add

to

the

plan

?

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Wha

t wou

ld I

do?

Em

erge

ncy

cont

acts

1.15

Bra

inst

orm

as

the

larg

e gr

oup:

Who

wou

ld y

ou c

onta

ct fo

r im

med

iate

sup

port

in a

n em

erge

ncy:

dur

ing

busi

ness

hou

rs a

ndaf

ter

hour

s?L

ist o

nto

butc

her’

s pa

per.

1.45

Nur

se p

rovi

des

:

•In

form

atio

n re

: firs

t aid

cou

rses

•L

ist o

r ph

one

stic

ker

ofem

erge

ncy

tele

phon

e nu

mbe

rs.

Nur

se fi

nish

es th

e se

ssio

n by

enc

oura

ging

par

tici

pant

s to

att

end

a fi

rst a

id c

ours

e an

dpr

ovid

es a

list

of

cour

se d

ates

ven

ues

and

cos

ts.

Nur

se p

rovi

des

a h

and

out o

r te

leph

one

stic

ker

of e

mer

genc

y te

leph

one

num

bers

and

stre

sses

impo

rtan

ce o

f ac

cess

to e

mer

genc

y ph

one

num

bers

in th

e ho

me,

car

and

aw

ayfr

om th

e ho

me.

2.00

Clo

se


75

6.9 Keeping Your Child Safe: Preventing Accidents

6.9 KEEPING YOUR CHILD SAFE: PREVENTING ACCIDENTS


common to parenting.• To promote sustainable connections between parents of children of similar ages.• To provide participants with an opportunity to consider the safety for young children inside

and outside their own homes (in a non-threatening manner).• To promote participants’ awareness of the general safety issues for young children in specific

areas inside and outside homes.• To encourage parents to investigate and review some safety literature.

Anticipated Outcomes of the Session• Some participants will have identified shared interests.• Participants will be alert to specific safety concerns for young children in their own homes.• Participants will know of a range of safety items they can use in their own environments.• Participants will be alert to a range of community resources which they could access to assist

them with safety concerns.

Pre-Session Planning• Obtain a safety handout for each participant to take home.• Investigate and collect a range of safety equipment which parents can purchase or obtain in

some way.• Prepare a list of costs and places where it is possible to purchase various safety items.• Collect two sheets of butcher’s paper for each participant and at least one texta or crayon

each (at least two colours).

Resources for Nurses’ Information Prior to Session• Kidsafe Home Safety Audit, (includes Child Safety Resource Manual). Available from Kidsafe

Victoria, phone (03) 9345 5085.• Home Safety Shop price list and order form, Safety Centre Royal Children’s Hospital, phone

(03) 9345 5085.• Safety Centre Royal Children’s Hospital, 1996, Safety Information Booklet.• Child Safety First video available from Royal Children’s Hospital Safety Centre (03) 9345 5085

or Kidsafe (03) 9427 1008.• Poster Growing Safely available from Royal Children’s Hospital Child Safety Centre,

phone (03) 9345 5085.• Department of Human Services Child Health Fact Sheet: Care of Your Child in Hot Weather

• Positive Parenting Program Parent Tip Sheet: Home Safety.


76 6.9 KEEPING YOUR CHILD SAFE: PREVENTING ACCIDENTS

• There are many more very good pamphlets available on choking, burns and scalds, smokealarms, pool safety, etc.

• Local Council’s Community Resources Directory.

Handouts for Group Participants• ‘safeKidsnow’ pamphlet: Birth–9 months.• Farmsafe ‘safeKidsnow’ Birth–5 years.• For more information on VicRoads Restraint Fitting Stations Get It Right Phone (03) 9790 2190• Poisons Information Centre, Royal Children’s Hospital phone 131 126.• Keeping Your Baby Safe: A Guide to Nursery Furniture, available from the Consumer and

Business Affairs Victoria, 2nd Floor, 452 Flinders Street, Melbourne, 3000 phone (03) 96276000.

• Making Your Baby’s Cot Safe. Available from Consumer and Business Affairs, phone (03) 96276000.

• Department of Human Services Child Health Fact Sheet: Care of Your Child in Hot Weather.• Positive Parenting Program Parent Tip Sheet: Home Safety.• Royal Children’s Hospital Safety Centre pamphlet Dogs ’n Kids, phone (03) 9345 5085.

Parents may wish to attend child safety awareness workshops held regularly at the RoyalChildren’s Hospital Safety Centre, phone (03) 9345 5085.



6.9.

2 Ke

epin

g yo

ur C

hild

Saf

e: P

reve

ntin

g A

ccid

ents

Wor

ksho

p Se

ssio

n

* A

ppro

xim

ate

tim

e al

loca

tion

for

eac

h ac

tivi

ty

Invi

te p

eopl

e to

thin

k ab

out a

hig

hlig

ht o

f th

e la

st w

eek.

Thi

nk b

ack

over

the

last

wee

k an

d re

call

one

mom

ent

or h

ighl

ight

whi

ch y

ou a

re h

appy

to

disc

uss

wit

h th

e gr

oup.

Invi

te e

ach

pers

on to

des

crib

e th

eir

high

light

— p

eopl

e d

o no

t hav

e to

go

in tu

rn. O

ther

sm

ay w

ish

to c

omm

ent o

r as

k qu

esti

ons

Who

’d li

ke t

o go

firs

t —

wha

t w

as y

our

high

light

?

Con

tinu

e to

use

nam

e ta

gs f

orpa

rtic

ipan

ts a

nd b

abie

s

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Wel

com

e ag

ain

and

regr

oupi

ng

Lin

king

wit

h th

e L

ast

Sess

ion

0.00

Ask

if p

eopl

e ha

ve h

ad a

ny f

urth

er th

ough

ts a

bout

last

wee

k’s

sess

ion

or a

nyco

mm

ents

they

wou

ld li

ke to

mak

e on

refl

ecti

on.

Any

com

men

ts o

r id

eas

that

hav

e oc

curr

ed t

o yo

u si

nce

we

last

met

abo

ut w

hat

we

disc

usse

din

the

last

gro

up?

0.15

Rea

d th

roug

h th

e ‘v

isio

n’ v

ery

slow

ly a

nd a

dd

loca

l flav

our,

for

exam

ple,

if p

arti

cipa

nts

live

infl

ats

or c

arav

ans

or h

ouse

s us

eap

prop

riat

e m

odel

s.

It is

sug

gest

ed th

at p

arti

cipa

nts

will

be

talk

ing

abou

t the

ird

raw

ings

in g

roup

s of

two,

thre

eor

fou

r, po

ssib

ly w

ith

som

e la

rge

grou

p in

tera

ctio

ns.

It d

oesn

’t m

atte

r w

hat t

hed

raw

ings

look

like

, it’s

mor

eim

port

ant t

hat p

arti

cipa

nts

enjo

yth

emse

lves

and

talk

to e

ach

othe

r.

It m

ay b

e po

ssib

le to

pic

k up

on

one

of th

e po

ints

som

eone

has

mad

e in

the

last

dis

cuss

ion.

Invi

te p

eopl

e to

take

one

or

two

piec

es o

f bu

tche

r’s

pape

r ea

ch a

nd s

ome

cray

ons.

Lay

the

pape

rs o

n th

e fl

oor

amon

g th

e ba

bies

.

We

are

goin

g to

ske

tch

your

hom

e an

d th

ink

abou

t sa

fety

con

cern

s –

we

will

not

e ar

eas

whe

reac

cide

nts

may

hap

pen.

Ask

peo

ple

to g

et c

omfo

rtab

le (

on th

e fl

oor)

, clo

se th

eir

eyes

if th

ey a

re h

appy

to d

o so

.

Imag

ine

you

are

in y

our

own

hom

e –

wal

k fr

om s

pace

to

spac

e an

d lo

ok a

roun

d. L

ook

care

fully

at e

ach

area

– c

ooki

ng a

rea,

whe

re y

ou s

leep

, etc

.G

o ou

t th

e fr

ont

and

look

tow

ard

the

fron

t of

you

r ho

me

– w

alk

arou

nd t

he s

ide

and

tow

ards

the

back

.N

ow o

pen

your

eye

s an

d w

ith

the

cray

ons

and

pape

r sk

etch

a fl

oor

plan

of y

our

hom

e.In

vite

par

tici

pant

s to

talk

to th

e ne

xt p

erso

n ab

out t

heir

imag

inin

g so

far

whi

le d

oing

ask

etch

of

thei

r fl

oor

plan

and

any

out

sid

e fe

atur

es. E

ncou

rage

them

to ta

lk a

bout

thei

rsk

etch

es w

hile

they

are

dra

win

g th

e fl

oor

plan

.

0.25

Lea

din

g in

to P

eopl

e’s

Hom

es


78 6.9 KEEPING YOUR CHILD SAFE: PREVENTING ACCIDENTS

Now

ask

par

tici

pant

s to

:

Imag

ine

you

are

in t

he k

itch

en o

r co

okin

g ar

ea o

f the

ir h

ome

— lo

ok a

roun

d th

e ar

ea. W

hat

isth

ere?

Ask

peo

ple

to s

ketc

h in

thei

r co

okin

g ar

eas

and

talk

abo

ut th

em.

Are

ther

e an

y as

pect

s of

you

r co

okin

g ar

ea w

hich

may

be

a sa

fety

issu

e?

Prom

pts:

Whe

re c

an fi

nger

s ge

t ja

mm

ed?

Are

the

re li

kely

to

be p

oiso

nous

flui

ds a

nyw

here

?A

nyw

here

whe

re b

urns

can

hap

pen?

Wha

t ab

out

suffo

cati

on o

r st

rang

ulat

ion

in c

ot o

r w

ith

a cu

rtai

n co

rd?

Mar

k w

ith

a re

d cr

oss

any

area

s of

con

cern

(sa

fety

) in

you

r co

okin

g ar

ea.

Sugg

est p

arti

cipa

nts

look

at t

he b

ookl

ets

and

pic

ture

s yo

u ha

ve o

n sa

fety

in th

e ki

tche

nor

coo

king

are

a, to

thin

k ab

out f

or th

eir

own

hous

ehol

d. P

ass

arou

nd th

e pi

eces

of

equi

pmen

t in

the

sam

ple

bag.

Ask

par

tici

pant

s to

talk

wit

h th

e pe

rson

nex

t to

them

abo

ut w

hat t

hey

mig

ht d

o w

ith

thei

r ar

eas

whi

ch a

re m

arke

d w

ith

a cr

oss.

Ref

er to

you

r sa

mpl

e ba

g of

reso

urce

s.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Safe

ty in

the

Coo

king

Are

as

Safe

ty in

Oth

erH

ouse

hold

Are

as

0.45

1.15

Invi

te p

arti

cipa

nts

to:

Imag

ine

and

draw

the

mai

n liv

ing

area

of t

he h

ome.

Look

aro

und

and

disc

uss

wha

t is

the

re?

Wha

t m

ay h

ave

a sa

fety

con

cern

or

impa

ct fo

r ba

bies

,to

ddle

rs, o

lder

chi

ldre

n.M

ark

area

s of

con

cern

wit

h a

red

cros

s.Su

gges

t par

tici

pant

s lo

ok a

t the

boo

klet

s an

d p

ictu

res

you

have

on

safe

ty in

the

livin

gar

ea, t

o th

ink

abou

t for

thei

r ow

n ho

useh

old

. Pas

s ar

ound

the

piec

es o

f eq

uipm

ent i

nth

e sa

mpl

e ba

g.

