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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-03-18, Page 711 unit tlpntB|[l")8Dt •F88tUre.-i. eR8kO|OO •F8Ml||y More G0DE82O8S1GN8L-SIA8.WEDNESDAY, MARCH l8.lN87-pA(E}A al.0...6*ervuum. 7���l�� fttr ~�'u���1dreach: a ���������"�m����� ����]��� Variety activities conducted ~� at program run under the auspices of FCS of _ By LOU -ANN HOPE Programs designed for mothers and young ci1dren are not often found in small towns but Huron County Family d Children's Services 1FCS ) along with the Huron County Health Unit have reacted to a need for such a program in Goderich. "Child -reach", run by FCS, emerged from discussions among the ad- ministrative members of FCS and the Health Unit -They realized that there wasn't a pro- gram for children and that rnnouo could benefit from some sort of support - parenting gr p ortd oup " Marianne Menzies, FCS Written Pr.O.p.osot for the. program was drafted and sent to. the' IiilinistrY 6f munity and Social Services which gave its approval to the plan. Since the program receives its funding. from the ministry, the program is operated under the auspices of "Er CS is trying to get rid of the stigma at- tached to the society and provide a pro- • gram for everyone and the response has been great," Menzies said. Operating since. January in .Goderich, "child -reach" is 'a support -parenting group for mothers which, at the same time, also offers a children's program for .pre-school children ( 0-5 years of age). The group meets weekly on Wednesday inorn- ings from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.. in. the base- • ment of St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church in Goderich. ,..A similiar program was held last winter in Winghain. A Pre-. gram also operates along the same lines in "The program is for anyone interested in coming to a support group," Menzies said. Topics for the weekly meetings are decided by the entire group during the first session. Each :week, a .different topie is discuSsed with the help of guest speakers, filins, slides, et cetera. SOme. of the topics include child behaviour management, toilet training, nutritious snacks, how to talk to your child about sex, creative toy demonstrations and speeCh pathology. • "Any and all topics discussed are those which the moms have expressed an in- , terest in learning' more -about," Menzies Currently, there are about 20 mothers who attend the program. Menzies noted committment to attend required. CHILDREN'S PROGRAM . While mom is learning about the newest toilet: training techniques in the parent's segnient of "Child -reach", little Kristy • and Robbie are left in the capable hands of Elaine Ayres, volunteer co-brdioator p6tho "Child -reach" children's -"Initially,a lot of the children were ap- prehensive upset with their moms leaving although they were just around the corner. There were a lot of tears then but after the first seven or eight Weeks they began to look forward to coming to the program. It .has wise 'confined' to their home or who were exposed to other children," Ayres never ^ said.. In the' children's portion of the program, Ayres and her group of volunteers keep the children occupied with a variety of ac-. tivities. The program is an organized periodeonsisting of four different aspectS: free play, snacks, crafts, 'and sing -song and story time. "We try and use things that moms have around the home, for example straws, paper plates and paper bags, in the craft sessions so that the children can do art- work at hrnne without moms needing a lot of materials or having to spend a lot of money," she said about the craft segirPrit. During story Uine, the volunteersand children discuss such thilying, fami- ly happy: In free play the children use building blocks and balloons while nutritious snacks consist Of apples and cheese. PROGRAM BENEFITS • "The nice part df the ( children's ) pro- gram i roKruno( if we see anyproblems with the child, we can get together with the mother to se if we ran help in anyway o if we can refer them tnothernorvicoo`" said Ayres who has training inchild care, behavioural 8Y WILLIAM THOMAS . .^^ Brian, ������an may l� -�- ��U� N�����U� your `�~~n����"^~°`�~~ never wilt Ali, Brian, me boy, God luv ya. It is simply splendid to see you - you the pride and joy of every livin', kickin' • Irishman in the seat of power in this. country. Especially since them that's been in the. power have been kickin' us _Irish the seat for so long. To tell yrni tnue,tha .l'v*nevorheen .prouder of•-Mothor-Eire herself as -I --was w-henl saw that picture .in the paper of you with your arm around young Ronnie Reagan. Imagine two good Irish boys from ,humble beginnin's and bad actors to boot runnin' each other's countries the . way you two do. And you cornin' up with that clever idea of a Shamrock Summit 'n' all. I mean just luved it, Brian. The two of you are shinin' inspiration to all us poor sods and halfwits that we too could someday finagle our way into the highest offices in the land. It is simply grand to see you and Ron- nie gettin' alonglike Pat and Mike out on a tear of the town. Brian, you're givin' him things he ain't even askin' for and helpin' him get started on his war in outer spate 'n' all. I don't care what they Then I saw yet anpther picture in the paper, you with your arm around another fine Irish boy - that young Roy McMurtry fella. And, Brian, I say this with great .sincerity: you're just too. generous to be true. I mean, ypu made the man High • Commissioner to Britain and he wasn't even in your government, you ' bein' federal