Good Enough Start Community support for Mums, Dads & primary caregivers.
Dear Reader
Nelson Mandela’s quote. “It takes a village to raise a child,” has international relevance and none more so than in Millom, where many in our community support family, friends and neighbours daily. Regular support is essential to anyone caring for a baby. Do you know someone with a small child who you might support in a small way?
good enough start
Why is supporting parents so important?
For all of us, the first 1001 days of life, from conception onwards, is probably the most critical period in our lives, but a time that none of us can consciously remember. During this period, everyone who cares for a new baby as family or friend is helping a little person to grow and fully develop healthily, physically and emotionally. Hopefully, someone cared for you, providing a good enough start in your first days of life?
good enough start
Hopefully, you developed into an adult who can effectively interact socially. In addition, you generally feel happy, able to take advantage of life’s opportunities and cope with life’s inevitable ups and downs. If so, it’s likely you received a good enough emotional start in your earliest days of life
This is because everyone’s earliest experiences of emotional care affect the way areas of our brain develop. Consequently, as a caregiver building a secure parent-infant relationship, you literally build the foundations – the necessary brain connections – to create a child’s positive emotional well-being creating the building blocks for lifelong emotional health.
This scan image shows that areas of an infant brain is stimulated when you connect with a gentle loving touch and a kiss. The parent’s brain benefits too.
Nationally, statistically, at least 20% of our children are currently prevented from developing a secure relationship with their caregiver (all kinds of parents for all sorts of reasons).
Good enough start
Assuming your needs were met when you were a baby. What was happening was, your caregiver was actually reducing any stress you might have felt. Feeling hungry, tired, overstimulated, frightened (i.e. by being alone or a loud noise) or uncomfortable (i.e. too much heat/cold) causes a baby to feel stressed, so you eventually learned to understand, by experience, that you would be soothed. Too much stress can actually prevent new brain connections forming.
Eventually, with the familiar feeling and expectation that your upset was temporary, you began to learn to soothe yourself as you grew into an adult. This is very useful, as it enables you to cope when life throws stressful situations your way and you can apply coping strategies to help you through.
Good Enough Start is a new preventative service, the first of its kind in Cumbria, working alongside all public services. The service focuses on anything that might get in the way of a primary caregiver feeling unable to build a close parent-infant connection
Anyone might find themselves unable to respond to a baby’s needs, usually unexpectedly, at any time. One common hurdle can be your own childhood memories suddenly flooding back that create an emotional barrier to relating to your own baby. You might become ill suddenly or experience a life-changing event such as grief, family breakdown or loss of income. You may already feel quite vulnerable yourself from challenging experiences or perhaps an addiction. No matter what, any caregiver in a challenging situation can be empowered to provide a good enough start for their baby. The Good Enough Start service can offer you support.
If you have any concerns from reading this article today, please contact the service. You will receive a quick, friendly reply, and our specialist practitioners will happily talk confidentially with you. Otherwise, you can ask someone to contact us on your behalf or through your GP, Midwife and Health Visitor.
For information about all our universal group sessions and one to one support follow us on Facebook and Instagram @goodenoughstart and website www.goodenoughstart.com
Any feedback or comments via our social media platforms about the service will also be gratefully received.
Many thanks,
Janice Brockbank, Chair of Good Enough Start on behalf of all GES stakeholders – North Cumbria NHS – Howgill Family Centre – Millom Partnership of Schools.
Funded by: Copeland Community Fund, Francis C Scott Trust, Sellafield Ltd and Cumbria Community Foundation
Many thanks,
Janice Brockbank, Chair of Good Enough Start on behalf of all GES stakeholders – North Cumbria NHS – Howgill Family Centre – Millom Partnership of Schools.
Funded by: Copeland Community Fund, Francis C Scott Trust, Sellafield Ltd and Cumbria Community Foundation