Rep

eat t

he p

roce

ss o

f d

raw

ing

atte

ntio

n to

the

conc

erns

and

ask

par

tici

pant

s to

talk

wit

h th

e pe

rson

nex

t to

them

abo

ut w

hat t

hey

mig

ht d

o w

ith

thei

r ar

eas

whi

ch a

rem

arke

d w

ith

a cr

oss.



Invi

te th

e gr

oup

to th

ink

abou

t the

sle

epin

g an

d w

ashi

ng a

reas

, and

gen

erat

e a

list o

fsa

fety

issu

es o

r ru

les

for

slee

ping

and

was

hing

are

as. W

rite

list

ont

o a

boar

d o

r bu

tche

r’s

pape

r co

ntin

uing

wit

h th

e gr

oup

dis

cuss

ion.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Slee

ping

and

Was

hing

Are

as (

if n

otal

read

y d

iscu

ssed

)

Out

sid

e th

e H

ome

—Ya

rds

and

Far

mA

reas

1.35

Rep

eat t

he la

st e

xerc

ise

— w

rite

idea

s on

to a

boa

rd o

r bu

tche

r’s

pape

r.1.

45

Ask

par

tici

pant

s to

sug

gest

way

s pe

ople

can

fol

low

-up

if th

ey h

ave

any

safe

ty c

once

rns

abou

t asp

ects

of

thei

r ho

me

area

s.

Who

do

you

go t

o?In

vite

peo

ple

to ta

ke h

ome

book

lets

or

reso

urce

s yo

u ha

ve d

istr

ibut

ed d

urin

g th

ese

ssio

n.

1.55

Oth

er A

reas

2.00

If p

eopl

e ha

ve n

otha

d a

cup

of

tea

dur

ing

the

sess

ion,

now

may

be

the

tim

e.


816.10 A SETTLED BABY: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

6.10 A Settled Baby: What Does it Mean?


common to parenting.• To promote sustainable connections between parents of children of similar ages.• To consider and address the realistic and unrealistic expectations people (including new

parents) have of babies sleeping behaviours.• To inform participants of sleep patterns and common cues babies display when ready for

sleep.• To inform parents about appropriate parental responses to the sleep cues, especially to

encourage a settled baby.• To provide an opportunity for parents to develop a range of considered responses to (critical)

comments about sleep and babies.• To alert parents to a range of safety issues around baby’s sleeping.

Anticipated Outcomes of the Session• Some participants will have identified shared interests.• Participants will be informed about what happens during sleep and the range of sleep

patterns of babies.• Participants will be alert to baby’s sleep cues and aware of appropriate parental response to

these cues.• Participants will be alert to the value of sleep associations for babies.• Participants will have considered a range of strategies to assist parental fatigue.• Participants will be confident in responding (assertively) to people’s (sometimes critical)

comments, concerns and advice about their baby and sleep.

Pre-Session Planning• Purchase some South Australian blue books: Settling Your Baby: A Survival Guide for Parents

Birth to 12 Months and Child and Youth Health, phone (08) 8303 1500.• Organise name tags for babies and parents.• Collect sheets of butcher’s paper and textas.• Prepare handouts for participants to use during session and take home:

• Sleep patterns• Sleep cues and associations• Safety, beds and sleeping.

• If using video, collect player and video.

Resources for Nurses’ Information Prior to Session• Settling Your Baby: A Survival Guide for Parents Birth to 12 Months and Child and Youth Health.• Positive Parenting Program, Parent Tip Sheet, Crying.


82

Handouts to Group Participants• Settling Your Baby: A Survival Guide for Parents Birth to 12 Months and Child and Youth Health,

phone (08) 8303 1500.• Positive Parenting Program, Parent Tip Sheet, Crying.




6.10

.2 A

Set

tled

Bab

y: W

hat D

oes

It M

ean?

Wor

ksho

p Se

ssio

n

* A

ppro

xim

ate

tim

e al

loca

tion

for

eac

h ac

tivi

ty

Hel

lo a

gain

. Let

’s b

egin

wit

h a

brie

f rev

iew

. Las

t se

ssio

n w

e lo

oked

at

such

and

suc

h a

topi

c…W

hat

sort

s of

idea

s or

tho

ught

s ha

ve y

ou h

ad a

bout

tha

t is

sue

sinc

e th

en?

Any

thin

g yo

uw

ould

like

to

disc

uss

wit

h th

e re

st o

f the

gro

up?

Wha

t ab

out

you

… a

nyth

ing

com

e up

abo

ut t

he is

sue

for

you?

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Wel

com

e0.

00

The

top

ic fo

r th

is s

essi

on is

set

tled

bab

ies.

Let’s

dre

am fo

r a

mom

ent…

Wha

t w

ould

mak

e th

e pe

rfec

t se

ttle

d ba

by a

t si

x w

eeks

? W

ould

you

have

any

cha

nges

in y

our

perf

ectl

y se

ttle

d tw

elve

-wee

k -o

ld b

aby?

Nur

se n

otes

the

com

men

ts o

n th

e bo

ard

.

We

have

dre

amt

for

a fe

w m

omen

ts, n

ow le

t’s lo

ok a

t re

alit

y.A

re t

here

any

diff

eren

ces

betw

een

the

desc

ript

ions

you

hav

e gi

ven

and

wha

t is

act

ually

happ

enin

g?N

umbe

r pe

ople

off

so

they

are

in g

roup

s of

thre

e an

d a

sk th

em to

sit

aro

und

a s

heet

of

pape

r w

ith

the

24 h

ours

mar

ked

on

it.

Ask

the

grou

ps to

thin

k ba

ck o

ver

the

last

24

hour

s an

d ta

lk a

bout

the

beha

viou

r of

each

of

thei

r ba

bies

ove

r th

at ti

me.

Eac

h ca

n be

mar

ked

ont

o th

e sh

eet w

ith

a d

iffe

rent

colo

ured

text

a.

Ask

par

tici

pant

s th

en to

thin

k ba

ck to

whe

n th

e ba

by w

as o

ne w

eek

old

. Mar

k th

ed

iffe

renc

es a

nd d

iscu

ss th

e si

mila

riti

es a

nd v

arie

ty o

f pa

tter

ns.

0.15

Wha

t is

a Se

ttle

dB

aby?

Allo

w ti

me

for

part

icip

ants

tore

spon

d to

intr

oduc

tion

act

ivit

y.Yo

u m

ay w

ant t

o gi

ve a

few

prom

pts.

Wat

ch f

or th

ose

who

may

hav

eso

met

hing

to s

ay, b

ut a

re a

litt

lere

luct

ant.

Thi

s pr

ovid

es o

ppor

tuni

ty to

look

at v

arie

ty o

f pa

tter

nsbe

twee

n ba

bies

and

als

o ch

ange

over

tim

e w

ith

one

baby

.


84 6.10 A SETTLED BABY: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Whi

le p

arti

cipa

nts

are

still

sea

ted

wit

h th

eir

smal

l gro

up, a

sk th

em to

not

e th

eir

own

slee

p (a

nd ti

red

ness

) pa

tter

ns a

t the

se s

ame

tim

es a

nd to

dis

cuss

and

not

e th

e so

rts

ofst

rate

gies

they

use

d to

man

age.

Ask

for

fee

dba

ck a

nd n

ote

on b

oard

the

stra

tegi

es w

hich

hav

e he

lped

par

ents

cop

e w

ith

fati

gue

so f

ar.

Nur

se p

rovi

des

han

dou

t (on

sle

ep)

to p

arti

cipa

nts

and

dis

cuss

es th

e ph

ases

of

slee

p(R

EM

, etc

.) an

d p

atte

rns

of b

abie

s —

sle

ep o

r aw

ake

and

how

this

var

ies

over

tim

e (a

sd

emon

stra

ted

alr

ead

y on

but

cher

’s p

aper

).

Part

icip

ants

may

wis

h to

mak

e no

tes

on th

eir

hand

out.

Wha

t so

rts

of t

hing

s ha

ve y

ou b

ecom

e aw

are

of w

hile

wat

chin

g yo

ur b

abie

s sl

eep?

How

do

thes

e m

atch

wit

h th

e so

rts

of p

atte

rns

I ha

ve ju

st d

escr

ibed

?Ju

st a

s th

ere

are

slee

p pa

tter

ns t

here

are

als

o so

me

fair

ly c

omm

on c

ues

for

read

ines

s fo

r sl

eep.

Wha

t ha

ve y

ou n

otic

ed?

Nur

se n

otes

idea

s on

boa

rd. N

urse

then

invi

tes

part

icip

ants

to lo

ok a

t all

the

babi

es in

the

room

.

Are

any

sho

win

g us

any

cue

s th

at t

hey

are

read

y fo

r sl

eep?

If a

vaila

ble,

this

is a

goo

d ti

me

to s

how

asp

ects

of

the

vid

eo o

n sl

eep

cues

. If

not

avai

labl

e, n

urse

alo

ne c

an p

rovi

de

som

e m

ore

info

rmat

ion.

Han

d o

ut c

opie

s of

Set

tlin

g Yo

ur B

aby

(Sou

th A

ustr

alia

) an

d a

sk a

ll to

turn

to th

ese

ctio

n on

sle

ep c

ues.

Dis

cuss

the

cues

not

ed th

ere

and

invi

te p

arti

cipa

nts

to lo

ok a

t the

babi

es a

gain

. Any

cue

s? C

hang

es f

rom

bef

ore?

So w

hen

we

noti

ce t

he s

leep

cue

s w

hat

does

a p

erso

n do

to

enco

urag

e a

sett

led

baby

?N

ote

idea

s fr

om g

roup

to th

e bo

ard

and

nur

se a

dd

s he

r ow

n if

ther

e ar

e an

y ot

hers

.N

urse

may

dem

onst

rate

the

appr

opri

ate

beha

viou

rs a

s th

ey w

rite

idea

s to

boa

rd.

Nur

se m

ay a

dd

som

e id

eas

here

on

slee

p as

soci

atio

n an

d s

elf-

soot

hing

, or

ask

part

icip

ants

to n

ote

that

asp

ect i

n th

e bo

ok.

Invi

te g

roup

to n

ote

the

sort

s of

pro

blem

s an

d b

arri

ers,

for

exa

mpl

e, th

umbs

ucki

ng, t

hey

have

wit

h th

ese

idea

s —

not

e th

ese

on th

e bo

ard

and

invi

te p

arti

cipa

nts

to b

rain

stor

m(e

ithe

r in

sm

all g

roup

s or

larg

e gr

oup)

way

s th

ey c

ould

ad

dre

ss th

ese

barr

iers

.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Pare

nts’

Cop

ing

Skill

s

Wha

t is

Slee

p —

Wha

t is

Act

ually

Hap

peni

ng?

0.40

0.55

Slee

p C

ues

Prov

idin

g a

sim

ple

hand

out a

tti

me

of d

iscu

ssio

n al

low

s pe

ople

to m

ake

note

s on

it a

nd b

ecom

e‘th

eir

own’

.

Purc

hase

mul

tipl

e co

pies

of

the

blue

Sou

th A

ustr

alia

n bo

ok‘S

ettl

ing

your

Bab

y: A

Surv

ival

Gui

de fo

r P

aren

ts B

irth

to

12m

onth

s, f

or u

se a

t thi

s ti

me.

It is

pos

sibl

e th

at s

ome

will

hav

ea

num

ber

of r

eser

vati

ons,

so

abr

ains

torm

of

poss

ible

str

ateg

ies

for

over

com

ing

the

barr

iers

islik

ely

to b

e m

ost e

ffec

tive

. If

peop

le s

tart

giv

ing

each

oth

erad

vice

, it m

ay b

e qu

ite

unsa

tisf

ying

for

mos

t of

the

grou

p.

