How to discipline a toddler who has tantrums? ?
Sunday, March 18th, 2012 at
7:19 pm
Comments (5)
Pregnancy and Birth
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 at
7:18 am
Pregnancy and birth preparation can seem crushing for a mother-to-be. The first days after being told you are pregnant seem to be filled with a whirlwind of feeling. It is hard to believe that somebody could have such a wide array of feelings all at the same time. Almost immediately names begin swirling in your head, ideas for the nursery begin forming and questions about money, health care, and other important problems loom in the background. It is indeed a joyous (and stressful) time. It is also a time to begin planning for the future.
Major questions need to be answered and birth plans need to be made. There is so much to be done and you have about nine months, but you should not drag your feet! The time is now to get prepared for your precious child’s arrival into your life.
Pregnancy and Birth – Education and Preparation
Education and preparation during your birth and pregnancy are crucial and there are a large amount of information that can aid you. Your doctor is a great place to start and he/she can suggest different avenues to explore. There are also countless books and internet sites that cover endless topics about pregnancy and birth. The more you are prepared, the easier the shift will be.
As an upcoming parent, you want to teach yourself about important topics and parenting philosophies in order to provide your baby with the best care and environment possible. Topics to explore include childbirth options, labor expectations, newborn care, parent/baby bonding, and so on.
Pregnancy and Birth – Classes on Childbirth
Courses on childbirth are one of the best ways to learn about pregnancy and birth. These seminarsclasses are beneficial on many different levels and are sometimes offered free of charge by local hospitals, birthing centers, and other health care providers. There are even some offered on the internet. A few organizations offer these so make sure to research those available in order to find the best match for you and your beliefs and expectations. Also make sure that instructors are certified and experienced. Other things to consider when making a choice are location, size, time, duration, and costs.
By attending these seminars during pregnancy, you can gain important information on demanding issues and connect with other expecting parents. Complications, medications, breathing techniques, pain management, labor expectations, and contractions are talked about in detail. Many future parents also find a support group in the form of other classmates and create lasting friendships with other parents.
Pregnancy and Birth – Birth Plan
Once you have done your query about pregnancy and birth, you might want to consider making an actual “plan of birth”. This is simply an outline of your preferences regarding labor, delivery, and postpartum procedures. You can cover anesthesia, monitoring, episiotomy, breast/bottle feeding, and medications among other things.
Birth plans are a great way to adjust your wishes and because it answers vital questions, it is helpful to your health care company and family members. This can be as concise or as detailed as needed and you should talk about this with your health care team before your delivery date. Free plans are available on the web to help you make a personal birth plan. Do not wait until the last second to prepare this.
By planning ahead you will hopefully be able to relax as much as possible during the whole birthing process. The preparation and information gained throughout the nine months of pregnancy should accommodate you with the confidence and ability to have an impervious. We wish you all the best during your birth and pregnancy.
Budgeting your babies first birthday
Saturday, January 28th, 2012 at
1:46 pm
“birthday is the only day in your life in which you cry but your mom smiles”-a famous person once said.
You can manage the first bday of your baby within your budget devoid of pulling your hair!All the topics of gifts,parties,birthday ideas,budget can be simply accomplished supplied you know proper planning and budgeting. There is no need for a professional accountant for budgeting a special birthday, but you need to know the basics of budgeting!.
Let us see it in easier terms.First of all Fix the firm Budget.Make a list of costs separately.I strongly recommend this! After the special birthday get together you can do an audit of expenses. Second,make a list of your friends, relatives you are going to invite and the venue for the special birthday.If you are going to send invitations add the costs to your routine. 3rd, sump up the list of the gifts you are going to give.Calculate it by making a schedule of item, cost per item, value. This will give you an idea how much will the total cost of the gifts. Fourth,make a list of the decorations and Enjoyment items. Find out the cost and add to your budget.Fifth, the cost of special birthday desserts and dresses . Write a list of products to be bought for the celebrations.Never budget beyond your means.Then the budget won’t fit the actual.Compile all these proposed budget. If all the costs doesn’t match to the budget ,it means you have to trim the proposed costs.
Now that we are as a result of with the finance part let us see how we can make the first bday colourful in the limited means.Book a photographer,or else you may not find yourself in the vidoes, or photos. choose a topic for the bday party.It can be seasonal or colourful.
