The Child Center of NY was pleased to partner with Queens Community House to host a day of health education, fun, raffles, Zumba, and face painting. On November 22, the community came together for A Community Approach to Family Health, a family-focused event sponsored by Advantage Care Physicians.
The morning started at Parsons Beacon program with registration, tables inviting people to register for The Child Center’s Single Stop program. Congresswoman Grace Meng gave some opening remarks before Monica Corbett, a community leader and Chair of Pomonok Houses Resident Association, spoke to the crowd. Reverend Alfonso Wyatt led the group in a chant that inspired kids and parents to take charge of their health and take care of their bodies.
Advantage Care Physicians led the group in break-out sessions that helped educate people on child development at every stage: Nursery and Elementary School Years, Middle School Years, and High School Years.
Then the group launched into some exercise and fun. A group Zumba class was one of the highlights to help everyone get moving—the first step toward a healthier, more active lifestyle. Kids enjoyed basketball, face painting, and a bouncy house where they could get moving and active. Students in our Beacon program stepped up as volunteers to serve the food.
The Child Center also completed a series of maternal and child health workshops, sponsored by Advantage Care Physicians. Registered Nurse Frances Brenner, nurse practitioner with The Child Center’s Head Start programs, led the workshop series.
Earlier workshops introduced parents to preconception care and breastfeeding. Frances discussed caring for the newborn infant, infant safety, the unique sensory capacities that newborns possess at birth, and how parents can guide that development. She also reviewed the schedule of infant examinations, and when to call a doctor or go to the emergency room. Parents were able to talk about their own experiences—a tragic and fatal experience related to an unsafe sleeping space for a newborn, and how postpartum complications can impact a mom’s ability to care for her infant both physically and emotionally.
Although the participants were already parents, they were interested in learning more from the workshops because they felt they didn’t have the information and guidance when they were having children. They also liked being able to share the information with their cousins, sisters and sisters-in laws who are new to the United States.
