Step Ahead Educare (with branches in De Kuilen, Mabille Park and Penhill) recently introduced an initiative to help empower parents.
Leslie Selbourne, programme coordinator of the Step Ahead Parent Empowerment Programme (PEP), says it is an initiative through which they hope to change the lives and mindsets of parents.
“This is not just for parents at Step Ahead, but to any parent out there who may be in real need of help and guidance to become better parents – guidance on what to do and how best to look after their little ones.”
The programme’s aim is to create and present workshops for parents who have children at ECD level – babies to six years of age.
“We invite professionals to come and talk on various topics and themes pertaining to early childhood development. Through these workshops we hope to empower parents with the necessary information, knowledge, tools and skills.”
Upcoming talks
Selbourne says every parent should benefit from this initiative.
“The more parents we reach the more homes we can heal, restore and rebuild, thus creating healthier and happier environments for our children.”
They want to request churches, schools or other community centres to consider availing their venues should more space be required for the workshops in future. “Dates and times will be communicated to them well in advance,” Selbourne says.
To date three talks were held. At the end of May educational psychologist Ayesha de Villiers spoke about “the developmental tasks of children, supporting self-regulation through co-regulation and how to approach the so-called difficult behaviours by first understanding the need and message behind these behaviours.”
During the sessions in June, specialist nurse Guin Jacobs gave insight into “What to do when my child requires immediate medical attention”, while clinical psychologist Dr Edwin Debroize addressed the question: “As a parent, am I on track when it comes to connecting and bonding with my child?”
Selbourne says some topics could be addressed again at future sessions.
- On Saturday 8 July at 10:00 at Step Ahead De Kuilen: Speech and hearing specialist Pushpa Pillay, will present: “How can I determine if my child’s language and communication skills are normal for his/her age?”
- On Saturday 22 July at 10:00 at Step Ahead Mabille Park: Occupational therapist Charlene Venter will speak about the value of play and the role of the parent in early childhood development.
- On Saturday 5 August at 10:00 at Step Ahead De Kuilen: Educational psychologist Dr Carmelita Jacobs will talk about social and cognitive development skills: “Teaching my child how to share versus the single child syndrome that everything is mine, how to interact with others, helping my child through social and mental development stages.”
- Contact Leslie Selbourne via WhatsApp on 079 057 7064 to book a seat at R100 each.
