By Carol Castanon Secure Beginnings Parent Consultant I’m wondering how you are holding up? Like yours, my family has elders, working parents, childcare, young children, and pregnancy. Some of my family have health challenges and some of my family and dear friends are in senior communities. I’m thinking about our threads of human connection and how we uphold our family’s...
by Ellen Nightingale “What does a ParentCare volunteer do?” is a frequent question both a soon to be parent and a potential ParentCare volunteer might ask. It was the first question I asked when I landed at the Nan Tolbert Nurturing Center in 2013; 31 weeks pregnant with my second child and the ParentCare program was...
This stage of development can often bring new challenges in the parent child relationship. Toddlers are fast, bold and opinionated. Curiously, while they are finding their voice in the world, a tot may also be shy in the company of others. A parent may want their child to be “friendly or respectful” to others, and cooperate at home....
With baby’s first birthday, many parents and caregivers feel a sense of accomplishment, relief, and joy after their first year together as a family. Baby may have spoken a first word or taken a first step. By this time, patterns have emerged so that feeding, diapering, sleeping and playing times are somewhat predictable. Daily routines have often been established....
The infant stage of child and parent At about 4 months of age, most babies begin to smile on volition, laugh, gaze with reciprocity, and refine their cues. Parents have been practicing the fullness of parenthood. Communicating with your baby can be playful, but it’s also important in building a partnership in the caregiving needs of...
This stage is the beginning of the infant parent relationship. While the prenatal experience has influenced child, mother, father and caregiver in many ways, sometimes profoundly, it is with the arrival of a child that the work of relationship unfolds. The newborn is working on being attached with the basic trust that all s/he needs...
by Carol Castanon and Andi Metlzer For many people, there is nothing better than falling into bed after a long day. For adults, the idea of a cozy bed can make them giddy with joy as they think about laying their head on a fluffy pillow and snuggling down into their comforter. But, before a restful...
March 28, 2019 Escrito por Carol Castanon and Andi Metlzer Para muchas personas, no hay nada mejor que acostarse después de un largo día. Para los adultos, la idea de meterse a una cama cómoda les hace feliz al pensar en acostar su cabeza sobre una almohada suave y acurrucándose en su cobija. Pero antes de que...
written by Carol Castanon, Secure Beginnings Parent Consultant and Mary Biggs, Director Basic Trust (www.basictrust.org) Many families experience primary caregivers going back to work. Let’s look more closely at what this means for adults, babies, tots and young children. There is a transition waiting in the wings for these families. Adults and children will have an...
written by Carol Castanon, Parent Consultant What do young children hear when adults talk about the new baby that’s coming? How does a toddler or young child understand the baby inside Mommy’s belly? What are tots and young children asking, what do they need, and how do they feel? When families are expecting a new baby there are extraordinary...