Kids @ Kingston
Compiled by our MCH & Immunisation Nurses
Issue
No 2
Welcome to our second issue of ‘KIDS @ KINGSTON’.
Created by the Maternal & Child Health and Immunisation Teams.
We welcome your comments and ideas!
Send to : City of Kingston
Or email : [email protected]
Maternal Child & Health
P.O. Box 1000
Mentone 3194
Why is physical activity important?
Children greatly benefit from being
physically active.
It can:
Promote healthy growth and development.
Build strong bones and muscles.
Improve balance and develop skills.
Maintain and develop skills.
Help achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
Improve cardiovascular fitness.
Help relaxation.
Improve posture.
Provide opportunities to make friends.
Improve self esteem.
Physical activity is important for all children.
Infants and toddlers should be given plenty of
opportunity to move throughout the day.
Children should not be inactive for prolonged
periods except when they are asleep!
www.healthyactive.gov.au
Australian Governernment
‘Active Kids are healthy kids’ (2004)
Holding Hands
Key things young children need to learn and
understand-practise in a safe place
Being near roads is dangerous because you can be
hurt if you are in the way of traffic. This applies to
every one—not just children.
They must hold hands with an adult to keep them
safe when near traffic.
At the roadside
Hold hands with your child when near traffic and
when crossing roads.
Have your child stand in a safe place while you
stand behind a parked vehicle—you could do this
in a driveway. Ask them if they can see you.
Kneel down to their height and again ask if they
can see you. Talk about how important it is that
drivers can see you.
Talk about how adults can see further than children because they are taller and can be seen better
by drivers. If children are holding an adult’s hand
they are safer. Adults can show them what to do
while they are holding hands.
When you are out walking together, point out dangers and explain what you are doing to remain
safe. Providing this ‘commentary’ as you
walk,helps your child to understand why roads are
dangerous.
Vic Roads 2002 Starting out safety—Book 1
Helping your one year old learn to talk
Talk to him about anything - people, things,
activities.
Show him what you are talking about.
Use short, simple, clear sentences to label and
expand his world.
Repeat a lot.
Allow him time to talk.
Copy his sounds, as if having a conversation.
Be animated and vary your voice and facial
expressions.
Take turns.
Let him see your face when you are talking.
Let him initiate communication.
Read him books and magazines.
Make it fun!
Jacqui Duker Speech Pathologist from Breathrough Speech
Pathology
Activities to encourage first words
Listen for everyday sounds and ask your child
‘What’s that?’ Encourage your child to listen
carefully and to guess what is making the sound.
Then track it down and discover the source of the
sound.
Stand toys, one at a time, on
the lid of a box. When your
child is watching, make the
toys fall into the box and
exclaim “Gone!”
When playing with blocks,
make the most of opportunities to use words like
‘up’, ‘more’ and ‘all fall down’.
Have a tea party with all the dolls and teddies.
Offer each toy a drink or biscuit with the same
repetitive question. “More drink?’ and “More
biscuit?’
Find and name parts of the body, with and without rhymes. Make it more difficult by asking
your child to find “your eyes’ and ‘my eyes’
KIDS IN THE KITCHEN
ZUCCHINI SLICE
375g zucchini
1 large onion
3 rashers of bacon
1 cup of grated cheddar cheese
1 cup of self raising flour
1/2 cup of oil
5 eggs
Salt & Pepper
Grate unpeeled zucchini coarsely, finely chop onion and
bacon. Combine zucchini, onion, bacon, cheese, sifted
flour, oil and lightly beaten eggs. Season with salt and
pepper.
Pour into a well greased lamington tray and bake in a
moderate oven for 30-40 min or until browned. To
serve cut into small bite size squares.
Enjoy!
Use often-repeated phrases with exaggerated
intonation. “Where are you?” when looking for
any person or object.
Don’t forget to name actions as well as naming
objects. “Come and eat”.
Provide words to express feelings and to get help.
Draw pictures of teddies looking sad, cross, happy and surprised.
