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Your Child's Journey

wisdom for the big steps little children take

Curiosity Grows

May 15, 2019 By Diane Constantine Leave a Comment

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As your child is beginning preschool, kindy, or primary school, curiosity takes on an even more important role than it did as they were a baby.

Before they start school, you can help them satisfy their curiosity about anything they like. You can give them lots of hands-on experiences, read books to them about whatever they are curious about, or find videos and even games that will teach them more about things they find interesting.

Once they start school and have homework, you may feel like the first thing they should do is homework and then you run out of time for the things they are curious about.

There have been some studies done that tend to take a different view of curiosity and learning. 

The more we know, the more we want to know.

Research shows curiosity grows with knowledge. So, sometimes the key to helping our kids improve their attitudes about homework is to see that they get a basic grasp of the subject so that they can become curious to learn more about it. Math facts are an example. It can be tedious to learn the basic facts, but once those are learned, they can begin to see how numbers work together to give us more understanding about our other interests.

Two things happen with curiosity. The first is that the hippocampus, the memory trigger in the brain, is stimulated. That’s why we remember well things that we learned through satisfying our curiosity. The second is that the chemical dopamine is released in the brain with curiosity. That is the reward and pleasure chemical in our brains. We feel good when we have been curious and learned something.

Try this ‘trick’ to help you child in subjects they don’t like.

In one study they found that when children were bored by a subject, curiosity could help them learn it in spite of their dislike. This is how you can make this work for your child. Spark their curiosity about anything they are interested in. Help them satisfy at least some of that curiosity at the beginning of homework time. When curiosity has been stirred, we remember other facts more easily and for a longer time. For a while after satisfying curiosity, whatever they are exposed to next, just seems to flow in more easily and creates memory of those other subjects.

I was not always thrilled with the things my little ones found fascinating. Our eldest, cut holes in the back of our recliner chair so he could see what was inside. He also took our record player apart into all its tiniest pieces! (We never could make it work again!) But both our sons were curious about everything. It has stood them in good stead in their jobs today. They are both always curious, always learning and that has made them very valuable to their companies. So, think long-term, when your child asks in infinite number of questions about something they find interesting! You help them develop a habit of curiosity and learning for their future.

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Filed Under: Kindergarten, Preschooler Tagged With: curiosity, learning

Baby is Born Curious

May 3, 2019 By Diane Constantine Leave a Comment

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Babies are born curious.  “Where do I end and the world begins?”

During the first three years of life, children are curious about everything. Whatever they see, they want to touch, turn over, stroke, taste, and throw. They want to figure out all they can about everything within reach. 

Curiosity is the anticipation of learning. Curiosity urges your child to learn about what is in their world. When they are curious, the hippocampus, a part of the brain stores the information in long-term memory. Without curiosity and the testing your child does, they would be short on memories.  

These memories will be tapped later to learn more about these subjects. All these memories are like hooks that they can hang need information on. Without a rich store of memories, your child would have a hard time learning in school.

Curiosity releases the pleasure chemical, dopamine, in their brain. This is the chemical that is related to reward and pleasure. Just being able to explore and satisfy their curiosity gives them pleasure. That’s why they find it so hard to leave one thing they are playing with to do something they think is less interesting.

Parents and child-minders can do much to help your little one prepare for later learning.

  • As much as possible, allow your little child to investigate whatever they are concentrating on. That means providing many things that are safe and interesting for them to explore. They may go back to the same things many times before their curiosity is satisfied. 
  • Show you are interested, too, when they bring something to show you. Ask questions. Point to different parts or different ways it can be used. Your interest will stir their curiosity.
  • Talk about whatever they are doing or playing with. Before they are talking, they are still relating certain sounds with corresponding objects or experiences. You are helping to build their auditory vocabulary.
  • Don’t push learning about something they are not interested in at that time. Frustration and anger do not help learning.

During these early years, curiosity is natural and leads to learning that provides the basis for all learning throughout life.

Have fun watching your baby’s curiosity!

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Filed Under: Newborn Tagged With: curiosity, learning

Screen Time and Safety

April 9, 2019 By Diane Constantine Leave a Comment

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I read an article today with frightening statistics about screen time and media use. Since it is so well written I would like you to take the time to open the following link and at a minimum, scan the article. I would be very surprised if there is not at least one part of the article that stands out and screams for your attention.

I realize many of my readers have very young babies and children. Perhaps screen time seems like a concern for the future and not worth thinking about now. But, better to prepare ahead of time, make sound choices as your baby grows and prevent problem than trying to solve them later.

So, please take a few minutes to see: Parents’ Guide to Internet Safety

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Filed Under: All Ages Tagged With: internet safety, parenting, screen time

Discipline Rules

April 3, 2019 By Diane Constantine Leave a Comment

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This month I’d like to share insights from an article in PopSugar.com by Sarah Muoio. To see the full article click: Rules for Discipline

Sarah wrote a great article about the rules she and her husband agreed on about discipline even before their son was born. These rules were not for their son, but for them as parents!

There are so many things to consider concerning disciplining our children. First and foremost is the fact that each parent comes from a different experience of discipline. Add to that all that the experts say, what your friends say, and any special circumstances in your family.

Sarah and her husband took time before their son was born to discuss in detail their views on discipline. They set their goals for their son, like the values, morals, and attitudes they wanted him to have, and how they wanted him to experience life.

In order to avoid conflicts between themselves when they needed to discipline their son, they established some ‘rules’ for themselves. These didn’t always apply and sometimes needed to be bent a bit, but these rules helped them effectively discipline their son.

So, what were their rules?

  • Listen! Even when someone is wrong, listen to what they have to say. There’s always three sides to a story.
  • Set a good example. You need to practice what you preach.
  • Be clear with rules and expectations. Leave nothing for interpretation.
  • Be flexible. There are some issues that don’t fit the mold. They deserve fair judgment.
  • Praise good behaviors, don’t just scorn bad ones.
  • Be consistent.
  • Empathize. Never discredit feelings. Kids should be entitled to embrace and express their feelings. Let them know that you understand them.
  • Keep a sense of humor.
  • Provide insight on how they can change behaviors. Make it clear that mistakes are normal. We ALL make them. Stress the fact that trying hard not to repeat mistakes is what matters.
  • Always end with “I love you.” Let it be known that it’s the behavior you don’t like, not the person. No matter how many mistakes they make, it doesn’t change the fact that they are so loved.

The rule above all others is, never let their son see that they disagree about discipline. They create a unified front so he can never play one parent against the other. If they don’t agree, they still back up the one disciplining and only discuss it in private later. Sarah says, “But as far as our son knows, there’s nothing to discuss. It’s two against one when one of us sets a rule.”

For those of you who have been reading First Steps or Next Steps, and the cover letters, much of this will look familiar. It is good, though, to hear it from another source, especially from a parent that is still in the trenches.

No matter how young or old your children are, it is always a good time to review your goals, plans, and methods to discipline your children. Be sure to take into account the effect other care givers are having on your child’s development.

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Filed Under: All Ages Tagged With: discipline, parenting

Welcome to Your Child’s Journey

March 11, 2019 By Diane Constantine Leave a Comment

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Please take a little time to look around at our collection of information about children from birth through early childhood. A good place to start is You’re Invited!

Take a look at First Steps Bulletins These monthly bulletins help you know what to expect each month from birth to 3 years. Many other resources are also available in Steps on the Way, Development, Resources, and Links here on Your Child’s Journey.

If you have ideas for expanded content, questions you’d like answered, or resources we could link to, please click: Comment

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Filed Under: All Ages

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