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National Injury Prevention Day

July 6, 2021 by Creating Together

The goal of National Injury Prevention Day is to raise awareness on the prevention of serious injuries on the road, at home, and at play, and to provide the necessary information to reduce injury and disability while enjoying full and vibrant lives. (BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit).

According to Statistics Canada, injury is the leading cause of death for Canadians aged one to 44, ahead of cancer and heart disease. Injury is the third leading cause of death overall in Canada, after cancer and heart disease. And, according to The Trauma Association of Canada, “virtually all of these injuries and deaths, and the resulting costs, could have been prevented” (Trauma Association of Canada).

How do we help children take healthy risks, while also keeping them safe?

Safety Tips at Home

Closing the door: Closing the door after you should be your number one safety measure to introduce at home. This will not only ensure that intruders cannot access the house and also the younger kids cannot find their way out.

Secure furniture to prevent tip-overs: Purchase furniture that has a wider base, heavier back panel, and/or interlocking drawers to prevent furniture from tipping over. You can also learn to anchor your furniture, at Anchorit.gov.

No Playing or Going into the Road: There is always motorist in a rush and may not even consider that they are driving where children play.

Safe sleep: Suffocation, often in a sleep environment, is the leading cause of injury-related death for children under the age of 1. Remember: babies sleep best alone, on their backs, and in a crib / bassinet that meets safety standards.

Teaching Which Rooms are Off Limits: In the early years you can use things like baby gates, but beyond a few years it is important they know which rooms are off limits (such as laundry, pantry where chemicals are stored, or tool room).

Recalls: On average, one or more children’s products are recalled each week. Manufacturers often don’t do enough to make sure everyone who has the product learns of the recall.  To keep up to date on recalls and incident reports, check your products at https://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/index-eng.php.

Helicopter vs Free Range Parenting

The term “helicopter parent” was first used in Dr. Haim Ginott’s 1969 book Parents & Teenagers by teens who said their parents would hover over them like a helicopter. It became popular enough to become a dictionary entry in 2011. Are you a helicopter parent? Take this Quiz! How did you rate? Check here for some great tips on how to balance helicopter and free range parenting techniques, or talk to the staff at Creating Together for some supportive suggestions.

Filed Under: Family Playtime, Tips and Tools

National Indigenous History Month: Honouring Our History

June 29, 2021 by Creating Together

June is National Indigenous History Month, and the 21st was National Indigenous People’s Day. This year, we honour the 25th anniversary of celebrating the heritage, diverse cultures and outstanding achievements of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

This year however, we all grapple with a very serious and tragic side of our history, and the month is dedicated to the missing children, the families left behind and the survivors of residential schools – a system set up by the Canadian government and administered by churches that had the nominal objective of educating Indigenous children and indoctrinating them into Euro-Canadian and Christian ways of living. The system forcibly separated children from their families for extended periods of time and forbade them to acknowledge their Indigenous heritage and culture or to speak their own languages. Accounts of horrific abuse among survivors are being shared today, however many children (The Missing Children) didn’t return home, either because they ran away or because they died of abuse or disease.

As families inheriting this history, we have many opportunities to learn about indigenous history and culture – but speaking about this history can be very hard. Yet, it is such an important part of our history as a country, and the evidence of this harsh history are all around us. Take a look at this article by Parenting Today, for quotes about the experiences of survivors, to help your children understand what happened.

You can also honour indigenous history and culture through things like art, crafts, language, stories. Be sure to check out all of the National Indigenous Peoples Day virtual activities happening across the country through Celebrate Canada, and learn more about indigenous history by trying some of these great activities.

Also, we encourage you to watch this reading of “We are Water Protectors” with your children, written by Anishinabe/Métis author Carole Lindstrom and illustrated by Tlingit and Haida artist, Michaela Goade and discuss with children the history and ongoing settler-colonialism in what is currently known as Canada.

Filed Under: Celebrating Diversity, Tips and Tools, Traditions

Welcoming the Glitterbug Program

May 25, 2021 by Creating Together

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.

Filed Under: Celebrating Diversity, Family Playtime, Literacy, Special Activities, Tips and Tools

Supporting Children’s Mental Health

May 11, 2021 by Creating Together

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!

Filed Under: Featured, Tips and Tools

Celebrating the Earth on Earth Day (and every day)

April 13, 2021 by Creating Together

Celebrate Earth Day with us on April 22nd. Earth Day is a day celebrated in 195 countries around the world. It was created to raise awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s air, earth, water, plants and animals.

At Creating Together, we will be celebrating with a week of Earth-themed activities, songs, and crafts – and we hope you’ll join us!

Below is a planting project and a storytime to get you started 🙂 Next week, check out programming all week on Facebook and join us for live circle time on Monday and Wednesday to celebrate our Earth.

Planting Project

Call us in advance to arrange a pick-up of your planting package (pot, soil, & seeds), and join us for a fun planting project. If you can’t pick up your planting package by Friday, then you can still create your own, and tune into this video “Planting and Pollinating Flowers” with Leah! Check our window to see the progress of our seeds if you stroll by the Creating Together EarlyOn Centre!

https://fb.watch/4IjcJW0moe/

Storytime

https://www.facebook.com/CreatingTogetherParkdale/videos/1142119392901131/

Other Resources:

  • Learn how to say “Happy Earth Day” in 40 other languages HERE!
  • 21 Earth Day Activities for Kids
  • Check out this video to learn with your children what you can do together as a family to protect the environment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl3zgcL0Tv8&t=82s

Filed Under: Family Playtime, Science Activity, Special Activities, Tips and Tools, Traditions Tagged With: Celebrating Community, nature discovery, Nature Play, parenting tips

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Creating Together Parkdale Family Resource Centre

Our mission is to support the healthy social, cognitive, emotional and physical development of children 0 to 6 years and their families. We welcome children aged 0 to 6 years and their families/ caregivers to relax and connect with each other and with the greater communities through our many programs.
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Hours

MON 9:00am - 2:30pm
TUE 9:00am - 2:30pm
WED 9:00am - 2:30pm
THU 9:00am - 2:30pm
FRI 9:00am - 1:30pm
SAT 10am - 2:00pm (twice monthly)
SUN Closed

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Creating Together
1342 Queen Street West
Phone: (416) 537-1004
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Charitable Registration Number:
12947 6248 RR0001
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