Babies and toddlers are sometimes a bigger challenge than you think: some cry a lot, others have trouble falling asleep, don’t drink and eat like other children, or often have tantrums and are then difficult to calm down. If nothing helps anymore, the parents often experience great exhaustion and a feeling of helplessness.
In general, rural districts and cities must provide a specific range of educational advice, as stated in the Child and Youth Welfare Act. In Ebersberg, Caritas received this order, and in 1995 they set up an advice center for parents, children and young people in Grafing. Twelve years ago, when infanticide by shaking was increasing in Germany, the district of Caritas therefore suggested opening a department especially for parents with newborns and small children from birth to three years of age. And that’s how it happened: In 2011, the counseling center was expanded to include a “cribbing baby outpatient clinic”.
The title “Writing Baby Ambulance” is unfortunately a bit misleading, you help with all sorts of topics to do with small children
Unfortunately, this title is not really appropriate for two reasons, explains social worker Angela Breder-Michael, who is responsible for this department together with psychologist Nina Sulzbach. First of all, this is not a real ambulance, “because we are not available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for emergencies”. On the other hand, so-called cry babies are by no means the only focus of the advice center. “The term can deter parents who aren’t sure whether their baby is a cry baby or not.” Everyone is welcome, because the institution is a general educational advice center for parents with children from zero to three years. Not only screaming, but also topics such as sleep, food and defiance could make parents despair. “All of these are problems that are taken seriously here,” says Breder-Michael.
You and Sulzbach are specially trained professionals, both having completed the approximately three-year training course for integrative parent, infant and toddler counseling at the German Academy for Child Development. Training that takes a long time and is very demanding alongside work – but it’s worth it, they say.
Different professions work together here, because families should have several perspectives to choose from
Three to four social workers, two curative teachers and two psychologists work together in the entire counseling center for parents, children and young people. “This multi-professionalism is very important for us, because the families should have several options and different perspectives to choose from,” explains Sulzbach. The counseling center deals with everything to do with children from birth to 21, kindergarten, school and puberty. “Everyone is guaranteed to get an appointment within 48 hours,” promises Sulzbach. The first questions were: “How urgent is it? And what is it about? What are the problems and what are the goals?” At the first appointment, we look at “how best to continue”.
According to Sulzbach, the type of advice given and the mode of work are always very individually tailored to the family. “Most of the time there are appointments lasting several weeks, and there is often cooperation with paediatricians.” The children are usually present at the appointments, because you can tell a lot from their behavior. Incidentally, the team reacted flexibly and pragmatically to the restrictions of the pandemic: the appointments were changed to walks, so advice and help could be given in the fresh air.
The experts have good news for all exhausted parents: it is often only temporary phases in which the children are stuck, and up to the age of three they develop very quickly. Nevertheless, Breder-Michael recommends that it never hurts to be consistent and establish a routine.
Counseling center for parents, children and young people, Bahnhofstraße 1 in Grafing. The offer is free and confidential, appointments can be made by calling (08092) 232 41 30.