My almost 3 year old (can he really be that old already?) has quite the imagination. It makes me laugh out loud quite often. Like it did today when he picked up a plastic Easter egg, opened it, held it up to his chest and said, "Look, Mommy! I got boobs!" Yes, he's my son. No, he didn't get that from me. :)
Imagination is something I think a lot of kids today are without because they sit in front of the TV or video games and are endlessly entertained, leaving imagination unneeded.
Reading is a great solution to that. My sis-in-law uses making up stories with her kids as an imagination development tool. I love both of those things.
What are some things you have done/do/plan to do to promote the use of imagination in your children?
Showing posts with label child development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label child development. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Friday, December 17, 2010
Walking
I need some help please. My son is 14 months old and refuses to walk. He has been cruising for over six months now. We thought he'd be walking by the time he was 10 months old! But no. He still prefers to crawl. It's not a balance problem. He'll stand on his own and play with toys, but as soon as he realizes he's standing, he'll grab on to something or sit down. And yes, he'll sit. He doesn't fall, he sits on purpose. So I know he has good balance and control.
What he lacks is motivation.
He doesn't eat a lot of candy, so candy isn't really a motivator. We can't hold up a toy or something to get him to walk because he loses interest and just crawls to the toy. If we put something in his hands so that he can hold that instead of our hand, he stops and plays with it.
Any other ideas we haven't tried?
What he lacks is motivation.
He doesn't eat a lot of candy, so candy isn't really a motivator. We can't hold up a toy or something to get him to walk because he loses interest and just crawls to the toy. If we put something in his hands so that he can hold that instead of our hand, he stops and plays with it.
Any other ideas we haven't tried?
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Taking Advice. Even from family members.
With the holidays in full swing, we are bound to spend a few hours, if not a few days, with our friends and family members.
An interesting thing can occur if you spend enough time in the same room as people with children: everyone starts comparing notes. You don't know when to wean your child from a binky? You ask when everyone else did. Soon you will be overwhelmed with advice, not only on the binky matter, but on everything else as well. We've all learned things, we all have our opinions, we all know what works the best for our children. So naturally, we want to share it all. Isn't that what we do here?
But with the flood of advice and warnings and well wishing scoldings, you may be confused by what advice to follow. Surprised that so many people can think so differently about one subject. Embarrassed that no one thinks your way is a "good" way.
My advice to you? Just smile and nod. Sometimes, without meaning to, friends and even family, can make us feel bad about the way we parent.
Don't.
You love your child, you do your best, and that is all anyone can ask for. You know your child better than anyone, so if someone gives you advice you know won't work, just smile and nod. Say thanks. Add your two cents. Go home and feel good about the fact that even though we all parent differently, we can still get along nicely.
On the flipside of the coin, if someone asks for your opinion, give it to them but don't force it on them. Your idea is a good idea, but is it the best for someone else's child? Maybe, maybe not. Let the parent decide.
By the off chance that someone decides to attack you (I've heard mother-in-law horror stories but, thank goodness, have never had to deal with that!), don't get angry. That's the worst thing you can do because one tends to lose their logic when they are angry. Stay calm, breathe, tell the person whatever you want about why you do things the way you do. If they persist or you can't remember the reasons, just tell them that you appreciate their advice (even though you really just want to kick them in the shin), but you are doing what is best for you child. And then move on. Get up, walk away and leave them there. If you can't walk away, strike up a conversation with someone else immediately.
Anyone else have advice on how to deal with advice? :)
An interesting thing can occur if you spend enough time in the same room as people with children: everyone starts comparing notes. You don't know when to wean your child from a binky? You ask when everyone else did. Soon you will be overwhelmed with advice, not only on the binky matter, but on everything else as well. We've all learned things, we all have our opinions, we all know what works the best for our children. So naturally, we want to share it all. Isn't that what we do here?
But with the flood of advice and warnings and well wishing scoldings, you may be confused by what advice to follow. Surprised that so many people can think so differently about one subject. Embarrassed that no one thinks your way is a "good" way.
My advice to you? Just smile and nod. Sometimes, without meaning to, friends and even family, can make us feel bad about the way we parent.
Don't.
You love your child, you do your best, and that is all anyone can ask for. You know your child better than anyone, so if someone gives you advice you know won't work, just smile and nod. Say thanks. Add your two cents. Go home and feel good about the fact that even though we all parent differently, we can still get along nicely.
On the flipside of the coin, if someone asks for your opinion, give it to them but don't force it on them. Your idea is a good idea, but is it the best for someone else's child? Maybe, maybe not. Let the parent decide.
