To request that staff at my local childrens centre don't give out advice contrary to government guidelines?

[ChairmumMiaow]

To keep it brief, I have a problem with the staff that help out at our baby play making comments like "Oh I weaned mine at 12 weeks and they're all fine" and "Mine all slept on their fronts and nothing happened to them". I've also heard them telling a smoker that co-sleeping is fine!

I want to ask the childrens centre to provide some basic training on guidelines to their staff so that mums (particularly vulnerable new ones) aren't getting inappropriate advice from untrained people (they are trained, just not in this area)

AIBU?

iT DEPENDS WHAT THEIR REMIT IS. (Although can see your point.)
Asking people who earn a pittance to undergo training and guidance on this stuff is probably pushing it.

Many people dish out duff advice.

YANBU - they could be seen as having some kind of authority due to their role and so their advice might not be given the healthy dose of that it would if it came from some dotty old dear in the supermarket... Basically training not too much to ask for - they would be paid to attend I guess?

Is this paid staff or volunteers? I don't think YABU but it could be difficult to enforce. However, some of the comments you quote don't just sound like lack of training, they sound like people who are aware of current advice and are deliberately giving out a different point of view, and yes, that is a bit scary.

They are all paid staff - I wouldn't expect anything from volunteers, but then I don't think they have the same position of 'authority'.

The "family support workers" seem to be ok, but we normally have a member of staff from the attached playschool/nursery type place helping out. They're the ones that this 'advice' has come from.

I would speak to the family support manager about your concerns. Members of staff from the attached pre-school should be included in any training on up-to-date practice. The family support manager may not realise that inaccurate and possibly harmful information is being given out.

YANBU. But the government change their mind about what is the appropriate on what seems a yearly basis.

Littlefish - the centre manager has a monthly "parents forum" so I'm going to see her then, plus have some positive suggestions for events for the centre so I'm not just going to complain

I don't think the advice changes that often, I just think second (and later) time parents find it hard to find the time to read the stuff they're given, and there is never a justification in the literature for any change in guidelines!

I'm sure the centre manager would be really hear to have your involvement ChairmumMioaw. I used to work in a Children's Centre in Birmingham - I have a feeling you're in B'ham aren't you?

"would be really pleased to have your involvement"

Littlefish - bromsgrove, about 15 miles south.

I'm already one of those mums that already gets involved, and generally love the childrens centre and the staff, so hopefully will be able to put this across right.

The centre is so nice they're letting me (selling slings) and another local business (cloth nappies) have a couple of hours to do some selling! (we offer advice too)

I had a similar issue went to a first aid talk for babies and it was a load of tosh (am child health hcp) and some of it was downright dangerous I complained not sure what happened though

YANBU. At all.

In fact the children's centres have a big part to play in the NHS's national plans to improve child health and reduce inequalities in child health in more deprived areas.

THey get funding from the government to promote breastfeeding / healthy eating / reducing SIDs deaths, and reducing accidents in young children etc.

If they are giving bad advice they are not doing what in effect, what they are being paid for.

Sorry to be contrary to what you might be expecting, but are you asking these workers to lie???

they probably did wean at 12 weeks and did put their babies to sleep on their fronts. And the babies were probably OK. because those were the guidelines when they had kids. (maybe not the co-sleeping and smoking, though)

So yes, they need to be informing mums of the current guidelines, but you can't stop them from recounting their own experiences, surely?? Cass

PS. if there is 'never a justification in the literature to change the guidelines' then why are the guidelines changed and how can it be justified if there is no evidence to base it on??

Cass - I could'nt have put it better.

cass - I'm expecting them to understand the difference between following a guideline to be safe, and their personal experience.

I think its perfectly fine to recount an experience - so long as you are not implicitly recommending it. So to say "All mine slept on their fronts and were fine" is ok, so long as there is an acknowledgment that the guidelines are there for a reason - so a comment like "but I know the 'back to sleep' campaign really reduced cot death rates" would cover everything IMO

My comment about justification of guidelines was meant to explain that I've never seen any government literature that really explains why things are recommended - so I've never read anything about gut maturation in government literature about weaning. Its a shame because that would really make me trust these things a lot more.

It may sound harsh, but I'd rather someone follow the government guidelines blindly than follow out-of-date advice from 20 years ago.

But Cass, If they are representing a Children's Centre then they have a duty to provide the must up to date and correct information. It's not about their personal opinion. They are being employed to give up to date, accurate information, not their own experiences.

This is particularly important when you are working with vunerable, often ill informed young parents.

Chairmum Miaow - I actually live about 5 miles away from you! Are you coming to the meet up on Friday night?

Littlefish - yay! I'll be there and am looking forward to it!

ChairMumMiaou - I have encountered this as well, one of the child care facilitators was advising one of the mums about weaning. Apparently mum (whose baby was about 20 weeks) had been offered some solids but the baby was refusing. The CCF (note not a HV!) basically said to her, "Oh she's filling up on milk, you'll want to cut that back, and you'll need to distract to get the food in her mouth"
The mum was thinking out loud and said well she wasn't sure that her baby was ready but she'd been put under pressure by family members.
I had to seriously bite my tongue but I was very pissed off.
After the session finished (it was a stay and play) I took the mum aside (outside the building!) and had a chat with her. Mentioned Aitch's website and suggested she talk to my HV (who is very pro baby led weaning) as the mum seemed to be very curious about it when I had mentioned it previously.
She was really pleased as she wasn't convinced by the CCF's advice.