Parenting Children

The best sound a parent can ever hear is their child’s first word. Many times after that first work speech problems can occur. It is hard to determine if your child needs extra help with his or her problem or if it is just a blip in their development.

Stuttering. Children who are 2 or 3 and start to stutter are at a higher risk of developing permanent speech issues if not helped. There are many things parents and caregivers can do. Try not and correct or “finish” a child’s sentence or word. Let him have a chance to think about what he wants to say and value what he has to say.

Lisps. Ommisions, addition and distortions (lisps) are either articulation disorders or phonological disorders. It is common for children ro leave sounds out of words, and having slight distortions when they are learning to speak, but by three years most sounds and words should be mastered.

A basic milestone are that children should be able to say one word at about 1, two-word combinations at 18 months to 2 years, and three-word sentences before turning 3.
Here is what to look for:

At 1 year: He isn’t babbling or speaking in mock sentences at all. He doesn’t seem to understand or respond when you talk.
At 18 months: He hasn’t said at least one word.
At 2 years: He says only a few words and communicates mostly through grunting and pointing, or he’s losing language skills — either his vocabulary has shrunk or he no longer talks very much.
At 2 1/2 years: He’s still speaking in single syllables, drops final consonants, or doesn’t have a vocabulary of 50 words.
At 3 years: Strangers can’t understand his pronunciation, or he speaks using only simple two-word phrases.

If you think your child has a speech delay or speech problem you can always check with your pediatrician to rule out hearing problems and get a referrel, if needed, for speech therapy.

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While it is no longer uncommon for any child in this country to be developmentally delayed, nobody wants it for their own child. Everyone wants a happy and healthy baby. Since the spectrum or “delays’ is so large, many children fall under this category and receive some form of early intervention. Most children who receive early intervention services catch up to their peers in their area of difficulty and no one will every be the wiser.

If your child does have a diagnosis that is going to cause him to have special needs in school or early intervention have no fear, there are many parents that are in your situation.

Lets explore what exactly is Early Intervention. Early Intervention was started in 1986 to provide services for infants and toddlers under the age of 3 who have a developmental delay of any kind or a disability.
Early Intervention can provide service such as physical therapy for children with gross motor delays (late to walk, sit, crawl etc.) or speech therapy (two of my nephews have had this with great success) for children who are late to speak or occupational therapy for fine motor delays, feeding difficulty, cognitive delay, or a delay in social or emotional skills.
Most will come to your house for your therapy session and how many you will receive depends on what side of the spectrum your child falls in to.

Other services early intervention provides: family education and counseling, audiology testing, nursing, nutritional information, psychological services, and even vision evaluation.

If you have an older child who you think is in need of special services, contact your public school system.
If you think your child has a delay of any type, call your pediatrician to have him or her evaluated. You can also contact your state’s Early Intervention Services directly.

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You think your PMS mood swings are bad, but then you have a baby. Who knew a baby could be so moody? One minute they are sweet as pie, the next a little terror. What happened to my good natured, quiet toddler?

Erratic behavior is common in toddlers. It is a normal part of child development, even though it doesn’t always feel so “normal”. Trying to declare their independence, their will and how to get what they want is a huge part of your child’s development. Every child does not go through every stage of changing moods, because every child develops at their own pace.
Sometimes you can avert a terrible tantrum or a mood swing if you watch out for the signs that there is one coming.
Make sure your child is not hungry. There are many times tantrums are thrown just because the child is hungry and can’t express himself. Make sure you always have healthy snacks around even on the go.
Naps are as important to her as they are to you. A tired toddler, is a cranky toddler and mom.
Over stimulation can happen to even infants. If you are always rushing from one activity to oanother or there are too many people and things going on in front of them, children get overwhelmed.

Your child looks to you to calm him down so talk to him in soft tones and try and remember this is a part of growing up.

What do you do when your child has mood swings or tantrums?

