Schedule - June

LOCATION: Roundhouse Community Centre, ROOM C
- doors open and playtime begins at 10:30am
- speakers arrive at 11:00am

Date: Thursday, June 2nd

Topic: Babies and the Influence of Art
Guest Speaker: Victoria Naranjo, 4Cats Arts Studio Yaletown Curator & Owner

Victoria will be speaking about the benefits of art for a child, as well as what our local 4Cats Arts Studio offers. A professional art studio for artists ages 2-15, they take inspiration from the works of famous artists. 4Cats kids create imaginative works using professional art materials.

Date: Thursday, June 9th

Event: Usborne Book Party

Guest Speaker: Julie Mitchell, Usborne Consultant

Julie believes that books are the most important tool that we can give children to prepare them for a successful, fulfilling life. She became an Usborne Consultant because she wanted to have a positive impact on the lives of children, families and communities across Canada. Join us for this fun party and check out the amazing books that Usborne offers! For Julie's personal website, click HERE.

Date: Thursday, June 16th

Topic: Yummy Mummy Makeovers...Style Secrets for New Moms

Guest Speaker: Joyce Lau, Founder of Yummy Mummy

Yummy Mummy Makeovers is an image consulting company that offers workshops & personal style sessions for busy moms. We take the frustration out of getting dressed by giving moms the confidence in knowing what works for them. By matching their outer appearance with who they are, it inspires moms with confidence to reach their goals and become stronger role models for their children.

Style Secrets for New Moms

Join us on Thursday June 16th from 11am-12pm at the Roundhouse Community Center and learn how to look polished & put together while balancing life and a baby.  Yummy Mummy Makeovers will be teaching us simple style skills that will make shopping a cinch.  Come and share your experiences and get expert tips on how to look great and feel fabulous.

Date: Thursday, June 23rd

Topic: TBD

Guest Speaker: TBD

Date: Thursday, June 30th

Topic: Sleep Training
Guest Speaker: Jennifer Garden, Registered Occupational Therapist, B.H.K., MClSc(OT), MSc.

Jennifer will be returning, so if you missed the last discussion,  join us for this month's session! She discusses a very important topic for mothers - sleep training strategies! She will also provide useful handouts and resources for your convenience. Jennifer is a registered occupational therapist and is working on a new website: www.sleepdreams.ca, which will be launched soon!

Sleep Training

On March 31st, we had a special guest speaker, Jennifer Garden (a registered occupational therapist from North Shore Occupational Therapy Inc) discuss the ever-important topic of Sleep Training.  Here are some helpful tips from that talk. We are posting it here for your convenience.

Jennifer Garden B.H.K., MCl. Sc. (OT), MSc. Registered Occupational Therapist jennifer@otvancouver.com

Five Areas to Promote Good Sleep Habits

Environment:

-          White noise is helpful to drown out background noise.

-          Some inexpensive solutions are to use a fan or put a radio on which is not set to a station (resulting in static noise)

-          Ensure your child’s room is at the proper temperature, recommendation is between 16 – 19 degrees Celcius.

Schedule:

-         Schedules help young children predict what is coming next thereby giving them a sense of security.

-         Respect your child’s cues for sleepiness e.g. rubbing ears, sucking thumb.

-         Keep naps and bedtime consistent.

-         Children from 0 – 6 months nap 3-4 times a day and 6 – 12 months 2 – 3 times a day and twice a day at 18 months. After 18 months, children ususally have one nap a day until approximately 3 years of age.

-          Set a regular time for bed each night and wake-up time each morning. Keep the time consistent between weekdays and weekends.

-          Establish a predictable and consistent bedtime routine of approximately ½ - 1 hr with calm activities, with the last part of the routine occurring in the child’s bedroom.

Physical Exercise:

-          Age appropriate activites (tummy time, signing songs, reading books, playing/exploring, walking, running, climbing, jumping, swimming, biking) develop excelent motor skils and also assist children with better sleep at naptime and during the night.  

-          Theory behind getting outside during daylight hours to do activities, e.g. going for a walk, is that exposure to daylight promotes better melitonin release at night for a better sleep.

-          Avoid sedentary activities e.g. watching television is not recommended for children under the age of two. Exposure to television is linked to attention disorders, irritability and aggression in young children. Research also indicates it may contribute to sleep problems.

Sensory Needs:

-          Sensory processing is a neurological process that organizes sensations from the body (touch, hearing, vision, smell, taste, movement, balance) and the environment to make it possible to achieve skills like eating, sleeping, playing, toilettting etc…

-          Investigate how your child calms themselves and help them achieve these skills independently.

-          Be aware of the sensory stimulation in your child’s envirionment prior to putting them to sleep.

-          Finally, research shows that if you allow your child to explore their sensory needs e.g. sucking thumb, rubbing head etc… independenly in their crib/bed they are better sleepers than children who’s parents assist by e.g. rocking, holding, bouncing child to sleep.

  Parenting Style:

-          Use of Adlerian Psychology is parenting with firmness (firm, age appropriate boundaries) and kindness at the same time. Demonstrating mutual respect among all family members and following through with natural and logical consequences. This type of parenting fosters confidence in children leading to better sleep habits (among other skills). It’s about modelling the behaviour you want to see in your children.

-          Use of social stories and picture schedules help toddlers better understand sleep schedules. 

How Long Should Your Child Sleep For?

 Results from study completed by Iglowstein et al (2003) reporting total (quiet time, which can be assumed as sleep) spent in bed during the daytime and night time at different ages. Numbers in + are reported as one standard deviation (e.g. representing 68% of population). Please note, at 1 month of age, data are variable and is approximated from curve on original study.

Age	Total sleep	Daytime	Night time
1 mo	14.5 + 1 hrs	6 + 1 hrs	variable
3 mo	14.5 +  1.5 hrs	5 + 1 hrs	10 + 1 hrs
6 mo	14.2 + 1.9 hrs	3.4 + 1.5 hrs	11 + 1.1 hrs
9 mo	13.9 + 1.7 hrs	2.8 + 1.2 hrs	11.2 + 1 hrs
12 mo	13.9 + 1.2 hrs	2.4 + 1.1 hrs	11.7 + 1 hrs
18 mo	13.6 + 1.2 hrs	2.0 + 0.7 hrs	11.6 + 0.9 hrs
2 yrs	13.2 + 1.2 hrs	1.8 + 0.5 hrs	11.5 + 0.9 hrs
3 yrs	12.5 + 1.1 hrs	1.7 + 0.4 hrs	11.4 + 0.8 hrs