Gifts are probably the most expensive side of things when a birthday is concerned but don’t worry some of the most thoughtful gifts cost nothing. Personalised baby gifts canbe created with a little thought and effort. From baby blankets with a personalised message or even some handmade jumpers are unique and timeless gifts.So put a little thought in and your canbe cheap and unique.
Keep the celebration short and sweet.Honestly one hour is more than enough for a one year old. Or else he will be grumpy.Plan the social gathering both late morning or late evening.note that if you host too many toddlers, it will end in tears and fighting.Be affected person with all the tantrums!Toddlers behaviour can be predicted in advance.
Serve food that is easy, delicious for all.It makes you relax.Finger food is generally preferred for first wedding.Do the cake last so that you baby will be”neat” for opening the special birthday presents!.Make the checklist at the bare minimum one month in advance.
You buddies can be the DJ OR hire the DJ if needed. Plan the games ,buy or make the invitations depending on your talent. Make the guest list with phone number.All these will save your time and cut the costs.
Make the birthday colourful.Three weeks before special birthday mail or invite every body in your list.Order the cake if you intent to buy from outside.One week before the special birthday make sure all the gifts,photographer, cake,decorations, candles,outfits, are prepared.The day before the FIRST special birthday decorate the venue,assemble the goods for games,pickup the cake,remind the people,prepare the food,finish the decorations.Make sure the bday baby is prepared with cake and candles.Now you have the winning smile of victory.
What to do when a toddler throws tantrums?
Monday, January 2nd, 2012 at
7:12 pm
Tips On How To Prevent Playground-Related Injuries
Thursday, December 1st, 2011 at
6:14 am
When parents think of their child’s safety, they often turn to the areas where the children love to spend most of their time. Playgrounds are a hit for children because it is a good place for them to spend all their extra energy. As fun as a playground may seem, it can also be a place where accidents can occur, so parents need to be watchful when their kids are playing.
A lot of children are brought to the emergency room for playground mishaps each year.According to studies, around 45% of these injuries are severe. The common severe injuries are bone fractures, dislocations, internal injuries, concussions and even amputations. On public playgrounds, injuries related to climbing equipments are most common, while swings are responsible for most injuries on playgrounds at home.
Parents should keep their senses on alert for any danger that may lay waiting in childrens’ play areas. Playground equipments are constantly subject to wear and tear, not only from heavy use, but also from different weather conditions.Heavy use and harsh weather conditions such as extreme temperatures, heavy snow and rainfall contribute to the deterioration of playground equipments. It is then important to know whether your child’s favorite playground is routinely checked for any hazards. Maintenance-related injuries can easily be prevented if regular checks are done.
Parents should closely supervise children who are younger than five years old. Parents need to ensure, that the play area is age specific for a child. Children under age 3 must never be allowed on a seesaw. Younger children may have problems with physical coordination, thus they should only use equipments, which are age appropriate. A bucket swing with leg holes can be used for children, who still cannot manage to safely sit on a standard swing. Be certain that the swing seats are made of a soft material, like plastic or rubber.
Play areas with concrete, or hard packed soil or grass may not be safe for kids. Look for playgrounds with soft or energy absorbent flooring, like sand, wood chips or shredded rubber. If the playground equipment is made from wood, it should be smooth, and the material should be able to withstand weather changes. The entire area should also be spacious, to lessen the risk of accidents. There should also be enough space for active and quiet play.
It is also essential for parents, to talk to their children regarding playground safety measures. Teach your kids to stay away from the swings, when others are still using them.When going up stairs or ladders, children need to be orderly. It is equally important for kids, to quickly exit the landing of the slide to prevent accidents. Keep an eye on your child when playing with new equipment to prevent injuries.
Check the surface of the equipments during hot weather because it may cause burns. It is also essential that you dress your child appropriately for play. Avoid clothes with loose portions like strings or hoods because they may get caught in the equipment. Even jewelries like necklaces, are not safe to use when on playgrounds.
Children get excited over scheduled play times, which is a joyful part of their childhood.Injuries are almost synoymous with active play, but parents can help prevent them from occurring. After all, playgrounds are built to make children happy, so parents must not deprive them of that opportunity while they are still young.
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Your Questions About Toddler Activities At Home
Thursday, November 17th, 2011 at
8:05 pm
Paul asks…
what are some fun toddler activities… im a SAHM and i think my kids are getting bored! please help!?
