Councillor Rosie Clarke will be meeting local teenage parents at an informal event at Bury Library on Friday 19 October from 11am to 1pm. Reporters and photographers are welcome.
There will be baby massage demonstrations (on dolls) and a short, fun presentation from the Suffolk Real Nappy network. Early Years Librarian Jo Dixon will be promoting Bookstart packs and activities and there will be laptops available with "Techno Tots" drawing software for toddlers. After lunch, the girls will be given a promotional pack containing oil suitable for baby massaging, a glove puppet suitable for babies and toddlers plus other stationery items.
This is a celebration of the project to help teenaged parents (and those who may perhaps be at some risk of becoming teenaged parents) to use UK Online in Suffolk Libraries. UK online will pay any travel expenses plus childcare while teenaged parents are in the libraries improving their IT skills and networking with other teenaged parents. Sessions aim at increasing the teenagers' confidence and encouraging them to use the internet in a positive and more specific way, rather than just spend time in general chat rooms and instant messaging. A blog may be set up that could be used to exchange information and decrease the social and geographical isolation experienced by some of the girls.
Councillor Rosie Clarke said: "This could be a great chance to involve young people in using the internet in a very positive way. For those people in rural areas particularly, the internet can be a great way to keep in touch, and to find out about what services are available. If this scheme develops fully, I hope that there will be much friendship and swapping experience and ideas between people who find themselves in similar situations. That can make life so much easier practically, and sometimes much less stressful!".
