The Mairie de Monaco-run Espaces Parents sessions for new parents and their children are back this autumn with a well-rounded programme of classes and workshops covering topics from breastfeeding and weaning to first aid and navigating the ‘terrible twos’.
In recent years, a national strategy to improve childcare facilities and services in the Principality has played out across Monaco in the form of new crèches and an increase in the number of childcare places for young children, as well as through investment in more family-friendly activities and events.
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The Espaces Parents sessions, which are run by the team at Monaco’s Early Childhood and Family Department at the Foyer Sainte Dévote on Rue Philibert Florence, are another example of this overarching mission, and have been available to all parents and children residing in Monaco for the last two years.
During September and October, the team will be hosting a number of helpful and supportive sessions for parents and their children that will feature input from various early childhood professionals, including psychologists, paediatric nurses, early childhood educators and psychomotor therapists.
These sessions and events are typically held on Tuesdays between 5pm and 6.30pm, and on Fridays from 12.30pm until 2pm, but there are some exceptions, such as a Monaco Red Cross visit on Thursday 12th September, which will teach parents how to deal with choking incidents and simple wound dressings. This will take place between 2pm and 4pm.
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Coming up this month is a session on Tuesday 10th September on how to support young children when they start at crèche. This will be followed by the Red Cross first aid class then a talk on how to manage the ‘baby blues’ and how to address your own needs after welcoming a new baby on Friday 20th September. On Tuesday 24th September, a registered dietitian will be present to talk through the importance of healthy food practices during the first three years of a child’s life.
Then, a breastfeeding support group will meet with the Early Childhood and Family Department’s in-house lactation consultant Brigitte Fino on Friday 4th October. This will be followed by a session on the ‘terrible twos’ on Tuesday 8th October, a talk on sleep on Friday 18th October and a meeting with Dr Catherine Roehrig regarding screen time during early childhood on Tuesday 22nd October.
The team at the Foyer Sainte Dévote also runs parent-child play sessions every Wednesday from 9.30am to 11am. There will be two psychomotor workshops over the next two months: on Thursday 19th September and Thursday 24th October, both from 2.30pm to 4.30pm.
For more information or to sign up for a session, call +377 93 15 61 85 or email espacesparents@mairie.mc.
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