Islander Becky Lutas (who you might remember from the popular music act Me and My Sister) has set up a fast-growing online baby group as the Isle of Wight (and beyond) begins to practise social distancing.
Becky, who lives in East Cowes and works at St Mary’s Hospital, set up Social Distance Tots after baby groups started to close due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
Hosted Monday to Friday from 10.30am via the Facebook Page,
Social Distance Tots is your virtual, online baby group during this pandemic and beyond!
We are running a FREE, daily (Mon-Fri), online baby/toddler group. Every session has dance moves, nursery rhymes, a story, bubbles and more!
Baby groups are a lifeline for parents
Becky told OnTheWight,
“I know what a lifeline baby groups are to parents of babies and toddlers! With Social Distance Tots, I’m led by the community on the page so I’ll ask which songs they want us to do next; just as a baby group would!
“I’m overwhelmed with the amount of views and positive feedback we’re getting already – apparently we’ve reached Italy, Germany, Scotland, Ireland, Guernsey and Sweden!”
She says she plans to continue running the online baby group for as long as social distancing measures are in place.
Hoping to “inject just a little positivity “
Becky went on to say,
“I really want parents to not feel alone at this time.
“It’s a really scary, uncertain times and if Indigo and myself can inject just a little positivity into everyone’s day, that would be wonderful!”
Celebrations at baby group
Today (Monday) the baby group helped Becky’s daughter Indigo celebrate reaching 18 months old.
Early years expert
Another benefit of joining the group is that Becky’s Mum, who has spent 40 years working with/teaching Early Years, is on hand to answer questions from those joining in.
There are already two videos on the Page, one that explains social distancing; will it affect my baby/toddler’s behaviour etc? Will my baby/toddler be upset? What can we do!
The second video was created in response to a question from one of the parents on the Page, about attachment issues being formed during the social distancing, and and how to overcome it.
Get involved
Well done to Becky for taking the initiative to set up the online group.
If you are a parent of a baby or toddler, why not Like the Social Distance Tots Page and tune in for the live video at 10.30am Monday to Friday.
It’s a great way to stay in touch with the outside world during the Coronavirus outbreak.
Image: © Emma Hunt
