By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
When Jen Tevyaw opens the door of the Centre d’Action Bénévole (CAB) in Sutton on May 25 for the weekly Baby Drop-In, she’s expecting to see not just babies and their parents, but grade-school children and even teenagers. Alumni are more than welcome at the program’s tenth anniversary celebration – the session has even been moved from Friday to Saturday for the occasion to allow working parents to attend with their school-age kids.
A decade ago, Tevyaw, a busy mother of three who had recently completed doula training, noticed a lack of English-language services for young parents in rural areas in the Eastern Townships. “I was really eager to see something flourish here in our community that, you know, I could facilitate, but also participate in as a community member,” she told the BCN. She approached the CAB and Baby Drop-In was born; fifteen parents attended the first Friday morning session. Originally, Baby Drop-In was a monthly volunteer-run program for parents in Sutton and Abercorn; a year later, thanks to grant funding, it became a weekly event, and it now attracts families from all over the region. Earlier this year, a similar program, the Lac-Brome Playgroup, was launched in Brome Lake, and the CAB Sutton now offers a home visit respite care program for new parents as well.
Parents can “drop in” at the CAB between 9 a.m. and noon, share a coffee and chat while their babies and toddlers play in a safe environment. The program includes a sharing circle and presentations on different aspects of pregnancy, the postpartum experience or parenting. Parents are welcome to arrive at any time and to speak as much or as little as they like. “Come as you are,” said Tevyaw.
“My biggest goal with the program is that people feel really welcomed when they come in, that they’re introduced to other parents, and that there’s a warm environment for them to settle into and not feel alone as young parents,” she said. New parents “might be a little bit socially shy and not want to show up to a gathering where they don’t know people. So they’ll often come for the first time when there’s a [presentation] topic that interests them. Then they’ll be like, okay, it’s warm, it’s welcoming. I’m going to stay here.”
“I think we assume that we’re just going to go into [parenting] and know what to do, but we don’t – and unfortunately, in our culture, we’re really disconnected from one another,” Tevyaw said. “You’re not just going to walk up to someone in the grocery store and talk to them about what you’re going through…but we had three new-ish moms at this morning’s session and they went to the park across the street and they’re still out there chatting now.”
One of the goals of Baby Drop-In, she said, was to create a “village” around new parents. “Just to have someone else hold your baby while you can go pee and have a coffee is so precious,” she said, adding that parents who have a community around them are at lower risk for postpartum depression and anxiety.
The anniversary celebration on May 25 will include snacks, cake, live music and a discussion around the future of the program, including a name change that will reflect the fact that it is bilingual and open to parents of older children.
To learn more about Baby Drop-In, contact the CAB Sutton directly.