1.10

Usi

ng S

leep

Cue

s



Ask

par

tici

pant

s th

e ty

pes

of th

ings

peo

ple

have

alr

ead

y sa

id to

them

abo

ut a

spec

ts o

fsl

eep.

For

exa

mpl

e, is

the

baby

a g

ood

bab

y? (

Mea

ning

, doe

s th

e ba

by s

leep

22

hour

s a

day

?)

Not

e so

me

of th

ese

idea

s d

own.

Inv

ite

part

icip

ants

to c

hoos

e on

e of

thos

e w

ritt

en d

own

that

they

wou

ld li

ke to

wor

k on

.

Ask

thos

e w

ho c

hose

one

par

ticu

lar

com

men

t to

sit t

oget

her,

and

oth

ers

wit

h a

seco

ndco

mm

ent t

o d

o lik

ewis

e. S

ay y

ou a

re h

opin

g to

get

a n

umbe

r of

com

men

ts w

orke

d o

n.

Invi

te th

e sm

all g

roup

s to

pla

n so

me

poss

ible

(as

sert

ive)

res

pons

es to

the

com

men

t the

yha

ve c

hose

n es

peci

ally

usi

ng th

e in

form

atio

n of

the

sess

ion.

Aft

er fi

ve m

inut

es, i

nvit

e fe

edba

ck a

nd if

tim

e, y

ou m

ight

ask

a p

air

from

the

grou

p to

dem

onst

rate

the

com

men

t and

res

pons

e. T

his

may

be

quit

e fu

n if

gro

up is

com

fort

able

wit

h ea

ch o

ther

.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Cop

ing

wit

h O

ther

s’E

xpec

tati

ons

abou

tSl

eep.

1.30

Prov

ide

a ha

ndou

t re

the

sort

s of

thin

gs to

be

care

ful a

bout

aro

und

bed

s, s

leep

and

safe

ty. A

sk th

e gr

oup

to ta

ke a

few

min

utes

to d

iscu

ss a

nd r

espo

nd to

any

que

stio

ns —

but n

ote

thes

e is

sues

can

be

pick

ed u

p in

the

safe

ty s

essi

on.

Clo

se

1.50

2.00

Som

e no

tes

on s

afet

yan

d s

leep

Tea

and

cof

fee

Thi

s pa

per

can

just

be

hand

edou

t wit

hout

gro

up d

iscu

ssio

n if

ther

e is

too

muc

h en

ergy

for

the

prev

ious

task

as

peop

le fi

nish

the

sess

ion.


87

6.11 Food: Your Baby and the Family

6.11 FOOD: YOUR BABY AND THE FAMILY


common to parenting.• To promote sustainable connections between parents of children of similar ages.• To inform participants about appropriate foods for their babies at different development

stages.• To anticipate a range of other peoples’ expectations about food and feeding for babies and

develop and practice appropriate (assertive) responses.• To develop a collection of fast family food ideas which are tested by group members.

Anticipated Outcomes of the Session• Some participants will have identified shared interests.• Participants will be able to make appropriate food choices for developmental stages.• Participants will feel confident about responding to critical comments and pressures from

others about food and feeding babies.• Participants will be alert to the importance of, and ways of providing, opportunities for food

and socialisation for babies and young children.• Participants will have a collection of fast family food ideas.

Pre-Session Planning• Organise name tags for babies and parents.• At previous session, ask participants to bring recipes, books and suggestions about ‘fast

family food ideas’.• Collect first food examples for taste and exploration in the group.• Collect a variety of feeding items and utensils.• Prepare information for ten minute presentation on the whens, whys and whats of first foods.• Prepare sheet of paper for each participant with Taste, Texture, Colour, Smell, so they can

write the ideas from the group and take home.• Prepare a sheet of butcher’s paper with the same headings for group use.

Resources for Nurses’ Information Prior to Session• The Food Pyramid Available from Dental Hospital Health Promotions Unit on Loan phone

9341 0413.• Dietary Guidelines for Infants available from Gerber.• Eating Readiness Signs for Introducing First Foods available from Gerber.• Filling the Gap: A Nutrition Needs Assessment Children Aged 0–8 Years in Melbourne’s Western

Metropolitan Region. Available from the Department of Human Services. 1997 publication.• Child Nutrition Fact Sheets, Department of Human Services.• Posters Healthy Snacks Healthy Teeth in 12 languages is available from the Royal Dental

Hospital Health Promotions Unit phone 9341 0413.


88 6.11 FOOD: YOUR BABY AND THE FAMILY

Handouts to Group Participants• Eating Readiness Signs for Introducing First Foods.• Dietary Guidelines for Infants.• Child Nutrition Facts Sheets, Department of Human Services.


6.11

.2 F

ood:

You

r Bab

y an

d th

e Fa

mily

Wor

ksho

p Se

ssio

nN

urse

ask

s pa

rtic

ipan

ts th

e pr

evio

us w

eek

to b

ring

rec

ipes

, boo

ks a

nd s

ugge

stio

ns a

bout

‘fas

t fam

ily f

ood

idea

s’ to

sha

rew

ith

each

oth

er a

t the

nex

t ses

sion

.

* A

ppro

xim

ate

tim

e al

loca

tion

for

eac

h ac

tivi

ty

896.11 FOOD: YOUR BABY AND THE FAMILY

Do

any

of y

ou h

ave

com

men

ts o

r qu

erie

s fr

om la

st w

eek?

May

be s

omet

hing

has

hap

pene

d or

you

hav

e be

com

e aw

are

of s

omet

hing

sin

ce w

e la

st m

et.

Toda

y w

e ar

e go

ing

to e

xplo

re a

favo

urit

e to

pic

of m

any

peop

le: F

OO

D,

Wha

t is

you

r fa

vour

ite

food

?B

rain

stor

m id

eas

and

wri

te u

p on

to b

utch

er’s

pap

er.

Has

you

r in

tere

st in

food

cha

nged

sin

ce h

avin

g yo

ur b

aby?

How

has

it c

hang

ed?

For

exam

ple:

You

don’

t ha

ve t

ime

to e

at?

Eat

diff

eren

t fo

od?

Wri

te th

ese

idea

s on

to b

utch

er’s

pap

er o

r bo

ard

and

use

as

basi

s fo

r d

iscu

ssio

n ab

out

fam

ily f

ood

, inc

lud

ing

food

and

nut

riti

onal

req

uire

men

ts o

f br

east

feed

ing

wom

en.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Wel

com

e0.

00

Nur

se d

oes

pres

enta

tion

abo

ut I

ntro

duc

ing

Firs

t Foo

ds

– W

hen,

Why

, Wha

t. (B

e ca

refu

lth

is is

not

a r

epet

itio

n of

ind

ivid

ual c

onsu

ltat

ion.

)

Enc

oura

ge g

roup

dis

cuss

ion

and

que

stio

ns.

Nur

se h

as a

dis

play

of

poss

ible

firs

t foo

ds,

pro

vid

ing

oppo

rtun

itie

s fo

r pa

rtic

ipan

ts to

play

wit

h fo

od.

Enc

oura

ge d

iscu

ssio

n on

: tex

ture

, con

sist

ency

, tas

te (

use

of s

alt o

r su

gar)

and

col

our

offir

st f

ood

s.

Wha

t ot

her

idea

s do

you

hav

e ab

out

first

food

s fo

r yo

ur b

abie

s?

0.25

Intr

oduc

ing

Food

s

Prov

ide

nam

e ta

gs f

orpa

rtic

ipan

ts a

nd b

abie

s.

Allo

w ti

me

for

part

icip

ants

tore

spon

d to

intr

oduc

tion

act

ivit

y.Yo

u m

ay w

ant t

o gi

ve a

few

prom

pts.

Wat

ch f

or p

arti

cipa

nts

who

mig

htha

ve s

omet

hing

to s

ay b

ut w

hom

ay b

e a

littl

e re

luct

ant.

Incl

ude:

•Im

port

ance

of

iron

and

milk

•Se

quen

ce o

f fo

od o

ffer

ings

•In

itia

l dif

ficul

ties

•E

quip

men

t nee

ded

•W

here

to f

eed

and

tim

e of

day

•H

ome

vers

us b

ough

t•

Idea

s to

sav

e ti

me

•In

tole

ranc

e an

d a

llerg

ies

•W

ater

and

juic

e.

Dis

play

a r

ange

of

feed

ing

item

s:bo

wls

, spo

ons,

cup

s, e

tc.


90 6.11 FOOD: YOUR BABY AND THE FAMILY

Nur

se h

as p

repa

red

a s

ingl

e sh

eet o

f bu

tche

r’s

pape

r w

ith

the

follo

win

g he

adin

gs:

•Ta

ste

•Te

xtur

e•

Col

our

•Sm

ell

•In

trod

uce

one

at a

tim

e.N

urse

bri

efly

expl

ains

the

impo

rtan

ce o

f ea

ch o

f th

ese

area

s in

rel

atio

n to

cho

osin

g th

efo

od b

abie

s ea

t.

The

re a

re d

evel

opm

enta

l sta

ges

whi

ch p

aren

ts o

ften

ass

ocia

te w

ith

feed

ing

babi

es t

hey

incl

ude:

chew

ing

and

finge

r fe

edin

g.Fo

r th

e st

ages

che

win

g an

d fi

nger

fee

din

g as

k th

e gr

oup

to b

rain

stor

m s

ome

food

idea

s fo

r ba

bies

und

er th

e he

adin

gs: T

aste

, Tex

ture

, Col

our,

Smel

l and

Int

rod

uce

One

at a

Tim

e.T

he n

urse

wri

tes

the

part

icip

ants

idea

s on

to th

e sh

eet o

f bu

tche

r’s

pape

r un

der

eac

h of

the

head

ings

. The

nur

se c

ontr

ibut

es id

eas

to th

e d

iscu

ssio

n.

As

a la

rge

grou

p d

iscu

ss:

Wha

t way

s ca

n w

e pr

ovid

e so

cial

isat

ion

for

our

child

ren

arou

nd f

ood

and

bab

ies?

Wha

t abo

ut th

e id

ea o

f fam

ily fo

od th

at b

abie

s ca

n en

joy

also

?

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Food

and

Dev

elop

men

tal

Stag

es

Food

and

Soci

alis

atio

n

1.20

1.45

2.00

0.50

Wha

t so

rts

of fo

od o

r fo

od m

ixtu

res

are

not

appr

opri

ate

to g

ive

a ba

by d

urin

g th

e fir

st 1

2m

onth

s?B

rain

stor

m o

nto

butc

her’

s pa

per

or b

oard

and

dis

cuss

.

1.10

Dos

and

Don

’ts

Dea

ling

wit

h E

xter

nal

Pres

sure

s

Shar

ing

Fam

ily F

ood

Idea

s

Clo

se

Num

ber

the

part

icip

ants

off

into

gro

ups

of 3

– 4

(if

the

grou

p is

larg

e en

ough

). A

sk th

egr

oups

to th

ink

abou

t and

not

e id

eas:

Wha

t ar

e so

me

pres

sure

s yo

u ha

ve h

eard

abo

ut o

r an

tici

pate

from

fam

ily o

r fr

iend

s ab

out

food

?T

hink

abo

ut h

ow y

ou w

ould

res

pond

to

thes

e pr

essu

res,

wri

te d

own

som

e su

gges

ted

resp

onse

s.

Pair

s m

ay b

e w

illin

g to

dem

onst

rate

thei

r pr

essu

re a

nd r

espo

nse

scen

ario

s. (

Thi

s co

uld

be a

fun

act

ivit

y le

adin

g to

lots

of

laug

hter

and

sto

ry s

hari

ng.)

Or,

ask

grou

ps to

cho

ose

one

of th

eir

pres

sure

s an

d s

ugge

sted

res

pons

e to

sha

re w

ith

the

larg

er g

roup

.

