Develop Gross motor skills in young children

1 to 3 years old

Provide pull toys that make noise. Encourage your child to walk forward and backward while pulling the toy.

Help your child jump over a small object, such as bean bag.

Provide opportunities for your child to climb and through things.

Take them to beach and provide simple tools such as sticks or spoons for digging, and assorted containers for pouring and packing sand.

Provide both large and small balls for throwing and kicking.

Provide a wagon for pulling and carrying objects from place to place.

4 to 6 years old

Have your child to walk along a line drawn on the floor – it is a good way to learn balance.

Provide a mat for tumbling play such as rolls, somersaults , forward rolls.

Play catch with your child as this provides throwing and running practice. Start by using toy teddy bear. Once your child can throw and catch it, try a large ball, then progress to smaller ball.

Tossing balls or bean bags into containers will develop your child's aim. As his skill improve, use a smaller containers or increase the distance to it.

How to make playdough in 2 minutes

Kids making play dough

Express oneself

Releasing difficult feelings with playdough

Buy or make a big bucket of playdough. This playdough is going to be used to help express the negative feelings one might have. Take a piece of playdough and make it into a shape that fits the feeling he feel, the squeeze, hit, squish, throw, or step on the playdough. Use sound effects if it feels right.

After a while you may find your child laughing. if children do this once, don't be surprised if they ask you for the playdough again. Its so fun to join in with someone by making shapes and squeezing the playdough , encouraging their expression. This activity shows how sometimes difficult feelings can be transformed into more positive feelings when they are expressed freely...

How bad is TV, really ?

Tips on getting your child away from TV

cc photo credit: Aaron Escobar


Make it a rule that there is no TV watching before homework is done. Unwinding after school should be relaxing, not getting hyperactive in front of the TV.

Gradually replace indoor TV with indoor activities, like games and reading. Continue going to museums, skating rinks, and indoor sports places.

A good rule-of-thumb for TV watching is:

No TV for children under the age of 2. The TV can never be a substitute for learning about the world around them.
One to two hours and no more per day for children aged over two. Also suitable for adults.

Place your TV in the closet. Removing the TV from the center of your living space communicates that it is no longer the center of your lives.

Sell your TV. Want to go over the top? Want kids that love to read? Want kids that pay attention in school? Want to foster creative and self-entertainment? Want to spend more time communicating, playing, etc.? Want to be the person giving the values instead of all the strangers with their strange ideas from television land? Want to set your kids up for a much healthier lifestyle? You can always watch a movie on your computer screen, a movie you selected.
Disconnect the cable. Most cable providers have several television stations geared toward children, and many have television stations that show cartoons all day. Without "children's TV stations," your children may actually look forward to getting up on Saturday Morning to watch cartoons.

Buy or rent the television programs that you want to watch and watch them after the kids go to sleep. Many network programs are also available on demand on the internet within a week of airing on television. By doing this, you can watch television on your own schedule without exposing your children to your shows.
Discuss your TV reduction with your kid's friend's parents. If they know what you want for your kids you can help stop TV watching away from home.

Reduced exposure to commercials will have many benefits for your children: reduced desire and impulses to eat junk food or sweets, reduced desire/impulses to buy the latest toys and other fads.
Do not replace the TV with the computer or video games. If you allow this, you may well be setting the kids up for an alternative addiction. Try to allow everything in moderation and with clear limits.

It is a good idea to monitor what your children are watching. If you don't, you won't know what they are seeing and this can manifest itself in very negative ways if they are witnessing violence, sexually explicit content, or even just too many advertisements. Remember, TV viewing must be quality, no matter what. More importantly, monitoring what they watch keeps you involved in your child's life.

Healthy Snacks for Kids

Click on this Video. See how kids capture the hearts of parents !

Supernanny - The Jeans Family 7/7

Supernanny - The Jeans Family 5/7

Supernanny - The Jeans Family 6/7

Supernanny - The Jeans Family 4/7

Supernanny - The Jeans Family 3/7

Supernanny - The Jeans Family 2/7

Supernanny - The Jeans Family 1/7

How toddlers overcome night time fears

This is not uncommon. It's not surprising that nighttime can be frightening for little kids. They're alone in the dark, and since they often can't separate fantasy from reality, they may believe the shadows on the walls are monsters.

Don't dismiss his fears by saying "You shouldn't be afraid" or "Big boys don't get scared." You'll only embarrass him and discourage him from confiding in you.

