Your Child's Journey

wisdom for the big steps little children take

TV and Kids

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This month I decided to do some investigation into the effects of TV and other electronic media on children and their development. How much TV is too much TV? and What kinds of TV are detrimental and if any of it is helpful to children’s growth?

It seems there is general agreement that a child’s exposure to TV of any type should be limited. The American Academy of Pediatrics even said children two years and younger should not watch any TV whatsoever. Yet, there is also general agreement that we are completely ignoring this advice. Most parents lobby for and seek TV programs with appropriate content as a matter of convenience, since TV clearly serves as a babysitter of sorts for parents feeling time-constraints.

In many homes the TV is turned on early and stays on late. The programs viewed shows less actual choice and more habit. There are TVs in several rooms of most homes. Many children not only have their own TV, but electronic games, a computer, a DVD player for the car, and the list goes on.

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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…]

Getting Your Family to Help

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Wow 2012 got off to a tough start for my husband and me. I hope yours was much, much better. We have been down with a flu bug and it’s after effects. Broken night’s sleep has robbed us of strength for the day. We’re both on the mend, but needless to say, we are almost a month behind in our internet work.

So this month I’m going to share some ideas from a newsletter that I get regularly called Mamapedia. You may like to join the list or just browse through the web site.

Many of you receiving this letter have children too young to begin doing chores, but keep these ideas in mind and hopefully chore time won’t become fight time in your home. For those of you with children old enough to help with chores, don’t be afraid to try something new. If what you have been doing hasn’t worked well, January is a good time to try a new scheme, learn new habits, and see big improvements.

Here’s to a better 2012! [Read more…]

An Attack of Wonder

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With Christmas this month, it is a great time to wake to the wonder all around us. A friend wrote an article about learning from the Book of God’s Word (The Bible) and the Book of God’s Work (Creation and all around us). Don’t let this be an ordinary Christmas, take time and quiet enough to have an attack of wonder.

We can be sitting at home in our ordinary, undramatic life, when suddenly we are struck with an attack of wonder. It can begin in a moment as you watch your little one sleeping peacefully or when you stop to watch the pattern of raindrops on your window. A simple thought or the flash of a half-remembered dream may be the spark. Whatever it is, the effects can ripple throughout your lifetime.

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Preventing Food Fights

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November is American Thanksgiving. We really do have so much to be thankful for! What a good time to practice thankfulness ourselves and to teach our children the attitude of gratitude. Let ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ be common words in your home.

With Thanksgiving this month and Christmas and New Years soon, food is on our minds. There will be all kinds of foods around that only seem to appear once a year. So with all these strange foods and many more sweets around than usual, mealtime can become a battleground. Rather than try to make your toddler face new foods at every turn, why not try to keep it simple. Stick to the basics for your toddler as much as possible, even while you enjoy the treats of the season. There will be plenty more years ahead to encourage your child to be a gourmand. [Read more…]