Tips and Advice for Expectant Mums and Dads with Disabilities

Becoming a parent is a thrill beyond words, and you want to make sure you’re prepared to

welcome your little one into the world. For those mums and dads with disabilities, there are a

number of innovative gadgets and ideas to help your family.

Here are some suggestions you don’t want to miss.

An Energy Boost

Before you know it, your child will start to become curious and will want to explore their world. It

will be your job as a parent to make sure your little one stays safe by supervising them.

Additionally, as your child becomes more active and energetic, you’ll need to find ways to keep

up with them as they venture to the playground and play games with you. Before your little one

arrives, make some healthy changes to your routine. These include sleeping for seven to nine

hours a night and staying hydrated—when you don’t drink enough water, you become more

tired. Putting your needs first will help you stay active and energised, which are much needed

for parenthood.

You-Focused Design

Have you considered making some home modifications so your environment is more supportive

and efficient? Even if you are managing in a traditional home now, depending on your disability,

you might find some simple changes can be a boon to parenthood. For instance, wider

doorways can be helpful if you use assistive devices, and it’s an easy fix by way of expandable

hinges. Skid-resistant flooring can help prevent slips and falls, and eliminating stairs and steps

can add to safety and ease of navigation. If you don’t already have one, a ramp can be a helpful

addition. You can either purchase a small threshold ramp, or it’s a DIY project you can do

yourself or hire a handyman to complete.

Concepts and Ideas

One idea is to incorporate universal design concepts into your home. Universal design is based

on the idea of creating an environment that is accessible to anyone, regardless of age or ability.

You can add motion sensors to your lights, which frees up your hands for carrying your little

one, battery-operated faucets that “see” your hands when you wash, and drawers that open at a

slight touch, alleviating difficult pulling and pushing.

Conventional and Convenient

Before you invest in specialised nursery equipment, there are lots of existing baby products that

can be helpful to parents with disabilities. You can explore online reviews to ascertain what

products will be best in your situation. There are plenty of terrific baby gates, toys, strollers, and

cribs that might meet your needs perfectly. When selecting equipment, one recommendation is

to evaluate products based on whether you will have the ability to use both hands to make

connections and closures, whether you need to be able to use the product in conjunction with

an assistive device, and whether your area provides smooth, even pavement for navigation.

Think Outside the Box

Sometimes, simple ideas can make a world of difference. For instance, highly contrasting colours

are helpful to those with vision impairment, and baby monitors that issue alerts via lighting help

those with hearing impairment. Babywearing devices such as slings and harnesses help parents

who have limited strength or mobility, and they can provide added security for parents with

limited or no vision. And for those with limited dexterity, look to hook-and-loop closures for

easier fastening and unfastening, such as on bibs and diapers. Travel system strollers can also

be beneficial since the baby’s seat is higher and requires less bending to use.

Tailored to You

For those with mobility or dexterity concerns, Disabled Parents notes that there are many

adaptive aids available to help with raising your little one. Bathtubs designed for parents who

use wheelchairs, lifters to help raise your baby from the floor, and lap trays for carrying or

feeding your child can be helpful. Another idea is to look for baby equipment that can be easily

bought or tailored to meet your needs. Cribs can be altered to open at the side for easy access

to your little one. A chest harness allows you to use both arms while carrying your child. SCI

Parenting suggests you can create rolling carts for manoeuvring with your baby. When projects

go beyond your expertise, there are often sewers, carpenters, and welders who can turn your

ideas into reality.

Dads and mums with disabilities have plenty of great options for making parenthood easier.

Prioritise self-care, rethink your home environment, and contemplate clever solutions for baby

equipment. When your bundle of joy arrives, you’ll be ready!

Ashley Taylor                                   

ashley@disabledparents.org

What does ‘Thinking Time’ look like?

We always aim to give constructive, truthful feedback at the end of the day. We are aware when we share that a child has had some ‘thinking time’, it can often worry parents. Therefore, I though it’d be useful to share exactly what ‘Thinking Time’ looks like at Karibu. 

As I’m sure you know, children push boundaries and this is totally normal (although incredibly frustrating at times!). Children need to do this to establish where the boundaries are and they will continue to do this throughout life. Children feel more safe when consistent boundaries are in place and we try very hard at Karibu to establish these across the day. We are aware that we have very high expectations of the children and are proud that they are so brilliantly behaved. 

When we are out and about, we often have lovely comments from people in the community about how happy and well behaved the children are. We are likely to have different expectations to you at home as managing a small group of children on a 1:3 ratio is different to several adults managing one or two children at home. 

