SEEDS OF EMPATHY BRINGS MESSAGE OF SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO YOUNGER CHILDREN

Jim Rondeau, Minister of Healthy Living, Youth and Seniors and minister responsible for the Healthy Child Committee of Cabinet, Kerri Irvin-Ross, Minister of Housing and Community Development, and Doug Martindale, MLA, join baby Seth at the launch of the Seeds of Empathy program at Four Feathers Aboriginal Head Start daycare


December 15, 2010

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Program for Three to Five Year Olds to Build on Success of Roots of Empathy: Rondeau

A highly successful program that helps children understand the feelings of others and prevents bullying will now reach out to the three- to five-year-old age group with the startup of the Seeds of Empathy program, Healthy Living, Youth and Seniors Minister Jim Rondeau, chair of the Healthy Child Committee of Cabinet, announced today.

 

“We’re taking the proven success of Roots of Empathy and will apply the same concepts of fostering social and emotional development to a younger age group,” said Rondeau. “Manitoba was the first to implement the Roots of Empathy program across an entire province and we are pleased to expand the reach of the program through Seeds of Empathy to even more kids.”

 

The program provides children in child care, nursery school and the preschool Aboriginal Head Start program with the opportunity to learn and experience empathy through special activities and monthly visits with a neighbourhood parent and baby. Teams of three or more staff members from 31 participating early-childhood settings completed the training program this year and began delivering the curriculum in October.

 

“There is little that is more important in society than giving our children a strong start in life,” said Housing and Community Development Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross.  “This program and its partner, Roots of Empathy, help to do that by fostering the social and emotional skills that children will need throughout their lives.  By reaching these kids at such a young age, they will be starting off on the right foot and their readiness to learn as they enter kindergarten will be enhanced.”

 

In Seeds of Empathy, the baby is the teacher, helping children become aware of its perspective and learning to label his or her feelings.  Children learn to understand their own feelings and to develop empathy, the ability to understand the feelings of others. As a result they are better able to develop positive relationships and are less likely to hurt each other.

 

“By joining the Seeds of Empathy family this year, Manitoba continues to show its tremendous leadership in early childhood development,” said Mary Gordon, founder, Seeds of Empathy.  “For the last 10 years, the province has been a dedicated partner in delivering Roots of Empathy programs to children across the province.  With their strong evaluation and evidence based approach, we will no doubt be seeing just how successful the Seeds of Empathy program can be and the impact that it can have on our society.”

 

The heart of Seeds of Empathy is the neighbourhood parent and baby who make 10 family visits from October to June, said Rondeau. Each visit has a theme: Baby and Me, Crying, Feeling Loved, Feeling Angry, Sleep, Feeling Grumpy, Friends, Who Am I?, Feeling Scared, Getting Bigger/Goodbye. Each theme is also explored through reading circles facilitated by Seeds of Empathy trained coaches who read specific program books to a small group of children. After each reading, there is group activity.

 

Ongoing core financial support for the Seeds of Empathy program has been established by Healthy Child Manitoba with additional funding for some of the training and implementation provided through Reclaiming Hope:  Manitoba’s Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy. Healthy Child Manitoba has also partnered with the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre (MFNERC) to implement the program in MFNERC communities.

 

Healthy Child Manitoba is made up of seven provincial government departments and works with parents and families, community organizations and other levels of government to put the well-being of children and families first.  This collaborative, community-based approach uses research and evidence to develop policy and implement programs in areas such as early childhood development, readiness to learn, literacy, nutrition and parenting supports. 

 

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