By PAM WIGHT Special to the Daily Press
Your baby won’t sleep through the night and you don’t know what to do about it. Or your baby won’t sleep through the night because you’re trying to wean her and you’re not sure how to stick to your guns. Or maybe still, you have a toddler who would just as soon piddle in his pants than make the trip to the bathroom and interrupt his current project of pulling all of the dishes out of the cupboard. Rest assured, help is out there — and it doesn’t cost anything.
Santa Monica has many free programs and sources of information for parents regarding almost any subject. The Infant and Family Support Program, along with the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District and Saint John’s Health Center, currently provide a myriad of programs, meetings and “family advocates” (usually mothers who act as counselors and go into the community to find parents who need help) aimed at educating and helping new parents. The goal is to get kids ready for school.
The program is certified to help with applications for government-sponsored health care programs so parents can obtain the correct papers to make them eligible. Other topics range from weaning and breast feeding to toilet training and discipline techniques that are non-violent.
“If we don’t know the answer to a question, we can find out for any information,” said Dorie Meek, the program’s director.
Every Monday morning, the program holds meetings called, “Family Connections,” when an expert will speak on a different topic. The city of Santa Monica provides free space but does not fund advertising. Even without marketing funds, the meetings and other classes draw 300 to 400 people weekly. Between 25 and 40 attend each meeting.
“A class on (how to get your baby to) sleep will guarantee a full house,” Meek said. News of events is largely passed on by word-of-mouth and flyers distributed around the city. Flyers can be found at such places as libraries, laundromats and on the bulletin boards at the parks where the events take place. Most classes and events occur at Joslyn Park and Memorial Park. The program currently is aimed at birth to 5 years old.
The program was founded in 1997 to satisfy a need in Santa Monica. Some well-publicized writings by Dr. Dan Siegel from UCLA were published at that time claiming that the infant brain — far from being a blank slate — was a complex web of synapses and connections which needed to be stimulated or it would die. Further, Dr. Siegel argued that the right stimulation resulted in a reduction in arrests 15 years later, and that high quality child care could cut crime rates by 80 percent. At the same time there was a brewing health care crisis. The two factors spurred the creation of the program.
Family Connection meetings and other classes run on a school schedule with the first meeting this year scheduled for Sept. 13. Anyone who needs help or information can attend a meeting or pick up a flyer at one of the parks, libraries or schools. For more information, call at (310) 452-6132 or e-mail
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 7, 2004. Read the original PDF.