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by
Catherine Pruissen
Welcome
to the last instalment of our "Getting to know you..."
series. So far we've looked at resource and referral
agencies, child care agencies and organizations and
daycare licensing offices and child care agencies.
Our focus this issue is Family Resource Centres &
Toy Libraries.
FAMILY
RESOURCE CENTRES & TOY LIBRARIES
Family resource centres offer
parents a wide range of programs specifically designed
to meet the needs of the community they serve. Often
found in libraries, churches, hospitals, community
centres, local colleges or universities, and/or military
bases, they provide:
- Parenting
courses
- Drop-in
programs, particularly useful for home daycare providers
and parents who work part-time, as a place to meet
other parents and providers with whom they can talk
about the ins and outs of parenthood without feeling
guilty or intimidated
- Guest
speakers
- Pamphlets
- Bulletin
boards
- And
an extensive resource library containing a slew
of parenting and children's books.
Toy
Libraries
But it is the toy library that is valuable to parents
and caregivers. "A toy library can be one of the earliest
group situations available to parents and caregivers
of young children." notes the Canadian Association
of Toy Libraries and Parent Resource Centres (TLRC
Canada), in their book, TOY LIBRARIES: How To Start
and Maintain a Toy Library in Your Community.
"Toys are a powerful tool for influencing children
and informing adults.... Toys provide a means of helping
young children to acquire skills, while educating
adults about developmental. aspects of play and quality
of toys."
As
the 'word 'library' implies, family resource centre
members can borrow toys for up to a month at a time
in some cases. "It provides access to an array of
toys and play materials that might otherwise not be
easily available." says the TLRC. Big-ticket items
like climbers, kitchen appliances such as play stoves,
and refrigerators, and riding toys are often available
on loan. Children learn so much from these toys as
they interact with their peers, use there imagination,
build vocabulary and strengthen their large muscles.
Most toy libraries do charge a small membership fee,
but it is well worth cost when you consider the price
of purchasing these items outright.
Diverse
Programs
Each family resource centre is unique in its programming
offering on or any number of the following:
- Parenting
courses developed to meet the needs of the individual
communities and conducted by a variety of professionals,
from public health nurses to nutritionists, and
from social workers to crisis counsellors.
- Mobile
units equipped with the same resources available
at any centre often service rural areas.
- Drop-in
programs and playgroups which may be as structured
as workshops or seminars, or as simple coffee clacks
where the exchange of information or sharing of
ideas is less formal.
- Some
centres offer a wide range of child care resource
and referral services in addition to their toy and
resource libraries, while others take their services
out to the public, conducting lunch hour seminars
for private and government businesses.
- Still
others are open Saturdays or run after-hour workshops
to accommodate working parents.
- Then
there are those centres that produce their own television
workshops, workshop materials, booklets or brochures
according to community needs. And of course, the
list goes on.
Like
any child care program, family resource programs depend
heavily on funding. Membership fees make up a small
percentage of the overall operating costs associated
with staffing, equipping and programming. But that
does not, however, take anything away from what services
a small center provides in comparison to that of a
larger center.
In
the words of Jane Hewes, a Director of TLRC Canada,
"What makes parenting easier is a sense of community.
Family resource programs create an opportunity for
community, for people who share similar concerns and
challenges to come together In naturally supportive
ways." Seeing and hearing other parents who share
the same concerns as we do helps us to realize that
'we are doing the best we can. But it alas, it helps
us to learn a few new tricks that just might, when
all is said and done, make our lives just a little
bit easier.
To
locate a family resource program or toy library in
your area consult the yellow pages of your phone book
under Child Care, Daycare, or Family Services, or
contact your local Department of Human or Social Services.
You
may also contact the following:
In
Canada
TLRC Canada
205-120 Holland Ave.
Ottawa, Ontario K1Y OX6
(613) 728-3307
In the U.S.:
U.S. Toy Library Association
2530 Crawford Avenue
Suite 111
Evanston, IL 60201
(708)864-3330 .
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