Anam Cara Bereavement Support Evening in Dungloe

Bereavement Information Evening
Venue: The Waterfront Hotel, Mill Road, Dungloe, Co. Donegal
Date: Tuesday, March 6th 2018
Time: 7.00pm – 9.00pm

(Registration from 6:45pm)

Anam Cara, the all-Ireland organisation providing support services to bereaved parents and families, is hosting a Bereavement Information Evening in Dungloe on Tuesday 6th March. This event gives parents an opportunity to hear an experienced bereavement professional talk about the many challenges their family may face after the death of a son or daughter.
Please note this event is open to all bereaved parents, regardless of the age of their child or the circumstances of their death.
If you have attended a previous Bereavement Information Evening, we would encourage you to come again because each time you will hear something that will help you along the difficult and challenging journey of grief. There will also be time after the talk to interact with other bereaved parents.

Details for the upcoming Bereavement Talk on Tuesday 6th March:

Guest Speaker: Brid Carroll
Brid is a qualified Psychotherapist and Counselling Supervisor who has worked with a special interest in loss and
bereavement issues for over twenty years. She has extensive experience in parental bereavement through her work with the
Irish Hospice Foundation and the HSE as Bereavement Liaison Officer. Brid is at present counselling children, young people
and families dealing with loss and change through death, separation and illness. This talk will cover:
• The complex issues grieving parents must face when they have experienced the death of their child, highlighting
what is normal in this process.
• The gender differences in facing such a loss will be explored to give an understanding for both parents of their
differing worldviews.
• It will highlight the milestones on the journey through this special grief and the small supports that can make the
journey a little easier.
• Various types of loss, whether expected or sudden, will also be discussed to understand their impact on grieving
parents, their families and the deceased child’s siblings.

Anam Cara provides a range of support services for bereaved parents which include a comprehensive website with links to resources including videos and information booklets compiled by bereaved parents. See https://anamcara.ie/ or contact us at
info@anamcara.ie or our information line on 085 2888 888.
Along with bereavement information evenings, Anam Cara runs monthly parent evenings which give parents an opportunity to meet with other parents in a safe and comfortable place over a cup of tea or coffee. Throughout the year Anam Cara also hosts a variety of social and remembrance helping to bring families together. Recognising that some parents may prefer not to talk openly about their loss, Anam Cara would like to reassure parents there is no pressure for them to contribute and they are welcome to listen to how other Mums and Dads have coped through the intense grief and sense of loss.
This information evening, like all Anam Cara events, is provided free of charge to parents.

Here is a short and powerful video where parents give a glimpse into the impact that the death of their child has had on their lives    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV_BzNZaWbw&list=PLNVVa8ILYvi0BnppCEwXrdomOONFSxkAY

Anam Cara will need to confirm numbers for this event. We would appreciate if you could RSVP to info@anamcara.ie before
Monday 5th March 2018 or contact us on 01 4045378 /0879637790.

This event is funded by Tusla.

