Creating Together Blog

Celebrating Fathers and Fatherly Figures

June 8, 2021 by Melanie

June 14 marks the beginning Canadian Men’s Health Week, ending with Father’s Day on June 20th. This is a time to bring awareness to health issues that affect men disproportionately and focus on getting boys and men to become aware of problems they may have or could develop, and gain the courage to do something about it.

Understanding Health Issues in Men

Let’s take a look at what we know about health for Canadian men. On average, Canadian men live four years less than Canadian women do. They’re also more likely to die from diabetes, heart disease and liver disease. Men are less likely than women to engage in healthy lifestyle behaviours to counteract stress. For example, more than half of Canadian men aren’t getting enough sleep, aren’t exercising enough and aren’t eating as healthy as they should. The suicide rate for Canadian men is also three times higher for men than for women, and divorced men are almost twice as likely to commit suicide as married men.

What Can We Do to Support Men’s Health?

Men’s Health is everybody’s issue – not just men. Encouraging healthy eating, stress reducing activities, positive relationships, exercise, and mental health support when needed are some key things we can all do to help them out. By supporting the men in our lives to do this, we are modelling for the younger generation what it looks like to be a healthy man – setting them up for greater and greater success in life.

Celebrating Father’s Day (and Fatherly Figures)

Being thankful for the fatherly figures in our lives is so important. Men’s Health Week is always the week prior to Father’s Day – a time of year where we honour our fathers and fatherly role models. To help mark this time, we invite you to consider how you’ll give gratitude to your father, or to the amazing man who guides you in your life. And, for the parents out there, we invite you to join us helping your child create a Father’s Day craft with Creating Together Staff, and also to enjoy some books with your child to help them honour this special relationship in their lives.

For your little one’s Father’s Day craft, gather the supplies listed below and tune into our Facebook page on June 18th (whenever you’re ready – it will be pre-recorded for you to enjoy at your leisure!) and get ready to make “Paper Plate Scratch Art” and a “Paper Shirt Card” for that special man in their world 🙂

Paper Plate Scratch Art

Supplies:

paper plate or construction paper,
crayons,
black or any dark colour paint,
toothpick to scratch

Paper Shirt Card

Supplies:

construction paper,
pom poms,
marker

Modelling and Teaching the Qualities of a Good Father and Husband

It is important for our children to have healthy father figures in their lives, and it’s also important that they be exposed to healthy father figures in stories as well. So often in cartoons and movies, the father figure is incompetent or non-existent. It’s through this modelling that we teach our children about the qualities of a good father, a good husband, a good friend. Check out this list of recommended books, and/or tune into our Facebook page to read along with us these Father’s Day Books:

My Dad by Debbie Bailey

My Daddy and Me by Amy E. Sklansky

Hooray for Daddies by Gayla Amral

BINGO Challenge to Kick Off Recreation and Parks Month!

June 2, 2021 by Melanie

With the first day of Summer only 3 weeks away, it is clear that summer is in full bloom. Taking a stroll along the lakefront, High Park Sorauren Park or any of the many small playgrounds in our neighbourhood, we all will see a plethora of people enjoying socially distanced parks visits in the sunshine.

These days, more people than ever before are grateful for the opportunities to get outside, get exercise, and visit loved ones, in our parks. Fitting then, that June is “Recreation and Parks Month”!

What is Recreation and Parks Month?

Recreation and Park Month is a movement that promotes the benefits of recreation and parks for physical, social, and environmental health. Communities across Ontario have embraced JRPM as a way to promote local programs and events, parks and facilities that are available for all citizens to enjoy (Parks and Recreation Ontario).

Activity BINGO Challenge!

This month, Parks and Recreation Ontario challenges all of us to see how many activities you can accomplish on the Activity BINGO Board. Share your progress on social media and pictures of the activities you are doing to participate. Download the Bingo board and the activity guide below and get started!

To help you out, Parks and Recreation Ontario has created an activity guide with ideas on how to fulfill each category for different age groups.

Welcoming the Glitterbug Program

May 25, 2021 by Melanie

June is Pride Month! Join live circle time with the 519 Glitterbug on Wed. June 2nd at 10 am! And, at Creating Together we welcome Glitterbug to our circle EVERY first Wednesday of EVERY month – so we do hope you can make it to June and also to the upcoming circles!

Who / What is Glitterbug?

Glitterbug “is a unique mobile program that works with EarlyON Centres across Toronto to promote inclusion and affirmation of gender and sexual diversity among children and families.” Glitterbug combines the understanding of LGBTQ2S inclusion with a play-based learning approach for children and families to develop a broader understanding of inclusion at EarlyON Centres across the city and in the early learning years sector.

Glitterbug Programs and Services

LGBTQ2S-affirming Interactive workshops for parents, caregivers, and guardians.
LGBTQ2S-affirming drop-in programming to support queer, trans, and 2Spirit inclusion.
Designated program for LGBTQ2S families
Special events and pop-up visits
Resources

Current Glitterbug Programs for Queer and Trans Families and Gender-creative Children

Virtual Circle Time:
- Tuesday, 3:00 to 3:30pm
- Wednesday, 10:00 to 10:30am
- Thursday, 4:30 to 5:00pm
- Friday, 1:30 to 2:15pm
Interactive Parent/Caregiver Virtual LGBTQ2S Workshops:
- Last Tuesday of each month, starting July 27.
  Workshops are currently being held virtually. We will resume in-person workshops based on Toronto Public Health guidelines.

Have questions or need more information, get in touch with the Glitterbug Program at Glitterbug@The519.org.

For more information about their EarlyON programs and events, visit their EarlyON Program page.

Get your free tickets to their programs on our Eventbrite page.

