Parents and carers of newborns across the county will be offered a new opportunity to register their baby for a free library membership...
Parents and carers of newborns across the county will be offered a new opportunity to register their baby for a free library membership thanks to Warwickshire County Council’s Libraries service and Registration service.
As part of a birth registration appointment currently in Warwickshire, Registrars gift BookTrust’s Bookstart packs to new parents. These contain useful information about the benefits of reading books and sharing stories with their new baby from 0-12 months and include a free book and finger puppet to help parents get started.
In addition, Warwickshire Registration Services, in partnership with Warwickshire Libraries, offer parents the opportunity to sign-up for a free library membership at the same time, both for themselves and their newborn, at the birth registration appointment.
Warwickshire Libraries have books suitable for parents to borrow and read to their babies in-person at a local library, to find through the online library catalogue, or by browsing the BorrowBox collection which includes a great range of eBooks and eAudiobooks.
Babies listen to their parents’ voices even before they’re born, and so reading to them after they are born can be very comforting to hear these familiar voices and sounds. Reading together, even just a few words or talking about pictures in books, can help families to bond, develop babies’ social, language and learning skills, and help establish a good bedtime routine.
Warwickshire Libraries also deliver welcoming baby-friendly activity sessions. These include Rhyme Time with songs, rhyming words, and the opportunity for parents and carers to meet each other, along with Dad and Me sessions at Atherstone Library, which are sing-along-sessions for dads, grandads, and male carers. To find out which baby-friendly activities are happening at your local library, visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/childrensactivities.
Parents and carers can also keep-up to date with Warwickshire Libraries’ latest activities on Facebook, X (previously Twitter), and sign-up to Warwickshire Libraries weekly newsletter.
Cllr Yousef Dahmash, Portfolio Holder for Customer and Transformation, said:
“We are delighted to create opportunities through libraries and all that they offer to every newborn and their family. Even at such a tender age, babies can get the best start possible with books being read to them or social sessions and we want all our new parents to make the most of all that is available.
“Becoming a new parent is always a busy time with a big change in lifestyle, and so we hope this creates an easier way for new parents and carers to find out about the support from their local libraries as they enter this exciting chapter in their lives.
“In 2023-24 Warwickshire Registration Services registered 6,649 births in Warwickshire, and it would be fantastic to welcome more babies, children, and their parents and carers into our vibrant, child-friendly library spaces.”
Warwickshire Registration Services are also available to provide naming ceremonies for babies and children, as a non-religious way for parents and carers to give their family and friends the honour of becoming a supporting adult in their child’s life. To find out more about this type of ceremony, visit https://ceremonies.warwickshire.gov.uk/namingceremonies
Warwickshire Registration and Libraries services are also both friends of Child Friendly Warwickshire, which brings the county together in a collective effort to ensure all children and young people have a voice that is heard, that they are safe, happy and healthy and that they are equipped with the skills to have the best lives they can. To find out more, visit www.childfriendlywarwickshire.co.uk/
Parents and carers can also stay up to date with information and support for their family by subscribing to the Family Information Service newsletter, or by visiting www.warwickshire.gov.uk/fis.