Parenting a child of any age can be overwhelming at the best of times.

Knowing who to turn to for trusted and consistent advice and support is key to navigating the challenges.

In this episode of Kids Health Matters our guest expert discusses why ‘milestones matter’ and how invaluable child health nurses can be in supporting parents and carers.

The Kids Health Matters podcast series provides valuable advice on common child health concerns and issues from leading experts at the Child and Adolescent Health Service (CAHS).

In ’Milestones Matter’ we introduce you to Brooke Cini, one of our ‘dynamic dual role’ nurses at CAHS who is passionate about working as both a Child Health Nurse in the community with Child and Adolescent Community Health (CACH) and a nurse on the surgical ward at Perth Children’s Hospital (PCH).

Brooke said as a child health nurse she not only checks that babies and toddlers are healthy and progressing well but that parents are adjusting to their new role.

“Re-assurance, non-judgemental support and guidance are the cornerstones of our work as child health nurses.

“We want to be able to support parents to give their children the best possible start in life,” Brooke said.

Brooke reveals the most common questions child health nurses get asked by parents and she discusses:

the importance of child health checks and developmental milestones
how they can assist on any issues of concerns
why there are no ‘silly’ questions
why the ‘purple book’ is a ‘one stop shop’ and
how parenting groups can help parents build a supportive network.

The importance of two-year-old health checks to identify any concerns and to help get children ‘school ready’ is also emphasised. This is the last of the five scheduled contacts.

This episode is hosted by broadcaster Dani Shuey and CAHS Coordinator of Nursing in Infection Prevention and Control, Danielle Engelbrecht.

Further information about the podcast series including a link to this episode can be found on the Kids Health Matters homepage.

Kids Health Matters is proudly produced by CAHS which includes Neonatology, CACH, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and PCH.

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