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Safer Internet Day takes place next Tuesday, 7th February 2023. Sadly more than 1 in 4 young people in Ireland have experienced cyberbullying, yet only 60% of victims tell their parents. As teenagers and children spend more time on the internet, ensuring it's a safe space is ever more important. To encourage conversation about life online and help parents keep their children safe, I'd like to share a free resource created by Switcher.ie. It's a comprehensive guide which includes things like:
  • How to reduce the risks online
  • How to recognise cyber bullying and grooming
  • How to educate children on cyber safety
  • How to set up parental controls on devices
I thought it may be useful to share the link to the guide - https://switcher.ie/broadband/guides/how-to-keep-your-children-safe-online/ - which you can include on your website ahead of Safer Internet Day, to help parents and children who may need some extra support. We've also put together some handy top tips you can use on your website: 10 tips to keep your children safe online
  1. Talk about it:Make time to chat about online risks and how to use the internet safelyas soon as they're old enough to go online. Encourage your children to speak to you about what they view online and empower them to act if they're worried about anything.
  2. Recognise the risks: Educate yourself about the potential dangers children could face online so  it’s easier to spot warning signs. Get to know what platforms your children use, and learn about dangers such as phishing, grooming and cyberbullying.
  3. Teach the do's and don'ts: Be clear about the non-negotiables.  For example, teach your child not to share personal details or photos with strangers and instruct them not to click on links to unknown websites or texts. Do encourage your child to question what they see and only accept friend requests from people they know.
  4. Spot the signs: Pay attention to your children's behaviour whilst on and off their devices. Being alert to changes in your child can help prevent problems from escalating. Some warning signs are withdrawing from friends or family, sleeping and eating problems or losing interest in previously loved hobbies or interests.
  5. Set boundaries:Let your children know what they can and can't do on the internet from the get-go. Agree on what devices they can use, when, and how long they can spend online. As they get older, explaining and negotiating boundaries may be more effective.
  6. Take 'parental' control: These ready-made boundaries put parents in control of what children can see online. They can be set up through your internet provider at device level to block specific websites and filter out inappropriate content.
  7. Be social media savvy:  The popularity of social media apps like TikTok and Snapchat makes it harder to keep track of what your child is accessing online.  Fortunately, each social media platform has its own privacy settings and safety tips for parents. Check them out before you let children have their own accounts.
  8. Protect from harm:Install antivirus software on family devices to minimise the risk of cyber attacks or scams. Use two-factor authentication (2FA) for extra security on your online accounts. This can also stop children from signing into services they're not allowed to use.
  9. Set a great example:  You're the greatest 'influencer' in your children's lives when they're young.  Limiting your time online, discussing dangers you've come across, and questioning what you view can help reinforce the rules you are setting for your children and, in turn, influence their online behaviour.
  10. Seek support:The more you learn about online dangers, the better equipped you'll be to handle them. There are some great resources like  webwise.ieinternetmatters.organd cybersafekids.ie to help you recognise and reduce online dangers and seek advice if you think your child is experiencing cyberbullying or is at risk online.
        Short videos on the Importance of Play have recently launched which was a collaboration between North Central CFSN and Lifestart Services.   Volume 1 https://youtu.be/xl2F2vZXhbg Volume 2 https://youtu.be/OOy4lmWggtM Volume 3 https://youtu.be/tmv40--l7fA Volume 4 https://youtu.be/Wr9bfTWddts Volume 5 https://youtu.be/7HLkBXvVTFE Volume 6 https://youtu.be/NuUXb51qZY0

Infant Mental Health Awareness Week runs from June 13th-19th.           

This week provides an opportunity to focus attention on the wellbeing, social and emotional development of our babies and young children. It highlights the importance of early relationships and a relationship based approach to interventions with infants and families. As our understanding of IMH and its evidence base develops, so also does our knowledge of how to apply this knowledge and an ‘IMH lens’ to interactions with infants, parents and caregivers in health and social services. 

What is infant mental health?

Infant Mental health (IMH) refers to the healthy social and emotional development of Infants starting at conception up to three years of age.

The first 1000 days of life are recognised as a critical period of opportunity to support infant mental health. Decades of research have shown that it is the quality of the early caregiver relationship that is a significant determinant of the infant’s healthy social and emotional development and in turn physical health, right up to adulthood.

 

The National Healthy Childhood Programme has embedded IMH as the foundation of the development of its resources and in the approach of the delivery of the universal child health service. This embedding of key messages can be seen in the My Child suite of books (www.mychild.ie/books) and also on www.MyChild.ie  where key messages around bonding and relationship building have been embedded for the parent/caregiver.

 

In clinical practice the topic of IMH has been included for the first time in the National Standardised Child Health Record. To build on this, the National Healthy Childhood Programme have just completed a suite of three eLearning units which are now available on HSEland for healthcare practitioners / caregivers who are working with children and families.  

 

Throughout the week you will see videos and key IMH messaging being promoted on the HSE MyChild social media pages ( Facebook / Instagram ). Keep an eye out in the National Newspapers for articles from our experts also. (IrishTimes article)  

 

In addition The National Healthy Childhood Programme have developed a series of ten practical videos with HSE expert advice which are now available on YouTube and on the relevant pages on the www.mychild.ie website.

These videos (2-3 minutes each) are aimed at parents/guardians of children (0 – 3 years).

These new video resources are available here while lots more expert advice for every step of pregnancy, baby and toddler health can also be found at www.mychild.ie

There are a suite of posters available focusing on the promotion of IMH messaging to order from healthy.childhood@hse.ie

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