I have been a stay at home mother for a little over a year now, and i really think my children are getting bored. i am a full time student, but i do not do my class work until after the children are in bed. i have 2 daughters that are 16 months and 30 months.. they would both be able to do toddler activities, as my 16 month is highly advanced ( according to her docs. bc she speaks in sentences and knows about 50-75 words and can count to 10) anyways, sorry that was a little off topic, what are some fun and educational type activities that i can do with them. i need something low budget since i dont have an income being a SAHM.
any tips would be great!
admin answers:
I am also a sahm and we do with my 2 year old lots of things like drawing (pens, paints, finger paints),reading tons of various literature(folk, rhymes, fairy-tales, foreign lng. Books for kids of that age), developmental toys(many of which you can make youself), learning by flash-cards(i also do some of them myself),watching various pics and talking about them, watching family albums, examining maps(ordinary),playing synthesizer and some other kids musical instruments(i play for her simlpe kids songs and she hits and punches the keys too), she is even entertained when i sing karaoke songs for her, also phys. Activities with balls, fit-ball, hide-&-seek, running arond the room,etc.,dvds( 1 for entertaining and 2 short developmental like for teaching counting or ABC, or foreign.lng./ per day), involving her into cooking or other running-the-home activities,we also go for a walk twice a day and visit a developmental group twice a week…
Jenny asks…
What are some learning activities to do with toddler at home?
My 28 month old daughter, stays at home with me. We do art and crafts, play dough, chasy, playing with dolls. running out of other ideas. would like some suggestion on learning activities e.g numbers, colours e.t.c
admin answers:
Hi, I am an Early Childhood Teacher and mother of a 3 year old and newborn.
Children learn best learn through play and the language we use when interacting with them.
Your daughter could learn so much from you by doing everyday things like cooking, gardening, washing, drawing, reading etc.
A cooking experience can teach maths concepts like counting and measuring. Use words like ‘ingredients’ and ‘can you stir clockwise’ etc. When you stir the ingredients you can say, we need to stir it round and round 10 times and then count together.
When drawing make sure you label what you are doing, “I’m drawing a YELLOW sun”.
Get her to help you with the washing, “can you please pass me a BLUE peg?”
My daughter liked to play colour eye spy. “I spy with my little eye, something that is Green” Then we would look around and find everything that was green.
Basic memory card games are good too. When you match a pair you get another turn and when you have finished you count how many cards you have.
I also think children can learn so much from books and music. Read lots of books and also sing songs. They can learn colours, numbers, alphabet as well as other important lessons from the right books and music.
My daughter learnt everything from me labelling everything we were doing and spending time playing.
Hope this helps and have fun!
Joseph asks…
need some suggestions on learning activities to do at home with toddler?
28 month old girl
We already do arts and crafts, dolls, play dough, but running out of ideas, as a i am stay at home mum.
admin answers:
I raised my son from 18 months old and a single parent, I used to take Him walking and point out all the beautiful things in nature. Call her attention to the sun the blue sky the color of the flowers, trees, leaves and grass, etc, stopping to see all. Take her to the beach, pool, river, nature has a lot to offer. You don’t have to fill her life with material things to occupy her time as for me I didn’t have the money to afford the material things.
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Your Questions About Toddler Development Month By Month
Wednesday, November 16th, 2011 at
8:05 pm
Chris asks…
Concerns about toddler’s development.?
I’m a 1st time parent of a daughter who just turned 24 months old. I was layed off work and spent the last year at home with her. I’ve noticed several things that are begining to alarm me. I started introducing the alphabet (casually) and within 2 weeks she had it memorized by the time she was 18 months. Since then she has learned the primary colors, alphabet, numbers 1-20, shapes,animals in English, (some in Spanish and Sign language) I started word flash cards and she can say and identify over 300 words. So I started writing words on cards and showing them to her and she started reading them. I also purchased a puzzle of the United States and went over the names of each state, etc, and she can say and identify 1/2 the US states. I’ve only devoted 10 minutes each day introducing her to new things, and from my understanding kids pick up things pretty quickly. I’m just concerned because she is able to recall things so well if it’s possible she has a photographic memory?? And if I should address this concern with a Dr or just ignore it and chalk it up to kids just learning things quickly?
admin answers:
Well done, that’s pretty amazing.
