Including All Children and Families Expanding Partnership

Please note that Westcoast has developed this document in different languages to support your newcomer families
Click on the link for more documents:  http://www.wstcoast.org/parents/multilingual.html

Stages of Children’s Settlement and Cultural Adaptation

When parents are present (Stages 1 – 3)

Stage 1

• Child is distrustful of the new environment, and feels unsafe and nervous
• Very dependent on parents, and stays close by parent most of time
• Avoids eye contact and body contact with teachers and peers
• Accepts only food brought by parents
• Might lose the ability to speak own language

Stage 2

• Shows strong symptoms of anxiety (i.e., weeping on and off, and staying close to parents)
• Although he/she won’t initiate play, might respond to invitations to play from parents
• May have some eye contact with teachers, but usually won’t allow body contact
• Speaks with parents in own language

Stage 3

• Child shows more confidence—will walk around the room
• May occasionally play by him/herself
• Checks frequently to see if parents are still around but also may focus on his/her play
• Will accept eye contact from teachers and minimal body contact
• With encouragement from the parents, the child will try the food provided by program

When parents are absent (Stages 4 – 10)

Stage 4

• Feels unsafe and panicky
• May show physical symptoms ( i.e. pale face, trembling body, low body temperature, nausea,
vomiting, convulsions, spasms, wandering around, stiff body unable to walk/move easily)
• Shows extreme fear and anxiety when parents leave
• Unaware of teacher’s voice or completely refuses touch
• Unwilling to attend any routine activities (i.e. eating, putting clothes on, etc.)

Stage 5

• Very nervous, uneasy, and/or angry (i.e. might kick, bit, strike, scream, throw things — might hurt
himself/herself, other people or furniture, crying out loud. Occasionally, the weeping may ease off for
a period of time.)
• Holds onto all belongings from home and is angry if they are removed
• May allow certain teachers to get close to him/her, or hug him/her
• Does not react well to change

Stage 6

• Continues to show symptoms of anxiety upon separation from parent (weeping on and off)
• When being held (or weeping alone), occasionally will stop weeping and watch teachers and peers
• Willing to accept some toys given by the teacher and play for a brief period of time
• Very dependent on a certain teacher
• Unable to engage actively in games
• Allows teachers to help him/her to use the washroom
• Puts on his/her own clothes
• Might try food provided by the school, or food brought by parents

Stage 7

• Feels more comfortable
• Can stay alone most of the time
• Usually likes to stay at a specific place and watch other children play
• When teacher is close by, the child can actively play with some familiar toys
• They will check often to make sure the teacher is still there
• May still carry belongings from home
• Still reacts negatively to any minor changes. (I.e. weeping, and asking a teacher to hold him/her)
• Avoids any eye contact
• Pushes peers away
• If attacked or disturbed by another child, expresses no anger; usually doesn’t react
• Usually willing to eat food provided by the program
• Accepts some routine activities with little or no resistance

Stage 8

• Able to walk around the room feeling relatively relaxed and confident
• Willing to try different activities when encouraged by teachers
• Willing to accept toys given by peers
• Eats food provided by the school
• With assistance, will participate in some routine activities. (i.e. putting clothes on, using the washroom)
• Willing to accept clothes provided by the program
• Unable to handle more significant changes (i.e. when teacher is sick, going on a field trip, etc)

Stage 9

• Can participate in activities in the room
• Able to create a variety of games
• Able to stay at a game for a longer period of time
• May socialize with one or two children
• Able to attend routines voluntarily (based on the child’s age)
• Able to put on appropriate clothing according to the season
• Willing to approach or be approached by most teachers and strangers
• Fully accepts new situations that occur

Stage 10

• All symptoms of nervousness and anxiety are gone and enjoys being with other people
• Able to appreciate humour and expresses feelings freely
• Able to concentrate for a relatively long period of time during a group game
• Able to get toys from various places in the room and play with them
• Able to anticipate the upcoming routines and ask for certain activities
• Able to handle change under most circumstances

Adapted from Julie Dotsch, Ontario Welcome House Nursery (now closed). This sheet may be downloaded at no cost
from the Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre website. www.wstcoast.org. The information sheet may be available
in other languages.

The Ripple Effect of Resiliency: Strategies for Fostering Resiliency with Indigenous Children.

This is a resource for Educators, Early Childhood Educators, Child Care Specialists, Social Workers, Counsellors, Policy Makers, and anyone providing services to Indigenous children.

The first section of the resource is educational and covers resiliency, trauma, understanding history, personal and workplace wellness.  The second section focuses on the four protective blankets that foster resiliency with Indigenous children: self, family, community and sense of culture, language and connection to the land. Each of the chapters concludes with worksheets designed to support both individual and team reflection, with specific questions to support you in taking what you have learned and weaving it into your work and programming. The last section is an extensive resource list.

For the week of September 27th to October 5th The Ripple Effect of Resiliency is being sold at a special rate of $30.00, regularly $39.95.

To order your copy or copies, visit www.littledrum.com

Crisis and Trauma Resource Institute Inc. is offering the following public workshops across Canada:

• Addictions and Mental Illness – Working with Co-occurring Disorders
• Anxiety – Practical Intervention Strategies
• Crisis Response Planning
• Critical Incident Group Debriefing
• Counselling Skills – An Introduction and Overview
• De-escalating Potentially Violent Situations TM
• Depression – Practical Intervention Strategies
• Disordered Eating – From Image to Illness
• Family Violence – Working Towards Solutions
• Gender and Sexual Identity in Youth
• Motivating Change – Strategies for Approaching Resistance
• Restorative Justice – Guiding Principles for Communities and Organizations
• Self-Injury Behaviour in Youth – Issues and Strategies
• Substance Abuse and Youth – Creating Opportunities for Change
• Suicide Prevention, Intervention and Postvention Strategies
• Trauma – Strategies for Resolving the Impact of Post Traumatic Stress
• Understanding Mental Illness
• Violence Threat Assessment – Planning and Response

  For detailed information, please go to www.ctrinstitute.com/publicwk.html, phone 204-452-9199, or email info@ctrinstitute.com

Hope, Faith & Empathy

With the rate of sales to date, Hope, Faith & Empathy is on its way to being a Canadian Best Seller within the next six months. The story of Tilly, a young Indigenous woman growing up in Canada and the people who helped shape her life, her survival and her irrepressible spirit portray a unique perspective of the history of the First Peoples in Canada; including the Sixties Scoop, Indigenous adoption, Indian Day Schools, Residential Schools and tuberculosis hospitals. They share stories of homecomings rooted in courage and resiliency. The book is soon to be in all indie and major bookstores in Vancouver and across Canada, but for now your best way to get copies is from Little Drum.

The presentations from the 2012 Early Assessment Workshop have been uploaded to this website. Please check: https://includingallchildren.educ.ubc.ca/work-research/assessmentworkshops/2012-assessment-workshop/