On the 23rd May 2009, 80 people comprising of 40 adults, 22 children, 8 nannies, exhibitors and a support team converged from all around Gauteng at Trinityhouse High School, Randburg for our seminar on the Toddler years.

Correine Rens, an experienced primary school teacher gave a talk on “Stimulating your child”. She said to focus on the 5 senses and gave some nifty tips of things you can easily do around the house to help your child develop in a nurturing environment for e.g. clasp pegs around the edge of an empty tin. This keeps my kids amused for at least 15 minutes at a time and is excellent practice and a strengthening exercise for their grasp reflex which helps them with skills such as eating finger foods and later on with holding a pen and writing.

The main speakers were SAMBA members Andrea & Alistair De Wet from Midrand, parents of an 8 year old daughter, and 5 year old twins Sarah & Alex. (See photo below) Andrea, a qualified mid-wife and nurse and her husband Alistair have presented many Christian courses by Growing Families International and gave us high-lights from some of these courses. (More info below) They gave us some insights into what we can expect from our Toddlers as well as useful tips on coping with this interesting age-group. Alistair emphasized the importance of a Father’s involvement with his kids. Andrea discussed a variety of topics, including teaching kids from about 7 months of age a basic sign language for communication to lessen their frustration and therefore the amount of crying/whining by each child!

A few points that really stood out for me were:

• Teach your child first time obedience. If your child can learn to stop by the count of 3, they can also learn to stop on the count of 1. You might not have time to count to 3 if your child is running into traffic for e.g. and this could save their life.
• “Parent within the funnel” i.e. be careful to allow your kids to only do things which are age-appropriate. Allowing them to do things which are meant for older children will lead to confusion as they might not cope with the situation/responsibility for e.g. letting them select and watch any program on tv. Allowing your kids to do things at your home (e.g. jumping on furniture/ kicking a ball inside the house) which would be generally unacceptable and inappropriate at most other people’s homes leads to frustration for your kids as you are suddenly stricter when they are not at home. Rather be consistent in your approach and stricter when they are young. Give gradual freedoms as they show they can handle that situation. This leads to developmental harmony.
• Teach your children to put their hands on the car when you are strapping/unstrapping the others from the car. This way you will always know where they are and don’t have to worry about one of them wondering off or into traffic.

There are over 2000 Growing Families International facilitators country-wide. Below is a short description of some of their courses. If you would like to attend one of the courses in your area, please contact Andrea De Wet at 011 512 0228, 083 320 0266 or andrea@l2l.co.zato get the relevant contact details.

Preparation for Parenting
This course is best done before the children are born in preparation for children from birth to 5 months of age. It helps set the foundations in place to raise your children with order and flexibility, the biblical way! It also helps you to get your children sleep-trained and sleeping through the night from as early as 4 months of age!!! The duration of this course is 6 weeks. R185 per couple (cost covers manual)

Preparation for the Toddler years
This course is for parents of children between the ages of 5 months to 15 months of age. Many topics are covered including solids and introducing discipline. It helps to establish right learning patterns early on. The duration of this course is 5 weeks. R150 per couple (cost covers manual).

Growing Kids Gods way
This course is for parents of children between the ages of 2 to 15 years. It sets solid biblical foundations to raise children to be Godly individuals, to change their hearts not only their behaviour. It covers the basics of discipline, respect for self and others and teaches parents how to fill their children’s moral warehouses so that they may make morally correct decisions themselves as they grow up into the teenage years.  The course runs for 20 weeks. R250 per couple (cost covers manual).

On the day, a variety of SAMBA memorabilia and pamphlets were also on sale. The pamphlets on “Play and your child” as well as “Your Toddler - Nutrition” were part of the hand-outs and proved to be most useful. The baby-sitting facility was a hit. Also there were a host of exhibitors with items of interest to parents of Toddlers. Each exhibitor donated a prize for the exciting raffle.

Thank-you to the following for their prizes/donations/assistance as well as congratulations to our prize-winners:

1st prize 1 term free per child from Tammy of Tiny Tumbles won by Valerie Ho-Dunne
2nd prize A free photography shoot from Esther Helm valued at R750 won by Clint Reah
3rd prize Kiddie Junction educational toy from Correine Rens won by Megan Knight
4th & 5th prizes Practica books and Sing-a-long CDs won by Liana Beukes

Toys-R-Us thank-you voucher for the speakers donated by Francois Ferreira from Delfran (Fertility Drug Company)

Venue sponsored by Trinityhouse Schools

Delicious eats provided by SAMBA membersZainub & Khalil Vasgaray of the Hanover Bakery

SAMBA members Niki Buissine & Fiona Roberts for their work behind the scenes and on the day. Gerida Furstenburg for organizing donations and her assistance. Renee Kleinhans and Chantal Kliche who helped man tables.