I wouldn’t be worried about it – sounds like she’ll do really well when it comes time for preschool. Gifted kids show their talents early. Try exposing her to real world things away from the flashcards – take her out to the park and ask her the colors of stuff or count things along with her. Bringing the world into that context will further support the work you’ve been doing so far with her at home. 
Paul asks…
Anyone’s baby got a tooth knocked out by accident?
My 15 month old slipped off a baby sized chair, hit a toddler table with rounded corners and still lost her front tooth. We are headed to the dentist, but was wondering for those parents who have a child who lost a milk tooth early, what happened at the dentist? Did the missing tooth cause any speech / eating prolems/ tooth development issues? I cried my eyes out, 1st time mom was NOT ready for this yet. My darling baby 
missing her front tooth already. Any advice you have is appreciated. Thanks.
admin answers:
That happened to my friend’s son – I think at 18 months. She was like you – traumatized! – but he was totally fine. I think they check to make sure the tooth came out clean (that there isn’t any piece of the tooth left behind) and MAYBE do an xray to make sure there is no damage inside the gum (not sure if I am remembering that correctly…) but really it is not a big deal. My friends son had no problems eating, speaking, etc. He’s in 3rd grade now…he’s teeth are fine, he’s fine…
I can only imagine how stressed you are/were…but it really will be fine.
Oh – one other thing…we have a friend who is a dentist and our little boy hit his mouth once and it was bleeding like crazy – our friend told us mouths tend to bleed like CRAZY, so it always looks way worse than it really is and freaks the parents out, but meanwhile the child is really fine.
Hope that helps!
Good luck!
Thomas asks…
Should I worry about my toddler son’s development?
So my 2nd son is a preemie and has been developmentally behind by roughly 2-3 months in most things. Sat unassisted at 10 months. Crawled 3 days after his 1st birthday and cannot walk yet. He doesn’t talk at all yet though. Sometimes he will repeat “no no no” if you say it to him but other than that he will rarely say anything (I mean almost never). By what age should I start worrying if he still isn’t talking? My 1st son could could to 10 in English and Spanish and say a ton of other words by his 1st birthday. He is almost 16 months old.
admin answers:
My son didn’t talk much at all until after 18 mos (he was 7wks premature) and now you can’t stop him from talking!!! My nephew didn’t walk until 17 mos. And he was a full term baby!
Even if your son hadn’t been premature, i wouldnt worry. All kids develop differently and those books you read are just ‘averages’. It doesnt mean your child is behind. Please try not to compare him with other children. I know it is hard not to do that because i was guilty as charged and constantly worried about my son’s development and he is just fine!
I wouldnt worry at all. He sounds just fine!
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Your Questions About Potty Training Toddlers Poop
Tuesday, November 15th, 2011 at
8:05 pm
Joseph asks…
Repost from Toddler, potty training problems, please help?
He’s been potty trained since 2 years 4 months. He’s been awesome, only having to wear a pull up at night time. He’s had the occasional accident, usually when he’s playing hard or outside playing. I’ve brushed it off and told him it was ok, just changed his clothes and sent him off to play again.
For the past 2 1/2 weeks he’s been pooping in his underwear just about every other day. It’s not always when he’s playing either. Last night I put him down after finishing dinner. He walked outside to his dad and from that short amount of time he pooped!
I’ve tried brushing it off, not overreacting. I’ve tried telling him it’s naughty, yucky. I’ve made him help me put the poop in the potty. I’ve tried every thing every one has suggested. This morning he stood up and went to play with his sister. I followed him over there and he turns to look at me and tells me he pooped!!!!!!!
He is going to a mother’s day out program starting tomorrow. They told me if he is still having accidents then I have to put him in a pull up, or at least pack them as his change of clothes. I just don’t know what to do! I don’t want to take that kind of step back, but I’m at my witts end.
Advice? Please?????
I told tell him is bodily functions are yucky or naughtey. I very clearly tell him it’s naughty and yucky to poop in his underwear. I told him babies poop in their diaper and big boys poop in the potty. That is 100% truth, how is that wrong?
I don’t tell him, sorry for the typo
admin answers:
Is he doing it on purpose for attention?
That’s what it sounds like, once a child is potty trained and goes for a long long time without accidents, they know what they are doing when they potty their pants.