and he bein' prOvincial 'n' all. It was like you were the commissioner of football and he was referree-in-chief of hockey and you went and put him in your ball of fame. It was luvely and I couldn't have been prouder of two Irishmen if Eamon deVelera and Brian Boru had both'Showed up drunk on me doorstep.. Baie Comeau, he's straight from Kilken- ny with Bushmills tattooed on his arm. He's lookin' out for his own. I said it tp me buddy Donne,gan, I did - we've not got ourselves a Prime Minister here, we've . camel slacks and blue blazer.Mind , you. Brian', I'm sick ,-,n; you yourself are about this*. patronage business. Unless of course it's rrie and you that's gettin patronized. The way I see it, Brian, me boy ' - when Irish eyes are ~... who gives - rip '-' restf` 'ern. � Which bring's.me to the. point of this . ter. Brian, I've a wee favor or two to be askin' you. Mepoor mother, Brian - the luvely and witty Margaret McLean who, lives in the wee village of Fonthill - she's the sweetest thing that ever made the crossin' from County Cork. Brian, you'd luv her - she's as Mick as me and twice as Irish, she is. She's subsistin' on a wee pension and a bit more on the guaranteed ner- vous, fiddlin' and prices. She's not slept in a fortnight,' Brian. Now if you don't keep i i ' her the money, Brian, then I'll behuvin' to: and what with the price of Irish whiskey these days and the weekly tab I'm runnin up - Brian, she'll have to ge without. So don't be foolin' with , people's grocery money and while You're at it, drop all the taxes' on Irish whiskey for those of us who can prove we're Shamrock green. It would take but two phone calls, and Margaret and me - well, we'd be beholden to,you, Brian. She nips a bit tooyou know? Brian, you rernember me friend Don- negan l oo'en6onod..Briun. if there's a Man that loves you more than Me it's Brendan O'Neil Donnegan. He keeps a bloody photo of you in his wallet. Hight next to his unemployment card. Well, me and Donnegan got ourselves faced the other night upstairs at McNanoora'y, and before.' Donnegan passed out on m we were havin this kin - da daydream on how us lrish - me, you, Donnegan, Ronnie and Roy, the whole bloody lot of us - could change the course Evergreen!f history together. "Always Irish! God bless St. Patrick!" and all that kinda blarney we were shoutin'. to help you out in any way we cam Mind you, Brial-0 we're not askin' fOr the world. We were just wonderin' if we could be Our goodwill ambassadors to Spain. In the south: Near Marbella. I've been there, Brrati. It's Itively. Now before you're saying no Brian. think about it a wee bit. You could come and Visit anytime. I mean that. And Don- negan and me won't be neeclin' official residences or none nf that - well just he goin' from bar to bar because that's where tl3e heartbeat of the country is in Spain. And we just bought ourselves a fine motorcar, Brian, practical'ly stole it. We paid cash for it and it wasvery mw on mileage - it had been used enc|unive\�to take John Turner to swearin' in cerenlonies. So me and Donneganwe're no Brian. We'd henuvin' you Ints of limos and servants and alt that nonsense. Brian, we're oxhin' only that you think about it, and nobody need know how we got the jbs ana. Oh, and another thing, Brian - I'm told that you're ridin' on the wagon these days, and 1 don't think any the less of you for it. l don't. But with St. Paddy's day Turn to page 2A • A once -a -week program for moms and children called "Child -reach" is ,currently operating in ,onoricmunder the au^«u,xum FCS. In the top picture, children and volunteers play games while monis attend their _Meeting.. Above left, Marianne Meo' Men- zies, FCS co-ordinator of "Child -reach". At right, Tisha Horton, pretends she's a bird during one of the children's guessing games: . On Tisha's right is Elaine • ocdtoutOc of. the children's program.. (photos by Lou -Ann }tope) ;.management and has taken courses in play therapy and child psychology. The child's behaviour is also monitored by Aryes and her volunteers. "We r,eward the good and overlook the bad.. If the child is bad, then he or she sits in the corner for two minutes. Usually the .child tells,,his or her mom about it and the morn starts to use this punishment instead of loud voices or spanking. In this manner, the moms learn to care for their chil,dren in a loving, caring way of discipline," Ayres said. She felt "Child -reach" was a helpful pro- gram Since it helps both children and mothers. "RI. very nice just knowing you are do- ing something for them and to be able to guide moinin a lot of directions," she said. VOLUNTEERS "Chil(1-reach" uses a lot of volunteer participation in both the mother's and children's programs. • Guest speakers donate their time to the program while St. Peter's Church Supplies the room and audie-visual equipment. ,Volunteers to help Ayres with the Children's prograrn are always needed. "Marianne 1 Menzies ) gets in touch with the volunteer co-ordinator at FCS or speaks ..