Text: Marie McFarlane. Photographs: Gallo Images/Thinkstock photos. Article from the April 2014 issue of Living and Loving Magazine.
Marie McFarlane unpacks the different activity clubs available so you can find the right one for you and your baby.
As a new mom you want to offer your baby every developmental advantage by joining some kind of moms and babes or moms and tots group – but how do you know which one to choose?
First, decide on what kind of developmental activity you want for your child. Do you want them to do something that develops gross and fine motor skills, something that is more active and inclined towards gross motor skills, or do you want something that stimulates their creativity?
Remember that this is also about you – you don’t want to be suffering through an activity every week that you really don’t enjoy yourself. Is this going to be a chance for you to connect with other moms or is it more about what your baby or tot gets up to? Weigh up all these factors before you decide on the kind of activity you’d like to commit to.
If you’re a working mom, it can be tough to schedule, so is it worth it? Increasingly, research is pointing towards the importance of play in early childhood development. A paper published by the American Academy of Pediatrics comments that play is essential to development because it contributes cognitive, physical, social and emotional wellbeing of children. Early Childhood Australia notes that “play-based learning is … a context for learning through which children organise and make sense of their social worlds, as they actively engage with people, objects and representations.”
Most of the development clubs available have programmes that have been developed by occupational therapists specifically to encourage the well baby (i.e. a baby who doesn’t need OT to remedy a developmental delay) to achieve certain key developmental milestones through a combination of exercises and music that stimulates the senses as well as developing gross and fine motor skills. Children learn through play, so although the activities may seem like relatively unstructured play time, there is always a very specific goal behind the activities. And for new moms, it offers the chance to get some advice and inspiration for additional activities to do with your baby or toddler during the week.
Moms & Babes Workshop
The pay-off line for this group is “Stimulation is the key to enhancing a baby’s development” – which gives you a great idea of what it’s all about. Moms & Babes is part of the Moms & Tots group, and starts with babies from just two months old. The programme was designed by two highly regarded professionals, Kate Bailey, a paediatric OT, and Nicky Lasch, a physiotherapist. They’ve created a fun development programme for babies under the age of 12 months – based on the stimulation of gross and fine motor skills, as well as sensory development, the progression of play, emotional and social development and parent information.
Time Workshops run, on average, for 10 hours once a week on weekdays. Some, but not all franchises do Saturday workshops too.
Where Classes are held nationwide.
Visit www.momsandbabes.co.za to find a class near you.
Moms & Tots Workshop
This group is an extension of the Moms & Babes workshops and continues the progress made during the first year. That said, you don’t need to have attended the Moms & Babes workshops to get something out of the workshops. Classes are limited to 12 tots and moms and are divided into Tiny Tots of 1 -1 ½ years, and Tots from 1½ – 3½ years old, focusing on the all-round development of the child.
Time These workshops are 2 hours once a week on weekdays, either in the morning or the afternoon. Some, but not all franchises do Saturday workshops too.
Where Classes are held nationwide.
Visit www.momsandtots.co.za to find a class near you.
Top Tots Mother & Child Workshops
This group focuses on empowering parents to be the best they can be. In other words, with every activity, the parents get to understand the ‘why and how’ of what they are doing with their children, explains Top Tots group leader Liz Victor. Every activity is planned with a specific outcome in mind that works towards meeting key developmental goals, and each class has a follow-through programme for home. Top Tots has seven age categories: Infants, 8-12 weeks; Small Baby from 3-7 months; Big Babies from 8-12 months, Little Toddlers from 12-18 months; Toddlers from 18-24 months, Big Toddlers from 2-3 years and Top Toddlers from 3-4 years old.
Time One session of about 1½ hours a week, depending on the group and the instructor – you can attend a free session to test it out.
Where There are classes in Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal.
Visit www.toptots.co.za for more details.
Clamber Club
Clamber Club has a programme that was developed by an occupational therapist and uses props and equipment along with a range of songs and activities to develop perceptual motor development in babies and toddlers. The programme is specifically focused on stimulation of the senses and movement, particularly gross motor skills and one of its goals is to create a lifelong love of exercise. Baby classes start with Tadpoles from 2-8-month-olds, Froglets from 9-12 months, Froggies from one to two years old and Leap Frogs from two to three years old. Clamber Club also offers a range of other services – parties for kids, sports classes for preschools and playgroups.
Time Varies according to age group.
Where There are franchises all over South Africa. To find one near you, visit www.clamberclub.co.za.
Kindermusik
This is, as the name suggests, an early music education programme, and is based around the belief that music encourages a baby’s learning through activities that stimulate and engage all the senses. The classes encompass various styles of music, instrument play, dance and ‘together time’ for moms and babes or tots. The classes are Village for babies from newborn to 18 months, Our Time for toddlers from 18 months to three years old, and Imagine That! for three to five-year-olds. Kindermusik also has home programmes for purchase. If you’re passionate about music yourself, or you want your child to be exposed to music and musicality from a young age, this is a great choice for you.
Time 30 – 45 minutes for Village classes; 45 minutes for Our Time and Imagine That! classes, but it does vary slightly from instructor to instructor.
Where There is a large network of educators and classes nationwide.
Visit www.kindermusik.com to find a nearby educator.
Have you realised…
That since becoming a mother you really don’t want to go back to your old job? All of these developmental groups offer moms franchise opportunities or the chance to become a workshop or group leader. Check the website of your preferred group for details.
Our Top 10 Developmental Toys
LeapFrog My Pal Violet and My Pal Scout (6 months+) are soft, cuddly toys that can be connected to a computer to customise the music and personalise the toy with your child’s name, favourite food, colour and animal. Both come preloaded with five songs and you can choose from a range of 30 online.
Everyone knows how endlessly adaptable blocks are for small children. The MegaBlox First Builders sets encourage discovery, gross and fine motor skills, organisation and open-ended play, while stimulating his imagination and developing focus and attention.
The Little Tikes Push n Play Turtle (12 months+) helps develop fine motor and hand-eye co-ordination skills, provides them with stimulating floor play and helps them to walk.
The Chicco Animal Cottage (12 months+) develops hand and eye co-ordination and logical association skills when the toddler fits the five animal characters through the appropriate holes. He can then find the key to the door or lift the roof off to get the pieces out again.
The Chicco Talking Farm (12 months +) helps children develop their linguistic, numeric and mnemonic skills as they learn to recognize animal names, sounds, colours and numbers.
Fisher-Price Baby’s World Chunky Puzzle and Fisher-Price Learning Friends Chunky Puzzle (18 months+) teach kids to match pieces to shapes, fosters development and improves hand co-ordination skills. Each puzzle has six pieces and teaches either shapes, colours or numbers.
Little Tikes Tap a Tune Bells (1-5 years) encourages your child to engage in creative cause-and-effect play by tapping the bells to make their own music and tunes, either by tapping the bells with the mallet or ringing them individually.
The LeapFrog Factory Phonics Playset (3 years +) teaches letter names and sounds through songs and music. It encourages tactile play with individual letter tiles and helps reinforce what is learned at playschool.
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