Kids @ Kingston
Compiled by our MCH & Immunisation Nurses
Issue
No 9
Returning to work
Striking a balance between work and family can be difficult. When you are
on top of it, the rewards can outweigh the challenges, but when you are still
trying to find that balance, it’s not uncommon to experience a range of
conflicting emotions.
If you have taken leave from your job to care for your child, returning to
work poses a major change to your day-to-day life.
You may feel:
Excited about getting some variety in your day
Guilty at ‘leaving’ your child
Nervous about rejoining the workforce
Stressed about managing the extra workload.
Mothers who return to work sometimes feel they suddenly have two jobs.
Research says this is partly because domestic duties are not always shared
equally between two adults in a relationship.
Tips for returning to work
To ease the transition, make changes before you start work. You could think about what your new daily
routine will be. There may be things you can start doing now, like gradually introducing your child to child
care or finding a back-up carer.
Prepare things at night. Ease the morning rush. You could iron your clothes or make lunches the night
before.
Look for meal shortcuts. Breakfast and dinner time may be more of a challenge now that you’re working.
When cooking, try making extra portions that you can freeze for future meals.
Helping your child adapt:
The transition from spending most days together with your child to being apart all week can be tough. Parents
often worry how their child will be affected by the separation, and feel nervous about leaving their child in
someone else’s care. Here are some ideas that might help you both adapt:
Talk to your child about the changes ahead. If she’s too young to understand, have some ‘practice separations’. Before you actually start work again, try leaving her
with her new carer for short periods.
Set up a before-work routine. Children feel safe and secure
when they have predictable routines.
Always say goodbye to your child, even if she’s upset.
Feel free to ring your carer or child care centre to check that
your child has settled down. Very often, children are happily
playing before their parents have even got to the car.
Raising Children.net.au/recognising tiredness
ARE YOU MISSING THE
SLEEP AND SETTLING CUES?
Hey! God… about that baby
Hey God! You know that baby?
Well, Mum brought him home last week.
She said I need a playmate
But gee, the kid won’t speak.
He can’t even kick my footy,
Or bowl my cricket ball,
I think it was a waste of time
To bring him home at all.
Young children get overtired easily, and when they do
they find it hardier to get to sleep. Once you can spot
those telltale signs of tiredness, you will be able to
settle your child to sleep before they get too grumpy.
Children show they are tired through changes in
behaviour. Look for your child’s ‘tired cues’ and you can
reduce stimulation and start settling them before
overtiredness sets in.
Newborns
A newborn baby may get overtired if they have been
awake for more than 1½hours.
If your newborn is tired, they may:
Pull at their ears (this can also be a sign of sore ears)
Close their fists, flutter their eyelids
Have jerky arm and leg movements, yawn
Have a worried look on their face, arch backwards
Have difficulty focusing (they may even go cross-eyed)
Suck on their fingers (this could be a good sign and
mean that your baby is trying to find ways to settle
themselves to sleep).
Babies and toddlers
At 6-12 months your baby be overtired after 2-3 hours
awake.
At 12-18 months of age your baby will be overtired if
they miss out on their morning or afternoon sleep.
If your baby or toddler is tired, they may be:
Clumsy, clingy, grizzly, prone to crying
Demanding constant attention, sick of their toys
Fussy with food
If your child is showing signs of tiredness you can
reduce stimulation by:
Taking them to their sleeping place, putting toys away
Talking quietly, closing curtains or blinds
Turning overhead lights off—use lamps
Playing music quietly—this will help cut down on
background noise.
Quiet time is important
Give your child some quiet time in the place where they
sleep.
Calm them with a gentle cuddle or by reading a story or
singing a quiet lullaby.
Raising Children.net.au/recognising tiredness
My mummy used to play with me
And read my favourite rhyme,
But now we’ve got that baby,
She hasn't got the time.
Its “Hush.. The baby’s sleeping”,
Or, “Must you make that noise?”
Or, “Mind, don't hurt the baby,
“Don’t touch the baby’s toys”.
Gran says he’s “simply darling”,
She loves “his eyes of blue”
I’m getting tired
Of all that female coochy-coo!.
If he burps, he’s “a clever boy”
If I burp, I’m just rude!
Dad says that I’m displaying
“A jealous attitude”.
Mum says “You’ve got to learn to share
You’ve got a brother now,
So I shared my sardine sandwich,
and, great God, what a row!
How was I supposed to know,
A baby doesn’t chew,
He’s got no teeth.. gee, what a kid!
There’s nothing he can do.
So I asked my Dad to change him,
Maybe for a pup!,
Now, Mummy’s in there howling,
And Dad can’t shut her up!
What’s the good of babies?
They don’t know how to play,
And I have to tippy-toe around
‘cos baby sleeps all day.
So now I’m in my bedroom,
Because I caused a fuss,
Gee god.. Why did you have to send
That kid to live with us?????
Grace Burford
Safer restraint of
children
New child restraint laws
approved by Australia’s
Transport ministers will provide
a safe pathway from capsules to
adult seatbelts that is properly
fastened and adjusted.