1st – check with your doctor and see if maybe he is having some tummy issues. If not by all means if he knows and you know your child, that he is not to go potty in his pants and has been wearing 100% undies for at least 2 months, my personal opinion is he should get in trouble for it.
My son “was” potty trained and when he acted up after I knew 100% he could either hold it or knew better, I put his butt back in diapers and told him when he decided he wanted to be a big boy, he could have his cool Mickey Mouse Undies back but until then if he wanted to act like a baby he could be a baby.
2 Weeks later he was back in undies when he realized diapers suck and he was free in his undies. We have never had an accident after that. Children are so much smarter than some people give them credit for and they know how to work a parent.
Donna asks…
Help potty training toddler?
My son just made 3yrs and he goes pee pee in the toilet but REFUSES to make doodoo in the toilet. He hides in a closet. He’s seen his daddy do it and knows what hes supposed to do. I try to coax him to the toilet but he doesn’t even want me to be near him. Once, I forced him to sit on the potty when I saw him run and hide and he just cried the whole time. As soon as he came off and i put a diaper on him he pooped. I don’t know what to do to get him to poop in the toilet. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated
admin answers:
You can try putting underwear on him. When he does go poop, it will feel different then it would in a diaper (ickier) and he may realize he will have to go in the toilet to not have the icky feeling of poop in his pants. I did this with my daughter (for pee though) and it sure worked. She is only 25 months, so she still is not fully potty trained. But is getting there fast. When we are at home, I will have her wear underwear. She will go potty, and now she is starting to even tell me she has to go when we go places. It will be messy to clean the underwear everytime, but it is worth a try.
Jenny asks…
Potty training my toddler questions?
My daughter is 2 years, 8 months. She is very intelligent, talks really good, sings songs, knows how to count and sing ABC’s to an extent. I have been trying to potty train her for about 8 months now. At first it was me being so busy and forgetting to take her potty, so I have been setting a timer. It was going great until now, I thought she was doing good, so I thought I better take that step, and take away the pull-ups except when she is sleeping. All of a sudden it is rebellion city, she is peeing in her pants repeatedly, and pooping (which I can’t get the pooping in the potty done anyways, that used to be all I could get her to do, and now she won’t let me know and doesn’t want to poop in the potty). I set the timer for less and less time, and I am trying to study for school, and she’s getting worse and worse. She is begging for her diapers back, but I won’t give in. I give her a peice of pez if she goes potty, without pottying in her pants first.
But now, she potties in her pants every time before we go to the potty. We go to the potty every thirty minutes, and she pees right before the timer goes off, and like I said, I have lowered the time repeatedly. Why is she doing this now? Is she just trying one last ditch effort to be able to potty in diapers? Is she just being lazy, rebellious…or just not getting it? I’m to my wits end, I feel worthless, and have thought that maybe my family might be better without me, if my I can’t even teach my daughter a basic life skill. People joke she will be in diapers until she is 10 years old, so they obviously think she is stupid! What do I do?
admin answers:
Often kids aren’t ready to be potty trained so young. When they’re ready, they let YOU know so you don’t have to do so much work. I mean, it’s still a lot of work, but you know what i mean. I’ve seen kids as old as 4 still being trained because that was when they were ready. That’s also when the musculature is fully developed as far as being able to control it, so while YOU may be ready for her to be potty trained, it sounds as if she is not.
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Your Questions About Toddler Temper Tantrums Screaming
Monday, November 14th, 2011 at
8:05 pm
Mary asks…
Why is my toddler hitting her head?
I have a 2 year old daughter and over the last year when she gets mad she hits her head on the floor or on a table..I am so confused and don’t know what to do. I’ve tried telling her not to do it but she still does it. She has been throwing so many temper tantrums lately. It’s WWII trying to wash her hair or for her to get dressed. And if she gets her hands on something, if you try to take it away SHE SCREAMS FOR FOREVER!
Please help i don’t know what to do
admin answers:
My toddler does that exact same thing…I asked the pediatrician why and she said its all about the attention….walk away and they will get over it. My son would start a temper tantrum and I would walk away.. I would leave the room and he would follow me into the other room and then throw himself on the floor to continue his tantrum. I told our ped. About this and she laughed and said my oh my…he is a very smart boy. Lol
just walk away from her and best of luck!
