Welcome to the May 2012 Camden Macarthur Local Child Care & Services Directory Newsletter.

This month we welcome Narellan Community Preschool at Narellan to our Child Care Directory, read all about this great service below.

Be sure to look at our Detailed Listings to find all the information you need to make the right choice of care for you and your family.

With Easter over for another year and all the chocolate has been eaten it's a great time to think about visiting the dentist. This month's parent resource is about going to the dentist with your children, it has lots of helpful information to make it stress free for you and them.

WIN...WIN.... a $75.00 gift voucher from Maternitywear.com.au. For your chance to win simply email us to go into the draw and tell us if you have used our newsletter or site to find or look for care or child related information.

Kind regards, Donna

Caring for children from 0-5 years of age. For more information click here.

Pied Piper Kindergarten. The children enjoy participating in a wide variety of activities at Pied Piper Kindergarten. At different child development stages our children get the best start to a great life in our quality childcare centre.

In the Cherubs nursery: Children in the nursery are beginning to learn about themselves and are becoming aware of the world and people around them. Babies learn through senses and will spend much of the day exploring - feeling different textures, hearing sounds, smelling and tasting new things for the very first time. What a wonderful way to learn.

In the toddlers rooms: Pied Pipers Lily's and Cupids are curious and busy little people. They learn by experimenting for instance what happens when they mix colours together. Social learning happens easy at our childcare centres is very important for children in this age group. Toddlers are beginning to learn important life lessons such as friendship, learning to share and take turns.

In the preschool group: Children in our Sunshine, Rainbow and Daisy Rooms are becoming increasingly independent. They're starting to use reasoning and problem solving skills. Strong friendships are made at childcare and a lot of fun is had when learning new skills and refining some of the skills already mastered. They are also developing their attention span and important skills for big school and beyond. Our extensive school readiness program is a great success with many of our past students excelling in their schooling life.

If you would like to find out more please contact us to discuss your child care needs.

Ezy Shaid
First Aid For You
Forte School of Music Macarthur
Global Tutoring New Courses French; The Art of Writing --for primary school; Problem Solving-- for primary school; Words and Numbers--Helping Kindergarten and Year 1 students to improve their reading and number skills. It is important that your child gets the foundations from experts in the field. Special offer 2 hours for $50 only: Chemistry (Year 11 and HSC) Maths (General, 2 unit, ext1, ext2) visit www.globaltutoring.com.au

Bow Bowing
Leaping Learners at Bow Bowing

Campbelltown
Broughton Street Early Learning Centre
Campbelltown Community Preschool
Little Einstein's Early Learning Centre - Campbelltown
St Patrick's Child Care Centre
Unique Kids Early Childhood Centre Inc

Denham Court
Leaping Learners Early Education Centre

Glenfield
Playground Learning Centre

Harrington Park
Bambino's Kindergarten Harrington Park 4
Bambino's Kindergarten Harrington Park North OSHC
Skoolzout @ Harrington Park

Ingleburn
Little Einstein's Early Learning Centre - Ingleburn

Leumeah
Little Einstein's Early Learning Centre - Leumeah

Macquarie Fields
Bright Stars Early Learning
Kidzland Preschool Kindergarten & Day Nursery

Mount Annan
Jenny's Kindergarten - Mount Annan
Leaping Learners Early Education Centre

Taking children to the dentist
When babies are little there is so much focus and speculation when it comes to teething, not to mention excitement when the teeth start to appear. But what should you do once they come through? Here are some guidelines on caring for your children's first teeth

When to start
The Australian Dental Association recommends that you take your child for their first dental visit just after their first baby teeth come through. There are several reasons why an early start is a good idea:

• Your child will become familiar with going to the dentist.
• Care of baby teeth is highly important. If any baby teeth fall out too soon, permanent teeth can come in crooked or crowded. A dentist can intervene by using a "space maintainer", which is a shallow substitute for a real tooth.

What will happen at your child's first visit?
Your child's first visit to the dentist should be as comfortable as possible. During the visit, your dentist will:

• Check your child's face and jaws to make sure everything is in alignment.
• Check both teeth and gums to make sure they're healthy, and look for signs of "baby bottle" tooth decay, a common problem in infants and toddlers.
• Instruct you in how best to care for your child's teeth and gums, including advice on their diet, brushing their teeth, and whether they need a fluoride supplement.
• Suggest a schedule for future visits.

How to prepare your child
Even if you have started taking your child to the dentist as early as possible, they may feel anxious about dental visits once they become toddlers. Here are some suggestions for making dentist trips as easy as possible:

• Take time to "play dentist" with your child at home. Take turns at being the dentist, and make it fun.
• Read your child a story about going to the dentist.
• Make the dental appointment for a time when your child is well-rested.
• Talk to your dentist before the visit about any medical or psychological problems your child may have.
• Openly discuss any concerns your child may have.

Overcoming fear
Sometimes the normal anxiety a child might feel about going to the dentist becomes a strong fear. Here are some suggestions on how you might help them:

• Perhaps your child hasn't developed a good rapport with your dentist. Pediatric dentists are specially trained to deal with children; look one up or ask your friends.
• Try and find out what your child is afraid of. Older children may have heard scary stories from their school friends, and they often aren't true! Your older child may need to have certain procedures explained to them correctly. If it's just a general fear, something as simple as a reward after visiting the dentist might be enough to get them through the door and in the chair.
• Check how you've been talking about the dentist. If you've been nervous about going to the dentist yourself, you might have passed the fear onto your children. Also be careful which words you use. Words such as "drill", "hurt", "jab" or "needle" cause anxiety.
• Sit close to your child during the visit.
• Don't worry if your toddler has a few tears at first; chances are they will soon calm down if your dentist is friendly and you are close by.