National Asian Heritage Month

May 18, 2021 by Melanie

Asian Heritage Month is an opportunity for all Canadians to learn more about the many achievements and contributions of Canadians of Asian descent who, throughout our history, have done so much to make Canada the amazing country we share today.

The theme for Asian Heritage Month 2021, “Recognition, Resilience, and Resolve”, embodies the myriad of sentiments that peoples of Asian descent in Canada have experienced and honours their contributions and their diverse stories which are rooted in resilience and perseverance. It is also a call to action for all Canadians to come together to combat all forms of anti-Asian racism and discrimination (https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/asian-heritage-month.html).

Story Times Highlighting Asian Authors and Illustrators

Join Leah for some stories highlighting asian authors and illustrators! Click on the links below, or go right into our Facebook Page and enter the book title in the search bar:

“Like the moon loves the sky” by Hena Khan – The author explains how this book is inspired by the Quran and transcends all belief systems. https://fb.watch/5l5hHxya3j/

“Scribble” by Ruth Ohi: https://fb.watch/40IBWTBriT/

“I Promise” by Catherine Hernandez: https://fb.watch/40IGJgP1en/

Ontario Organizations Supporting Asian Communities

If you are seeking support or further information, Ontario has a number of organizations you can turn to:

Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto
The Centre is a non-profit, non-political organization with the objective to build a Chinese cultural centre for residents of the Greater Toronto Area. The Centre also acts as a bridge between communities of Chinese descent and other communities to promote cross-cultural understanding.
Ottawa Asian Heritage Month Society
The Society is a non-profit organization of volunteers that coordinates celebrations in the National Capital Region.
Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre– Toronto
The Centre fosters mutual understanding and facilitates the exchange of information about Japanese culture with the community at large through a wide range of programs. The Centre also works to build a spirit of co-operation and harmony among people of different cultures by coordinating community events and programs with other diverse organizations.
Canadian Multicultural Council – Asians in Ontario
The Council is an umbrella organization representing more than 20 Asian countries, ethnic regions, and cultures in Canada. It was established in 1998 to promote inter-cultural cooperation among its members and racial harmony through the understanding of cultures and heritage.
South Asian Canadian Histories Association
The South Asian Canadian Histories Association (SACHA) was established in 2016 to bring together art, history, and research. Their aim is to create, facilitate, support, and exhibit arts and research-driven initiatives rooted in South Asian Canadian history, culture, and identity.
Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA)
The Council is an umbrella organization of agencies, groups, and individuals that provide services to the South Asian Community. They envision and strive for a Canada free of all forms of discrimination in which all communities are free from marginalization and are fully empowered to participate in defining Canada’s political, economic, social, and cultural future.

Supporting Children’s Mental Health

May 11, 2021 by Melanie

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, approximately 1 in 5 children and youth in Ontario has a mental health challenge. About 70% of mental health challenges have their onset in childhood or youth. To help them with better outcomes, we can look for the signs and symptoms of mental health issues in the children of our lives, line them up with the right supports, and also do everything we can to help them cope before it becomes a major issue.

May 7th was National Child and Youth Mental Health Day, so we’d like to use this time to shed some light on the issues and also set you up with some resources to support you and your loved ones.

A Review of the Impact

In their Rapid Review published January 2021, Public Health Ontario organized findings from studies around the globe, about the impact of community responses to COVID-19 on children and youth. While a full detailed listing of findings are outlined in the link above, some key findings include:

Young children and adolescents were affected differently by the COVID-19 response: Parents of young children reported more behavioural difficulties, hyperactivity, and conduct problems, while adolescents were more likely to have increased anxiety and depressive symptoms, increased suicidal ideation, and increased frequency of alcohol consumption for those reporting any use.
Parental stress was linked to negative child outcomes. The level of parents’ perceived stress due to the COVID19 pandemic may exacerbate or buffer mental health and behaviour problems in children.
Other child outcomes negatively impacted by the pandemic included movement behaviours (decreased physical activity, increased sedentary behaviour and screen time), increased food insecurity, negative educational outcomes, increased injuries occurring at home, and increased reports of child maltreatment.
While use of health services decreased, illness severity increased, and visits for mental health reasons increased in the later weeks of the pandemic. There may have been some parents delaying care for their children due to fear of acquiring COVID-19 infection in the hospital.
Although this review identified many relevant studies, most were convenience samples. As such, families from diverse ethnicities or racialized communities, who are more likely to experience greater social and health inequities which may be exacerbated during the pandemic, are systematically underrepresented.

These key findings were based on studies from May-October 2020, and they found that the magnitude and number of negative impacts appeared to be increasing as well. Here we are, half a year later, so it naturally highlights the importance of all of our efforts in supporting the children as well as the parents in our communities – especially our communities here in Parkdale, which represents one of the most diverse and communities in Toronto.

What Can You Do?

Awareness: We can all become more aware of the range of mental health issues in children and youth, and the signs and symptoms to look out for. Check out the Child Mind Institute’s Symptom Checker if you are concerned about a child in your life, to help you navigate next steps.

Caregiver support: If you are a caregiver and in need of support, please call Creating Together right away so that we can line you up with support and resources. Whether it’s a friendly ear or a referral, we are here for you. Also, you can find a number of resources to support families and caregivers here: https://ontario.cmha.ca/documents/family-and-caregiver-support/

Ecotherapy: Spending time in nature improves mood, gets us moving, builds confidence, and helps with concentration. Here are some ideas for getting your kids outdoors.

Integrative Approach: Consider an integrative approach to mental wellness, including reducing additives, addressing vitamin deficiencies, and immune support. There are a number of integrative medicine practitioners in Toronto that you can reach out to.

We are here for you. Please drop by the Center if you need mental health support or just somebody to talk to. The Center is closed, but we are in between 9-4pm every day so just knock!