`—i ". --,_- an __' to obtain ^ Ayres said. Sheo0ted other methods of reaching volunteers werethrough the high school, foster parents and"tapping into the resotirces we already kure^ WHAT MOMS THINK Moms who take part in the "Child- reach"program do so for a variety Of reuoonm-aondoforinterest,yomuetorolax, and others to le -learn skills they have1not used for a munber of years.. Heather Turton of Goderich and her six- month -old son Joseph attend "Child- , "I really hke the program because I'm learning a lot. It's informative and it makes Me aware of services that are out there. It let's me get out and meet other said. Margaret Austin goes to •the weekly meetings Inst to get out and for relaxa- tion". She ,also said it helps her to learn "what I'M doing right and what I'm doing wrong" when it. comes to caring for s ven- month-old son Robbie. "Kids like to get out and see other "ds to socialize. Seeing new faces is go d for them. Kristy has a lot of fun playin with other kids and here there are a lot o kids of all ages,1! said Kristy's mom, Karen Finnie, whd said she likes the meetings because they let her get together *ith other women. "The discussions are really inte sting and there are a lot of good speaker ," she added. Helen Hutc.hi-ngs views "Child -re ch" ds a kind of refresher course for hersel . Hut- chings has a young son as well as two teenage sons at home, so, as she said, it has been a few years since she having to deal with the problems_ and concerns 'which arise with a young child., "If there's a specific problem you are havIng, it's niCe to have other people's opi- how to deal with it. The program also covers all kinds of different things, from nutrition to behaviour to just about everything," she said. ATTENDING "CHILD -REACH" Goderich's"Child-reach" is being offered on a trial basis only until the end of June at which time Menzies -said FCS would look at establishing a similiar program perhaps in a town such as.Clinton or Seaforth. Anyone can attend the weekly meetings at the church. "We will be taking three weeks off from the end of March until the middle of April to ,re -group and line up more speakers," Menzies said. The next session will run from Mid -April tothe end of June. "Anyone intesested in coming together to talk about kids is welcome. We are 'always encouraging new people to attend the program," she added, stressing that there is no committrnent to attend each week's meeting. If you would like moreinformation about the program, contact Mary Anne Menzies at Family. and Children's Services in Goderich at 524-7356, Nutrition and limportant for = Nutrition and lifestyle go hand-in-hand in living a healthy kind of life, according to Cathy ThonnsOn, nutrition consultant with the Huron County Health Unit, and with March being designated "Nutrition Month" people 'should be thinkifig more about eating and living well. Studies show that 95 per cent of Cana- dian adults believe that good nutrition is personally very important to them, said Heather Nielson, president of the Cana- dian Dietetic', Association's 4,000 profes- sional dietitians ,and nutritionistS, in a press relea'se. "The key is•to encourage people to act on that positive attitude by improving their eating habits on a daily basis. Our role as dietitians is to proVide reliable nutrition in- formation to help people make those dietary changes," Nielson said. At the Hnron County Helath Unit, Thom- son is more than willing to discuss nutri- tion among today's population. "The key issue in nutrition today /s. / think, fat. People eat too much hat," Thomsen said, adding that fat is obtained in a variety of ways through meat and dairy produciy. fried foods, butter, margarine, mayonnaise and salad dressing. While many people think that fat is pre sentinbiAhquuntiUeuincedroeot. Thom- son noted that in Canada red meats are low in fat due to the grading system. Lean heef and pork has as much fat as chicken," she noted. Recommendations tocut drownonfat in- clude having only athree ounce portion hf meat using lean cuts with all visible fat trimmed. Recent studies on 1celaidic Eskimos, as well as men in North American and the Nrther|andy, show that the fatty acids in fish seem to protect against heart dieease, and hecause of these findings, eating fish on a regular basis is recommended. "The other side of the barrel is the fat that we add through frying dressings,et retero.'^ she said, adding that salad dress- ing shoulne asked for "on the side" and ^ that butter and margarine should be used in moderation. . 'We know now that it's the total amount of fat in the diet that makes more !of odi�. ference than the type of hot " The second most important itern Thom- som noted with regard to nutrition was the change from the protein -fat em asis to the emphasis on complex carboh drates. Complex carbohydrates include such things as whole grainS: whole wheat, rye, pumpernickel, oats in breads, Muffins, noodles and cookies. Moderating the use of salt and sugar is also a wise choice. "Sugar provides nothing but ex' cess calories," Thomson said, adding people should "try and use naturally sweet fnods I such as fruits )" instead. Mutins and quickbreads also can satisfy yo t sweet tooth without all that excess sugir. Salt has been linked to hi ri blood pressure, althougri the exten of the linkage has not yet been dete -mined.' However, salt intake is often higher ampng people than it should be, A tabloid prepared hy the Canadian Dietetic Association and the Health Unit states, "Our bodies reqiiire about one- quarter teaspoon of salt daily; the average consumption is about two and one- ho|fteuxpoonmpmrdoy." Thomson recommends tasting food heforeuddinN salt as well as limiting the intake of processed salty foods (such as canned souand seasoning mxes). OVERUSE OF VITAMINS Vitamin d mineral supplements are expensive and can he a waste, of nooney, according to the hlth pamphletpruduced hy the Health Unit and Canadian Dietetic ssociation. in exces.s of the body's needs no benefits and can he harmful. pr r bodwill onlusethoamount/feach nutrient it needs. Some of the excess is ex- creted, the rest accumulates in thebody, the pamph3et read. "Some people get in the habit of saying Turu to page 2. .