Having everything under one roof is a timesaver and who appreciates saving time more than those with young children? 

Willoughby Early Years Centre will host the Willoughby Community CHILD Day event on Friday, May 29 from 3:30 to 7:00 p.m. at the centre located at Willoughby Elementary at 20766 80th Ave. 

CHILD stands for Children’s Health, Information, Learning, and Development and the Early Years Centre will have all of the resources related to those elements at the event. Plus there will be plenty of fun things to do as well according to Early Years coordinator Alicia Stark.

“CHILD Day itself is like a screening opportunity,” Stark said of one aspect of the event. 

Experts in screening children up to age six will use a quick questionnaire to determine if a child is in need of services available in the community and because of the fun festival style set up of the event, those services will be on site as well. 

Stark explained that steps from screening to referral to service provider can all be conducted at the CHILD event without the need for back and forth, faxing or emailing in forms, or waiting for appointments. 

“Parents may not have concerns [about the development of their youngsters] but may have questions,” Stark said. “We’re connecting our Willoughby families to what’s available to them in the community and what’s available at the centre and family and friend connections.”

Some Willougby-based businesses who provide services to local families will be on site as well like doctors of optometry.

“There’s also fun things too,” Stark noted, adding crafts and facepainting to the list. “A bouncy castle, food, and LEPS [the Langley Environmental Partners Society] is doing a seed planting activity that the kids can take home.”

Booths will be located both inside the gym and outside and map cards will be “handed out right from the gate” to ensure families can fit in all the activities they want to participate in.

“It’s the first time [CHILD Day has been] done this way, but different pieces of it have been done before,” Stark said. “It’s [screening and service referral] such a critical service to be able to provide families.”

Each of the service provider booths will have a sign listing what they do to let families know at a glance who they should speak to first.

Langley Advance