Discussing your initial concerns

If you wish to discuss your initial concerns about your child, you can do so initially with:

1. People in your own network
2. The daycare professionals/teachers at school
3. Primary healthcare professionals

People in your own network

People in your community are often easy to reach. Think of family members, friends and acquaintances. They can be an important, low threshold source of support in your initial concerns.

Although they may not have specific expertise, they can still think along with you and offer support. However, some parents may feel that they receive little support from the people around them. They may encounter a lack of understanding through comments such as, “It’s not that bad” or “My child does that too.” If you feel that something is not quite right with your child, try to trust your instincts.

The daycare professionals/teachers at school

Perhaps your child attends a daycare, preschool or school. If you are worried about your child's behaviour, you can share your concerns with the leader/teacher. They sees your child several hours a day, several days a week and can often give good information about your child's behaviour in the group.

The childcare professional or teacher can also provide a useful point of comparison: How do the other children in the group behave? Does your child’s behaviour stand out? How do the children interact with one another? It is possible that behaviours that stand out in the group are different from what you notice at home. There may be several reasons for this:

• A different environment may cause different behaviour. For example: more children and more stimuli in the environment can affect your child's behaviour.
• Your child's behaviour may be different at different times of the day.
• The childcare professional or teacher may experience your child’s behaviour differently from how you experience it at home. This may be due to differences in their knowledge, experience, or relationship with your child.

There are often ways for daycare centres and schools to monitor your child’s development, for example through observation checklists or a pupil monitoring system. The childcare professional or teacher can use these tools to track your child’s development. A daycare centre or school may also involve a pedagogical support worker or internal supervisor. They can help think about possible ways to support your child and what steps to take if concerns persist.

If the daycare/school does not share your concerns about your child, this does not have to mean that there is nothing to be concerned about. Listen carefully to your feelings and, if necessary, contact a primary healthcare provider who can help you further.

Primary healthcare professionals

Primary healthcare is the care you can access without a referral. You can ask for low threshold advice there. Primary healthcare professionals can think along with you if you have questions about the upbringing, behaviour or development of your child. They can also put you in touch with healthcare options in your area.

Primary healthcare providers are, for instance:

• Your general practitioner;
• The ‘youth healthcare’ – JGZ (before known as consultatiebureau).
• the (social) neighbourhood care team/community healthcare.;
• the Centrum voor Jeugd en Gezin (CJG) ‘Centre for Children and Families’ in your neighbourhood. At the Centrum voor Jeugd en Gezin (CJG) you can go for all your questions about raising and growing up — from minor queries to complex issues.
• Integrale Vroeghulp (IVH ‘Integral Early Intervention)’ is an organisation you can contact for low threshold help. For example, if you are concerned about your child's development or behaviour. On the Integrale Vroeghulp website you can find which location you can go to.

Primary care services are not organised in the same way in every municipality and may also be referred to by different names. In many cases, these services are funded by the municipality and are therefore free of charge.

See also: Seek additional support