Show your child how to blow bubbles. It is
actually quite difficult for young children, but
good practice for later speech production. It also
provides an opportunity to teach words like
‘more’, ‘bubbles’, ‘pop’ and ‘gone’.
Hold your baby’s hand and wave goodbye from
as young as two or three months.
Clarke L and Ireland C (1992) Harper Collins
One summer evening during
a violent thunderstorm a
mother was tucking her son
into bed.
She was about to turn off the light when
he asked with a tremor in his voice,
“Mummy, will you sleep with me tonight?”
The mother smiled and gave him a
reassuring hug. “I can’t darling,” she
said. “I have to sleep in Daddy’s room.”
A long silence was
broken at last by his shaky little voice.
“The big sissy.”
Heads and shoulders knees and toes
Heads and shoulders knees and toes,
Knees and toes, knees and toes.
Heads and shoulders knees and toes,
We all clap hands together.
Eyes and ears and mouth and nose,
Mouth and nose mouth and nose,
Eyes and ears and mouth and nose,
We all clap hands together.
Toddlers love this song, they can either touch each
of their named body parts facing their mother or
touch mothers body parts. For younger infants their
mothers can touch the named body parts whilst giving eye contact and singing.
Rescuing Hug
TIT BITS
This is a picture from an article called “The
Rescuing Hug”. The article details the first
week of life of a set of twins. Apparently, each
were in their respective incubators and one was
not expected to live. A hospital nurse fought
against the hospital rules and placed the babies
in one incubator.
Did you know that babies don’t take in much air at
the breast?
Usually babies only need to be briefly sat up between sides to be given the opportunity to burp.
They often don’t need ‘winding’ after the second
side. This cuts down on feed time. Baby may not
need to be awakened at the end of the feed and
then resettled.
When they
were placed
together, the
healthier of the
two threw an
arm over her
sister in an endearing embrace. The
smaller baby’s
heart rate
stabilised and
her temperature
rose to normal.
www.breastfeeding.asn.au
Being a Parent
Have you found the Instruction Manual?
Have you realised there is no
Instruction Manual?
It is one of the most important and
difficult things you will ever do.
It is one of the most rewarding things you will ever do.
Most parents learn as they go, influenced by how they were
brought up and what they have read and seen.
Parenting shares a common goal—we want our children to
turn out healthy, happy, honest, caring and responsible
adults.
Let us not forget to embrace those whom we
love.
Your children and your community rely on you to do this
well.
Be wise and Immunise
Whooping cough is often
misdiagnosed as
“just a bad cough”
A whooping cough vaccine is now available
in Australia for adults and adolescents.
The vaccine is expected to reduce the risk
of transmitting the disease to infants by
minimising the number of cases of
whooping cough circulating in the
community.
The National Health and Medical Research
Council recommends that adults and
adolescents in contact with young infants,
such as parents, grandparents, healthcare
and childcare workers, should be
vaccinated against whooping cough to
reduce the risk of disease transmission.
Research shows that adolescents and
adults accounted for more than half the
cases of whooping cough, a significant
source of infection for young children.
Whooping cough can be transmitted by
those in close contact with infants like
parents, grandparents, siblings and even
childcare workers and healthcare workers.
Infants under six months of age are at
risk of serious complications.
In infants, whooping cough can last two
months or longer, causing inner ear
infections, long lasting bronchitis,
pneumonia, fits, brain seizures and death.
www.gsk.com.au
Victorian Immunisation Schedule
Birth
Hepatitis B
2 Mths
Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis/Polio
Hib/Hepatitis B
Pneumococcal
Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis/Polio
Hib/Hepatitis B
Pneumococcal
Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis/Polio
Pneumococcal
Measles/Mumps/Rubella
Hib/Hepatitis B
Meningococcal C
Chickenpox
Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis/Polio
Measles/Mumps/Rubella
Hepatitis B
Chickenpox (if not had disease/vaccine)
Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis
4 Mths
6 Mths
12 Mths
18 Mths
4 yrs
Year 7
Year 10