Dates to Remember

December 23rd-January 4th.

Holiday Break

January 18th. Martin Luther

King Day observed..

Center closed

19th. Playgroups begin.

MILFORD FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER

JUDY LOBDELL, EDITOR December 2015

Milford Family Resource

Center Staff::

Program Manager:

Peggy Kelly

Parent Educators:

Kathy Aspinwall

Judy Lobdell

Anne Mundy

The Milford Family

Resource Center

@Mathewson School

466 West River Street

Milford, CT 06461

(203)783-3626

mfrc@milforded.org

Submitted by Kathy Aspinwall

*How many times have you left your pediatricians office and said to yourself “I forgot

to ask the doctor about...” As you are driving home with your child you remember a

number of questions, issues or comments that you wanted to discuss with your doctor

but did not. This is something that has happened to every parent at some time. How can

this be avoided? The following are a few points that can help us gain the maximum

benefit of our time spent at the pediatrician’s office.

Come prepared with a list of written questions. Your preparation time will avoid non

-productive time spent with the doctor. Start listing questions two weeks prior to

your child’s visit.

Keep asking the same questions until you are satisfied with the response of the

doctor. Do not be intimidated. Remember it is your child’s well being that you are

discussing.

Discuss any concerns you may have no matter how trivial you may think they are.

This may trigger something that you or the doctor may not have thought about.

Share any relavent family news. (death, separation, etc.)

Maintain a written record of your child’s medical history. This will allow you to

immediately identify past conditions and when they occurred. Include vaccinations,

allergies, hospital and office visits, X-ray results, and summaries of past discussions

with healthcare professional.

By keeping a record of your child’s health history you will have the necessary

information readily available if you are referred to a specialist or find yourself in an

emergency situation.

Most important of all - trust your instincts. You know your child better than anyone. Do

not let a discussion end until you are completely satisfied. Your pediatrician will benefit

from your insights. Parent’s instincts are still the best advice.

*Information from the Parents As Teachers program

Tips For Trips to the Doctor

Happy Winter

There are still openings in our playgroups. If you would like further information, please

contact the Milford Family Resource Center by phone or email..

It’s the day before the holiday. There are 30 guests arriving at your house tomorrow! There are gifts to be

wrapped, menus to be prepared, rooms to be cleaned, and on top of that lives to be lived! Stop, breathe and

listen—and you might hear the pounding of your heart as your adrenaline surges through your body, raising

your blood pressure as it prepares your body for yet another fight or flight episode.

Such is the MO of the stress reaction, and if frequent enough and launched on an unprepared subject, it can wreck

havoc on the mind and body. Stress is with us everyday, but during the holidays and in times of crisis it can be

harder to manage. It is important to keep in mind that without stress we would not be able to accomplish the many

things we do. It is when we become unbalanced by too much stress that we get into trouble. So what can we do to

prevent that ‘burn-out’ syndrome?

Taking a holistic approach, it is important to identify various strategies to prevent or minimize stress. There are

three dimensions of stress, and they are: body, situational, and mental stress.

In dealing with body stress, avoiding common stress-inducing substances such as caffeine, nicotine and

alcohol and practicing deep breathing, getting regular exercise and adequate rest might be helpful. With

situational stress, it might prove more helpful to make changes in your environment, learn time management

tips, delegate responsibilities and learn to be more assertive and when and how to say no. For mind stress,

perhaps visualization and mental imagery, positive self-talk, or meditation and/or pryer would be more

productive.

Whatever you, it is important to know your needs and find something that works for you and fits into your

lifestyle. Perhaps the most revealing aspects of stress management can be found in the research of psychologist

Susan Kobasa.

Kobasa, in her late 70’s - early 80’s studies, found some people did not succumb to the negative effects, while

others did. In her studies, she identified three common characteristics in stress-resistant individuals that she

coined the ‘3 C’s’:

1. CHALLENGE.. Depicted in people who see life events as opportunities rather than threats

2. COMMITMENT . Depicted in people who find a ‘raison d’etre’ from their deep commitment to work, family

and personal life.

3. CONTROL. Depicted in people who feel either their actions or attitudes have an impact on their world.

A 4th ‘c’ was recently added by ESSI Systems, an international stress research and consulting firm:

4. CENTEREDNESS. Depicted in people who value themselves regardless of outside influence, such as

expectations or events that happen to you.*

In effect, our job is not to eliminate stress completely but view it in a different light, balance it,

and use it constructively, not destructively.

*excerpts from Delicious Magazine

POSITIVELY STRESSED

FOR THE HOLIDAYS AND BEYOND

Stressed is desserts spelled backwards...hmm

Our 19th Annual Holiday

Concert

Featuring

The Learning Station A very big Thank You to our generous sponsors of our

Holiday Concert 2015

THE Milford Bank,

Milford Pediatric Group,

Berchem, Moses and Devlin , LLC

BIC Corporation

Santa and his helpers:

Emma, Samantha, Sarah, Lauren, and Thomas

Children, Moms and Dads all had a great time participating in 19th annual Holiday Concert!

Mrs. Claus (AKA Peggy Kelly) and her helpers.

Get Outside & Learn

Healthy, educational and fun kids

classes, in your community.

Tinkergarten® provides the best early childhood

education in the healthiest classroom of all—

the outdoors. We match families with leaders in their

local community who offer activity-based kids clas-

ses that help them develop the skills that matter

most—all while having fun!

Led by an expert local parent at your local park

Kids 18 months-8 years

Learn leadership, creativity, problem solving & more

See tinkergarten.com/Makayla.okeefe for classes and FREE events

and like us at Tinkergarten-Greater New Haven on Facebook!

Current Eisenhower Park Classes:

WINTER SESSION- 6 Weeks SPRING SESSION-8 Weeks

January 15th-February 19th April 15th-June 3rd

Ages 18 months-36 months Ages 18 months-36 months

Taste of Tinkergarten (FREE)

January 8th 10 AM-11AM

March 25th 10AM-11AM

Registration Required

New Program in Milford

Milford Salvation Army Service Unit

Red Kettle Campaign 2015

The Key Clubs of Joseph A. Foran

and Jonathan Law High Schools

were joined in their annual effort

to raise funds for the Milford Sal-

vation Army Service Unit by Dr.

Elizabeth Feser, Principal Fran

Thompson and Representative

Pam Staneski.

Platt Tech, The Academy and

Lauralton High Schools also

participated in the campaign.

All funds raised in Milford

remain in Milford to assist

families in need.

THANK YOU TO THE GENEROSITY OF THE MILFORD COMMUNITY!