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Celebrating Our 42nd Year!

March 31, 2018 by Creating Together

On March 29th, Creating Together celebrated it’s 42nd Anniversary – and we had a lot to celebrate! Last year alone, we had 8,549 visits from children at Creating Together, and nearly 630 of those were for the first time.

Over 2 dozen children came to the celebration with their parents and caregivers, to enjoy circle time, an egg hunt, and a feast. During the festivities, we asked some of the parents and caregivers what they liked about Creating Together.

Thank you so much for celebrating with us, and for your kind words and inspiring stories!

Here’s what some of you had to say…

Cold and Flu Tips from Public Health Nurse Rachael

March 22, 2018 by Creating Together

This year’s flu season has been a rough one, as emergency rooms across Canada became overcrowded with sick patients beginning in January of this year. In a Globe and Mail article in January, Dr. Issac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at University Health Network in Toronto, said the predominant strain that is circulating is a “severe one. It’s also possible the flu vaccine may have limited effectiveness against it”. (Globe and Mail, January 2018)

By late February, CTV confirmed his suspicions, with hospitals needing to turn people away requiring surgeries, due to “unprecedented” overcrowding from flu patients in intensive care.

Flu overwhelms GTA hospitals

While we are past the official peak of the influenza epidemic, Creating Together brought in Rachael from Toronto Public Health to share some information and tips for dealing with Cold and Flu.

Specifically, Rachael discussed with parents and caregivers what the difference is between Cold and Flu, how to protect your child from the flu, and what to do if your child gets the flu.

Rachael sparked discussion with parents and caregivers, and made herself available for questions. It was so informative and helpful, so we included her main talking points on each of these topics below.

On behalf of all of the parents, caregivers, and children in our community, thank you!

Thank You For Joining Us On Family Day

February 22, 2018 by Creating Together

Remembering our Beginnings

Incorporated in 1976 as a non-profit charitable organization, Creating Together actually began well before that. Parkdale parents and agency workers were concerned about the lack of resources for children and families, so organized a series of short-term projects.

We’ve Come a Long Way!

Now, over 40 years later, Creating Together is honoured to continue being such an active and involved part of the South-Parkdale community. In 2015 alone, 13,211 visits were made!

Celebrating Family Day Together

We remember our beginnings, which came from real need within our community. We also celebrate our successes, each year, our annual Family Day potluck is a priority. This year, our annual potluck was a great success. We had a huge variety of dishes, making for a wonderful feast.

Thank you so much to all the children, family members and caregivers who came out with dishes and such festive energy. Remember – we are here because of you!

Creating Together Honours Black History Month

February 16, 2018 by Creating Together

Every February, Canadians are invited to participate in Black History Month festivities and events that honour the legacy of Black Canadians, past and present.

With a different theme selected each year, this year’s theme is “Black Canadian Women: Stories of Strength, Courage and Vision.”

Source: 2011 Census / National Household Survey Copyright 2014 City of Toronto.

For the City of Toronto and our Parkdale community, this theme is highly relevant, and certainly worth celebrating.

Did you know that Toronto is where many Black Canadian Women call home, with 62% of women who identify as visible minorities being located in either Toronto or Vancouver (YMCA Canada, 2001)? If we narrow that scope to look at our own community, black-identified individuals represent our 2nd highest visible minority group in South Parkdale (City of Toronto, 2011), according to the 2011 Census.

Rita Cox Collection, Parkdale Public Library

Perhaps that’s why the Parkdale branch of the Toronto Public Library holds the Rita Cox Black and Caribbean Heritage Collection, recognized as one of the most significant Black and Caribbean heritage collections in Canada. The collection features over 16,000 print and audiovisual materials for adults, children, and teens about the Black and Caribbean historical and cultural experience.

At Creating Together, we celebrated the month with a Black History Snack. Children came together with their parents and caregivers to prepare, cook and enjoy the snack, and a wonderful time was had by all!

Child Behaviour Tips and Strategies

January 16, 2018 by Creating Together

Every child is unique in terms of their activity level, distractability, and sensitivity. In addition to this uniqueness, each child is at a different stage of development and their behaviour is a reflection of this stage. Still, even when we accept these facts, it can be difficult for parents and caregivers to know how to respond to challenging child behaviour in a way that stops it from continuing, while also guiding them to gain confidence, competence, and social problem-solving skills.

At Creating Together, there are a couple of strategies staff and students use, and we wanted to share couple of tips and strategies for dealing with challenging child behaviour. Below is a brief summary of a few tips, but staff would have also made themselves available this month on the 22nd and 25th (see times below) to discuss these and other topics parents and caregivers would find helpful.

Set Realistic Limits and Expectations

Limits and expectations are kept simple and clear by keeping them few in number, and by relating to the safety and protection of self, others, and the space. When enforced consistently and in a way that the child can understand, they create a healthy container for play. For example:

“The sand stays in the sandbox.”
“It’s time to wash our hands for snack.”

Positive Framing

You’ll notice in the above phrase examples, the limits are framed in a positive way – rather than focus on what NOT to do, they focus on what TO do. This reinforces the behaviour you want to see more of while also decreasing the likelihood for the child to get defensive or resistant. In fact, research tells us that when we focus on what NOT to do, that is exactly what the child ends up doing more of. Here are some more examples of positive framing:

“Walk.” (Rather than: “Don’t run.”)
“Speak softly.” (Rather than: “Don’t shout.”)

Redirecting

When a child is upset, before the behaviour you are trying to avoid escalates, offer an alternative toy, activity, or location.

Also, as much as possible, redirect the child towards activities that are in line with their needs.

For example: “I can see you have a lot of energy. Let’s go try out the slide.”

Focusing on the Behaviour, Rather than the Child

When speaking with children, messages can easily be framed in a way that can seem to the child as attacking and critical, creating guilt, shame, and a lower self-esteem. You can preserve the child’s integrity with positive guidance by framing messages in a way that separates the child from the behaviour. For example:

“When you grab the train from his hands, it makes Allan angry.” (Rather than: “You are mean when you grab the train like that from Allan.”)
“Playdough stays in the playdough area.” (Rather than: “You naughty girl.”)

Reinforce The Behaviour You Want to See

To build confidence and encourage children to repeat behaviour you would like to see, use positive reinforcement to focus on the specific behaviour, rather than on the child. For example:

“Thank you for helping Sam when she fell down. That’s called being caring.” (Rather than: “You good girl.”)
“When we tidy up, it makes the area safe for everybody.” (Rather than: “You’re the best helper.”)

Be Alert

When adults observe children in their activities, they are in a better position to anticipate potential difficulties and step in

to prevent problems. Keep phone / tablet use to a minimum, and sit in proximity to your child, so they can use you as a resource as needed.

If you found this article helpful, and you have any other questions about how to work through a challenging situation as a parent or caregiver, please speak with the staff – we are always here to help. Also, bring your questions and learning needs to one of our upcoming information sessions this month (Jan 22 / 25th – see below). The feedback gathered from parents and caregivers at these information sessions will tell us what kinds of resources we should bring in over the course of the year. If you can’t make either of these dates, be sure to let a staff know!

Celebrating Our 42nd Year!

Cold and Flu Tips from Public Health Nurse Rachael

Thank You For Joining Us On Family Day

Remembering our Beginnings

We’ve Come a Long Way!

Celebrating Family Day Together

Creating Together Honours Black History Month

Child Behaviour Tips and Strategies

Creating Together Parkdale Family Resource Centre

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