Baby Steps to Parenthood
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
CONTENT OF THE PROGRAM:
Our program focusses on the emotional needs of the parents and baby. It creates opportunities for conversations between the parents on crucial aspects of raising a little human being.
This works as a beautiful and wholesome complement to most antenatal programs that focus on the physical concerns of pregnant mothers,preparation for childbirth, breast feeding and how to take care of the bodily needs of the infant as these are the most pressing concerns for expectant and new parents.
1. Bringing Science to parents: Today we are aware of the enormous role parents' play in how children's brains develop. Neuroscience tells us that brain development starts in the 8th day after conception and how early interactions with the baby is what builds the architecture of the child's brain.
John Medina, geneticist and molecular biologist, author of Brain Rules for Babies, says, " What you do before pregnancy, during pregnancy and through the first five years- will affect your children for the rest of their lives."
Robin Grille, author of Heart to Heart Parenting writes, "The way the emotional centres in the brain develop is directly shaped by our relationships with our caregivers. By six months our stress response level is set, based on how our emotional security needs are met by others. This will influence the way we face stressful situations throughout our lives"
Given all this information based on scientific research, Parenting Matters feels a great need to support parents. Understanding the emotional and social needs of babies will empower them to make informed choices, be attuned to their babies and set a solid foundation.
2. Changing times requires a change in approach: With the disintegration of large families and communities, parents need a lot of support to understand and deal with the stresses that may accompany childbirth and parenthood. Parents talk about how they find the early years very difficult because they are unprepared or not fully prepared for the huge changes that happen. This often shows up in the communication between the couple adding stress on the marriage which in turn affects the baby. We would like to help parents be better prepared at both an emotional and practical level.
Our Course will support couples in having key conversations - how they can work as a team to nurture the baby, how responsibilities will be shared,discuss the pros and cons of going back to work, how soon and how their babies can best be cared for.
3. Right information at the right time: In our work with parents ,since 2004, our participants share that many challenges they face are because they did not have adequate knowledge and skills at the right time. These become patterns or practices which they now feel are not beneficial to the child but difficult to change. The most common lament is this, "Oh I wish I had known this when my baby was born. There are so many things I would have done differently."
Having got this feedback, we strongly feel that the best time to start working with parents is when they are expecting a baby so they feel empowered with the knowledge and skillsto make informed decisions.
* It is our sincere endeavour to make parent education available to any parent seeking it. If you are finding it difficult to pay the mentioned fee, please do reach out to us on 95660 75368.