P.s.
If she isn’t doing it hard enough to hurt herself dint worry mamma! But if she is banging hard…make her a appt at her pediatrician and discuss it!
Nancy asks…
8 year old having a temper tantrum? is this usual?
my daughter and her younger sister were playing outside with their friend, well the friend gave my younger daughter a pencil sharpener (it was pink and pretty) my older daughter (she’s 
got extremely upset by this because she felt left out, she has tons of pencil sharpeners but she wanted this particular one she started screaming like she’d been hurt, refusing to come indoors to talk to me, a completely out of control temper tantrum followed which lasted for a good hour, she’s usually quite mature for her age and i can’t understand why she reacted like this over something so trivial? I’ve tried speaking to her to see if she has anything she’s worried about or if she has anything she’d like to talk to me about and she just said she was angry because she wanted the sharpener, does it sound like she has other issues i need to get to the bottom of or could it just be that she lost her temper and didn’t know how to control herself? how should i deal with it if it happens again? she used to do this sort of thing when he was a toddler but hasn’t for years it was totally out of the blue.
admin answers:
Thwarted wants can bring temper tantrums out in the best of us. And your daughter is no exception. Just let her calm down and when she is calm have a word with her again to ensure everything is alright. However if she starts doing this all the time then I would be concerned and find out if something is going on in school.
Lisa asks…
Seriously parents, why in the world would you bring a little kid to Disneyland?
So last month my family and I went to Disneyland. Most of the trip was fun except for the extreme nuisance of little children (about 5 and under). Sure, there was the few families of children who were quite, and the very rare who were actually giggling and having a good time, but the majority of children from 5 years to infancy threw the most incredible tempertantrums, screamed on top of their lungs, nonstop crying, and overall were on anything but good behavior.
I’ve only gone to Disneyland twice, once when I was 9 and my brother was 7, and last month when I was 16 and my brother was 14.
But my family and I do not understand why families couldn’t wait until:
1. Their child was past the screaming, crying, temper-tantrum stage
2. Their child was tall enough to go on most if not all the rides
3. Their child was old enough to enjoy the rides, shows, parades, and people in costume without being too scared.
And most importantly:
4. They were old enough to remember going on a trip to Disneyland.
Even when I was 9 I could only remember the most funnest rides, but I couldn’t imagine how a baby or a toddler could remember going to Disneyland. I think to make disneyland the most special vacation you’d want to go without being stressed out about taking care of your kids when they’re throwing temper tantrums or too scared on the rides or have to wait outside the lines with them because they’re not old enough or tall enough to go on the rides.
To me it was a lot funner going as a teenager because I can remember everything and I was a lot more appreciative of going to Disneyland and spending time with my family. So why would you take your little kid to Disneyland?
PetMom: I’m not saying all the children their were horrible, but everywhere we went their were kids throwing temper-tantrums and crying all day.
No, my brother and I don’t ask for much. We’re pretty well-mannered for teenagers. It was the only vacation we could go on before senior year, and my parents didn’t want to take us out of school while I was a senior.
admin answers:
My husband and I took our children when they were three and five. We stayed for six days and planned our days so that the children had plenty of down time and were not exhausted or over stimulated. It was a very memorable trip and they both still talk about it six years later. It was the best family trip we have ever had and we are planning on doing it again in the near future.
My husband was military at the time. Due to the state of world affairs, he’d only been home twelve weeks in two and a half years. When he found out he was coming home for two weeks R&R, we looked into the deals Disney was offering. It was a wonderful experience as it took us all away from the worries of our all too real life at that point time. We were able to enjoy each others company far from the problems of our day to day lives.
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Your Questions About Toddler Activities
Saturday, November 12th, 2011 at
8:05 pm
Ruth asks…
Any good interactive activities for a toddler?
Any fun activities and games?
My 22 month old girl is bored with matching puzzles, she literally can close her eyes and match all the puzzles in a min. I want to keep challenging her. She’s pretty good with blocks and matching shapes. Are there any other good games or activities that can challenge her? Suggestions?
Thanks!! =)
admin answers:
Scavenger Hunts – We have a list of things (one or indoor and outdoor) and he searches for the things then puts everything back where he found it which helps with memory.