Now

it is

tim

e to

sha

re s

ome

fast

fam

ily fo

od id

eas.

Las

t w

eek

we

talk

ed a

bout

bri

ngin

g so

me

reci

pes,

boo

ks, s

ugge

stio

ns a

bout

‘fas

t fa

mily

food

idea

s’to

sha

re w

ith

each

oth

er.

Nur

se a

sks

the

grou

p ho

w th

ey w

ould

like

to c

olla

te id

eas

and

sha

re r

ecip

es. e

tc.


91

6.12 Teething and Looking After Baby’s Teeth for Life

6.12 TEETHING AND LOOKING AFTER BABY’S TEETH FOR LIFE


common to parenting.• To promote sustainable connections between parents of children of similar ages.• To identify the signs of teething in babies.• To clarify the stages of tooth eruption and appropriate care at these times.• To promote the importance of care of primary teeth.• To promote ongoing and appropriate care of teeth in babies and children.• To support participants to develop a range of personal strategies to assist them to cope with

difficulties of teething.• To enable participants to explore a range of effective strategies to use with their child at times

of teething.

Anticipated Outcomes of the Session• Some participants will have identified shared interests.• Participants will know about stages of tooth development and appropriate care as they

develop and erupt.• Participants will be alert to some of the common activities which are likely to affect and

damage tooth development.• Participants will have considered a range of strategies to assist them to personally manage

times of teething.• Participants will be aware of the reasons for care of primary teeth and the relationship with

developing healthy secondary teeth.

Pre-Session Planning• Organise name tags for babies and parents.• The previous session, ask participants to listen for teething stories over the intervening week.• Collect copies of teething and developmental stages from the dental association.• Collect sheets of butcher’s paper and textas.• Label two sheets with Mother’s Personal Strategies and Strategies for use with Baby.

Resources for Nurses’ Information Prior to Session• Department of Human Services Child Health Fact Sheet: Care of Your Child’s Teeth.• Department of Human Services, Dental Health Fact Sheet Tooth Development; Tooth Loss

available from Royal Dental Hospital Health Promotions and Resource Unit.• Royal Dental Hospital Health Promotions Unit list of resources available to borrow phone

(03) 9341 0413 these resources can also be borrowed through Regional Dental Health Servicesoffices.


92 6.12 TEETHING AND LOOKING AFTER BABY’S TEETH FOR LIFE

• Posters Healthy Snacks, Healthy Teeth in 12 languages is available from the Royal DentalHospital Health Promotions Unit phone (03) 9341 0413.

• Nursing Caries Photos available for loan from Dental Health Promotion Unit, Resource Centre,Royal Dental Hospital, 711 Elizabeth Street Melbourne, 3000, phone (03) 9341 0413. (Alsoavailable in Vietnamese and Arabic).

• Dental Health for Children 0–6 years: Information for Maternal and Child Health Nurses,Department of Human Services.

Handouts to Group Participants• Department of Human Services Child Health Fact Sheet: Care of Your Child’s Teeth.• Zero to Six – Teething Preventing Tooth Decay (Colgate brochure) available from the Royal

Dental Hospital Health Promotions Unit phone 9341 0413 or free from Colgate on 1800 802307. Colgate have a series of brochures on oral care, including Pregnancy and Oral Health.

• Cheesy Grins: A Guide to Healthy Teeth through Good Nutrition available from The AustralianDairy Foods Corporation (03) 9694 3777, or free call 1800 655 441.


936.12 TEETHING AND LOOKING AFTER BABY’S TEETH FOR LIFE

6.12

.2 T

eeth

ing

and

Look

ing

Afte

r Bab

y’s T

eeth

For

Life

Wor

ksho

p Se

ssio

n

* A

ppro

xim

ate

tim

e al

loca

tion

for

eac

h ac

tivi

ty

Nur

se c

an u

se b

rain

stor

min

gac

tivi

ties

as

an o

ppor

tuni

ty to

prov

ide

inpu

t whe

n:•

The

gro

up h

as r

un o

ut o

f id

eas

•T

he g

roup

has

left

item

s ou

t.

Hel

lo a

gain

. Let

’s b

egin

wit

h a

brie

f rev

iew

. Las

t se

ssio

n w

e lo

oked

at

such

and

suc

h a

topi

c…W

hat

sort

s of

idea

s or

tho

ught

s ha

ve y

ou h

ad a

bout

tha

t is

sue

sinc

e th

en?

Any

thin

g yo

u ar

eha

ppy

to d

iscu

ss a

bout

tha

t w

ith

the

rest

of t

he g

roup

?W

hat

abou

t yo

u …

any

thin

g co

me

up a

bout

the

issu

e fo

r yo

u?

Prov

ide

nam

e ta

gs f

orpa

rtic

ipan

ts a

nd b

abie

s.

Allo

w ti

me

for

part

icip

ants

tore

spon

d to

intr

oduc

tion

act

ivit

y.Yo

u m

ay w

ant t

o gi

ve a

few

prom

pts.

Wat

ch f

or p

arti

cipa

nts

who

mig

ht h

ave

som

ethi

ng to

say

but

be a

litt

le r

eluc

tant

.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Intr

oduc

tion

s an

dR

evie

w0.

00

Teet

h

Teet

hing

0.15

0.30

The

top

ic t

oday

is lo

okin

g af

ter

teet

h fo

r lif

e.W

e he

ar lo

ts o

f com

men

ts a

nd s

tori

es a

bout

bab

y’s

teet

h. W

hat

are

your

favo

urit

e ba

by t

eeth

stor

ies?

Wri

te o

nto

butc

her’

s pa

per

any

them

es w

hich

may

com

e th

roug

h an

d d

iscu

ss.

Alo

t of

the

tee

th s

tori

es a

re a

bout

tee

thin

g an

d ba

by’s

moo

ds a

re o

ften

bla

med

on

teet

hing

.W

hat

are

the

sign

s of

tee

thin

g? H

ow w

ill y

ou k

now

whe

n yo

ur b

aby

is t

eeth

ing?

Bra

inst

orm

idea

s on

to b

utch

er’s

pap

er.

Nur

se c

ontr

ibut

es to

dis

cuss

ion

and

ad

ds

idea

s ab

out s

igns

, sym

ptom

s an

d s

tage

s of

teet

hing

.

Nur

se g

ives

par

tici

pant

s a

copy

of

avai

labl

e ha

ndou

ts.

Enc

oura

ge p

arti

cipa

nts

to r

ead

han

dou

ts a

nd lo

ok f

or s

imila

riti

es o

r lin

ks to

the

idea

son

the

butc

her’

s pa

per.


94 6.12 TEETHING AND LOOKING AFTER BABY’S TEETH FOR LIFE

Wha

t do

you

ant

icip

ate

as s

ome

of t

he c

halle

nges

or

diffi

cult

ies

of t

eeth

ing

for

you

pers

onal

ly?

Wri

te p

arti

cipa

nts’

idea

s on

to a

she

et o

f bu

tche

r’s

pape

r an

d d

iscu

ss.

How

do

you

thin

k yo

u w

ill h

andl

e th

ese

chal

leng

es o

r di

fficu

ltie

s?W

rite

par

tici

pant

s’ id

eas

onto

two

shee

ts o

f bu

tche

r’s

pape

r la

belle

d M

othe

r’s

Pers

onal

Str

ateg

ies

and

Str

ateg

ies

for

use

wit

h B

aby

and

dis

cuss

.

Nur

se in

puts

idea

s ab

out w

hat t

o be

car

eful

abo

ut o

r al

ert t

o.

Wha

t ha

ve y

ou h

eard

is im

port

ant

for

us t

o co

nsid

er a

bout

tee

th d

urin

g th

e fir

st y

ear

of y

our

baby

’s li

fe?

Part

icip

ants

bra

inst

orm

idea

s on

to b

utch

er’s

pap

er.

How

do

we

care

for

our

baby

’s t

eeth

in t

he fi

rst

two

year

s?B

rain

stor

m o

nto

butc

her’

s pa

per.

Nur

se c

ontr

ibut

es to

dis

cuss

ion

and

ad

ds

idea

s.

Opp

ortu

nity

to n

ote

stre

ss a

ndfr

ustr

atio

n w

ith

irri

tabl

e ba

by.

Opp

ortu

nity

to a

dd

ress

ove

ruse

of p

anad

ol, a

nd th

e fa

ct th

at‘te

ethi

ng d

oesn

’t la

st f

orev

er’.

Ens

ure

incl

usio

n of

dis

cuss

ion

abou

t inf

ant f

eed

ing

cari

es,

impo

rtan

ce o

f pr

imar

y te

eth,

impa

ct a

nd im

port

ance

of

fluo

rid

e (p

arti

cula

rly

in r

ural

area

s), t

ooth

past

e —

do’

s an

dd

on’ts

.

Use

of

dum

mie

s an

d s

ucki

ngth

umbs

, sw

eets

, den

tal c

heck

s,et

c.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Man

agin

g Te

ethi

ng0.

45

The

Im

port

ance

of

and

Car

ing

for

Teet

h1.

00

1.30

2.00

Bra

inst

orm

‘hea

lthy

’ opt

ions

for

cal

min

g ch

ildre

n w

hen

they

are

teet

hing

.

Clo

seTi

me

for

coff

ee o

r te

a.


95

6.13 Returning to Paid Work

6.13 RETURNING TO PAID WORK


common to parenting.• To promote sustainable connections between parents of children of similar ages.• To develop awareness of the issues for all parties about a first-time parent (mother) returning

to the paid workforce.• To develop and consider a range of options for addressing the concerns of returning to work.• To introduce the full range of local child care options and consider the pros and cons of each.

Anticipated Outcomes of the Session• Some participants have identified shared interests.• Participants will be alert to the concerns of a range of people with an interest in a first-time

mother returning to work.• Participants will be aware of a range of options for dealing with the concerns about a first-

time parent returning to work.• Participants will be aware of of the full range of local child care options and of the pros and

cons of each.• Some members of the group may visit a child care centre or occasional care centre together

independent of the nurse’s organisation.

Pre-Session Planning• Investigate local child care options including ages for enrolment and costs if possible.• Prepare (and date) handout re: local child care options.• Read the mapping process described in accompanying handout material.• Collect approximately 12 sheets of butcher’s paper and textas (at least two colours).

Resources for Nurses’ Information Prior to Session• Cornelius, H. and Faire, S., 1989, Everyone Can Win: How To Resolve Conflicts, Chapter 8:

Mapping the Conflict, pp. 117–129.• Mapping the Conflict one-page diagram (The Conflict Resolution Network).• Victoria Legal Aid and the Department of Human Services, 1997, Fifth Ed., Legal Aspects of Child

Care: A Guide for Workers in Child Care Centres, Preschools and Parents, Victoria Legal Aid,Melbourne.

• Rolfe, S., Harley, A. and Richards, L., 1995, Using Child Care: How Will I Feel? Department ofEarly Childhood Studies, The University of Melbourne.

• The following series of books published by the Australian Institute of Family Studies:Ochiltree, G., 1991, An Ear to Listen and a Shoulder to Cry On, Paper No. 1.Ochiltree, G. and Greenblat, E., 1991, Sick Children: How Working Mothers Cope, Paper No. 2.Jackson, J., 1991, Taking the Children to Work: Work-Related Child Care in South EasternMelbourne, Paper No. 3.Greenblat, E. and Ochiltree, G., 1991, Use and Choice of Child Care, Paper No. 4.Ochiltree, G., 1994, Effects of Child Care on Young Children: Forty Years of Research. Paper No. 5.

