All families with a child under five years old have access to a Health Visiting Team in North Yorkshire. These consist of health visitors and assistant practitioners/nursery nurses, who are responsible for delivering a series of routine appointments to all families. They also offer additional support to families when needed and can offer practical advice and support on a range of topics related to parenting. You can find out more about the service and useful resources by visiting the website Growing Healthy in North Yorkshire.

The commissioned service within North Yorkshire is provided by The Sleep Charity. It uses behavioural therapy, sleep clinics and workshops – rather than medication – to improve a child’s sleep health.

Referral information can be found here. Once referred, a child and their family will be triaged to the most appropriate level of support, based on need, ranging from workshops and webinars, to one-on-one support with a specialist sleep practitioner.

The Sleep Charity have also been commissioned to provide its online Foundation Sleep Workshop for families and professionals in the North Yorkshire area. More information about the workshop can be found here.

Most parents (especially first time parents) find things very challenging at times. Your child doesn’t need you to be a perfect parent – good enough is fine! But if you feel overwhelmed or you need some extra support it is available. If you are experiencing problems with your mental health during pregnancy or in the first year after birth this is called perinatal mental health. Support is available, it’s important to talk to your GP or Health Visitor to get the right advice and information.