Resist the temptation to tell him you'll frighten away the monster. This suggests that the monster is real, which may make him more afraid.

Ask him to draw what he sees at night. It helps him express his worries.

Plug in a nightlight and turn on a favorite lullaby tape or CD as your child drifts off to sleep. You might let the music play softly and continuously throughout the night so that any time he wakes up he'll hear a familiar sound. (This is what we hav been doing since birth)

If a nightlight keeps him awake, give him a flashlight to put next to his bed. That way, he can shed some of his own light on suspicious shadows. Having this formidable power may be enough to overcome his fears.

Talk to your Toddler

• Focus on emphasizing effort instead of on traits.
“I'm impressed with how hard you worked on that.”
• Comparing him with himself instead of others.
“You have trouble putting this together, wow, now you have done it!
• Be Specific in your praise.
“I like the fish which you draw is nice”
• Show interest that you want to hear more
“Wow, how is your “show and tell” session in class today?”

How to talk to toddlers

• Talking with toddlers will encourage them to talk. Use genuine words and speak just two or three sentences at a time.
• You’ve made him listen; now it’s your chance. Make certain that you listen to your toddler.
• As you’re talking to small children, be slow and don’t expect him to be fast. Don’t use confusing words or long words because they can confuse the child. Since toddler’s brain is very literal, so say exactly what you mean.
• Listening is an important part of communication, so make your toddler to listen to you when you speak. Encourage the child to hear all the new ‘doing’ words, like playing, putting, washing, cutting, etc.
• Be consistent in the words and the way you use them. Don’t give too many instructions at a time. Prefer giving simple, clear instructions

6 positive ways to answer your child in the negative.(How to Say NO)

Say yes in another way

Try reframing your "no" as a "yes." For example, you could say to your child, "Yes, you can have sweets after dinner. Let's go look for an apple for now." When saying no to your children, keep in mind that an explanation is always necessary, and your answer should be consistent with your other behaviors
Explain yourself and your feelings
For younger kids, make sure your explanation is within the realm of their understanding.
Lets say, explaining to your child why her behavior -- such as banging on the table over and over again -- is so bothersome to you. You might tell her, "You're hurting the table when you bang on it, and that makes me sad. Please stop."

Listening Ear

Always listen to their side of the disagreement. Listening means keeping eye contact, sitting close, giving positive facial expressions, and keeping quiet while your child says what they need to say. Let them know why you are saying “no” and what they may be able to do to get a “yes” from you next time, or at what age you feel their request is appropriate, and why. You may be surprised at your children's insight and maturity. Treating them with respect teaches them respect.

Show and tell

Two year old Ben keeps poking baby brother. Daddy keep telling him not to do so. The child could not stop because he does not know what to do instead. As parents, we could show the child, “come give him a kiss”, then he’ll have an image in his mind of something to do.
Younger toddlers might need you to actually help them do what you're asking of them as you make your request.

Tone of voice: Sound like you mean it

Kids initially learn the meaning of the word 'no' largely from the tone of your voice when you say it, So you can communicate what you need to say by using the same firm tone without the negative word.

If you stay connected with your child and the fun she's having, she'll be more apt to cooperate with you. And turning her attention -- and your own -- to something pleasurable will help you relax about the cleanup job ahead, as well as the mischief and mishaps yet to come.

Conclusion

Have an open relationship with your child; make yourself available always. Few families nowadays spend actual time with their children, which cause a lot of problems in young children! Encourage your children by spending quantity and quality time with them. Encourage them not to take themselves so seriously. Lighten up. Have family fun, laugh, tease, and act silly. By being both their friend and their parent, you can set healthy boundaries with your children and they’ll feel that your relationship with him is based on trust and honesty, not “yes” and “no’s”.

Effective Parenting Techniques

What a giftto be given life!

For long time, we hav been using child-rearing techniques without awareness of the possible long term effect, because unitl now we simply could not see the effects of our actions on child's developing brain. Research shows that key emotional systems in the human brain are powerfully moulded for better or worse by parenting experiences.

The styles of parenting can dramatically influence the crucial developments. Parenting power can also effect children's ability to live life to the full, helping tehm to develop the will to follow things through from idea to reality.

We will be exporing ways of parenting that enable your child to be moved and touched by people and events, able tostand and drink in the experience when faced with something remarkable.