Handouts to group participants• Prepare (and date) handout re: local child care options.


96 6.13 RETURNING TO PAID WORK

6.13

.2 R

etur

ning

To

Paid

Wor

kW

orks

hop

Sess

ion

* A

ppro

xim

ate

tim

e al

loca

tion

for

eac

h ac

tivi

ty

Hel

lo a

gain

. Let

’s b

egin

wit

h a

brie

f rev

iew

. Las

t se

ssio

n w

e lo

oked

at

such

and

suc

h a

topi

c…W

hat

sort

s of

idea

s or

tho

ught

s ha

ve y

ou h

ad a

bout

tha

t is

sue

sinc

e th

en?

Any

thin

gyo

u ar

e ha

ppy

to d

iscu

ss a

bout

tha

t w

ith

the

rest

of t

he g

roup

?W

hat

abou

t yo

u …

any

thin

g co

me

up a

bout

the

issu

e fo

r yo

u?

Prov

ide

nam

e ta

gs f

orpa

rtic

ipan

ts a

nd b

abie

s.

Allo

w ti

me

for

part

icip

ants

tore

spon

d to

intr

oduc

tion

act

ivit

y.Yo

u m

ay w

ant t

o gi

ve a

few

prom

pts.

Wat

ch f

or p

arti

cipa

nts

who

mig

ht h

ave

som

ethi

ng to

say

but

may

be

a lit

tle

relu

ctan

t.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Intr

oduc

tion

s an

dR

evie

w0.

00

Issu

es in

Ret

urni

ng to

the

Paid

Wor

kfor

ce0.

15T

he t

opic

tod

ay is

ret

urni

ng t

o th

e pa

id w

orkf

orce

. Som

e of

you

may

be

cons

ider

ing

it a

nd fo

rot

hers

the

re m

ay n

ot b

e an

opt

ion,

but

oth

ers

may

just

be

inte

rest

ed in

thi

nkin

g th

roug

h so

me

of t

he c

halle

nges

as

a us

eful

exe

rcis

e.I

wou

ld li

ke t

o ta

ckle

thi

s to

pic

thro

ugh

a m

appi

ng e

xerc

ise

first

pri

or t

o lo

okin

g at

som

e of

the

task

s fo

r a

new

(m

othe

r) p

aren

t re

turn

ing

to w

ork.

The

pro

cess

of m

appi

ng is

tak

en fr

om t

he C

onfli

ct R

esol

utio

n ar

ea, w

here

it im

port

ant

toun

ders

tand

the

issu

e fr

om e

ach

poin

t of

vie

w in

ord

er t

o ne

goti

ate

an e

ffect

ive

reso

luti

on o

rou

tcom

e.T

he fi

rst

step

in m

appi

ng is

to

clar

ify a

ll th

ose

peop

le w

ho h

ave

an in

tere

st in

the

par

ticu

lar

issu

e. W

ho a

re t

he p

eopl

e w

ho h

ave

an in

tere

st in

a n

ew p

aren

t re

turn

ing

to w

ork?

For

exam

ple,

you

rsel

f, yo

ur b

aby.

Ask

gro

up to

bra

inst

orm

all

thos

e w

ith

an in

tere

st in

the

issu

e of

a n

ew p

aren

t ret

urni

ngto

wor

k.

Wri

te a

ll pe

ople

not

ed o

n th

e bo

ard

or

butc

her’

s pa

per

unti

l the

idea

s d

ry u

p.

Ask

par

tici

pant

s to

wri

te o

ne r

ole

(or

pers

on w

ith

an in

tere

st in

the

issu

e) o

nto

ase

para

te s

heet

of

butc

her’

s pa

per

and

bel

ow th

at to

mak

e tw

o co

lum

ns —

one

hea

ded

Nee

ds

or W

ants

, and

the

othe

r, Fe

ars

or C

once

rns.

Who

le g

roup

is n

ow a

sked

to c

onsi

der

one

rol

e. P

arti

cipa

nts

are

aske

d to

thin

k of

them

selv

es a

s th

at p

erso

n. F

or e

xam

ple,

if th

e fa

ther

is c

hose

n fir

st, a

sk p

arti

cipa

nts

toal

l thi

nk o

f th

emse

lves

as

a ne

w f

athe

r fo

r a

littl

e w

hile

.

Map

ping

or

Cla

rify

ing

the

Issu

es0.

25Yo

u w

ill n

eed

as

man

y sh

eets

of

butc

her’

s pa

per

as th

ere

are

role

sor

peo

ple

on th

e br

ains

torm

edlis

t.

Dep

endi

ng o

n nu

mbe

rs in

the

grou

p, it

may

be

poss

ible

for

each

part

icip

ant t

o ha

ve o

ne s

heet

head

ed w

ith a

role

in fr

ont.

If n

ot,

may

be o

ne s

heet

bet

wee

n tw

o or

two

shee

ts e

ach.


976.13 RETURNING TO PAID WORK

Nur

se’s

rol

e d

urin

g th

is w

ork

isto

enc

oura

ge p

arti

cipa

nts

to s

tay

in r

ole

and

thin

k ab

out t

he n

eed

sor

wan

ts f

rom

the

pers

pect

ive

ofth

e ro

le th

ey a

re c

urre

ntly

play

ing.

Part

icip

ants

oft

en r

aise

issu

esfr

om th

eir

own

pers

pect

ive,

so

enco

urag

e th

e pe

rson

res

pons

ible

for

the

new

mot

her’

s ro

le to

kee

pno

ting

thos

e is

sues

rai

sed

fro

mth

at p

ersp

ecti

ve o

nto

the

new

mot

her’

s sh

eet.

Oka

y, y

ou n

ew fa

ther

s, le

t’s t

hink

abo

ut y

our

need

s or

wan

ts a

nd y

our

fear

s or

con

cern

s ab

out

a ne

w m

othe

r re

turn

ing

to t

he (

paid

) w

orkf

orce

. We

are

noti

ng w

hat

the

new

fath

er’s

nee

dsan

d w

ants

are

, not

wha

t th

ey s

houl

d be

nee

ding

. Ago

od w

ay t

o th

ink

this

is t

o sa

y, I

am

a n

ewfa

ther

and

I w

ant…

or

I am

wor

ried

abo

ut o

r fe

arfu

l of…

Ask

par

tici

pant

wit

h th

e ne

w f

athe

r ro

le to

be

noti

ng th

ese

dow

n in

the

wor

ds

that

peop

le a

re u

sing

und

er th

e ap

prop

riat

e he

adin

g.

Whe

n on

e ro

le b

egin

s to

dry

up

mov

e on

to th

e ne

xt r

ole

unti

l all

are

com

plet

ed. S

ome

will

be

very

qui

ck a

nd o

ther

s m

ay p

rom

pt q

uite

a d

eal o

f d

iscu

ssio

n.

Rev

iew

ing

Eve

ryon

e’s

Con

cern

sor

Iss

ues

Des

igni

ng O

ptio

ns

0.50

1.00

1.20

Spre

ad s

heet

s on

floo

r or

affi

x to

wal

ls a

nd in

vite

the

part

icip

ants

to w

alk

arou

nd a

ndex

plor

e w

hat i

s in

com

mon

and

whe

re s

ome

peop

les’

con

cern

s ap

pear

dia

met

rica

llyop

pose

d. A

ster

isk

thes

e tw

o lo

ts a

nd th

en in

vite

par

tici

pant

s to

cho

ose

one

they

wou

ldlik

e to

con

sid

er f

urth

er.

At t

his

poin

t it m

ay b

e us

eful

to b

reak

the

larg

er g

roup

into

two

or th

ree

smal

l gro

ups,

each

one

wit

h a

dif

fere

nt is

sue.

Usi

ng n

ew b

utch

er’s

pap

er, a

sk p

arti

cipa

nts

to ta

lkth

roug

h th

e is

sue,

con

sid

er a

nd n

ote

dow

n op

tion

s fo

r ad

dre

ssin

g th

e is

sue.

Ask

a s

poke

sper

son

from

the

smal

l gro

ups

to f

eed

bac

k th

eir

topi

c to

the

larg

e gr

oup

and

des

crib

e th

e op

tion

s th

ey h

ad c

ome

up w

ith.

1.45

2.00

If th

is to

pic

has

not a

lrea

dy

been

cov

ered

thro

ugh

the

opti

ons.

Nur

se h

as a

pre

pare

d li

stof

chi

ld c

are

opti

ons

on a

larg

e sh

eet o

f bu

tche

r’s

pape

r or

ove

rhea

d, a

s w

ell a

s a

smal

lha

ndou

t for

eac

h pa

rtic

ipan

t.

As

a la

rge

grou

p, a

sk p

arti

cipa

nts

to ta

lk th

roug

h th

e pr

os a

nd c

ons

and

thin

gs to

bew

are

of f

or e

ach

opti

on. N

urse

may

wis

h to

ad

d p

oint

s of

thei

r ow

n he

re, e

spec

ially

ifth

ey a

re a

war

e of

cos

ts o

f so

me

opti

ons

or c

an e

xpan

d p

arti

cipa

nts’

aw

aren

ess

of lo

cal

opti

ons.

Clo

se w

ith

an in

vita

tion

to th

e gr

oup

to d

iscu

ss th

eir

thou

ghts

abo

ut th

eir

own

part

icul

ar c

hild

car

e pl

ans,

whe

ther

or

not t

hey

plan

to r

etur

n to

wor

k in

the

near

futu

re, n

ow th

at th

ey h

ave

dis

cuss

ed s

ome

opti

ons

wit

h th

e gr

oup.

Map

ping

or

Cla

rify

ing

the

Issu

es(c

ont)

Chi

ld C

are

Opt

ions

Clo

se

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse


99

6.14 Play: More than Fun and Games


common to parenting.• To promote sustainable connections between parents of children of similar ages.• To promote the importance and value of play with children.• To explore ideas for engaging children and parents in play, particularly related to the age and

stage of development of the child.• To show a range of inexpensive appropriate toys and make one for each baby.

Anticipated Outcomes of the Session• Some participants will have identified shared interests.• Each participant will have made a toy for immediate use.• Participants will be aware of the value of play and their role in encouraging their children.

Pre-Session Planning• Collect materials for toy making session.• Obtain Department of Human Services posters Your Child’s Health and Development – Birth to

Six Years (possibly have them laminated).• Read through articles provided on the value of play.• Obtain Positive Parenting Program, Parent Tip Sheets ‘Promoting Development in the First Year’.

Resources for Nurses’ Information Prior to Session• Crockford, P., Games for Growing Babies, Ages and Stages, Fawkner, Victoria. Available from

Royal Children’s Hospital Clinical Health Information Centre.• Burtt, K. and Kalkstein, K., 1981, Smart Toys for Babies from Birth to Two, Harper and Row, New

York.• Esdaile, S. and Sanderson, A., 1987, Toys to Make, Viking, Ringwood, Victoria.

Handouts for Group Participants• Your Child’s Health and Development — Birth to Six Years.• Positive Parenting Program, Parent Tip Sheet: ‘Promoting Development in the First Year’.

6.14 PLAY: MORE THAN FUN AND GAMES


100 6.14 PLAY: MORE THAN FUN AND GAMES

6.14

.2 P

lay:

Mor

e Th

an F

un A

nd G

ames

Wor

ksho

p Se

ssio

n

* A

ppro

xim

ate

tim

e al

loca

tion

for

eac

h ac

tivi

ty

Ask

par

tici

pant

s to

com

plet

e th

e fo

llow

ing

stat

emen

t (w

ork

as th

e w

hole

gro

up):

The

pla

y ac

tivi

ty I

like

doi

ng b

est

wit

h m

y ba

by a

t th

e m

omen

t is

…

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Intr

oduc

tion

0.00

Nur

se m

akes

inpu

t or

give

s pr

esen

tati

on a

nd d

iscu

ssio

n ab

out t

he im

port

ance

of

play

.0.

