Category Archives: Parenting

Are your Child’s Vaccines Up to Date

Posted on by

Immunisation is the safest and most effective way of protecting against serious diseases. The Public Health Agency (PHA) strongly recommends that babies and children are vaccinated according to the Routine Childhood Immunisations Schedule; and are urging parents to check their child’s red book to see if vaccinations are up-to-date.

Vaccination rates have seen a slight decrease over recent years and the additional disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have caused some of the decreases in vaccine coverage. It is important vaccination coverage is improved as soon as possible to help prevent the spread of avoidable serious and sometimes deadly diseases such as measles and polio.

For more information visit Check your child’s red book to see if vaccinations are up-to-date | HSC Public Health Agency (hscni.net)

Also view Why the MMR Vaccine is important for you and your family at https://vimeo.com/797645270

SHSCT Children’s Speach & Language Therapy Team Play & Say Programme

Posted on by

The Play and Say programme from the Southern Health & Social Care Trust’s Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Team is for children aged 3 years and younger and their parents/carers and is now available for everyone.

It provides tried and tested strategies to support young children’s speech and language development through play.

The programme is delivered by Registered Speech and Language Therapists and has been highly successful in encouraging young children’s communication development.

Discover how you can help your young child progress with their early speech development and listen to the Registered Speech and Language Therapists as they guide you through a series of proven language development strategies –  https://view.pagetiger.com/play-and-say/universal

Download Play and Say flyer

NEW SHSCT Speech & Language Therapy Advice Line

Posted on by

The Southern Health and Social Care Trust’s Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Team are delighted to announce the launch of the telephone Advice Line as a means of support of parents of children resident in the SHSCT.

The Advice Line will be available each Monday starting February 6th from 10am-12 noon.

Parents/ carers will now have direct access to a Registered Speech and Language Therapist, via a dedicated phone line.

NB -This service is for children who are not already known to the Speech and Language Therapy service. 

Low Cost Play Ideas

Posted on by
With the cost of living crisis impacting families across Northern Ireland, Playboard NI have developed a new resource highlighting a range of low-cost play ideas in the run-up to Christmas.
Play activity does not need to be expensive or involve costly toys and gadgets – there are many ‘free and found’ play opportunities that already exist within our homes, schools, childcare settings, and communities.
Read ‘Play in times of hardship’ at https://bit.ly/playintimesofhardship for lots of free and found play ideas to help make play possible.

.