Your Child's Journey

wisdom for the big steps little children take

You are here: Home / Archives for Toddler

Baby Sleep

By

sleeping-babyBaby sleeping at night means everyone in the family sleeps better. Having a baby that doesn’t sleep well calls for action. Our grandson cried non-stop every time he was laid down for months. At night one adult swaddled him, walked him, rocked him, and prayed for him to sleep. Whenever he nodded off, he was gently laid in his car seat (the only place he sometimes slept). Within a short while he was crying again and the whole process began again. He was finally diagnosed with GER and medication was prescribed and the whole family began to get sleep at night.

Most babies don’t have such a severe problem with lying down and sleeping. Here are some ways to help your baby be able to sleep well at night. Starting early might help you avoid some bad habits that will make your child’s falling asleep a chore every night for years.

  • Have a regular bedtime. Children thrive on routine. Going to bed at the same time every night helps your baby begin to get sleepy at that time each evening. (Of course it can’t be the same every night, but make it as often as possible.)
  • Wind down time. Right before nap time and bedtime, take a few minutes to snuggle and begin to calm down. At nighttime, you may want to have a longer bedtime routine including a soothing bath, read a book or sing a song, pray together, or any other ritual you don’t mind continuing for years.
  • Comfort. Make sure he is fed and burped, has on a clean diaper. Swaddling helps young babies feel more secure. Appropriate sleepwear for your climate and room temperature is also a must.
  • Sleep associations. Dim light, white noise, a certain scent, or a comfort item can signal it is time to sleep for your little one. Even when you need to give a night feeding, be consistent with keeping the lights dim, little noise, and no play during these feedings, your baby should learn to fall back to sleep quickly and not get his days and nights mixed up.
  • Keep naps consistent. When babies are overly tired, they are much harder to get to sleep. As much as possible, make sure they have a regular nap time.
  • Lay baby down before she is totally asleep. When she falls asleep in your arms, she expects to wake up that way. When she stirs and you are not holding her, she is jerked wide awake and alarmed. Then you must hold her again for her to calm down and get back to sleep. But, if she falls asleep in her crib with very dim light and quiet, she will learn to self-soothe to sleep. When she stirs awake later, everything is as it was when she fell asleep, and she self-soothes back to sleep. Of course if she is hungry or wet, she’ll let you know she needs your help.
  • Babies don’t sleep through the night for the first few months. Most babies need night feedings until they are at least 12 pounds or 5.5 kg. By about 3 months, babies are fairly regular about when they eat and sleep. If you have practiced these routines, your baby should be well on the way to sleeping through the night.

Here are some articles on Your Child’s Journey about sleep:

Here are some reliable resources on this topic:

If you have questions or comments about this article, please email me.

Temper Tantrums

By

Here are some notes from a class I taught to moms in  Hanoi. It is a good quick review of Temper Tantrums—Why and What Helps. Each child and each tantrum is a bit different. But there is some general information that will reduce the number and intensity of the tantrums.

Causes of Temper Tantrums:

  • 9 months to 2 1/2 years – inability to communicate their needs is the most common cause.
  • 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 years- power struggles with adults is the most common cause.
  • Toddlers are easily overwhelmed leading to tantrums.
  • Toddlers want to do more than they are capable of doing.
  • Toddlers do not understand delayed gratification.
  • Toddlers think they are the center of the universe and everyone should do as they want.

Preventing Temper Tantrums:

  • Keep predictable routines. Toddlers love to know what to expect next.
  • Have reasonable expectations for your toddler. Know what he is capable of doing.
  • When you see your child beginning to get frustrated, change tactics before meltdowns start.
  • Avoid known temper tantrum triggers
  • Offer two choices, but ONLY two. They feel like they have more control when they get choices. But you like what they choose because they are both things you want for them.
  • Give enough warning before coming changes. Some children need more lead time than others.
  • Teach baby sign language to use at least until they learn to speak
  • Give more frequent, smaller meals to keep blood sugar and moods level.
  • For older toddlers begin saying yes first, then the limitation (yes you can ______, but first you must _____.)

Defusing Temper Tantrums:

  • Distract them. This works best with younger toddlers.
  • Act Silly – if you can get them to laugh, they may forget what upset them.
  • Ignore it and go on with that you were doing. If it was just for attention, that will reduce the number and length of tantrums
  • Bear hug- holding them until they are calmed down. They feel secure and loved even though frustrated.
  • Remove them from the scene until they calm down.
  • Acknowledge the child was frustrated and demonstrate a better way.
  • Keep your voice soft and stay as calm as possible. As you get agitated, your child gets more upset.

If you have some techniques that have worked well for you and your child, why not share them with others. Email me and I’ll add them to the site for others.

Stammering

By Leave a Comment

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

By Leave a Comment

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…]

Deliciously Deceptive

By Leave a Comment

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.”
[Read more…]