15T

he I

mpo

rtan

ce o

fPl

ay

Prov

ide

part

icip

ants

and

bab

ies

wit

h na

me

tags

Ask

par

tici

pant

s to

bri

ng to

this

sess

ion

thei

r ch

ild’s

fav

ouri

te to

y.

It is

impo

rtan

t tha

t par

tici

pant

sar

e m

ixed

into

dif

fere

nt g

roup

sea

ch w

eek.

Dis

play

the

Hum

an S

ervi

ces

Your

Chi

ld’s

Hea

lth

and

Dev

elop

men

t —

Bir

th t

o Si

x Ye

ars

post

er f

or a

ll pa

rtic

ipan

ts to

see

. If

poss

ible

hav

e a

few

of

thes

e po

ster

s av

aila

ble.

If th

e gr

oup

is la

rge

brea

k it

into

sm

alle

r gr

oups

.

Afu

n w

ay o

f d

oing

this

cou

ld b

e nu

mbe

ring

off

par

tici

pant

s us

ing

the

nam

es o

f to

ys(r

athe

r th

an n

umbe

rs)

for

exam

ple,

a r

attl

e gr

oup,

bal

l gro

up. G

o ar

ound

the

room

putt

ing

peop

le in

to th

e ra

ttle

or

ball

grou

ps.

If th

e gr

oup

is s

mal

l wor

k w

ith

them

in to

tal.

Ref

er to

the

Your

Chi

ld’s

Hea

lth

and

Dev

elop

men

t —

Bir

th t

o Si

x Ye

ars

post

er a

nd a

sk e

ach

grou

p to

sel

ect a

n ag

e an

d s

tage

that

they

will

to lo

ok a

t in

rela

tion

to p

lay.

Look

ing

at t

he d

evel

opm

enta

l sta

ges

on t

he p

oste

r w

hat

type

of p

lay

acti

viti

es a

nd t

oys

wou

ldyo

u su

gges

t fo

r yo

ur s

elec

ted

age

and

stag

e?A

sk p

arti

cipa

nts

to w

rite

and

dra

w (

dia

gram

s, e

tc.)

thei

r id

eas

onto

pro

vid

ed s

heet

s of

butc

her’

s pa

per.

The

nur

se m

oves

aro

und

the

room

and

ad

ds

idea

s to

ass

ist t

he g

roup

s.

Age

and

Pla

y0.

30


1016.14 PLAY: MORE THAN FUN AND GAMES

Eac

h gr

oup

pres

ents

thei

r id

eas

to th

e la

rger

gro

up. T

he n

urse

enc

oura

ges

dis

cuss

ion.

Aft

er e

ach

grou

p pr

esen

ts th

e nu

rse

asks

the

ques

tion

:

Wha

t do

you

hav

e to

do

to e

nsur

e th

at t

here

is e

noug

h pl

ay fo

r yo

ur c

hild

at

this

age

and

stag

e?E

ncou

rage

dis

cuss

ion.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Enc

oura

ging

Pla

y1.

00

The

nur

se h

as a

bag

of

good

ies

for

part

icip

ants

to m

ake

a to

y fo

r th

eir

baby

. Par

ents

mak

e a

sim

ple

toy

to ta

ke h

ome.

The

nur

se p

rovi

des

a h

and

out t

o pa

rtic

ipan

ts:

•Id

eas

for

mak

ing

your

ow

n to

ys•

Safe

ty ti

ps a

bout

toys

.

Whi

le th

e pa

rtic

ipan

ts a

re m

akin

g th

e to

ys a

nd ta

lkin

g, it

may

be

usef

ul f

or th

e nu

rse

toas

k pe

ople

to ta

lk a

bout

bot

h id

eas

and

saf

ety

tips

as

a gr

oup.

1.20

2.00

Mak

ing

Toys

,In

expe

nsiv

e To

yId

eas

and

Saf

ety

ofTo

ys

Clo

se


103

6.15 Being a New Parent in Australia and Other Countries

6.15 BEING A NEW PARENT IN AUSTRALIA AND OTHER COUNTRIES


common to parenting.• To promote sustainable connections between parents of children of similar ages.• To build an understanding within the group of the range of different challenges faced by

group members.• To provide an opportunity for participants to explore some of the differences, similarities and

challenges of being a new parent in a different countries.• To develop an understanding between participants of some specific cultural expectations of

parenting.

Anticipated Outcomes of the Session• Some participants will have identified shared interests.• Participants will be alert to a wide range of the (positive and negative) stresses which are

experienced by first-time parents in Australia, particularly if it is a new country forparticipants.

• Participants will have developed a wider understanding of each other.• The group will have developed some cohesion.

Pre-Session Planning• The week prior to this session, ask participants to bring along a toy or plaything, or drawing

of one, which they had as a young child of less than five years – invite people to thinkparticularly of the types of playthings which were typical in their country or local area.

• Investigate and prepare list of local resources which parents can access.• Investigate and prepare a list of family assistance for example, Family Tax Benefit Part A,

Family Tax Benefit Part B, Child Care Benefit, Maternity Allowance and MaternityImmunisation Allowance.

• Collect approximately 12 sheets of butcher’s paper and textas (at least two colours).

Resources for Nurses’ Information Prior to Session• Local Council’s Community Resources Directory.• Pamphlets on Commonwealth Centrelink Government Programs for example, Family Tax

Benefit Part A, Family Tax Benefit Part B, Child Care Benefit, Maternity Allowance andMaternity Immunisation Allowance.

Handouts for Group Participants• Family Tax Benefit Part A, Family Tax Benefit Part B, Child Care Benefit, Maternity Allowance

and Maternity Immunisation Allowance.• Local Resources and their use.


104 6.15 BEING A NEW PARENT IN AUSTRALIA AND OTHER COUNTRIES

6.15

.2 B

eing

a N

ew P

aren

t in

Aus

tral

ia a

nd O

ther

Cou

ntri

esW

orks

hop

Sess

ion

Prev

ious

wee

kA

sk p

arti

cipa

nts

to b

ring

a to

y or

a p

lay

thin

g th

at th

ey h

ad a

s a

child

, or

som

ethi

ng s

imila

r to

wha

t the

y ha

d a

s a

child

, or

an e

xam

ple

of a

toy

orpl

ayth

ing

youn

g ch

ildre

n pl

ay w

ith

in th

eir

coun

try

of b

irth

.

Impr

ess

upon

par

tici

pant

s th

at to

ys o

r pl

ayth

ings

cou

ld b

e an

ythi

ng: s

tick

s an

d s

tone

s, c

ocon

ut s

hells

, ted

die

s, e

tc. T

hey

need

not

be

elab

orat

e.

* A

ppro

xim

ate

tim

e al

loca

tion

for

eac

h ac

tivi

ty

Hel

lo a

gain

. Let

’s b

egin

wit

h a

brie

f rev

iew

. Las

t se

ssio

n w

e lo

oked

at

such

and

suc

h a

topi

c…W

hat

sort

s of

idea

s or

tho

ught

s ha

ve y

ou h

ad a

bout

tha

t is

sue

sinc

e th

en?

Any

thin

g yo

u ar

eha

ppy

to d

iscu

ss a

bout

tha

t w

ith

the

rest

of t

he g

roup

?W

hat

abou

t yo

u …

any

thin

g co

me

up a

bout

the

issu

e fo

r yo

u?A

s w

e di

scus

sed

at t

he e

nd o

f las

t w

eek’

s se

ssio

n, t

oday

we

are

expl

orin

g w

hat

it is

like

bei

ng a

new

par

ent

in A

ustr

alia

and

oth

er c

ount

ries

.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Intr

oduc

tion

s0.

00

As

a la

rge

grou

p th

e nu

rse

asks

par

tici

pant

s to

sho

w th

e gr

oup

thei

r to

y or

pla

y th

ing.

As

each

par

tici

pant

sho

ws

thei

r to

y or

pla

y th

ing

to th

e gr

oup,

the

nurs

e as

ks e

ach

part

icip

ant t

he f

ollo

win

g qu

esti

ons

and

rec

ord

s th

e re

spon

ses

onto

but

cher

’s p

aper

.

In w

hat

coun

try

wer

e yo

u bo

rn?

Who

is li

kely

to

have

giv

en y

ou y

our

toy

or p

layt

hing

(a

rela

tive

, bou

ght

at a

sho

p, m

ade

by a

pare

nt, e

tc.)

Is t

here

any

thin

g ab

out

the

toy

or p

layt

hing

whi

ch s

how

s so

met

hing

spe

cial

abo

ut y

our

coun

try

of b

irth

or

the

peop

le t

here

?A

sk p

arti

cipa

nts

to c

omm

ent o

n an

y su

rpri

ses,

them

es, l

earn

ing

form

the

pres

enta

tion

sby

fel

low

par

tici

pant

s.

0.10

Shar

ing

Exp

erie

nces

If th

is is

the

seco

nd s

essi

on,

the

intr

oduc

tory

act

ivit

yco

uld

be

a br

ief

dis

cuss

ion

usin

g pa

irs

to d

iscu

sshi

ghlig

hts

for

part

icip

ants

sinc

e th

e la

st s

essi

on.

Thr

ough

this

pro

cess

cul

tura

lin

flue

nces

cou

ld b

e ex

plor

ed.

Enc

oura

ge p

arti

cipa

nts

to a

skan

y qu

esti

ons

of th

e sp

eake

r as

they

go

arou

nd th

e ci

rcle

.


1056.15 BEING A NEW PARENT IN AUSTRALIA AND OTHER COUNTRIES

Hav

ing

a ba

by in

Aus

tral

iaT

he n

ext a

ctiv

ity

is p

roba

bly

best

in s

mal

l gro

ups

of f

our

part

icip

ants

.

Dep

end

ing

on s

ize

of th

e w

hole

gro

up c

hoos

e so

me

of th

e to

ys o

r pl

ayth

ings

list

ed f

orex

ampl

e, b

all,

ted

dy.

Use

the

nam

es to

num

ber

off

the

part

icip

ants

into

sm

all g

roup

s. (

Ifyo

u w

ant t

hree

gro

ups

choo

se th

ree

toys

.)

Whe

n th

e pa

rtic

ipan

ts h

ave

mov

ed in

to s

mal

l gro

ups

ask

them

to d

iscu

ss th

e fo

llow

ing

ques

tion

s an

d w

rite

thei

r id

eas

onto

but

cher

’s p

aper

und

er th

e he

adin

gs: S

imila

riti

es,

Dif

fere

nces

and

Cha

lleng

es.

Part

icip

ants

who

wer

e bo

rn in

Aus

tral

ia c

ould

be

the

scri

bes

and

con

trib

ute

to th

ed

iscu

ssio

n fo

r qu

esti

ons

one

and

two.

0.50

Com

pare

d to

you

r co

untr

y of

bir

th w

hat

thin

gs h

ave

you

noti

ced

are

sim

ilar

in w

hat

pare

nts

do w

ith

thei

r ba

bies

in A

ustr

alia

?C

ompa

red

to y

our

coun

try

of b

irth

wha

t th

ings

hav

e yo

u no

tice

d ar

e di

ffere

nt in

wha

t pa

rent

sdo

wit

h th

eir

babi

es in

Aus

tral

iaW

hat

chal

leng

es o

r pr

oble

ms

do n

ew p

aren

ts fa

ce in

any

cou

ntry

, inc

ludi

ng A

ustr

alia

?Pr

ior

to f

eed

back

the

nurs

e as

ks g

roup

s to

cho

ose

one

sim

ilari

ty a

nd o

ne d

iffe

renc

e to

feed

bac

k to

the

larg

e gr

oup.