By the off chance that someone decides to attack you (I've heard mother-in-law horror stories but, thank goodness, have never had to deal with that!), don't get angry. That's the worst thing you can do because one tends to lose their logic when they are angry. Stay calm, breathe, tell the person whatever you want about why you do things the way you do. If they persist or you can't remember the reasons, just tell them that you appreciate their advice (even though you really just want to kick them in the shin), but you are doing what is best for you child. And then move on. Get up, walk away and leave them there. If you can't walk away, strike up a conversation with someone else immediately.
Anyone else have advice on how to deal with advice? :)
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Potty Training
This can be one of the most rewarding and exciting things you'll do with your child...at least up until this point in life. :) It can also be one of the most frustrating and disgusting jobs you'll ever do.
We've been potty training J for awhile now. We started in late September in the hopes that we'd have things mostly mastered by Christmas time which is when N will make his appearance. (There's just something about having only 1 child in diapers that is very appealing to me.)
Like every child that goes through this process, J has had his very good days and his very bad days. Today, for instance, he woke up dry. He said he didn't need to potty yet, and wanted to eat first. Lately he's been pretty in tune with those things, so I sat him down and let him eat his breakfast. He finished and got down to play. I had left him in his night time diaper just to make sure I wouldn't be cleaning up a morning woopsie.
As he was playing, he jumped right up and yelled, "Mommy! Potty toilet!!!" and then ran for all he was worth into the bathroom. My mommy heart swelled with pride. :) I was so happy that he's finally getting it!
He went back to playing and after a little while, he repeated the process, except this time his words were slightly different. Instead of a potty run, we were making a poop run. YAY again! But no matter how hard he'd try, he just couldn't (or wouldn't) make it come out.
Again, that was ok. At least he's trying to listen to his body now. We went through this at least 5 times in about 10 minutes, each time with no results. Then, his warning got a little more urgent and finally we had success. He told me he didn't want to wear a diaper, but he wanted to wear big boy underwear. Fine. (Keep in mind we're recovering from a GI virus.)
He went back to playing and then almost cried when he said, "Poop toilet!" as he had stuff running down his legs. I probably could have (and should have) been smarter about that, but I also wanted to encourage him to feel like he's doing something awesome and important. I want him to feel like he IS a big boy.
I know a family (and I'm not going to name any names) that went through the potty training of their 2nd boy as if it were boot camp. They'd make their little one sit on the toilet until he went...come crying or constipation...or both. Granted, he did have some major issues with constipation and it was hard to get him to go, but one parent would even resort to yelling to try to entice the poor little guy to go. It didn't help much as you might imagine.
Because of having seen that, and because my little guy has such a sensitive spirit, I knew I couldn't ever go about things that way for our family. What we've chosen to do instead is more like bribery. :) I'm not ashamed to admit it or even do it that way.
Every time J goes potty, he gets a piece of candy (Halloween candy worked wonders in this department as we would hardly give him any candy unless he went potty). Going poop was a totally different ball game. Candy didn't really work for him in that department. But giving him really cheap toy cars did/does. Every time he goes poop, he gets a new car. He LOVES his cars and lately has found a new way to get more of them.
We started out with setting the timer for 40 minutes or so and when the timer would go off, we'd go sit on the potty. It got to be kind of humorous for awhile because any time any dinger or buzzer would go off, J would jump up and yell, "Potty!" and run to the bathroom. Now he's starting to tell us when he has to go.
This is a way that has worked for us. It might not work for every parent or child and that's ok. There are several ways to go about potty training. It was suggested to us to let J wear the underwear underneath his diaper so he felt the wet a little more. That didn't work, but did make for a lot more laundry.
Though I'm no expert in this area by any means, my suggestion is to find a way that works best for your family (and especially for your child) and go with that. Be consistent and understanding. It is training after all and will take some time. :)
I'm looking forward to the time when we're only in diapers at night. And then to the time when we're completely out of diapers. That will be nice. :) And I'm sure those times are right around the corner.
We've been potty training J for awhile now. We started in late September in the hopes that we'd have things mostly mastered by Christmas time which is when N will make his appearance. (There's just something about having only 1 child in diapers that is very appealing to me.)
Like every child that goes through this process, J has had his very good days and his very bad days. Today, for instance, he woke up dry. He said he didn't need to potty yet, and wanted to eat first. Lately he's been pretty in tune with those things, so I sat him down and let him eat his breakfast. He finished and got down to play. I had left him in his night time diaper just to make sure I wouldn't be cleaning up a morning woopsie.
