child – Rose and David Bloomfield Family Transitional Care Program

Fun Summer Activities for you and your Child

Published on May 10, 2019August 23, 2019 by transitionalcarejgh

Read books with your child. You and your child can take turns reading out loud to one another. This can help practice reading skills and build confidence for the upcoming school year.
Teach your child how to swim or sign them up for swimming lessons. Check out the offerings at your community recreation centre; oftentimes, they offer free or lower cost swimming lessons.
Be a tourist in your own city. Explore Old Montreal, enjoy free tastings at Jean-Talon or Atwater markets and check out artwork at museums across the city. (Most museums offer free open hours once week. The Museum of Contemporary Art, for instance, is free on Wednesday evenings between 6 and 9pm, with a free tour being offered at 6:30pm.)
Treat your child to ice cream. A Montreal favourite is Ca Lem on Sherbrooke Street. They offer fun, creative ice cream flavours such as Smores, watermelon swirl, Nutella, strawberry-lychee and black sesame. They also launch a new limited edition flavor every week!
Image source: https://dailyhive.com/montreal/jet-black-ice-cream-montreal
Go to street sales, local fairs and farmers markets.
Visit the beach. There are many beaches situated near the city, such as Parc Jean Drapeau and Cap. St Jacques Nature Park.
Go to the zoo.
Go to La Ronde.
Attend the Montreal Cirque Festival in July. Head to St. Denis Street for free events, open to all families.
Attend the Mini Rogers Cup at the Olympic Park. (July 21st, 23rd and 24th; open to all.) On the first day, children will have the opportunity to play tennis and interact with a player from the Women’s Tennis Association. The finals take place over the weekend, with kids under 12 competing for the title.
Attend the Just for Laughs Festival.
Make popsicles or smoothies.
Organize a lemonade stand with your child. This can provide practice with math skills and people skills.
Exercise with your child. Activity ideas include taking walks, hiking, biking, jump-rope, playing Frisbee or playing in the sprinklers (a summer favorite.)
Go to Parc Jean Drapeau. They offer a wide range of activities from the Aquazilla water park, to boat rentals, to public art and swimming just to name a few.
Have a barbecue with your family and friends.
Have a picnic at Beaver Lake. The mountain is teeming with activity during the hot summer months. Take a spin on the paddle boats, go on a walk and enjoy the abundant park and picnic areas.
Attend free outdoor concerts, such as les Francopholies de Montreal from June 14th to June 22nd.
Explore the Montreal Mural Festival from June 6th to June 16th.
Organize a crafting activity. Tie-dye old t-shirts, make bracelets, press summer flowers, paint rocks…
Make sidewalk chalk murals.
Image source: https://thelittlesandme.com/sidewalk-chalk-drawing-ideas-for-kids/
Watch the fireworks at the Old Port. This is a summer classic – grab a poutine or quick dinner and enjoy the fireworks show with your family.

For more ideas, be sure to check out the following resources!

Resources:

Header image source: https://www.sandyspringmuseum.org/event/free-ice-cream-social/children-eating-ice-cream/

Reducing Stress for Your Child

Published on July 17, 2018November 16, 2018 by transitionalcarejgh

Staying Organized

Staying on top of assignments and other commitments is one of the best ways to reduce stress. Keeping an agenda or planner helps the student prioritize his/her work according to upcoming deadlines and can make workload feel less overwhelming. Laying out a plan for the week also helps students balance school, extracurricular activities and other time commitments. (Your child can also personalize his/her agenda with decorations, stickers, making it a fun way to stay organized!)

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Prepare (or have your child prepare) his/her school bag and lunch beforehand. This can help avoid stress in the mornings.
Having downtime. Allowing for downtime in your child’s schedule is important. This time is flexible – a time where your child can engage in whatever activity he/she wants, whether that is playing sports, reading, painting, dance, writing…

Maintaining a good sleep schedule. Set a bedtime for your child and keep with that, even on weekends. Ensure that your child is getting enough sleep (For 7-11 year olds, the recommended amount of sleep is 10-11 hours).
Listening to your child. If your child is experiencing anxiety in a certain situation, open up the conversation. Validate his/her fears and anxieties and work towards a solution together. (Here is a website outlining more suggestions on how to help your child cope with anxiety https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/stress-coping.html)

Resources:

1) https://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide/sleep-children#1

2) https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/dont-worry-mom/201302/12-tips-reduce-your-childs-stress-and-anxiety

Maintaining Gains: Insights from Jane Bourke, Coordinator of the Transitional Care Program

Published on January 15, 2018May 22, 2018 by transitionalcarejgh

I sat down with Jane Bourke, social worker and coordinator of the Transitional Care Team. Jane has been part of the team since 2006 and works with families whose children have been discharged from the child psychiatry units, while other members of the team work closely with the schools.