Nur

se th

en a

sks

for

a ch

alle

nge

from

eac

h gr

oup

and

wri

tes

chal

leng

es o

nto

butc

her’

spa

per.

Nur

se a

sks

part

icip

ants

to b

rain

stor

m id

eas

for

mee

ting

the

chal

leng

es o

r pr

oble

ms

and

reco

rds

idea

s on

to th

e sa

me

shee

t of

butc

her’

s pa

per.

Dis

cuss

the

idea

s as

a la

rge

grou

p.

Wha

t of

the

se id

eas

seem

pos

sibl

e?W

hat

othe

r in

form

atio

n w

ould

you

nee

d to

use

the

se id

eas?

The

nur

se p

rovi

des

the

grou

p w

ith

inpu

t and

a h

and

out a

bout

:•

Loc

al c

omm

unit

y su

ppor

t ser

vice

s•

Cen

trel

ink

Fam

ily A

ssis

tanc

e O

ffice

ass

ista

nce.

•Fa

mily

sup

port

ser

vice

s•

Chi

ld c

are

opti

ons

avai

labl

e in

the

loca

l com

mun

ity.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Hav

ing

a ba

by in

Aus

tral

ia (

cont

)

Clo

se2.

00

We

can

anti

cipa

te th

at s

ome

ofth

e id

eas

on th

e nu

rse’

s lis

t will

add

ress

som

e of

the

issu

es r

aise

din

the

brai

nsto

rm.


107

6.16 Communicating With Your Baby Through Music and Books

6.16 COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR BABY THROUGH MUSIC AND BOOKS


common to parenting.• To promote sustainable connections between parents of children of similar ages.• To encourage introduction and enjoyment of books and music by parents and their first

children from a very early age.• To introduce a wide range of books and music relevant to young children.• To introduce first-time parents to a range of community resources relating to books and

music.

Anticipated Outcomes of the Session• Some participants will have identified shared interests.• Participants will be alert to the value of introducing books and music to young children.• Participants will be aware of the types of books and music useful for young children.• Participants will be aware of a range of community resources which are useful for

introducing books and music to young children.• Members of the group may attend a story time session at the the local library independent of

the nurse’s organisation.• Some parents will have enrolled children in the local library.

Pre-Session Planning• If you decide to use a guest speaker, organise the guest speaker for the date and brief them

carefully about purpose of session and their role – maybe show speaker the session outline.• Ask participants the week prior to the session, to bring any favourite books or musical

instruments which they and their children enjoy.• Investigate local story time sessions (when and where) and collect flier for participants.• Collect books and tapes, etc. From library for display.• Collect tape recorder or CD player for music.• Organise a visit by book shop if relevant.• Collect a range of musical instruments which can be home made, for display.• Collect items for participants to make musical instruments and books

Resources for Nurses’ Information Prior to Session• Russell-Bowie, D., 1989, ‘Music is For Young Children Too!’ Karibuni Press, Campbelltown,

NSW.

Handouts for Group Participants• Music and Your Baby.


108 6.16 COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR BABY THROUGH MUSIC AND BOOKS

6.16

.2 C

omm

unic

atin

g W

ith Y

our B

aby

Thro

ugh

Mus

ic a

nd B

ooks

Wor

ksho

p Se

ssio

nT

he w

eek

befo

re a

sk p

arti

cipa

nts

to b

ring

to th

is s

essi

on th

eir

child

’s f

avou

rite

boo

k or

mus

ical

inst

rum

ent (

or th

eir

own)

.

* A

ppro

xim

ate

tim

e al

loca

tion

for

eac

h ac

tivi

ty

Ask

par

tici

pant

s to

com

plet

e th

e fo

llow

ing

stat

emen

t (w

ork

as th

e w

hole

gro

up):

The

mus

ic I

like

pla

ying

to

my

baby

at

the

mom

ent

is…

I lik

e si

ngin

g …

to

my

baby

and

/or

My

favo

urit

e bo

ok a

s a

child

was

…M

y fa

vour

ite

song

or

nurs

ery

rhyt

hm a

s a

child

was

…E

ncou

rage

dis

cuss

ion

abou

t why

par

tici

pant

s th

ink

it w

as th

eir

favo

urit

e.

Prov

ide

part

icip

ants

and

bab

ies

wit

h na

me

tags

.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Intr

oduc

tion

The

Im

port

ance

of

Boo

ks a

nd m

usic

0.00

0.15

Nur

se d

oes

a pr

esen

tati

on a

nd e

ncou

rage

s d

iscu

ssio

n ab

out:

the

impo

rtan

ce o

f m

usic

and

boo

ks.

•In

clud

e a

dis

play

of

book

s an

d m

usic

al in

stru

men

ts. A

sk p

arti

cipa

nts

the

prev

ious

wee

k to

bri

ng b

ooks

and

mus

ical

inst

rum

ents

.

•N

urse

or

part

icip

ants

org

anis

e a

colle

ctio

n of

boo

ks a

nd ta

pes

from

the

loca

l lib

rary

for

dis

play

at t

he s

essi

on.

•M

aybe

invi

te to

y lib

rary

to a

tten

d s

essi

on a

nd d

ispl

ay m

usic

al in

stru

men

ts.

and

/or

Invi

te g

uest

s to

talk

wit

h gr

oup

abou

t the

impo

rtan

ce o

f m

usic

and

boo

ks, f

or e

xam

ple,

gues

ts in

clud

e: c

hild

ren’

s lib

rari

an, m

usic

ther

apis

t, jo

urna

list.

and

/or

Vis

it th

e lo

cal l

ibra

ry to

vie

w b

ooks

, tap

es e

tc. a

vaila

ble

and

org

anis

e ch

ildre

n’s

libra

rian

to ta

lk a

bout

the

valu

e of

boo

ks. O

ppor

tuni

ty f

or p

arti

cipa

nts

to jo

in li

brar

y.

and

/or

Invi

te a

loca

l boo

ksho

p to

do

a sh

ow a

nd te

ll an

d s

et u

p d

ispl

ay o

f ch

ildre

n’s

book

s.

Han

dou

t: T

he I

mpo

rtan

ce o

rV

alue

of

mus

ic a

nd b

ooks

.

Que

stio

ns to

con

sid

er in

dis

cuss

ion:

•W

hat s

orts

of

book

s or

mus

icd

o yo

ur b

abie

s se

em to

resp

ond

to n

ow (

ifan

y)?

•W

here

will

you

go

to a

cces

sbo

oks

or m

usic

?

Enc

oura

ge g

roup

to jo

in lo

cal

libra

ry.




If th

e ba

bies

are

aw

ake

the

nurs

e co

uld

invi

te p

aren

ts to

hol

d th

eir

babi

es a

nd m

ove

tod

iffe

rent

mus

ic (

tape

s)

Are

the

bab

ies

resp

ondi

ng t

o th

e m

usic

and

mov

emen

t?A

ny c

omm

ents

?

Cha

nge

the

spee

d o

f th

e m

usic

. Inv

ite

com

men

ts.

Aft

er th

ree

or f

our

mus

ical

pie

ces,

invi

te g

roup

to m

ake

a m

usic

al in

stru

men

t.

The

nur

se h

as a

bag

of

good

ies

for

part

icip

ants

to m

ake

a m

usic

al in

stru

men

t for

thei

rba

by.

Pare

nts

mak

e a

sim

ple

inst

rum

ent t

o ta

ke h

ome.

Enc

oura

ge p

arti

cipa

nts

to p

lay

wit

h th

e in

stru

men

ts. N

urse

talk

s ab

out v

alue

of

mus

icas

par

ents

mak

e in

stru

men

ts.

Sugg

est t

o th

e gr

oup

that

they

may

like

to a

tten

d a

sto

ry ti

me

sess

ion

at th

e lo

cal l

ibra

ryas

a g

roup

or

even

in p

airs

.

Whe

n w

ould

be

a go

od t

ime

for

you

all t

o go

to

a st

ory

tim

e at

the

libr

ary?

Nur

se e

ncou

rage

s gr

oup

to m

ake

tim

es w

ith

each

oth

er to

att

end

the

stor

y ti

me.

Tape

rec

ord

er a

nd m

usic

tape

sre

quir

ed.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Mus

ic a

nd m

ovem

ent

Mak

ing

Mus

ical

Inst

rum

ents

1.00

1.20

The

nur

se p

rovi

des

a h

and

out t

opa

rtic

ipan

ts: i

dea

s fo

r m

akin

gyo

ur o

wn

mus

ical

inst

rum

ents

.

Dis

play

exa

mpl

e ho

me-

mad

ein

stru

men

ts.

Nur

se r

esea

rche

s w

hen

and

whe

re lo

cal s

tory

tim

e se

ssio

nsoc

cur.

Nur

se e

ncou

rage

s gr

oup

to a

tten

d s

essi

on.

Clo

se2.

00


110

Music and Your BabyBased on a pamphlet developed by Viviana Lawry, 1992, Child and Family Health NursingStudent Pamphlets, RMIT Bundoora.

Attitudes to Music are ‘Caught’ not ‘Taught’Music belongs to everyone; it is part of being a human being. Your enthusiasm andenjoyment will be shared by your baby. Musical activities benefit your baby by:• Sensorimotor stimulation• Encouraging interaction• Audio-motor coordination (hearing and movement)• Concept development (loud and soft, fast and slow)• Developing body awareness• Increasing ‘world’ awareness• Being enjoyable, creative and just good fun!

Listening skills that children learn through musical activities will affect their wholedevelopment. You can help develop your baby’s in-built musical abilities just by makingmusic a part of your everyday activities. Musical activities overlap, for example, listening,singing, movement and making sounds. All help develop your child’s ear for, and enjoymentof, music.

You can help promote listening skills by:• Talking, chanting, singing or humming to your baby as you care for them.• Playing a variety of pre-recorded music, such as classical, folk or pop.• Allowing your baby to hear sounds in the environment, such as a clock ticking, a dog

barking or water running. Imitate these sounds with your baby.• Letting your baby create and experiment with different sounds, such as bells, rattles, music

boxes, saucepan lids or hitting a wooden spoon on different surfaces.

Babies Love to Listen to Singing – Especially if it is Your VoiceEven if you think you can’t sing, your baby will still enjoy your voice.

Choose simple songs with frequent repetitions. This allows your baby to enjoy both the tunesand the words. Examples include folk songs and melodies.

Movement, such as rocking, patting, clapping and bouncing in time to the music givespleasure to your baby. Moving with the rhythm of the words you say, and repeating themover and over, will help your baby feel the beat.

0–3 Months:Lullabies and rocking rhymes, such as Sleep Baby, Sleep or Rockaby Baby.

3–6 Months:Pat and clap to the rhythm of the words. Wiggle legs and tickle as appropriate. For example,Round and Round the Garden, This Little Piggy.

Further information:Parents for Music Association, PO Box 346, Camberwell 3124.Lady Gowrie Centre, Carlton. Music with infants and small children.Russell-Bowie, D. (1989). Music is for young children too! Karibuni Press Campbelltown, NSW.

6.16 COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR BABY THROUGH MUSIC AND BOOKS6.16 COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR BABY THROUGH MUSIC AND BOOKS


111

6.17 Where to From Here?

6.17 WHERE TO FROM HERE?


common to parenting.• To promote sustainable connections between parents of children of similar ages.• To determine the ways the participants will continue the group after the formal sessions are

completed.• To share an enjoyable meal.• To review the learning’s and outcomes of the group.• To clarify the ways formal groups could be improved for future participants.