As he was playing, he jumped right up and yelled, "Mommy! Potty toilet!!!" and then ran for all he was worth into the bathroom. My mommy heart swelled with pride. :) I was so happy that he's finally getting it!
He went back to playing and after a little while, he repeated the process, except this time his words were slightly different. Instead of a potty run, we were making a poop run. YAY again! But no matter how hard he'd try, he just couldn't (or wouldn't) make it come out.
Again, that was ok. At least he's trying to listen to his body now. We went through this at least 5 times in about 10 minutes, each time with no results. Then, his warning got a little more urgent and finally we had success. He told me he didn't want to wear a diaper, but he wanted to wear big boy underwear. Fine. (Keep in mind we're recovering from a GI virus.)
He went back to playing and then almost cried when he said, "Poop toilet!" as he had stuff running down his legs. I probably could have (and should have) been smarter about that, but I also wanted to encourage him to feel like he's doing something awesome and important. I want him to feel like he IS a big boy.
I know a family (and I'm not going to name any names) that went through the potty training of their 2nd boy as if it were boot camp. They'd make their little one sit on the toilet until he went...come crying or constipation...or both. Granted, he did have some major issues with constipation and it was hard to get him to go, but one parent would even resort to yelling to try to entice the poor little guy to go. It didn't help much as you might imagine.
Because of having seen that, and because my little guy has such a sensitive spirit, I knew I couldn't ever go about things that way for our family. What we've chosen to do instead is more like bribery. :) I'm not ashamed to admit it or even do it that way.
Every time J goes potty, he gets a piece of candy (Halloween candy worked wonders in this department as we would hardly give him any candy unless he went potty). Going poop was a totally different ball game. Candy didn't really work for him in that department. But giving him really cheap toy cars did/does. Every time he goes poop, he gets a new car. He LOVES his cars and lately has found a new way to get more of them.
We started out with setting the timer for 40 minutes or so and when the timer would go off, we'd go sit on the potty. It got to be kind of humorous for awhile because any time any dinger or buzzer would go off, J would jump up and yell, "Potty!" and run to the bathroom. Now he's starting to tell us when he has to go.
This is a way that has worked for us. It might not work for every parent or child and that's ok. There are several ways to go about potty training. It was suggested to us to let J wear the underwear underneath his diaper so he felt the wet a little more. That didn't work, but did make for a lot more laundry.
Though I'm no expert in this area by any means, my suggestion is to find a way that works best for your family (and especially for your child) and go with that. Be consistent and understanding. It is training after all and will take some time. :)
I'm looking forward to the time when we're only in diapers at night. And then to the time when we're completely out of diapers. That will be nice. :) And I'm sure those times are right around the corner.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Milestones
All children have milestones. Learning to roll over, eat by themselves, walk, going to the potty.....
All of these are great and we work hard to help our children learn these things. The other day one of my daughters learned to do something that I never considered a milestone, but the minute she said "mommy look what I can do" and TIED HER SHOE!...I swear the heavens opened and angels sang!
I don't know why this was such a huge thing for me, but it was. I was soo incredibly happy that she could finally tie her own shoe and not only that helps her sisters with it. I could just skip for joy in the mornings now when I say tell them to get their shoes on and (insert angelic music here) I don't have to tie six shoes!!!!
What are some things your children accomplished that were wonderful that you didn't think would be a huge deal but turned out to be wonderful for you?
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Labels on Children
I received this email from my Mom. She and we would love to hear any input or opinions!
I’ve been watching the Ellen Degeneres show today. Her guest was Brooke Shields and they were discussing being conscious of the labels that are given to children, in Brooke’s case, her looks. Ellen then made the comment that she has an 18 month old niece that people/her family tell all the time, “You’re beautiful.” Ellen thinks it’s not healthy to be telling a child that all the time. They then discussed putting value on what they, the children, are labeled. I think this would be a great topic for open discussion or comment.
I had a cousin whose mother consistently called her stupid. She wasn’t, of course, but she grew up thinking that she wasn’t overly bright and in her teens and twenties, I don’t believe she ever saw herself as being of much value. This all took place many years ago in a land faraway (Zimbabwe) and I’m not in contact with this special cousin, whom I thought was awesome and sweet, but I’d like to think that motherhood helped her find her place with loved ones that didn’t use labels to define themselves.
On the other hand, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with telling your children how special and wonderful they are. I think all of my children, and now my grandchildren, are exceptionally bright, talented and contributing human beings with kind hearts, strong testimonies and make the world a much better place.
Jeanette
New Jersey
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)