MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- The New Parent Support Group here regularly offers a variety of services to help station parents with children newborn to 5 years of age. Playmorning, which meets in the community room of Building 656 here 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays, is one of the many services offered to parents to aid in their child‘s development.
“Children benefit from socialization,” said registered nurse Rafiah Meekins, a New Parent Support Group nurse.
The children learn how to interact and play together during the group, Meekins added.
Playmorning starts off with the children playing together with toys and continues with them singing various songs like “The Itsy-bitsy Spider” and “Wheels on the Bus.”
After singing, all the parents and children work together on art and craft projects, which help develop the children’s creativity.
All activities during the play group concentrate on socializing children and helping them develop various skills.
Meekins said mixing children with children their own age prepares them for the future when they go to school and participate in school-age programs.
While children benefit by socializing and playing, the parents also benefit by talking with other parents and nurses present at the play groups.
Michelle Griffin, mother to a 1-yearold son and Playmorning participant, said it’s helpful to meet other moms with children the same age as her son.
Counselors from the Military and Family Life Consultant Program are also on hand to answer any questions parents might have.
Different child development topics are covered each week to help parents with their children.
While one week the group may concentrate on the importance of hydration, the next they will concentrate on how to encourage and praise their children, Meekins said.
Many of the parents agreed they look forward to the weekly play group almost as much as their children did.
Since most participants are stay-at-home moms, the program offers them the chance to break the monotony of just staying at home everyday, Griffin said.
“I get to meet some people around base that I really don’t know and probably wouldn‘t have gotten to meet anywhere else on base,” said Deanna Hull, mother of two toddlers. “It’s not always easy being stuck at home.”
To attend Playmorning, the New Parent Support Group asks that all children be updated on their immunization records.
Parents with children newborn to 5 interested in attending Playmorning or any other service provided by the New Parent Support Group can call 253-6553 for more information.