Anticipated Outcomes of the Session• Some participants will have identified shared interests.• Participants will know of and be committed to the ways the group participants plan to

follow-up the group.• Participants will be aware of the developments of their babies over the intervening group

period.• Participants will know of future opportunities for support from the nurse.

Pre-Session Planning• At session prior, encourage participants to bring a plate for a bring and share meal.• Name tags for babies and parents should not be necessary by now – but group could have a

ceremonial tearing up!!!!.• Collect sheets of butcher’s paper and textas.• Prepare contact lists.• Organise evaluation sheets provided in document.

Resources for Nurses’ InformationPrior to Session• Local resource directory may be useful for follow-up ideas for group.

Handouts to Group Participants• Participants’ contact lists• Group photos if taken at prior session• Evaluation sheets.


112 6.17 WHERE TO FROM HERE?

6.17

.2 W

here

To

From

Her

e?W

orks

hop

Sess

ion

* A

ppro

xim

ate

tim

e al

loca

tion

for

eac

h ac

tivi

ty

Nur

se in

vite

s ea

ch p

arti

cipa

nt to

pri

vate

ly th

ink

abou

t tw

o or

thre

e w

ays

thei

r ba

bies

have

cha

nged

and

dev

elop

ed s

ince

Ses

sion

1.

If p

eopl

e ha

ve b

roug

ht p

hoto

s of

thei

r ba

bies

fro

m a

bout

the

tim

e of

the

first

ses

sion

,th

ese

will

mak

e th

e d

iscu

ssio

n ea

sier

.

Ask

par

tici

pant

s to

pai

r up

wit

h so

meo

ne, l

ook

at e

ach

othe

r’s

babi

es a

nd th

e ph

otos

and

dis

cuss

one

cha

nge

each

.

Aft

er tw

o m

inut

es, n

urse

ask

s pa

irs

to s

top,

for

m n

ew p

airs

and

rep

eat,

and

aft

eran

othe

r tw

o m

inut

es to

rep

eat a

gain

.

Fina

lly, r

efor

m th

e la

rge

grou

p an

d h

ave

a ge

nera

l dis

cuss

ion

abou

t the

cha

nges

. Nur

sem

ay le

ad th

is b

y sa

ying

:

Wha

t th

e so

rts

of c

hang

es y

ou h

ave

disc

usse

d?

It is

pro

babl

y be

st f

or n

urse

tonu

mbe

r th

e gr

oups

off

rat

her

than

allo

w g

roup

s to

cho

ose

asth

is w

ill e

nsur

e ev

eryo

ne is

auto

mat

ical

ly in

clud

ed in

a s

mal

lgr

oup

for

this

fina

l ses

sion

.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Wel

com

e

Refl

ecti

on

0.00

0.15

Nur

se h

as p

inne

d u

p bu

tche

r’s

pape

r fr

om fi

rst s

essi

on o

n w

hich

are

wri

tten

the

them

espe

ople

wan

ted

to a

dd

ress

(or

han

ds

out t

he p

rogr

am o

utlin

e w

hich

was

dev

elop

ed).

Div

ide

peop

le in

to g

roup

s of

thre

e. A

sk s

mal

l gro

ups

to d

iscu

ss e

ach

one

and

not

e:

•T

he im

port

ant l

earn

ing’

s fr

om th

e se

ssio

n in

ret

rosp

ect.

•T

he a

ctio

ns p

arti

cipa

nts

have

take

n as

a r

esul

t of

the

sess

ion

for

exam

ple,

put

a b

arri

erin

pla

ce a

s a

resu

lt o

f th

e sa

fety

ses

sion

.

•A

ny c

omm

unit

y re

sour

ces

they

hav

e us

ed a

nd th

e va

lue

of e

ach.

•A

ny o

ther

que

stio

ns o

r co

ncer

ns a

bout

eac

h is

sue.

Invi

te f

eed

back

fro

m e

ach

grou

p –

add

ress

one

of

the

abov

e qu

esti

ons

at a

tim

e.


1136.17 WHERE TO FROM HERE?

Nur

se c

an h

and

out

Gro

up C

onta

ct li

st (

assu

min

g ev

eryo

ne g

ave

perm

issi

on e

arlie

r an

dit

has

n’t a

lrea

dy

been

han

ded

out

).

Rem

ind

par

tici

pant

s th

at n

umbe

rs o

f gr

oups

hav

e co

ntin

ued

thei

r gr

oups

aft

er th

efo

rmal

ses

sion

s ha

ve fi

nish

ed a

nd in

div

idua

ls h

ave

also

con

tinu

ed th

eir

conn

ecti

ons.

Invi

te p

arti

cipa

nts

to b

rain

stor

m w

ays

grou

ps c

ould

fol

low

up

the

form

al s

essi

ons

and

wha

t sor

ts o

f th

ings

wou

ld b

e go

od to

hav

e a

grou

p fo

r. Fo

r ex

ampl

e, a

gro

up b

ooki

ngis

oft

en c

heap

er f

or o

utin

gs a

t pla

ces

like

the

zoo,

or

it’s

fun

to m

eet w

ith

othe

rs w

ith

youn

g ba

bies

for

a p

icni

c in

a p

ark.

Seco

ndly

, ask

the

grou

p to

bra

inst

orm

pos

sibl

e lo

cati

ons

wit

hin

com

mun

ity

whi

ch a

reav

aila

ble.

If th

e nu

rse

has

take

n an

init

ial g

roup

pho

to a

nd p

hoto

s se

em to

inte

rest

the

grou

p, it

coul

d b

e an

idea

for

the

nurs

e to

sug

gest

a s

ix-m

onth

ly o

ccas

ion

whe

re th

e gr

oup

coul

dd

o a

grou

p ph

oto

shoo

t. N

urse

may

hav

e a

phot

o bo

ard

fol

low

ing

grou

ps in

the

Cen

tre

whi

ch w

ill p

rom

ote

this

idea

.

Usi

ng th

e br

ains

torm

ed li

st, n

urse

can

ask

:

Wha

t do

you

thi

nk c

ould

wor

k fo

r yo

u as

a g

roup

? I

anti

cipa

te t

hat

som

e of

you

may

con

nect

indi

vidu

ally

any

way

.L

et th

e pa

rtic

ipan

ts ta

ke s

ome

mom

ents

to c

onte

mpl

ate.

It m

ay ta

ke s

ome

tim

e be

fore

anyo

ne ta

kes

the

lead

.

If th

e pa

rtic

ipan

ts d

on’t

do

it th

emse

lves

at t

his

poin

t, th

e nu

rse

coul

d a

sk:

So, w

hen

and

whe

re d

o yo

u pl

an t

o m

eet

next

?W

ho w

ill b

e th

e co

ntac

t po

int

for

ever

yone

?A

fter

gro

up d

ecis

ions

hav

e be

en m

ade,

rem

ind

par

tici

pant

s ho

w th

ey c

an f

ollo

w u

p fo

rpa

rtic

ular

ind

ivid

ual i

ssue

s w

ith

the

nurs

e an

d th

e fo

rmal

tim

es w

hich

they

can

arr

ange

over

the

next

six

yea

rs f

or in

div

idua

l app

oint

men

ts.

Alt

houg

h it

may

be

unco

mfo

rtab

le f

or th

e nu

rse

to‘p

ush’

at t

his

poin

t, m

any

grou

psar

e gr

atef

ul th

at s

omeo

ne is

doi

ng th

e pu

shin

g. I

t doe

s no

tgu

aran

tee

a fo

llow

-up,

but

mak

ing

the

init

ial m

oves

are

ofte

n th

e ha

rdes

t.

*Tim

eCo

nten

tPr

oces

sSu

gges

tions

for N

urse

Fare

wel

l for

Now

0.45

1.15

Whe

n so

me

agre

emen

t has

bee

n m

ade

— e

ven

if th

ey d

eter

min

e th

ey w

ill ju

st w

ave

atea

ch o

ther

in th

e su

perm

arke

t in

futu

re y

ears

— in

vite

par

tici

pant

s to

join

the

‘bri

ng a

ndsh

are’

aft

erno

on te

a or

sup

per

(dep

end

ing

on ti

me

of d

ay).

It m

ay b

e ap

prop

riat

e to

hav

e th

is in

the

gard

en o

r a

near

by p

ark.

At e

ithe

r th

is p

oint

or

perh

aps

in th

e in

itia

l sm

all g

roup

ses

sion

han

dou

t eva

luat

ion

shee

ts a

nd a

sk p

arti

cipa

nts

to c

ompl

ete

them

.

2.00


115

7.1 Model of Parents’ Perception of Core Benefits of First-Time Parent Group

First-TimeParent Groups

Informality

Information

Support Relationships

Figure 1 Model of Parents' Perception of Core Benefits ofFirst-Time Parent Groups


116

Dear___________________________________________________________________and ______________________________________________________

You are invited to come to our First-Time Parent Group starting on

(date): ____________________________________________________________ for 8 sessions, from ____________________________________

to ____________________________________________________________ (time). The group will be held at:

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________(venue).

During the first session, the group will choose the topics to be covered. Group sessions willcover a range of topics, such as:

• Getting to Know Your Baby.• Being a Parent: Changes and Challenges.• A Settled Baby: What Does it Mean?• Managing Childhood Illnesses.• Keeping Baby Safe.• Baby’s Ages and Stages.• Returning to Paid Work.• Resuscitation.• Looking After Yourself: Exploring Mother’s Health.• Food: Your Baby and the Family.• Looking After Teeth for Life.• Play: More than Fun and Games.

The groups are intended to provide the opportunity for new parents in your area to meet eachother and discuss parenting issues. They are informal and refreshments are availablethroughout.

I really look forward to you being a part of the group — please let me know if you would liketo attend.

________________________________________________________________________________________Phone_____________________________________

Maternal and Child Health Nurse

7.2 Invitation


117

Please take a few minutes to answer these questions. Your feedback will help in the planning offuture groups. We value any relevant comments. Please tick relevant boxes.

What do You Want from this Group?friendshipsunderstanding about my parenting role and my babyinformationknowledge of community resourcescontactsmore confidence in my parentingsome parenting tipssome ‘living’ tipsother (please state).

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. During the group sessions, are there any topics you would like to learn more about? Pleasewrite them below:

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for your participation. Date _______________________________________

7.3 First-Time Parent Group Pre-Group Information


118

Date: from _________________________________________________________ to __________________________________________________________

Centre:

Phone:

Maternal and Child Health Nurse:

Date Topic Snack Milk Clean-up

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

7.4 First-Time Parent Group Session Outline and Roster


119

7.5 First-Time Parent Group Evaluation

119

Please take a few minutes to answer these questions. Your feedback will help in the planning offuture groups. It will help us if you let me know if this group has been helpful for you. We valueany relevant comments. Please tick relevant boxes.

1. As a result of the group, I have gained

❒ Friendships

❒ Understanding about my parenting role and my baby

❒ Information

❒ Knowledge of community resources

❒ Contacts

❒ More confidence in my

❒ Parenting

❒ Some parenting tips

❒ Some ‘living’ tips

❒ Other (please state).

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Has the group experience helped how you feel and care about yourself?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What things have happened for you as a result of the group?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. How could the group be improved?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for your participation. Date ______________________________________


120

12

34

56

78

Dat

eD

ate

Dat

eD

ate

Dat

eD

ate

Dat

eD

ate

Par

ent/

Car

er N

ame

Co

nta

ct N

oB

aby’

s N

ame

Tota

l1

or

23+

Sh

eet T

ota

ls

7.6 First-Time Parent Group—Attendance Record

120


Documents

First Time Parent Group Resource and Facilitation Guide for