Parent and Baby Volunteers
How to become a volunteer
Please contact us if you would like to be a volunteer with your baby. We will find out if there is a local group running in a school nearby and put you in touch with the facilitator. We can also share guidance with you if you wish to be a ‘virtual’ volunteer and video from home. It’s a weekly commitment for the school year. Don’t worry if you or baby are poorly one week or are going on holiday, just let your facilitator know, they have contingency plans! We say goodbye to our Watch and Wonder parent and baby when baby shows more interest in the children than their mum or dad! We always prepare for our ending and have a ‘goodbye and thank you’ session. Don’t worry if you like the idea of volunteering but your baby is 6 months old in September, and they’ll probably be crawling by Christmas for example. It may be that a class of children can still enjoy watching for a term and then start with a new volunteer parent and baby in January. Your facilitator will be able to advise you.
How a session works
You arrive with your baby and are shown to the classroom. The children have been prepared and will be sitting quietly in a circle. It has already been explained that they cannot touch the baby or the baby’s toys – they just watch.
The facilitator is curious with the children, and they wonder together about what’s happening between you and your baby, they wonder about how you both might be feeling, and they wonder what it would be like to be you or your baby.
Initially it feels a little odd that people are watching and talking about you! However, parents have told us that they soon forget and are in their own bubble, enjoying time with their baby, without the demands of home chores beckoning! Parents also tell us that the children’s feedback is very special and helps reassure them that they’re doing a good job!
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.