Ontario Parenting Connection

October 26th, 2016

This evening, two local women are holding a meeting in Kemptville to launch Ontario Parenting Connection. The goal of this initial meeting is a needs assessment therefore all local parents are invited to attend and voice their concerns, desires and dreams for the area. Some of the needs identified by the co-founders, two busy moms with young children, are walk-in clinics to avoid congestion and long waits at the KDH emergency room, a recreation complex with an indoor pool, a splash pad, bathrooms and shaded areas at local parks as well as a more pedestrian-friendly infrastructure for our city.

I can vouch for all of these concerns as the parent of two young girls, now aged 8 and 10. After I had my second, there was nowhere to walk safely and this made it harder to shed my baby fat, get my daily dose of vitamin D from the sun and stay fit. My daughters don't ride bicycles because we live at the corner of two busy roads where people scream around the corner, often distracted by their phone.

Ever since my daughters were you, we have had to drive to Brockville or Ottawa to swim in the Winter. This requires an extra effort, some planning and, driving through various weather conditions. If there was an indoor swimming pool in Kemptville, we could go weekly, at a set time and look forward to it. However, driving to the Nepean Sportsplex makes things more complicated. When one or two of your children are at an age where they nap, it becomes almost laughable. You need to find out what time you can go for a free swim or family swim, you need to figure out how long the drive will be, where the children will nap (in the car, before you leave, when you return?), when they will eat (prepared lunches in the car, eat once we get there, eat at the house and bring a snack for later). It gets complicated.

I am blessed with two healthy daughters. However, when my youngest started grade 1, she was getting ear infections. She had never had them before and apparently they were caused by mould in her classroom, an issue that has since been resolved. I have needed to take her to the emergency room twice due to double ear infections, waiting hours to be seen by the doctor and leaving with a prescription for antibiotics. A third time, I had her checked after the school called me because another student had knocked her to the floor, banging her head on gym tiles during physical education class. They suspected a concussion but she was fine. Once again, a long wait in a germ-infested waiting room. A walk-in clinic would alleviate congestion and cut down on wait times.

My daughters and I have been to pretty much every park in the area. Other than the Riverside Park and South Mountain Park, most of the time, there is nobody there. In the warm months, the play structure gets really hot and dangerous because there is no shade. If your child needs to go to the washroom, you have to drive home, go to a store near by or have them pee in the bush. There are Port-A-Potties at Riverside Park but they smell bad and occasionally have hornet's nests in them. There is no way I am getting my daughters in there.

I would add another item to be discussed. The lack of buses or train stations in Kemptville. We have one bus, it leaves Kemptville early on weekday mornings to bring commuters to Ottawa for work. It returns to Kemptville around 6pm on weeknights. We have many one car families. One parent drives to work and the stay-at-home parent stays home without any means of getting anywhere for socializing and recreation. You may be able to walk during the Spring and Fall but it may be too hot to brave long distances in the Summer and too cold in the Winter. This means parents are stranded and isolated in their homes. Having a bus that flows through Kemptville, Oxford Mills and South Mountain, would mobilize parents with young children, allowing for greater access to local stores, to programming at the Municipal Centre and, to each other. Some of my clients are in abusive relationships. Their partner takes the phone and the car away during the day and these women are stuck, too far from any resources to attempt their escape.

I went to Ontario Early Years when my girls were young. It was an awesome resource for me as I had moved to the area while I was pregnant with my youngest. The OEY centre moved from Saunders to across the street and now to CR 43. I was lucky enough to live up the street and have access to a car. I believe that the best strategy for rural areas is to have an RV which travels to various neighbourhoods and offers programming on a set schedule to that area. Parents could walk up the street to attend programs and connect with other families who live nearby. The RV could park in Meadowglen on Monday mornings, Stonehaven on Monday afternoons, Abbott Road on Tuesday mornings, Victoria Park on Tuesday afternoons, E-Quinelle on Wednesday mornings and return to the first area for a second visit. This way, every family could walk to at least one location for support and they could still drive to other areas if they wished to do so. It just makes sense.

If you'd like to give your two cents, join Samantha Kutowy and Meghan Coupal this evening from 6:30-8:30pm at the Grenville Mutual Insurance Building in Kemptville or e-mail them at ontarioparenting@gmail.com.

Anne Walsh
www.artnsoul.org