Nurtured Paediatrics

⭐️Join the team at Nurtured Paediatrics⭐️

Nurtured Paediatrics are looking for a Speech Pathologist and an Occupational Therapist to join our growing team of experienced and passionate therapists. If you are committed to providing quality early intervention support to children and their families, we would love to hear from you.

Check out our website for further information and feel free to contact us with any queries.

To apply, please email your expression of interest with a copy of your CV by April 29th, 2024.

🌏 nurturedpaediatrics.com.au/careers
📧 [email protected]
📞 0412 516 532

Follow us on Instagram for our latest updates: https://lnkd.in/gDVKmW6D

SCHOOL READINESS // how to support your child’s school transition

Happy new year! It might feel like school holidays have just started (or maybe you’re ready for your little ones to return now).. either way, somehow we have arrived in 2024 🤯 and for most children, it is a great idea to start preparing for the new school year.

Whether your child is starting school or returning, here are some of our key ideas to support school preparation:
🗣️Talk about school regularly: who is their teacher, peers in their class, what might the classroom look like, where will they put away their bag, where are the toilets, where might they like to play? Your child’s school might have provided you with a story or some images with some of these prompts- read these frequently (if they haven’t, sometimes you can look on the school website for some pictures, or walk around the school to keep up the familiarity).
🎭Act out school routines in play! You can even play dress ups with uniforms, have picnic dates with school lunchboxes and practice activities they do at school like writing and crafts. Keep it fun and follow your child’s lead. Your child might love role reversal, where they are the teacher and you are the student.
⏰Keep routines as consistent and close to the school life as possible (particularly in the weeks leading up to returning).
💌Some children find it tricky having to say goodbye to one teacher and build a relationship with a new one. Keep in mind that they may need some additional reassurance and support before and after school until they are comfortable with their new teacher. You can chat through what to expect with their new teacher and ways you will be there to support them once they are in their new class. Working with a trusted professional/education team can help facilitate this advocacy work so the new educators can make accomodations as needed.

How else do you prepare your child to get ready for school?

Happy OT week!

This year’s theme is ‘Unity Through Community’ 🌏🤝

Community is the foundation to our core values of // CONNECT / NOURISH / THRIVE //

It is so important to us to collaborate with our client’s community - the key people in our little people’s life are the most valuable tools to creating meaningful growth and change.

From joint goal setting, capacity building and delivering services in natural, community environments using everyday resources - let’s unite to create inclusive and supportive communities, where we celebrate individuality and all have a sense of belonging 🫶

SLEEP NEEDS ARE UNIQUE & VARIABLE //

Infant sleep needs are highly variable, ranging between 9-18 hours over a 24-hour period! Your baby may need more or less sleep and that is developmentally okay.

We embrace the work of Possums and Co and OT Molly has completed their Masterclasses in Neuroprotective Developmental Care. For all things infant sleep, feeding and mood, we recommend exploring the amazingly insightful

Does your baby have low or high sleep needs? 😴

SPEECH PATHOLOGY //

We are beyond excited to welcome Grace to the Nurtured team as Speech Pathologist!

Grace brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise, with a warm and holistic approach. She will be providing early intervention services (0-7 years). You can read more about Grace on our website 🌟

Please get in touch via email to make a booking, spaces are limited.

💌 [email protected]
🌏 nurturedpaediatrics.com.au

SUMMER TOILET TRAINING // 

Summer is the perfect time for toilet training if you are noticing signs your child is developmentally ready.

We love encouraging spending time in undies/bathers or even in the n**e at home to increase children's physiological awareness. Sprinkler and water play is perfect to pair with this and incorporating wet/dry concepts will help your child to understand the difference of how this feels 💦☀️🚽

FESTIVE SEASON TIPS //

It’s the most wonderful time of the year?! For some maybe.. for others the busy schedules, overstimulating environments and activities can be all too overwhelming.

Here are some of our tips for managing the festive season with your family ✨

Wishing you all a safe and happy festive season!

LIFT UP SOCIAL INFORMATION // notice and name the social situation

Marte Meo shares some wonderful ways to support building social connections with children. We love using the strategy of naming the social situation around children to improve social orientation and information about their social environment that they may not have noticed yet.

