Thursday, September 17, 2009
'Grandparenting Today' class updates skills
Grandparents-to-be can learn the latest on child care.
ERIC BRADY The Roanoke Times
Angela Kinzie (left) and Barbara Pack lead a class for grandparents-to-be that teaches safety and other topics.
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Barbara Pack, community outreach manager for Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, is a grandparent.
Over the past year, as little feet went pitter-patter across her floor, she realized that it had been 23 years since she had an infant of her own at home -- and that other grandparents might not know a lot about babies today.
Pack was luckier than most. As a childbirth educator for Carilion, she was already aware of the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendations for cribs, car seats and cows milk. She knew to lay newborns on their backs and remembered to put medications out of reach.
But Pack worried about the countless grandparents not privy to this information. It was this, Pack said, that prompted her to begin the "Grandparenting Today" class at Carilion.
This two-hour class is designed with any type of grandparent in mind. There are new grandparents, long-distance grandparents, part-time grandparents and grandparents who plan to baby-sit every day.
Angela Kinzie, a childbirth and lactation educator at Carilion Clinic who co-teaches with Pack, explained that the beginning of each class is spent on new and updated information, including crib safety, car seat safety and home safety.
Pack is most passionate about the Back to Sleep program and the latest information about the dangers of third-hand smoke. The Back to Sleep program advises infant caregivers to lay babies on their backs to sleep and their tummies to play, she explained. Third-hand smoke is the tobacco residue found on clothing, furniture and carpeting that can be harmful to children of all ages.
Kinzie said the second half of the class is spent giving advice on how to be a better grandparent. She said she meets a lot of expectant parents in her childbirth classes who struggle with explaining their wants and needs to the soon-to-be grandparents.
Praising their own children for their early parenting skills, letting these new parents design their own family traditions and developing a meaningful long-distance relationship with new grandchildren are some of the topics included in this segment. Kinzie said this is her favorite part of the class.
"We are taking on a different role here," she said. "Just seeing them come to that awareness and see the wheels turning ... is just exciting."
