Nursery World - Your Opinion: Letters (7)

LETTER OF THE WEEK

HOW WE CAN HELP

While we debate the Baby P tragedy in our staff rooms, I wonder what it is we are doing to help support the children we work with? How well do we know their parents, and how often do we stop to consider the bruises or the odd scratch, the few days off nursery or the sudden holiday to Spain? Do we offer support to parents and allow them to access the advice and services that we, as trained professionals, can offer?

We are in a unique position to offer the support and gentle advice parents may choose to take or ignore - but if we never offer it they never have the choice. How many health visitors do you know, how many GPs, teachers, midwives, therapists, child protection officers, learning support workers, social workers? We as professionals in a multi-agency discipline have access to all of these resources; parents may not. We can direct services their way, and provide a channel of communication and trust that may just educate a parent enough to save a life.

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