New Kid by Friday – part 6

July 28, 2010 By Diane Constantine

Over the last few months I’ve been sharing some insights from Dr. Kevin Leman’s book, Have a New Kid by Friday.

These are the last two strategies from Dr. Leman that we will cover in these letters. Strategy one, “Let reality be the teacher.” And the second strategy is, “B doesn’t happen until A is completed.”

He stresses that as much as possible allow natural consequences to teach lessons to your child. Don’t be constantly reminding them of the consequences, just let them feel them. Don’t micromanage your child’s experiences. [Read more…]

Baby Signing

April 7, 2010 By Diane Constantine 1 Comment

Have you heard about baby sign language? Have you tried any signs with your baby?

I’ve been doing some research on sign language for babies and am intrigued by what I’ve read.

Babies desire to communicate their needs and wants, yet they lack the ability to do so clearly because the production of speech lags behind cognitive ability in the first months and years of life.

Speaking involves so many complicated skills. Babies must learn proper placement of the tongue, how to form the lips, to use the nasal passages, to control the vocal chords, and how to regulate their breath. All of this besides associating certain words with their meaning.

[Read more…]

Stammering

February 28, 2010 By Diane Constantine 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

Classic Meltdown

January 12, 2010 By Diane Constantine Leave a Comment

James was meeting his brother Chris for coffee at the mall, so I gamely decided to attempt taking both boys to the Pak N Save supermarket by myself for the first time. First mistake. Imagine 4:30 on Friday afternoon at the most popular supermarket in the most popular mall in Christchurch. What was I thinking!?!?

James dropped me off and helped me put Will in the cart while I optimistically strapped Ben into the front pack– second mistake. I will never again ask my body to grocery shop with a 10 pound weight strapped to my front. (I naively thought it would only take half an hour!)

Apart from struggling to make decisions and focus on the task with Will interrupting all the time, I did pretty well. I did stretch Will’s patience though, and by the time we got to the checkout he had had it with sitting in the cart. So while I packed the groceries I lifted him out and let him ride the toys at the front “for a treat for being so good”. Third mistake. Never un-contain a rather large and strong, safely contained toddler in a public place unless you are supremely confident of being able to re-contain him.

[Read more…]

Getting Toddlers to Eat

October 28, 2009 By Diane Constantine Leave a Comment

Moms worry about how to get their toddler to eat. Let’s brainstorm and share success stories this month about getting our children to eat.

Now some of you have no problem getting your child to fill up on one certain food. But what can you do to get variety in their diet?

What kinds of foods are easy to prepare, nutritious, and appealing to kids?

Here are some resources that may help you to get your toddler eating healthier foods:

1. Suggestions for getting toddlers to eat
2. Baby Center has a great resource for getting specific nutrients into a child’s diet.
3. Finger Food Chart
4. Parent’s Magazine published 10 tips for sneaking in vegies.