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• Understanding how to prepare for going out.
• Provide a physically safe environment in the community.

Do you remember a time when if you felt like going out, you would just grab your bag and go?

• You might have discovered it was cold out and you didn’t have a jacket, or you’d get hungry and decide whether you’d eat or just stay hungry until you got home.
• You probably stayed out for as long as you wanted – or if you were younger, maybe you needed to check in with a parent. Generally, you only had to think about yourself.

Hasn’t life changed now that you’re a parent?

Ask participants to share with another person:

• What is your baby doing now, especially regarding their motor and social–emotional development?
• What has changed?
• What’s new?
• Have those changes impacted on going out with baby?
• If so, how?

Think about all of the things that you have to consider now that it’s you and your baby.

• What about when you want to go out without baby – how do you manage that?
• How do you plan to ensure baby is safe and well cared for?
• Are there costs associated with it?

If you want to go out and are taking baby with you, you may have to think about the following things.

Discuss as a group or in pairs:

• Do you really need to go out?
• When is the best time to go?
• Why might timing be important?
• What do you need to take with you if it’s: hot and sunny, cold and wet, or likely to change from hot and sunny to cold and wet or vice versa?
• What do you need to take if you’re going out for a few hours and baby might get hungry, or need changing or a sleep?
• How can you prepare if it’s likely to be noisy, or people might be smoking or drinking alcohol?
• Will you be taking a bus or a train, or travelling in a car?
• Will you be driving and might baby get upset?
• What if you want to go for a walk with baby while you’re out?

As a group, discuss:

• What do we know about car seats?
• What local facilities are around for parents to use when their babies need feeding, nappy changing or a sleep?
• If we’re bottle feeding, what is the best way to keep milk formula cold or warm?
• How might you heat up baby’s food?
• Are there some cafés or places that don’t welcome parents with babies?
• What do parents need to know or do when using buses or trains?