Toddler's Place - a parent and toddler class with a difference
He rite te paharakeke ki te whānau
Family is like a harakeke bush
The growth and development of our new citizens, our future leaders, begins at infancy. As the above whakatauki entails, Toddler’s Place acknowledges the important place our tamariki hold in our society, at the centre of the whānau, of the community.
Like the Baby's Place course, Toddler's Place has its own magic and follows on from Baby's Place to support an empowering partnership between parent and toddler as the toddler navigates their journey to autonomy and independence. Toddler’s Place is a 10-week course that begins with a ‘parents only’ introductory session.
"The resources and set up were just beautiful and inviting, and just set the whole tone."
Based on 60 years of extensive research, these parent-toddler classes provide quality education and support by providing parents with the tools and skills to partner with their toddler to:
- Understand and support their unfolding autonomy.
- Develop skills to stay in the partnership dance with them
- Be an observer and read their cues.
- Understand their needs and extraordinary competencies
- Have fun and enjoy each other.
Research found that children who are offered attention, consistency and respect from their caregiver grow in to authentic, confident and competent individuals that make valued contributions to their community and to society.
Furthermore the Pikler philosophy that this course is based on strongly aligns with the principles of te Tiriti o Waitangi. The course is about developing a partnership between the parent and toddler. It is run on a participatory model and develops parents’ understanding of child development, recognising the importance of protecting our tamariki, our taonga. It supports the wellbeing of both the parents and the toddlers, developing the toddler’s security and sense of belonging.
Toddler's Place contributes to building strong, connected, and creative communities.
"I believe every child should be raised with these techniques and learnings as it really lays a platform for the toddlers to be self confident and compassionate young kids, which can only be a good thing while on the journey to adulthood."
“Bronwen and Kiri do such an exceptional job at presenting this highly invaluable and important information. They deliver it with such passion and heart, and you can very evidently see they care about the message they are delivering.”
Facilitators
Kiri Olds
Kiri Olds is passionate about children and the impact that a positive and respectful early childhood experience can have on our communities and our future. A Graduate from Victoria University in 2015 with a BA in Te Reo Māori, Māori Studies, and Environmental Studies she has natural skills in communication, organisation and a strong sense of community. At age 17 she attended Dance with me in the Heart, a workshop run by Pennie Brownlee on the culture of respect and the Pikler philosophy. Since then she has co-facilitated five Baby’s Place and Toddler’s Place courses and has run Treaty of Waitangi workshops for Early Childhood Teachers. She believes that the culture of respect, based on Pikler philosophy, has the power the change the world.
Bronwen Olds
A parent of four children, Bronwen’s vocation is focused on creating and supporting just and respectful relationships. This focuses on partnerships between children, parents, educators, and between Māori and Tauiwi/Pakeha. She has worked professionally for over 30 years supporting children and young people’s development in community, educational and government organisations. This includes her work lecturing at Victoria University in Early Childhood Education for 15 years. Bronwen’s recent work has focused on the Professional Learning Development for people working in the Early Childhood sector and designing and delivering tailored learning for community organisations. She has a Masters of Social Science, First Class Hons (Waikato), and the NZ Playcentre Federation Certificate. She is a trained leader in the Pikler approach, Incredible Years programme, and facilitates courses for parents and babies. She is an honorary life member of the Hutt Playcentre Association and the President of the Wellington Branch of OMEP (an international early childhood association).
To register or enquire please contact Bronwen Olds
ph - 027 677 8052
email - bronwen.olds@gmail.com
