The Centre for Early Childhood Development ran a parenting workshop at Ocean View library on Friday September 13 as part of the centre’s family outreach programme.
The Claremont-based centre, which opened in 1994, provides training, support, and advice to improve the education of children from disadvantaged communities.
Lisa Jurgens, the centre’s family outreach worker, said the workshop covered nutrition, physical and mental health and the importance of early reading habits.
Ms Jurgens said the centre had launched a family outreach programme pilot project in Ocean View and Red Hill, where centre staff visited homes to assess the needs of children who did not attend a preschool. The programme would run until the end of November, with plans to operate full-time next year, she said.
Ocean View senior librarian Marlene Davids said the “1000 Stories before school starts” initiative, offered at libraries across the province, encouraged parents to read to their children from pregnancy to the age of six.
“Each milestone is marked with a booklet, starting from the prenatal stage, with the ultimate goal of fostering a strong reading culture before formal schooling begins,” she said.