ABCs- My son loves to match magnetic letters to his wooden letter blocks
I spy – I spy something blue and he finds it
Group shapes together – cut out small shapes with construction paper and match to large shape cut outs
Robert asks…
Activities for toddler with Down Syndrome?
I am going to be watching my friends daughter this summer and she is a 3 year old with Down’s Syndrome. I’m just wondering if there are any stimulating or fun crafts/activities for a child at that age. Thanks!
admin answers:
I’m a nanny for a little boy(just turned 5) with DS. There are a ton of things that will be fun for her that will strengthen her upper body (chances are she is very weak in that area). Get a big, huge ball (exercise ball), have her hold your fingers and jump! She will love it, it strengthens her upper body, etc. Make sure she is the one jumping herself, not you.
Crawling, it seems immature for her age but its excellent for that upper body again. Turn it into a crawling game, she chases you and you chase her. Have a “fun” reward for when she gets you or you her, like a snuggle with tickling.
Wheel barrow, hold her legs and have her walk with her hands. Again, good for that upper body strength. Turn it into a game with a fun reward.
Catch, awesome with coordination that she likely lacks because of the movement, etc. That it takes to catch and throw for children with DS. Make it fun by getting different balls and letting her choose which one to use, etc. Soccer is really good for this too.
Running, its great for her coordination too. Have races to make this fun.
I can’t think of anything else off hand right now but if you want to e-mail me I can send you my list of these things. You’ll find that she is going to be at a younger developmental age so you might keep this in mind when planning activitys but don’t put it past her with her knowledge of things, etc. The little boy I take care of knows far more then we think he does. He’ll do things and we are blown away because he’d be keeping his ability to do that from us.
Ask her mom about other activitys that you could work with her on, I bet she is in a lot of physical therapy and you can easily coordinate that into your play.
Also, you need to find out if her mom is getting respite money for her, this could be used to pay you for taking care of her. Depending what state you live in (if they have it or not) they offer it free to the parent of a child with DS. The parents can’t get it but anyone else that helps take care of that child can. Its so simple to get the “license” for it too and it pays great ($11.30 an hr for respite and $13.00 an hr for hab-both of which she is eligible for if the state you live in offers it). E-mail me and I can give you a phone number of how to get it. Thats how I am paid for the little boy I watch.
Enjoy her!! Children with DS are incredible, extremly sweet and easy going. I watch this little boys younger sisters with him (2yrs and 3yrs) Somedays I honestly look at the three of them, sigh a breath of relief and laugh because he is the easiest of the three and you would think he wouldn’t be with being so much more physically demanding. Enjoy and have fun!
(Study sign language, chances are she isn’t very verbal and SL is her main lane of communication)
Steven asks…
Toddler activities at 12 months old?
I have a 12 months old daughter who is my first and i am wondering what are appropriate activities for her, what should she be learning now? When is it appropriate for colors, shapes,etc..? How about the meal? What should i be doing with her at this age?
admin answers:
The best things you can do for your daughter are to interact with her often throughout the day. Snuggle her, play with her, talk to her, read to her, etc. When you talk often, you give her the words for the things and actions in her everyday life. In that speech, you can incorporate colors, shapes, etc.
Some examples…
When you’re getting dressed in the morning, you can say things like, “Here’s your red shirt!” or “Come here and sit down, and I’ll put on your pink socks.”
While taking a bath, you can name her body parts as you wash them — hair, arms, hands, tummy, toes, etc. If you’re already doing that, you could try asking her where some of her body parts are, and see if she knows. (Toddlers particularly love, “Where’s your belly?”)
Play with blocks together, and you can talk about shapes, colors, and numbers.
Count items as you give them to her. “Here you go — 1, 2, 3 Cheerios.”
Obviously, she’s not going to repeat all these things back to you right away, but you’re setting the foundation. Some kids seem to be learning nothing at all, and then one day, they instantly know all their colors. It’s like something clicks.
As for meals, she should be eating pretty much what the family eats at this point. Talk to your doctor if you have a history of allergies in your family, and continue to keep an eye out for choking hazards (grapes, hot dogs, nuts, etc.), but almost everything else is fair game. Just give her small pieces at first, and let her feed herself as much as possible. Food should be fun!
One year is a really fun and cute age with lots of new challenges as they really start to explore their world. Have fun, and take lots of pictures! This time passes so quickly…
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