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We have exactly ten days before my children start their school careers. I am holding up well, so far. We have prepared them for kindergarten as best we can but they are so thirsty for knowledge, it even surprises me. The latest task we are undertaking is teaching them to read. They want to read in the worst way and I am trying to help them accomplish that goal by the end of this school year. Here are some tips for making a reading friendly environment in your home for your children (and you!):

-Visit book stores and your local library often and browse the book sections

-For reluctant readers get audio books from your library

-Use books without words to spark their imagination

-Ask your school or library for a suggested reading list for your child’s age

-Make flashcards for vocabulary and practice spelling words. We read and spell a lot in the car, pretty much everything we pass with letters on it, my kids ask what it says.

- Get magnetic letters for your refrigerator, then kids can practice spelling even short words with or without your help.

- Keep books in the house that they have an interest it. Make sure you have a well lit, comfy area in your house that kids can read or look at their books in.

- Let your children (ages 4 to watch reading rainbow or Between the Lion on PBS.

- Play word games like Scrabble Jr., Boggle Jr, or hangman

-Look for story time in your local book store, library or Pottery Barn Kids

- Make sure you read to your child every day, even if it is for a couple of minutes. Read yourself, parents who read the paper, books or anything will more likely to have readers for children! Monkey see monkey do!

What are your tips for teaching your children to read?

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My family is gearing up for the first day of kindergarten for our twins. They are SO excited to go to school and although i was excited, it is bittersweet for me now. I will miss them and if I didn’t have this adorable five month old at home with me, I don’t know what I would do! We are trying to get our routines together so we can get the kids as ready for school as they can be. Here are some tips to help you prepare your kids for going back to school:

Talk to your kids about school, what to expect if they have any fears or questions. Give your child tips on how to introduce themselves or become friends with classmates.

Short goodbyes. Maybe even saying “see you after school” is better than saying goodbye to your child. Don’t ever sneak out of the classroom, though. If a child cries it is usually only for a few minutes.

Review bus safety, make sure they know the same rules that goes in your car goes for the school bus too.

Sleep. Make sure you get kids get moved back into a proper bedtime and night time routines before school starts. Be consistent with bedtime.

Food. Get into a good mealtime routine. Get any after school activities schedules so you can plan meals around them. Prepare snacks and healthy lunch ideas for the school year.

I am sure the first day of school will be harder on my husband and I than our kids, but I know they will have a blast. That will make all my tears worth it!

Go here to check out my awesome giveaway!

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As I said in my previous post, I forgot so much from when my twins were newborns. I find myself rushing to their baby books to see when they lost their umbilical cord or how much they weighed at their first checkup. I also find myself asking my sister, who has an older son, when my kids should start activities. Here are some guidelines for when to start activities with your child.

Swimming lessons-You should sign up for swim lessons or mom & baby swim classes when you feel comfortable. Let your baby or child get used to splashing around in the water. At age four children usually have the cognitive ability to realize they are in trouble in the water and can do something about it or call for help.

Horseback riding- usually at age five children can have lessons.

Skateboarding and skating-ages seven to eight is good for these skills and they really should be supervised until maybe age 10, especially when in the street. Most “wheeled” injuries occur in children ages ten to fourteen.

Soccer- is the safest sport. Age six is a great age to start soccer although I know they offer it in my town for five year olds, and my kids will play when they are five and a half.

Dancing- I think you are never too young to start dancing and dance class for toddlers will only help with coordination and making friends. A mom and tot dance class is a great way for mom to burn off some calories while bonding with her child!

By far the hardest part of parenting so far has been potty training my twins. It would have gone a lot easier if I trained them one at a time instead of together. Potty training will go a lot easier if your child is ready and you can see if your child is ready with the readiness quiz I have below.

If you feel like your child is ready, begin incorporating potty training into your child’s daily life. Bring your child with you as you use the toilet, and explain what you are doing, narrating the process. Encourage her to do things on her own like put on her own clothes, pick out her coat etc. Go to the library and read potty books and take out potty movies. Watch them together and explain what he is seeing.
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I was talking to a friend about kindergarten one day. My kids are almost two years older then her son so she had some questions. I told her I was working with R and L on some skills that I wanted them to know before Kindergarten like writing their own names and buttoning their coats. She couldn’t believe they had to know some of the things that I had seen them working on in preschool. “Well then, what do they learn in kindergarten?” she asked.
Good question. What should kids learn to do to start school full time?

