Child Friendly

Space
MH team
 Objectives
• Explain what it the CFS and its
relevance
• What is the child friendly
space?
• What is play and why play?
• Types of play
• Provide tools and resources to
perform the activity
• Developmental stages and
milestones
• Activities suggested
• IPC
• Monitoring and evaluation
 What is the Child Friendly Space?

• The purpose of a child-friendly space is to allow children who

are caught in a challenging moment to gather in a safe
environment and get back to being kids.
• CFS try to provide a safe place where children can come
together to play, relax, express themselves, feel supported
and learn skills to deal with the challenges they face.
 Support SRH and General Consultation
activities

Provide a safe space for children and

caregivers to explore play and
What is the CSF psychosozcial stimulation
in Al Abour?
Provide space for PSS
evaluation and
interventions
EVERY CHILD NEEDS AND BENEFITS
FROM PSYCHOSOCIAL STIMULATION!
Why Play?

• Play is the work of children, is the way in which children can explore, interpret,
and safely navigate real life and make believe scenarios to develop skills and
responses to real life events
• Play is a human right of the child. Access to play is essential to emotional well
being Play costs nothing, can be done anywhere, decreases stress, and promotes
positive well being
• Healthcare settings are stressful spaces. The integration of play into MSF care is a
natural and compliments medical care provided.
• Play, and other expressive activities, allow children to explore their feelings and
communicate their experiences without relying on verbal language skills
Types of play:
• Play with adults: The child interacts with
an adult, which can be a parent or
another person (from birth onwards).
• Individual play: The child or infant plays
alone, not interacting with others (up to
12-18 months). During this phase it is
normally the parent or main caregiver
who encourages the child to engage with
other children of the same age.
Types of play
• Parallel play: This is a form of play which is both
individual and accompanied at the same time
(one to two and a half years). Children play
alongside each other but do not interact or share
their toys. In other words, their activities are not
linked.
• Associative play: This is the first attempt at
collective activity (from two and a half years on).
Children play with the same materials in the same
space, but they do not create together.
• Cooperative play: Children are able to create a
space in which they play together. The game
depends on the participation of all those involved.
 • Low intensity intervention
• The objective is to promote the
caregiver-child relationship and
facilitate child’s development
Psychosocial • Important in cases of malnutrition,
chronic deceases and long
stimulation hospitalization
• It includes emotional, psychomotor
and sensory stimulation with the
objective of promoting a positive
interaction between the caregiver
and child.
Types of play 0 – 12
months
• Free movement: It is advisable to give
children plenty of freedom to move during
their first year of life, observing how they
respond to the space around them and
providing appropriate elements for them
to explore, investigate and handle. It is
important for the child to experience new
motor skills, using a variety of objects of
different sizes, textures, weights,
temperatures and so on. Cognitive
functions are built by direct manipulation
of objects.
• If we allow children to move freely within
a safe space, the sequence of motor
development is as follows:
Types of play 0 –
12 months
• If left face up on a flat surface, the child will learn to
twist her own body into a face down position and
raise her head, thereby strengthening her back and
neck muscles. The child is then able to turn over
again into a face up position.
• the child supports the weight of her upper body with
her arms, which will in future enable her to roll,
slither and finally crawl.
• The next stage is reaching a semi sitting position,
supported by one hand.
• Kneeling position with upright torso, enabling the
child to stand up while holding onto or leaning
against an object or piece of furniture.
• The child is finally able to stand without assistance
and from then on learns to walk.
 Peek a boo! It’s gone!
Age: 4 12 months Age: 3 12 months
Specific skills targeted: Prediction of events,
Specific skills targeted: coordination and cognitive thinking skills, permanence and
awareness of the presence/absence of
people and things. Playful interaction with stability of objects, playful interaction with a
a significant adult. significiant adult.
Materials:
Materials: Hands, or a piece of cloth. - Everyday objects
Activity: This game involves another - Blanket, towel or cloth
person. The parent or carer can cover Activity: Various ítems are gathered and placed
themselves with the piece of cloth, playing where the child is unable to see them. The adult
at ‘where´s she Mygone?’ and ‘here she is!’
reflection sits in front of the child, picks up an object and
and encouraging the child to do the same. shows it to the child. Holding the object close to
Age: 4 12 months
Specific skills targeted: visual stimulus, self his or her face, the adult covers the toy with a
recognition. Observation, hand eye cloth and talks to the hild to hold her attention.
coordination, communication. While the child watches, the adult covers the toy
Materials: small mirror or lightweight metal with a cloth and says ‘It’s gone!’, then waits a
plate. few seconds before uncovering it and saying
Activity: offer the child the mirror or plate ‘Here it is!’ The game is repeated with the
so that he can see his reflection or that of remaining objects. If the child becomes anxious
different parts of his body. This allows the whe the toy disappears, the adult hides it more
child to explore and experiment with body slowly so that the child can see what the adult is
language and recognise his reflection. doing. The toy should not be left covered for too
 • Associative play Children are now ready for social
interaction and are able to follow instructions as
well as the routines with which they are familiar.
They are able to relate to children they know and
spend less time engaged in individual play. They
Types of can take turns in an activity. This is a type of play
which builds social relationships and helps to
play – 1 to develop their self control.
• New appreciation of objects At this age, children
3 years are really interested in fetching and carrying
objects. They build towers and knock them down,
old they like containers and boxes. They try to put
objects in and see if they can fit them inside and
shut the lid. They are very interested in balloons
and balls and in the games that can be played with
them. They also like banging drums, striking them
with great enthusiasm. They should be given the
opportunities and materials to allow them to
develop their motor skills.
 • Reading This is also a suitable
age to include reading more
often into children’s routines;
at this age they start to turn
Types of play the pages in books. It is time to
start reading stories; at first
– 1 to 3 they will simply listen to the
sound of the words you read to
years old them and won’t yet fully
understand the meaning.
 Recognise and sort
Colour instructions
Age: 12 18 months
Age: from 2 years
Specific skills targeted:
Specific skills targeted: Recognising colours and
Exploration, hand eye co
following instructions.
ordination. Learning to recognise
Activity: Sit the children in a circle and give them colour
and sort size differences.
related instructions. For example:
Equipment: Assorted objects
If you are wearing something red stand up.
(containers, boxes) which can fit
If you are wearing something blue touch your nose.
into each other.
If you are wearing yellow today sing a song.
Body part recognition If you are wearing something green turn around.
Age: from one year
Specific skills targeted: Self
awareness, co ordination and Musical Statues
vocabulary Age: from 2 years.
Activity: Name a body part and ask Specific skills targeted: Balance and rhythm,
the children to touch that part of body awareness and creativity.
their body. You could also sing: Equipment: Music
Head, shoulders, knees and toes. Activity: The children dance to the music with
Head, shoulders, knees and toes. their movements reflecting the feel of the music
And eyes and ears and mouth and (fast, slow, gentle, animated). When the music
nose. Head, shoulders, knees and stops, the children must freeze until it starts
toes, knees and toes. again.
Types of play – 3
to 5 years old

