At Youville Centre, we are committed to making a difference with two generations.
While our young moms are learning in the classroom, our infants and toddlers experience their own learning in our Child Development Program. Our licensed program serves 40 infants (ages 2–18 months) and 15 toddlers (ages 18–30 months) and provides the best possible start in the lives of our infants and toddlers.
Early identification and intervention are program goals that guide our practice and enable us to provide a rich program aimed at assisting our children to meet their developmental milestones and “be ready” to start school with their age-mates. Our Registered Early Childhood Educators provide a stimulating and engaging learning environment that addresses the psychological, social, emotional, cognitive, language and physical needs of each child.
During the programming day, children have the opportunity to experience and explore various play activities such as art using many types of media and tools, sensory activities using sight, sound touch, and sometimes even taste. There are also opportunities for infants and toddlers to build physical skills through gross motor activities such as crawling, walking, climbing, gym activities, and outdoor walks.
Each child development room follows a similar schedule in which routines and transitions are followed daily. Daily programming includes: morning snack, free play, regular diaper changes, lunch, sleep time and afternoon snack. Infants are fed as needed, and breastfeeding is encouraged.
Methods, screening tools and frameworks we employ in our child development program include:
- How Does Learning Happen? (Ministry of Education)
- Infant Mental Health Promotion (IMHP)
- Module Training through Children’s Inclusion Support Services (CISS)
- Healthy Babies, Healthy Children
- Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ-3, ASQ:SE-2, Developmental Support Plans)
- Ontario’s Early Years and Child Care Policy Framework
Partners we work with in the child development program include:
- City of Ottawa Children’s Services
- Children’s Treatment Centre (CTC) CHEO
- First Words Preschool Speech and Language Program (Pinecrest Queensway Community Health Centre)
- Crossroads Children’s Centre
- Parent Resource Centre (PRC)
- Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO)
- Children’s Inclusion Support Services (CISS)
- Ottawa Public Health (Healthy Babies Healthy Children, First Words screening, dental screening, immunization assessment, and nutritional assessment)
To read about this program in more detail, click here to read our most recent annual report.
Community Childcare Spaces Available
At certain times of the year, spaces in our Child Development Program become available, either due to graduating students or continuous intake and discharge.
We are conveniently located in Sandy Hill, near Ottawa University, and close to downtown Ottawa.
If you are interesting in our childcare, please apply at the City of Ottawa Centralized Waiting List and Registry athttps://onehsn.com/Ottawa and call us at (613) 231-5150 Ext. 121 or email us at intake@youvillecentre.org to see if there are childcare spaces available.
Current Status: Please apply at the City of Ottawa Centralized Waiting List and Registry at https://onehsn.com/Ottawa
Infant Mental Health Promotion
Infant mental health promotion refers to the social, emotional and cognitive well-being of infants and young children. Through extensive research and a strong professional knowledge base, at Youville Centre, we recognize the importance of providing opportunities for the overall optimal outcomes of the families and children we serve.
Supporting infant mental health means that we:
- Work collaboratively with children, parents and community partners to prevent difficulties;
- Intervene early when children are identified as being “at risk”;
- Encourage a sense of security, safety and the ability to establish and maintain satisfying and healthy relationships;
- Support a child’s learning and development by providing the freedom to explore his/her environment;
- Promote the ability for parents and young children to cope with and solve problems within their environment;
- Empower parents to learn how best to experience, control, and express their own emotions and to help develop those skills in their children; and
- Strive to promote stable, supportive families and communities
A child’s development in the early years is crucial; this is a period of time where the relationships children form build the foundation for their perception of their own self-worth and abilities, as well as that of their caregivers and of the world around them. We believe that parent education is vital and that when parents are armed with information regarding their child’s development in regards to their social-emotional and cognitive needs, they are better prepared to understand how best to respond to their child appropriately. Stress in the parenting system directly affects a parent’s sense of self in their parenting role, and especially contributes to the perception they have of their child. By targeting our interventions early, and directly working within the parent-child dyad, we are providing the most effective form of infant mental health treatment.
We continue to offer the Make the Connection (MTC 0-1) attachment and parenting program to our mothers when they enter Youville Centre. This program is meant to increase the parent’s awareness of their baby’s attachment system as well as to empower them to become more confident in their parenting role. A second parenting course focused more on the toddler stage of development is our Make the Connection (MTC 1-2) attachment and parenting program. This program is viewed as a continuation of MTC 0-1 and focuses on the changing dynamics of the parent-child relationship as the toddler becomes more independent and parents require new and evolving skills and strategies to help guide them in their parenting journey.
Our Child Development and Infant Mental Health team are trained in administering, scoring and interpreting the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE-2); an assessment tool that will compliment the work we are currently undertaking. The ASQ is valid, reliable and accurate in detecting red flags in children’s development from 1 month to 5 1/2 years of age. The screen also uniquely screens for concerns within a child’s social and emotional development, an area directly related to their overall mental health and well-being.