‘Thinking Time’

In a nutshell, children have three ‘warnings’ before they have some ‘thinking time’ which consists of them being asked to sit down, removed from the situation, with the sand timer for a few minutes to ‘think’ about what they could do when the timer has finished. It may look like this…

Billy is running inside.

Adult - “Walking please. We walk inside at Karibu.”

Billy then runs again.

Adult - “Billy, remember to walk. Walking keeps everyone safe at Karibu. If I have to speak to you about walking again you’ll have to have some ‘thinking time’.”

Billy then runs again.

Adult - “Ok Billy, you’ve chosen to run even though we’ve asked you not to. Come with me, you need to have some ‘thinking time’.” The adult would get an age appropriate sand timer and take the child to a quiet corner and ask the child to sit quietly and think about what they will do next. When the timer has finished the adult will talk to the child about expectations in an age appropriate manner. 

We tend to introduce ‘thinking time’ to children when they are nearing two years of age. We use their age to determine which sand timer we use. For example, a 2 year old may just have a 2 minute timer, a 3 year old may have a 3 minute timer. During this time, we would not make eye contact or give any attention to the child. We will often make a point of praising children that are making the right choice to reinforce what we expect. “Well done for walking inside Peter”. “Lovely sitting on the sofa Jenny”. 

Using positive language 

We always state what we want the children to do, as opposed to what they are doing. If they are jumping on the sofa, we would state what we want the children to do by saying “Sit on the sofa, please”. Young children latch onto key words, as opposed to full sentences, so it’s important to maximise the chances of them hearing a positive word. Therefore, we wouldn’t say “Stop jumping on the sofa” as they might focus on the word ‘jumping’. Other examples include - 

Instead of “Stop running”, we would say “Walk please”.

Instead of “Stop shouting”, we would say “Use a quiet voice inside please”.

Obviously the amount of language we use varies from child to child and increases in complexity as the child gets older. 

We wouldn’t bore a 1 year old who is running inside with why they should walk but for a three or four year old, we would introduce talking about the risks involved in running. For example, “I need you to walk inside to stay safe.”

Once they have had ‘thinking time’ and all reflection has been done, it is no longer talked about. They have had their consequence. Afterwards we treat them as if nothing has happened. It’s important that the children know that it is the behaviour that isn’t acceptable, not them. If however, the children repeat the same action, the cycle would start again. Three warnings, then ‘thinking time’. 

Following through on what we say

As the children spend time with several adults during the day, we are very proactive about communicating with each other and sharing what we are observing. If an adult reminds a child about expectations, they will share this with the other adults. For example, “Matt, the next time anyone has to remind Delilah to walk inside, she knows she will have some ‘thinking time.” This eradicates that chances of children ‘playing adults off each other’ and the child then hears that other adults are aware. 

Even from a young age, as soon as they know they can get away with more when in the presence of a certain adult, that adult will attract most of the challenging behaviour! 

From an adults point of view, it really is hard to follow through with consequences, and it’s always tempting to give them another chance, then another etc. However, when a child builds that trust with you and they know they will have some ‘thinking time’ (or another consequence) if you have to ask them three times to do something, chances are, you’ll only ever have to ask them one or twice to do something! When you stay ‘stop’ or ‘no’, they know you actually mean it. 

By not following through on your given word, children will often learn to ask and ask and ask about a request, knowing that eventually the adult may crack (with frustration) and change their mind. This gives a signal to the child that if they ask and ask and ask, they will eventually get what they want. They are not doing this maliciously, they have just learnt, through no fault of their own, that if they continue to ask, they get their own way. 

I hope this helps to explain how and why we do what we do at Karibu. Receiving feedback at the end of the day that your child had has some ‘thinking time’, is nothing to worry about. If it was happening several times a day for many weeks in a row, we would arrange to have a more formal discussion. To give your children the very best possible start, we increase our expectations of the children as they get older and always aim to give useful, honest feedback at the end of the day.

If you are finding any particular part of your child’s behaviour a challenge to manage at home, then do please share it with us and we will share with you how we would deal with the same scenario at Karibu. You are welcome to use what we do at Karibu at home and you can access a blog on how we use sand timers on the blog page. You will also find links on where to buy them from. 

If you have any questions regarding this, please do just ask.

Many thanks,

Simon Jay

Observing, assessing and planning

As we have recently updated the children’s assessment journals, we thought it would be a good time to share what else we do to support your little people.

