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February is Child Protection and Caring Month, prompting Joburg to host a series of workshops to help parents and caregivers raise the next generation.
The workshop taught parents ways of keeping toddlers healthy and happy
PARENTING is on the agenda this month, and the City and its partners have been holding parenting workshops around Joburg.
More than 200 parents and caregivers attended one of the gatherings, at Chiawelo Community Centre in Soweto, on Thursday, 5 February.
Dettol, Soweto TV, Alex FM and Bona magazine are partnering the City in the initiative. Workshops have been held in Soweto, Eldorado Park, Orange Farm, Freedom Park, Alexandra and Zandspruit. The final one takes place at the Diepkloof Youth Centre, also in Soweto, on 13 and 14 February.
"With these workshops we wanted to find out whether parents and caregivers were really following the right instructions to take care of their children," said a professional health promoter, Linda Mvelase.
"By the response that we received when interacting with parents, we found out that the majority of them were on the right channel; only few of them who were not ... and we offered to assist them where we could as health officials."
Mvelase said that in the health calendar, February was Child Protection and Caring Month. "So our aim is to stretch our helping hand to those parents who don't have guidance in taking care of their children.
Knowledge
"Taking care of a child does not mean that one must have a lot of money, but must be equipped with knowledge."
The hall was divided into two sections. The first, filled with toys, balloons and drawing books, was reserved for children; the other, filled with pamphlets, broachers, posters and manuals, was reserved for parents.
Lots of essential health topics were discussed among parents and health experts.
"We covered lots of childcare topics, such as care after pregnancy, prevention of mother to child transmission diseases, cooking proper food for children, child bathing, putting children to bed, child immunization, nutrition and breast feeding, management of childhood illnesses and safety and protection for children.
"From now on parents must know that kitchens and dining rooms are dangerous places to leave children alone or to allow children to play in without parents monitoring them."
Danger lurked in these rooms in the form of stoves, microwaves, fridges, knives, electrical cords and plugs.
Region D's health promotion manager, Jabulani Nkosi, spoke out about those parents who fed their children every time they cried.
"If a baby is crying it doesn't always mean he or she is hungry and needs food. Sometimes children cry because they feel alone and they need to be touched. Children should be fed soft porridge in the morning, followed by a bottle of milk, then be put to bed. At around 1pm they can be fed crushed potatoes or soft pumpkin," he said.
"In the evening they can be fed [baby food] and milk, then bathed and read a book or they can play with other siblings at home. This routine should be followed."
Mpho Moshana, one of the parents who attended, learned a lot. "This workshop has really helped us because most of us parents we were doing the opposite of what was taught inside.
"I think other parents are also going to adapt the parenting exercises we were taught inside and practice them at home, because by so doing we are also helping our health department to fight other unforeseen diseases."
Child care hampers were up for grabs, to be won through a dance competition, and the parents were given lunch, T-shirts and other goodies.
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