She says, “The goal of the team is to maintain the gains” children made in psychiatric treatment, after they have been discharged. Her team helps to achieve this with a flexible approach, which she describes as one of the strongest parts of the program. She explains, “We’ve structured the team so that we are available just about any hour. I’ve had families that have called me late in the evening… We aren’t an emergency service, but access to support in a more… practical way is necessary.”

This transition process is not without challenges. “Regression is often a normal experience,” Jane explains, “our role is to support that regression, whether it is minimal and needs just a little boost, or whether it’s actually a full regression.” Part of the way the Transitional Care Team can provide this support is by easy access to the psychiatric team at the Jewish General Hospital.

*Jane Bourke MSW, MFT. Coordinator of the Transitional Care Program*

The biggest challenge for children are the changes that arise during the transition back to school. These may include social expectations and learning difficulties that surface when kids return to school. Another example is class size, “coming from a program here where the classroom is at most eight children [at the Day Hospital] going back to a classroom that is on average, 25 children” can be challenging. Part of this difficulty, is that “a teacher cannot be expected to see the cues in terms of early regression… Those little behaviors that will accelerate if not addressed.” These cues are what the childcare workers on the team look for when they observe in the schools.

Despite these challenges, the Transitional Care Team witnesses many successes. In particular, Jane recalls one boy with aggressive behavior who had serious difficulties at school and home. The team surpassed the usual 6 month contract and worked with this family for two years. Jane guesses the child “probably would have been suspended from school permanently had we not been there” and “he’s still in school. That is a success, because that is ultimately our goal, to make sure these children can graduate. And then, hopefully not accessing the [mental health care] system as often as maybe would have been needed had they not had earlier treatment.”

How can parents help with this transition? “Stay in touch” Jane says, “Our intention is to build a team around the child.”

Encouraging Your Young Reader

Published on August 9, 2017January 24, 2019 by transitionalcarejgh

Summer is an opportunity for kids to grow, play and enjoy their free time. This is also a good time to encourage your child to explore new books. Reading at home can help children sustain and improve their reading skills during the summer months. Make reading part of your everyday routine –before bed, in the car, at the park and during vacation. Check out these suggestions on getting your child excited about books.

Tips on Raising a Young Reader¹

Read together. Read aloud to your child and encourage your child to read aloud to you. This gives your child a chance to practice pronunciation and work on difficult words together.
Tip: Try switching who reads aloud each page – you read a page, then your child. This can be a good tactic if the book is challenging for your child. Help the story come alive by using different voices for each character.
Let your child pick. Give your child the freedom to choose the type of book they want. When they pick a subject they are interested in (animals, sports, non-fiction, comics, fantasy) it will help them engage in the story.
Tip: Sign up for a Montreal Library card and create weekly outings to the library (find your nearest library). This gives your child access to a range of books, reduces cost of buying new books and may become something you both look forward to each week. Librarians are also great places to get book recommendations.
Discuss what you read. As you are reading, stop and ask your child questions about the story. This interactive style of reading can improve your child’s language skills and will give you an idea of their level of understanding. Older children may prefer to read on their own. You can still engage them by asking them questions about the books they are reading.

Questions to start your discussion:
• What do you think will happen next?
• How do you think the character is feeling now?
• What did the character learn?
• What would happen if…?
• How would you feel…?

Be a role model. Let your child see that you are reading, too. Kids are copy cats! If you show your child that you value reading, they may grow to love reading, too.

¹Tips adapted from:

5 Top Tips to Encouraging Reading, Reading is Fundamental.
http://www.rif.org/literacy-resources/tips-resources/5-top-tips-to-encouraging-reading/
Promoting reading in school-aged children, Caring for Kids – Canada’s Paediatric Society http://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/promoting_reading_in_school_aged_children
Reading and Writing with your Child, Kindergarten to Grade 6: A Parent Guide, Ontario Ministry of Education http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/parentGuideLitEn.pdf

Image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4