Participation- Kids usually sit in small groups for classes and are asked to participate. They will sing songs, talk about the weather outside, what day of the week it is and have question and answer sessions. Sitting still, waiting their turn are great skills for your kindergartener to have. Practice this skill at home with siblings or at snack time.

Sharing- Easier said then done, I know. Kids with siblings may have more practice with this skill then only children. My kids have had to share everything every day of their lives, so I know they will do well with this, as well as a five year old can do. Make your children ask for things before they snatch it, join a playgroup or go to a children’s museum where they can play with and share toys with other children.

What skills do you think parents need to teach their children before they head to school?

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All babies crawl, walk and talk at a different age. There is no exact age for any developmental delays in kids. You may be concerned if your child is consistently behind other children hitting these marks. It is important to keep in mind that for each milestone, there is a range of ages during which a child will normally meet it. If at any point your baby seems to be losing skills, talk to your doctor. If you are worried about your child’s developmental delays, contact your pediatrician who may send you to a developmental specialist.
Here is a guideline for some milestones you can look for in your child:

By 3 months: Your baby should begin to develop a smile, and will smile at the sound of your voice, watch faces intently, and make noises.
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Here are the developmental milestones for your seven to nine month old.

Your baby should be able to sit on her own, by six or seven months. Around nine months he should be able to pick up objects with his thumb and index finger, known as the pincer grip. Great for getting those Cheerios! Around nine months your baby may be able to pull himself up to a standing position.

By seven months your baby should be able to imitate sounds like clucking her tongue or sounds like “ta” or “da”. She will start to like to play peekaboo.
She now understands you still exist even if you are out of her sight, so this is when separation anxiety can start. She may even fear strangers at this point.

Around nine months you can start feeding your baby table foods, like Cheerios, bananas and ground meat. Around this time he will responds to simple direction like “press the button” when it is accompanied by a gesture. Read to your baby every day and label things you come in contact with like “chair” or “ball”.

Of course, like I always say, all babies develop at their own pace. Seek the advice of your doctor when starting all new foods and if you think your child has a developmental delay.

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Your baby is not a tiny infant anymore. (S)he has started to interact with you and is on her way to becoming a real person.
During this time your baby will approximately gain 1 to 1.5 pounds per month. How much she gains is not as important as the fact that she climbing steadily on the growth curve.

By now your baby should be able to bring objects to his mouth. He won’t be able to pick them up with agility just yet, but when placed in his hands will bring them to his mouth. He should also be trying to pick up objects by using a rake motion with his fingers.
He will also experiment with transferring objects from hand to hand. His coordination will improve and now may be able to not only find his feet but grab them.
He will also be able to sit up much better, but still place him in the boppy or surround him with pillows.
She should also be rolling from front to back and at least experimenting with rolling back to front.

By four months your baby’s vision increases to several feet. You will see him tracking objects or people and staring at toys very intently. Mirrors are great for babies this age, especially for tummy time.

My favorite part of this age is the babbling. Babies will let you know if they are unhappy or happy by making sounds now. Babies love when you sing to them now and may even try to chime in.
Peek a boo is a great game and by the age of six months they should be able to find partially hidden objects. Try hiding a favorite toy partially under a blanket.

Some appropriate toys for babies this age are: toys with finger holds, mirrors, easy to hold balls, vinyl baby books, textured toys that make sounds and mobiles.

*As always, every baby is different and develop at different ages. If you think your baby has not hit many of these milestones, talk to your pediatrician and let them know of your concerns.

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This is the first installment of our “milestones and development” feature and we are going to start with ages 1-3 months, naturally.

The first few months are the hardest as a parent because even if you have done it before it is all new again for the first couple of months. Diapers on little bottoms, waking to eat every two to three hours and bathing a squirmy, little creature.

This time your baby will be growing at the same rate he did the first few weeks of life, he should gain about 1.5-2lbs and grow 1-1.5 inches each month of his life. At about two months the soft spots on the top of his head should still be open but the spot on the back of his head should be closed.
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