From the CEO

Dear friends,

More than ever, this year has been about adversity, resilience and reframing. As the State of Emergency was declared, expectant and new parents turned to Tweddle with unease and distress.

Telehealth, online parenting groups and childbirth education systems and processes were developed to reassure anxious parents, many of whom had spent months on a waiting list for a residential admission.

Mums and dads spoke of their mental health concerns and about isolation, employment, financial worries, relationship distress and their baby’s developmental milestones.

Our clinicians spoke to parents about serve and return, comfort and nurture, the foundations for secure attachment and brain development. Babies are adaptable and feed off the mental health of their parents and carers. It was vital that parents were supported to focus on their own mental health.

Scientific evidence tells us that baby and toddler exposure to adversity can lead to a variety of short and long-term negative health effects. It can disrupt early brain development and compromise functioning of the nervous and immune systems.

Understanding how the experiences children have from birth affect lifelong outcomes, combined with what adults need to thrive as parents, is crucial.

It enables services like Tweddle, the Early Years sector and policy-makers to drive and invest in therapeutic, recovery based, intensive services for families experiencing adversity.

In this newsletter we share updates from a year that has offered us an opportunity for expansion as we supported more families across Victoria using telehealth. We are proud of our staff and thankful to the thousands of families that turned to us for support, either in person, through telehealth or one of our digital channels.

We’re grateful to the Department of Health and Human Services, the Tweddle Board, our funders, donors, volunteers and community services partners. We look forward to a 2021 Reset, and the opportunity to celebrate Tweddle’s Centenary.  Have a safe, happy and restful Festive Season from all of us at Tweddle.

Stay well and take care,
Jacquie O’Brien
Tweddle CEO

Tweddle will be closing for business at midday on Wednesday the 23rd of December and reopening on Monday 18^th of January. Tweddle’s MyTime groups align with school terms so will commence in the first week of February.

For many parents, this is your first year with a baby, a special time to build memories with family and friends. While many of us are preparing for holidays and family gatherings, it’s important to remember that challenges with parenting, mental health and family violence don’t go away over the festive period. In fact, stress and frustration can magnify existing problems.

Babies, toddlers and young children can feel your stress so it’s important to look after yourself and those around you. Children will appreciate the gift of your time more than any present they will receive.

Strategies to help reduce stress include having realistic expectations, getting as much rest as possible and understanding that stress might also be effecting those around you.