In practice, this means the seatbelt or restraint must be
approved, match the child’s size and weight, be fitted
correctly to the vehicle and adjusted to fit the child’s
body. Educational material is widely available to provide
guidance and assist compliance.
Research suggests children are moving too early into
bigger seats, which are not appropriate for their weight
and height and increases the risk of injury. About 500
children a year are killed or seriously injured in car
accidents.
Children up to 6 months old should be restrained in a
rearward facing infant capsule, then a forward facing
child seat until the age of 4 years old and a booster seat
from 4 to 7 years of age.
Current child restraint ratings :Infant capsule (9kgs)
Child restraint (8—18kgs)
Booster (14—26kgs)
Moving to an adult seat belt Children aged over 7
years old are too short (less than 1.45m) for the safe use
of an adult belt and too heavy (over 26kg) for a booster
seat.
Australian Standards are developing a standard for large
booster seats suitable for children up to 36kgs and
1.35 metres tall. This will help close the technical gap
between boosters and adult seatbelts.
Front seat restrictions
Children up to 4 years old must be restrained in the rear
of vehicle.
If the child is aged 4 to 7
years old, he/she can only be
restrained on a booster in the
front seat if all the rear seat
positions are occupied by
children under 7 years.
Wholemeal Banana & Yoghurt Bread
115 gm butter, softened
115 gm brown sugar
2 eggs
3 medium ripe bananas
200 gm vanilla yoghurt
250 gm wholemeal self raising
flour
1 tsp mixed spice
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Grease and line an 11cm x 21cm loaf tin with baking
paper.
Using an electric beater, cream the butter and sugar
until light.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each
addition.
In a separate bowl, mash the bananas and stir in the
yoghurt.
Fold through egg mixture. Fold flour and mixed spice
into mixture.
Spoon into prepared tin and bake for 50-60 minutes or
until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Remove from oven and allow to cool in the tin for 5
minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Bread will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container.
Eating with your toddler
Children tend to copy the habits of
their parents, so if you want your
toddler to eat well you’ll have to eat
well yourself. If your child sees
you eating a chocolate before dinner
or not eating any vegetables, then she’ll want to do the
same. If you walk around while you eat your breakfast,
she’ll think that’s the best way to eat breakfast (and,
by extension, other meals as well).
If mealtimes are happy occasions where the family
chats around the table, your toddler will look forward
to dinner and enjoy participating. She’ll see other
members of the family enjoying new and nutritious
foods, which will inspire her to do the same.
Eating together as a family whenever you can will also
help your toddler pick up a few table manners. Right
from the start it’s worth insisting that your toddler
sits whenever she is eating or drinking, even if she’s
just having a snack – it’s easier to start with good
habits than try to change bad habits later on.
Most children don’t grasp the finer points of table
manners (like not talking with a mouthful of food) till
they’re around five years old, so don’t expect too much.
NTC Australia Information bulletin
Raising Children.net.au/mealtimes
Immunisation
Don’t let the flu bug bite this winter
New types of influenza virus can
appear each year, hence vaccination against flu is recommended
every year for anyone who wishes
to reduce their chance of
becoming ill with flu.
Vaccination against flu is particularly recommended for
the following people:Everyone over 65 years of age.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders 15 yrs and over.
Anyone aged 6 months or older with chronic conditions
especially heart, lung, kidney or nervous system
disorders, Asthma and chronic respiratory disorders,
diabetes and immune problems, including HIV.
Children (6 months to 10 yrs) on long-term aspirin
therapy.
Women planning to become pregnant or pregnant women
who will be in the 2nd or 3rd trimester of pregnancy
during the flu season.
People in nursing homes or other long term care
facilities.
Close contacts of anyone who is at risk of getting
complications from flu.
People in the workforce, especially those working in
health care.
Travellers.
Junior Flu vaccination is recommended from 6mths to
3yrs, after this an adult dose is required. Infants from
6 months and children under 9 years of age receiving
influenza vaccine for the first time require 2 doses at
least 1 month apart.
Infants and children under 6 years of age receive a
smaller dose of the vaccine.
Please contact your local GP or local council for pricing
and availability.
Vaxigrip Influenza Vaccine/Consumer Medicine information
MAKING IMMUNISATIONS A MORE POSITIVE
EXPERIENCE
The City of Kingston Immunisation Service is now running
immunisation sessions for 4 year olds along with
“storytime” at the libraries.
To make the whole experience more enjoyable and
less confronting, we will
offer injections half an
hour before the start
of a “storytime” and for
half an hour following .
Children will be in an environment that is familiar to
them and will be able to look at books or attend the
“storytime” whilst waiting for their injections.
Face painting will be provided and a small showbag of
goodies.
After trialling these sessions last year and receiving
very positive feedback we found that “storytime” at the
library provided a pleasant distraction and made for a
positive immunisation experience.
SESSIONS FOR 2009 are as follows :TUESDAY 24th FEBRUARY CHELSEA LIBRARY
FRIDAY 22nd MAY CHELTENHAM LIBRARY
FRIDAY 21st AUGUST CLARINDA LIBRARY
TUESDAY 24th NOVEMBER PARKDALE LIBRARY
BOOKINGS ARE ESSENTIAL
For further enquiries or to make a booking please
phone 9581 4870.