Everything we do at Karibu is carefully thought out and is linked to developing a particular skill or disposition.

We start by observing your child, noticing what they can do but also what they need support in. We note these observations down and then add a few of the observations to their assessment journal. 

Having made observations we then start using the observation as well as our professional opinion to assess your child. We use the ‘Early Years Foundation Stage - Development Matters’ document which you can simply access via Google. It’s a great read! We use the assessment journals to regularly record how your child is developing within the age-bands. If you ever want to take a look at these then please just ask as you are more than welcome to take them home to look through.

Having observed and assessed your child, we then use this information to inform our planning. We look at their assessments in their journals and chose some ‘next steps’ for your child.  We really like it when you give us some ideas on areas where you think your child needs to develop as children can often be very different outside of the home. All of this process comes together and an ‘Individual Plan’ is then created. This is a plan that we share with yourselves and we work from on a daily basis. 

These plans inform what we are doing on a day to day basis and who to target during particular learning experiences. For example, during a creative activity we may be encouraging one child to use scissors with one hand, another child might need to develop their control of pen using a tripod grip, a few children might be needing to develop their imagination when drawing a picture and we might be developing independence with another child and aim to give them less support. All children access an activity at different levels and it’s up to the adult to facilitate their learning.

The process then starts again. Using our planning we observe how they learning (through independent and adult-led sessions), assess them and then plan how we can move them forward!

If you have any questions or would like to see any of what we have mentioned then please just ask. 

Simon Jay

Karibu supports Enock in Kenya...

Ten years ago this month I taught in Kenya at the Epico Jahns Academy. The experience has stayed with me and was the deciding factor for a career in education. I still remain close friends with 'Mama Betty' the Headteacher and through Karibu have supported Enock's education for the last three years and sent various donations since returning form Africa. 

Enock has had an unimaginably tough start to life. I asked Mama Betty to give our donation to a child who wouldn't be able to attend school without full support and I'm so pleased to hear he is doing well. 

Our donation covers his full tuition, uniform, stationary and medical care for the year. We wish all at Epico Jahns all the very best and hope to travel out and see you again soon.

Simon Jay

How we use Sand Timers at Karibu

As some parents have recently bought some sand timers we thought it would be useful to let you all know how we use them.

Here is the Amazon link to buy them and we would recommend a 1, 3 and 5 minute timer. 

5 Minute - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Minute-Sand-Timer-tink-stink/dp/B01DCOHM9M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1496682915&sr=8-2&keywords=large+sand+timer

3 Minute - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Minute-Sand-timer-Yellow-Size-16/dp/B00447EMO0/ref=pd_bxgy_21_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=JAED8Y7FTS3GWZR35FQG

1 Minute - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Minute-Sand-Timer-Green-16/dp/B004474TB6/ref=pd_sim_21_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=QQB3BBZ7RW9G1N707J8K

We have a tendency as adults to regularly say to our children “in a minute”, “just wait two minutes!” etc. Children have no idea how long a minute is, let alone 2 minutes and saying this often aggravates the situation. The sand timers provide a visual representation of a period of time and children respond incredibly well with them when they’re used correctly. 

We use them mainly to help children share toys, to encourage patience, for transitions and for ‘Thinking Time’.

Here are some examples of situations and the language we use at Karibu - 

Sharing a toy

“If you get the blue sand timer (5 minute) and ask them if you can have the toy when the sand timer has finished.”  

Transitions

“In 3 minutes, when the yellow sand timer has finished we will stop and wash our hands ready for breakfast.”

To develop patience

“Yes, I will read you a story when the 5 minute sand timer has finished”

‘Thinking Time’

“I’ve told you three times that you must walk inside. Please get the sand timer and have some ‘Thinking Time’.” 

“It’s unkind to hit another child. If you get cross/angry/sad then you must talk to them. If they do not listen then you must ask a grown-up for help. Please get the sand timer, sit down here and have a think about what you can do when someone is making you feel cross/angry/sad.”

During this period they sit in a quiet space away from anything they can touch or play with. No attention or eye contact is given to the child. After the sand timer has finished we talk to the child about what they can do next time and why, e.g. “I need to walk inside to stay safe”. If the incident involved another child then they are encouraged to say sorry once they have calmed down. 

We hope this makes sense however if you do have any questions please just ask.

Simon Jay

My first few weeks at Karibu...