• Playing with others: At three years old,

children are more sociable and their
style of play is increasingly affected by
the presence of other children; they
will watch to see how older children
act so they can copy them. It is a
stage in which fantasy and reality
come together in the minds of
children. In their play, they will act out
scenes from everyday life, adding in
elements of fantasy.
• Emotions They are able to understand
and identify different emotions and
can recognise when others are happy,
sad or angry.
 • Independence Children at this age are normally
able to eat without help and control sphincters
during the day. They will increasingly be able to
help with small tasks and will be able to dress,
wash and dry themselves independently.
• Motor skills Children are more and more able to
Types of move about, can walk up and down stairs and
have generally good control over their bodies. Fine
play – 3 to motor skills are also well developed and they will
chose to draw things (circles, lines etc.) although
5 years they prefer to explore the use of colours.
• Learning At this stage children can recognize and
old name colours, sort objects according to size,
shape, colour, use, recognise quantities and count
to 5. They often ask the meaning of words they
don’t understand and can tell you about
something that has happened or what they see in
a picture. They can also learn a song and know if
they are a boy or a girl.
 Dward, Giant, Rabbit!
Walking Animals Specific Abilities Developed: Body awareness.
Specific Abilities Developed: Dramatic Development of simple and precise
representation, Expression of Emotions, movements. Spatial relations.
Development of simple movements, Social Materials:
skills. Materials: Drawings or cut outs of • Large Surface
animals: for example ducks, crabs, spiders, Activity: the children listen carefully to a few
kangaroos, elephants, caterpillars, rabbits, simple instructions and continue to follow
seals, snakes, etc. Activity: The children are them.
placed in a circle and they are shown 1. The children are grouped in a circle on the
different animals. After showing one, large surface that is free of obstructions so
everyone imitates that animal with their that the children have sufficient space.
body, moving and making noise. The adult 26
can participate by explaining how ducks walk, 2. The children begin walking in a circle, all in
telling them that crabs walk sideways, that the same direction, and they are asked to do
the kangaroo jumps, that the elephant sways, one of the following things: hop like a rabbit,
that the caterpillar arches its body and take big steps like a giant while stretching
extends it forward, that the rabbit hops, that their hands to the ceiling, or walk hunched
the seal glides, that the snake slithers, etc. over like a dwarf.
3. Continue alternating instructions and the
person who calls them out does the same.
4. Directions continue to be given, each time
more quickly. When they tire, return to the
initial speed.
Other ideas ?
Singing and dancing
Drawing and coloring
Story telling
Free play
Awareness session
• Explain what is the Child Friendly Space
o A space for children and caregivers to play and socialize, develop skills and
express themselves in a safe, welcoming space. It is a space where you
can take your child when coming for a consultation, especially if you have
faced challenges regarding how to engage with them and how to stimulate
them.
• Children between 6 months (until 1 year and a half a caregiver
should be accompanying) to 5 years old
• Parenting skills group
• Group for bedwetting
IPC
- make sure the space is organized and
cleaned at all times
- separate and organize three boxes for 3
sessions per day
- session: 30min /40 min – after that,
change the toys and put it to deep
cleaning
Monitoring and evaluation
- group sheets
Questions
Suggestions
Requests