There are several ways we can use naming..
We can name actions ✋🏼 “Sammy is splashing his hands in the water”
We can name feelings 🧡 “Sammy has a big smile and is feeling excited”
We can name what we hear👂“Splash splash splash”

Wait for the moment to link up when children display some degree of interest, such as glancing in the direction of another child. It is so beautiful to witness how amazing this is to build connections ✨

🤍🤎ONE🤎🤍
What a wonderful first year we have had! Thank you to all of our beautiful families who we have the privilege of working with, you are what makes this ‘job’ so amazing!
Thank you also to all of the professionals who we collaborate with to ensure we are best supporting our little people.
We can’t wait to see what this next year brings ✨

MOUTHING // oral seeking behaviours

It is a typical part of development for babies to put almost anything in their mouth as they learn and explore their world. You may notice this to begin as babies develop the skills to bring their hands to mouth (from 4-6 months). Mouthing is also commonly seen as curiosity increases from 18 months. Some children may continue to mouth items as they are seeking the strong sensory input this provides. We can support them to meet this need by:
- Replace the behaviour and provide them with a safe item to chew on, such as ‘chewlery’.
- If safe for the child to manage orally, use alerting foods such as crunchy carrots, apples, celery, or foods with strong flavours, or experimenting with temperature such as ice blocks.
- Incorporate oral activities into daily routines e.g. drinking through straws, blowing raspberries, blowing bubbles, blowing whistles, using an electric toothbrush.

Chat to an OT to further explore the reason behind your child’s mouthing and other specific strategies to support.

✨ CONNECTING THROUGH OUR SENSES✨

Sensory preferences are SO important in helping us to better understand children. Click the link in our bio to learn more from the experts

PLAY // a child’s primary occupation

Play is the natural learning state for children so you’ll often see ‘therapy’ embedded into play.

More reasons we love play:

- Learning through play can be experienced across a child’s natural environments such as home and education settings or in the community.
- Play fosters the development of relationships and connection.
- Play can follow a child’s individual interests. When we follow their lead, we can learn so much about what a child enjoys and get a snapshot into their world of creativity. Play can look different for neurodivergent children and this is okay, there is no right or wrong way to play!
- Play can have a therapeutic role in children’s processing of experiences and understanding their world.
- Play develops communication skills, social skills, cognitive skills, emotional regulation skills and motor skills - just to name a few. The opportunities to learn through play are endless 🌈

We are looking for a kind-hearted, dynamic and holistic occupational therapist who is just as passionate about their work as we are!

Check out our website for further details and information on how to apply.

We can’t wait to hear from you🌟
📧 [email protected]
📞 0412 516 532

We are so privileged to have our article on sensory preferences featured in the very first edition of .caregiving - SA’s new early childhood magazine.

Keep an eye out for it in your local school, library, cafe and more. You can download the magazine on their website too!

https://issuu.com/connectedcaregiving/docs/connected_caregiving_winter_2022

Happy reading ✨

REPAIR // reconnect

There is no such thing as a perfect parent - (1) impossible (2) this doesn’t prepare children for an imperfect world.

We have all had moments where we managed a situation in a way we haven’t liked. This is okay - we can reconnect and repair with children, e.g. “I’m sorry I yelled, I’m going to try to take some deep breaths and speak calmly next time..”.

Be compassionate to yourself- the stress is real! Talk to others and have your outlets to help you be your children’s calm.

PENCIL GRASP // function, function, function

This one is close to home (you should see our Director Molly’s pencil grasp!) - yes a traditional ‘tripod’ grasp is not the only functional way to hold a pencil.

There are many factors we need to consider when determining if a pencil grasp is appropriate, e.g. discomfort, legibility, endurance (can they write for an age appropriate amount of time without getting tired), speed, dynamic movements (not using our whole arm to move the pencil), overall hand strength and more.

We recommend seeing an OT if you’re not sure about your child’s pencil grasp, handwriting or pre-writing development.

SENSORY PREFERENCES // we love exploring the sensory preferences of kiddos and their caregivers…

When we understand our own preferences, we are better able to interpret our children’s too! Are our preferences similar or different? We are lucky as adults to often be in a position to change many sensory inputs in order to regulate and participate in daily activities.

Tell us- what are your sensory preferences?

Do you need to be in a quiet room when completing paperwork? Chew gum while concentrating? Put on sunglasses when the light is bright? Do you play loud music in the morning to get you moving or need complete silence to ease into your day? Is daily movement a must? Do you need to be tightly tucked into your bed at night in order to fall asleep?

WARM FACES // use warm faces to connect

A warm face helps children receive the message that you like being with them, building positive self-esteem and connection. This is so true also for adults - it is completely natural to mirror emotions, so when we are met with a warm face, we are more likely to positively connect ✨

MESSY PLAY // we love getting messy with our kids and particularly when it doesn’t matter whether any ends up in the mouth too!

Here are some fun, simple & edible messy play ideas.

TRANSITIONAL OBJECTS // Blankets, special toys or random objects - whatever your child may build a special bond with!