Mary joined us in September and wanted to write about her first few weeks. Here is what she has to say - 

"My first few weeks at Karibu have been SO inspiring. It has been a joy to meet all the children, their lovely families and to work with passionate professionals like Simon and Katie. My background is Early Childhood with a focus on Steiner Education. Karibu confirms for me that young children are better off in a home-like environment and in small groups with qualified, mature adults who keep a steady routine and loving boundaries. It feels so right to work within Karibu's ratios of one adult to every three children, as it enables a smoothly run setting with a calm atmosphere. 

Having experienced working in various kinds of Early Years environments, I feel in a strong position to say that these quality-makers REALLY matter. Everybody is better off in these conditions, especially the children. The children are leading their own play (hurray!) and are allowed time to discover and explore because Karibu understands the value of independent play. Never before in society has children's play been so recorded, surveyed, watched by and dare I say interfered with by adults. Although we observe and scaffold, we do step back and let them evolve through their own learning. 

I have always wanted to work in these conditions and be able to give this personal touch to my work. As a professional it just feels respectful, right and OH SO GOOD!

Steiner - Masters - Lucky us!

We are incredibly lucky to have Mary joining us full-time from September. Mary has Early Years Professional Status, a BA in Early Childhood Studies and also has a Masters in Social Science for Children and Young People. She was lead of a Steiner inspired Kindergarten in Cork, Ireland and has recently spent time working at Windmill Hill City Farm. She is currently finishing off her Lead Practitioner role at a large private nursery in Bristol before joining the Karibu team ready for September. Lucky us!

“Hi all, my name is Mary! I'm an Early Years Professional and I am very excited to be joining Karibu in September. I am truly inspired by Simon's approach to childcare. The children are cared for beautifully in a home-like environment and spend lots of time outdoors. Having spent a little time with the group it is clear that the children are respected as active agents of their own learning. They are stimulated through practical life skills both in the home and in their community. Their interests are pursued and they are able to explore their environment physically and socially in real meaningful ways. I just cannot wait to get started! Looking forward to meeting you all - Mary”.

Many thanks,

Simon Jay

New teacher at Karibu Childcare!

I'm delighted to let you know that Katie Gallagher will be joining us all at Karibu. Myself and the children are incredibly lucky to have Katie joining us as she has a wealth of early years experience and expertise. Katie is currently teaching in a local primary school in Reception (4-5 year olds) and will join us for a few days a week in January. Katie has joined us on several occasions so far to begin to build relationships with the children and to aid transition. From what she says below, it sounds like she's looking forward to starting too!

"Hi everyone, I'm Katie! I'm very excited to be joining Karibu Childcare this coming January! I have 30 years experience working with pre-school and primary school children as a Nursery Nurse, Childminder and Teacher. 

Having spent a few transition days with Simon to get to know him and the children, I have found Karibu to be a setting which provides pre-schoolers with outstanding care and education.

I can't wait to begin my new job, having witnessed the rich and stimulating environment provided by Karibu, where I have seen the children learning through enjoyment and discovery. It is great to have the opportunity to join a setting where the security and happiness of the children is paramount. During my time spent at Karibu so far, it has been very evident that all the children, at their varying ages and stages, are thriving, happy and confident. 

I believe the success of Karibu is also related to the emphasis on embracing the richness of opportunity within our local neighbourhood, parks and community. This fills me with optimism and anticipation, that all of us will be having lots of fun and enjoyment as we explore and learn together!"

Simon Jay

Enock goes to school in Kenya!

I decided I wanted to have a career in education after spending time teaching in Kenya back in 2007 at Epico Jahns Academy.

In every class I have ever taught since, I have always included some of my African experiences. You can teach children about the world but unless they can strongly relate to it in some way the effectiveness is massively reduced. Maintaining these links has benefited children on both continents tremendously.

Karibu Childcare now sponsors a child at Epico Jahns Academy. We are funding Enock's full time education and also his medical expenses, lunches, school books and his school uniform. The Headteacher, Betty Lubanga (or 'Mama Betty' as she tends to be known) tells me that Enock loves school, is trying so hard and extremely proud of his new school uniform!

As Mr Mandela once said 'education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world'.

Enjoy the start of term Enock.

Simon Jay

Super September!

It's been an incredible start to Karibu Childcare and I thought it was about time to share a few photos of some of the things we've been up to! 

The children have loved exploring both inside and outside of Karibu, as well as getting out and about on a daily basis to enjoy the local environment. 

To see photos just click on the link to explore the Karibu Childcare Facebook page. 

Enjoy.

Simon Jay