Early years
Supporting Families in the Early Years: What We Offer Parents with Young Children
drummond street prides itself on offering support and the right information to families at critical points in the life course. This is often when change is occurring as it does in all families, or when there are extra pressures and relationships are under stress.
The early years of a child’s life are so important to families because of issues like :
- Adjusting to parenthood – the new roles and responsibilities
- Bonding and attachment between babies and parents- it doesn’t always come naturally
- Establishing healthy routines – especially in families where the parents may not have grown up with secure routines
- Maintaining the mental health and happiness of new parents, and teaching kids optimism and coping skills as they grow
- Setting the foundations for lifelong , healthy eating and activity to prevent later problems like obesity and depression
- Managing the transitions to childcare, kinder and school
- Generally learning how to parent by trial and error
At drummond street we believe that families do the best they can with the resources that are available to them at the time. We are not into ‘politically correct’ parenting, wrapping kids in cotton wool or blaming people when families go through rough times. We have a range of programs for families with children 5 and under which include:
Just Families
This innovative project is funded by the William Buckland Foundation and aims to prevent violence and abuse by reaching new parents who are negotiating the often tricky transition to becoming Mums and Dads. We offer information about what actually constitutes a healthy relationship and talk about some of the precursors to family violence like power and control issues, feeling like you are walking on eggshells and feeling pressure to keep away from family and friends. These are warning signs that can be dealt with early on and we reach couples at the antenatal stage through presenting short seminars on How Relationships Change as part of their Childbirth Classes. These run in Carlton and the Docklands. There is also a Baby Makes 3 group that people can join in Box Hill (offered by Box Hill Community Health Service) which is recommended by drummond street.
We run sessions in the community by visiting New Mothers Groups run at Maternal Child Health Centres and talking about the different stresses and positives that a new baby has brought to their primary relationships. Just Families also offers counseling at no cost to couples and individuals who feel their relationship is under significant stress, whether the signs of violence or intimidation are there or not. This service is offered at Carlton and Box Hill. Our primary aim is to prevent this occurring and to educate couples on how to nurture their relationships and keep themselves safe now they are parents.
In order to ensure that Maternal Child Health Nurses can adequately pick up and deal with the signs of relationships under stress we are joining with Box Hill Community Health Service to train these Nurses in the Box Hill and Carlton areas.
We are running a full evaluation of this program including pre and post surveys of all clients using the services. Please do not hesitate to contact Helen Rimington, Director, Family Wellbeing Unit with any queries.
Counselling and Group Work for people with depression and anxiety
Parents are under an abundance of pressure and demands these days, and with young children the physical effort is also unrelenting. With one in five people experiencing a mental health problem at any given time it is not surprising that we see many parents experiencing things like clinical depression and generalised anxiety disorder. For most they continue to soldier on, parenting, juggling the house, work and other commitments and sadly not seeking help early enough. With the right support, education and lifestyle changes many of these parents can recover, gradually learning to manage their mental health so they can enjoy parenting and life in general. Our counselling services also support family members or partners of the person who is not travelling well. For instance we see many partners who are worried about the person they care about, perhaps they have post Natal Depression and don’t know how to manage the impact that mental health issues are having on their relationship. We see grandparents who are concerned about their adult children. When the counselling is being offered with mental health as a theme or focus, the service is completely free. The groups such as “My Partner Has Depression”, Raising Mentally Healthy Kids” and “Stress Management for Women” are also offered at no charge. This is possible through our Family Mental Health Support Service program area. If you would like to book in to see an experienced counsellor or you ware interested in the groups we offer please call our Intake Worker on 9663 6733.
One Hour Parent Support Sessions
These sessions are offered by a trained Family Therapist with many years parenting experience. They are an option for those who do not want to be “counselled” but who want sensible advice and support specifically around parenting challenges. These sessions cost $35 per hour and you can come once or a number of times. Resources like tip sheets and handouts are offered and you will leave with some ideas about managing things like discipline, routines, childcare or attachment problems etc. Please contact our intake Worker on 9663 6733 for more details.
The HOPE Program – Hands on Parenting Education
This innovative program has been very popular with young mothers and also with separated fathers who wish to develop some more practical skills to deal with their babies and young children. Our HOPE Worker Kate can offer a broad range of topics for people to explore including :
- Managing bedtime routines
- Good nutrition at different ages
- Settling babies and infants for day time sleeps
- Childproofing the house
- Setting up cots safely
- Managing tantrums and behaviour problems
- Helping kids adjust to kinder and school
The sessions cost $35 per hour and take place in the drummond street crèche room where kids can keep themselves occupied with toys etc while Kate chats to parents about new techniques to try. In some cases, particularly where parents are isolated or unwell Kate can conduct outreach visit to offer this service. Ring Kate on 9639 2576 to book in or receive a brochure
Assistance for Stepfamilies
As Australia’s fastest growing family type, the Stepfamily has its own unique set of challenges. Many stepparents are thrown into a new parenting role with little experience to draw on and often feel overwhelmed and isolated.
Grief and loss issues may still reverberate in these families as the new person tries to fit in. Primary parents might feel guilty about the impact of the separation on their children and they can be concerned about their children feeling torn by loyalty conflicts.
They might experience it as a big challenge to share their time between their new partner, their children and stepchildren and their extended family.
For kids there could be normal transition challenges associated with separation or divorce, mixed in with worries about moving houses or schools coupled with a new family structure, alternating weekends or changes to holidays and rituals.
They might also get new stepsiblings or half siblings and could feel displaced or challenged in their wish for a secure position in their stepfamily.
Through it all many stepfamilies manage the transitions successfully and show remarkable resilience and good humour as they face an easier future down the track. Stepfamilies Australia are a National body now auspiced by drummond street and offering specialist counselling, group work opportunities for couples, resources and an excellent new website at www.stepfamily.org.au.
Please contact Helen Rimington, Director of Family Wellbeing at drummond street if you would like more information. Thank you
