Your Child's Journey

wisdom for the big steps little children take

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New Kid by Friday- part 2

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Last month I introduced some insights from Dr. Kevin Leman’s book, Have a New Kid by Friday. In that letter I talked about his three pillars of your child’s self worth; Acceptance, Belonging, and Competence. Our parenting during our child’s infancy through preschool years sets the foundations for self worth. We show our acceptance and love even when we disapprove of his behaviour. Belonging to us, our family, and community is established as we treat him as special and teach him that he has responsibilities because he belongs to us. And we encourage his competence in tackling and succeeding in new tasks.

Another section of Dr. Leman’s book highlights the top 3 long-term concerns of parents: Attitude, Behaviour, and Character. For those of you who have infants, these concerns may sound like they are far off. Let me assure you, the time will pass all too quickly and you will be wanting a refresher on how to shape a child’s attitude, behaviour, and character.

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Stammering

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The mom of a 3 year old wrote the following letter to ask about stammering.

“Kensei is now attending a playschool and really enjoying his time there. However, since Monday, he has been saying that his teacher was angry with him. We decided to check with the teacher yesterday and was told that he stammers (more than other kids)when he talks and the teacher was trying to correct him – spot on. I understand that kids at his aged sometimes stammer as their minds process words faster than they can utter. I noticed he does that occasionally when he talks and thought it is normal. Your advice? ”

When I research a question, I look for the most reliable information. This time the British Stammering Association had a site full of good resources to answer these and many other questions about stammering.

About 1 in 20 children between the ages of 2-4 have difficulties with fluent speech. Most children out-grow this problem in a few weeks to months. If it persists longer than about 6 months or if the child is becoming overly anxious or self-conscious, find a good speech therapist. The earlier therapy starts the better the outcome.

Here is the help sheet for parents concerning stammering. Help for Stammering

Making Purees for Deceptively Delicious Recipes

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You begin by making purees, a few at a time. Divide each into potions and freeze them for use in the recipes.

For apples, berries, cantaloupe, cherries and pineapple, just wash, cut the fruit and puree in a food processor or blender for about 2 minutes. (Instead of fresh berries, cherries, or pineapple, you can use frozen or canned without syrup.) [Read more…]

Flu and Colds

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We are in the midst of the flu season for 2012. Mike and I have fought both colds and flu this season already, so I’ve been doing some checking about what you can and should do to protect your family from the flu. Here’s what I could find out.

Flu shots
Although no one likes to get a shot, this is the only proven way to be protected against the most virulent and common flu virus for the year. Some people can use a flu nasal spray, but only your doctor can tell you if you qualify for the spray instead of the shot.

Flu vaccine is up-dated every year. So although you are immune to the virus in last year’s shot, that immunity won’t cover this year’s virus.

The flu shot does not cause you to get the flu since the virus is not live. If you were exposed around the time you took the shot though, you could still get it. There are a huge number of different flu viruses, so it is possible to get flu that wasn’t covered by the shot. You will have immunity to any flu in your flu shot or for any flu that you get.

It is not too late to get the shot. Until the last flu for the year has made its rounds in about May, you may still need the protection. [Read more…]

Deliciously Deceptive

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While I was on home leave in December, I found a book full of great ideas for getting children to eat their veggies. Yes, there is help for those of you with children who would love the t-shirt our son got for Christmas one year. It said, “Vegetables are UGLY!” Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld, Dr. Seuss books, and stuffed toys were on sale for $5.00 each. I couldn’t resist! I could get $5.00 worth of good ideas out of any cookbook. But this one is worth a lot more to me and moms who can’t get their kids to eat their vegetables.

Jessica starts her book with, “I had tried everything, and yet all my efforts to feed my family were being undermined by a powerful force: vegetables. Mealtimes were reduced to a constant pushing and pulling, with me forever begging my kids to eat their vegetables, and them protesting unhappily. Instead of laughing and having fun with my family, I was irritated and stressed as I labored to coerce them to eat food they found ‘disgusting.’ I couldn’t take it any more. I just wanted a little peace around the dinner table.”
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