Transitional objects are great tools to support self-regulation. They may help with transition to school, a different environment or whenever your child may be working through a big feeling. You can help your child to develop a strong association to an object by bringing that object with them, everywhere they go, for a few weeks. It will begin to smell like the comforts of their own environments, being with them through varying experiences and emotions. As a result the object may support feelings of safety and create predictability in their routines. Helpful hint: it may be wise to have a few of the same objects and rotate them in case one goes missing 👀

SELF CARE // fill your cup!

Reminder - do something for yourself today. It can be something small like sitting down with your morning coffee and tuning in to each sip, getting some sunshine and taking some deep breaths in the fresh air, or calling a friend.

Please don’t feel guilty for doing things for yourself, children learn from watching those around them and when they see their big person looking after their own well-being, they are more likely to learn how to take care of themselves too.

Parenting isn’t easy and you’re doing amazing. Be kind to yourself 💖

INDEPENDENCE // some of our key tips to building children’s independence 💪🏼

- Allow your child to do the task! In a world where we live such busy lives, it is of course so much easier to do it ourselves as the adult. Perhaps the morning routine might not be the best time to practice the task, e.g. independent dressing, however on the weekend or during play might be better for your family.
- Scaffold the task so your child completes a sequence of the action and feels success, e.g. clasp the zip on a jacket and have your child zip it up themselves. Slowly add in more steps as your child develops their skills.
- Give your child chores or tasks. Simple jobs like bringing their plate to the sink after a mealtime or giving them items to keep an eye out for at the supermarket.
- Praise your child for their attempts and give specific feedback.

Building independence takes time and patience. When we provide children opportunities for independence they build a strong sense of responsibility and develop so many key life skills including problem solving and resilience. Our OTs can help to find specific ways to build independence and skills in your child’s routines.

Happy Friday! The perfect weekend in Adelaide to splash in some puddles 🌧💙

HAND & FINGER STRENGTH // required for many activities including writing, dressing, climbing, self-feeding and so much more!

Some everyday activities to increase hand strength include:
🛁 Squeezing out wash cloths during bath time
🧑‍🍳 Meal preparation activities such as grating, peeling, cutting, mixing, sifting, squeezing lemons, rolling dough, pouring, opening jars and containers
🪴 Watering the garden with a spray bottle
🛍 Carrying shopping bags
🩳 Hanging out washing with pegs
🧽 Cleaning activities such as pictured here or wiping down other surfaces, using spray bottles, wringing clothing dry and water from sponges

NATURE // How good is nature?!

💪🏼 Strengthens physical development
💭 Builds imagination and creativity
👬 Provides opportunities for social development and connection
🙏🏼 Sensory nourishment and regulation
💤 Improves sleep

Some activities to get your child outside include:
- get messy in mud/sand/puddles/autumn leaves
- scavenger hunts or I Spy games outside
- have them help you in the garden or with outdoor chores
- make some ‘garden stew’ and mix up whatever they can find
- hide and seek
- model exploration, such as balancing on a log or climbing
- take play dates to the park or creek

🍃💚

MOTHERS // Happy Mother’s Day..

- To all mothers
- To fostering mothers
- To mothers of children who need some extra help
- To those without a mother
- To those who are dreaming to be a mother
- To mothers whose babies are no longer earth-side
- To those who love children who are not their own
- To those who have chosen not to be a mother
- To mothers and children with tricky relationships
- To fathers who are also mothers
- To fur-baby mothers

🪷🌻🪷🌻

OUR VALUES // NOURISH

It is so important to nourish our little ones through rich everyday experiences, but also to remember to nourish ourselves as caregivers. We are passionate about delivering a family focused approach to ensure our services are meeting the needs of your entire family.

MEALTIME TIP // posture and positioning

A supported mealtime set up includes:
- Hips, knees and feet at 90 degrees
- Table height between belly button and ni**le so arms can be bent and relaxed resting on table/tray
- Feet supported (no dangling legs!)
- Bottom in back of seat with back against back rest
- Use rolled up towels or similar to provide support around the body and sides as needed

A stable base will allow your child to effectively use the little muscles of their hands and mouth to improve independence with feeding. You might also notice when well supported, your child may sit for longer or be more willing to explore a variety of foods. A supported posture is also essential for safe feeding.

Chat to us for any specific seating recommendations for your individual child 🪑🍽

We hope everyone has a happy long weekend 💖

SENSITIVITY // Perceiving the world through a highly sensitive brain..

A highly sensitive child or person is overly responsive to the information we receive from our environment - what we can smell, hear, taste, see, feel, experience. Just a small amount of this information will feel like a lot and as a result often presents with bigger emotional responses.

Highly sensitive children require strong and safe connections, meaningful relationships, access to low sensory zones/calming environments, structure, routine, predictability where possible and a gentle supportive approach. They do not need to be made ‘less sensitive’, rather we need to ensure we are supporting and accepting them for who they are 💜