We need your assistance.. please vote and spread the word

 Daseta and I entered the Fueling Good Project competition for a chance to win $5,000 to continue the work we we are doing with parents of infants/toddlers. Please vote for us we are listed as Beulah Wesleyan Methodist Church (our home base). The first round in Sept we didn't make it and we recently received an email stating we were selected in this round.

The next step to winning a $5,000 CITGO Gift Card is here. Visit  www.fuelinggood.com/participate to vote once a day. Please note, you must create a voter profile in order to vote.

Votes are an important factor in determining which 501(c)(3) organizations, like yours, will be awarded $5,000 in CITGO Gift Cards. Remember, every vote counts.

Please spread the word. Thank you

www.SabreeEducationServices.com


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"The brain is like a circuit breaker, in order for your infant/toddler to learn you must provide the tools to connect the wires" -Daseta Gray

Happy Thanksgiving..what are you thankful for

From our family to your family be safe and enjoy. As we gather with family and friends let us share what we are thankful for and who we are thankful for. Having a great support system as you endure life's challenges and life's joys is very important. It is even more important to let them know.

Be well

Let us all send an email to our congress person

We rallied for babies (Rally4Babies, www.rally4babies.org), both virtually and on Capitol Hill. We called, emailed and tweeted the President and Members of Congress about the importance of investing in early learning for our nation’s youngest citizens. Now, as a result of our collective efforts, we have a victory to celebrate today!

Thanks to the bipartisan leadership of Senator Tom Harkin and Representatives George Miller and Richard Hanna, the Strong Start for America's Children Act will be introduced this morning on Capitol Hill. In addition to a new federal-state partnership for Pre-K, this Act would help ensure that more babies have good health, strong families, and positive early learning experiences by:

• Giving Early Head Start programs – whose benefits to early development have been proven by rigorous research – the ability to reach more eligible children through innovative partnerships with child care programs to improve quality.
• Allowing states to use 15% of their Pre-K funding to provide high-quality child care settings for infants and toddlers to help prevent the learning gap and ensure they are on-track when they get to Pre-K.
• Endorsing the expansion of evidence-based home visiting programs that have been shown to have a range of positive impacts on parenting and early development.

While we need to celebrate this important step in early learning, we also need to remember that many services that help supply the ingredients that babies need to thrive – like developmental support through Early Head Start and stable and adequate housing – were cut by the sequester (across the board cuts) of FY 2013 funds.  Right now the Congressional Budget Committees are negotiating how to address the sequester cuts as well as the possibility of new investments in measures such as early learning to help secure future economic prosperity.

There’s still a lot of work to be done!  Here’s what you can do to help:

1. Spread the word. Increase public awareness about the Strong Start for America’s Children Act by spreading the word amongst your friends, family, and colleagues. To help, we created this handy digital media toolkit for you to use, containing talking points, email and blog post templates, and sample social media messages.

You can also use this infographic to help visualize the message.

Forward thinking--soft skills

Over the last few weeks I have been in several meetings discussing how to help high school children not only get to college but also the retention of the students in college.

I know you must be asking, why is she talking about high school kids when this blog is focused on zero to age 3. The reason is, I want to paint a picture for to understand the long term effects of certain actions or lack of even though they are being done for the most part with good intentions.

One wonderful organization said, they are giving the high school students soft skills some may ask, "what are soft skills"? Soft skills are social (the ability to interact with others), emotional (the ability to control your emotions in various situations, knowing how best to handle a situation rather than "blowing up"), problem solving (when in the working world you can have a situation and figure out how best to handle it and think creatively).

For those that have been long time subscribers of the blog you have read how to help your infant/toddler develop soft skills.

Now if your infant/toddler is playing with a ball and it rolls under the chair or table your first instinct is to help her get the ball. STOP for a moment, give your infant/toddler an opportunity to problem solve, see if she tries to get the ball on her own. If she needs help she will indicate to you; however if the ball is really out of her reach you can bring it forward so she can see it and then allow her to get the ball. Not only are you helping her develop her problem solving skills but you are also helping her build self confidence (she knows she can do it).

Social skills as you take her out, not just a birthday party encourage her to interact with other toddlers. How do you do that, here is an example. When I take Ajani to the park I say to him, say hi to xxx. About a week ago I took Ajani to his favorite place, the Brooklyn Children's Museum. He was playing in the water area and several other toddlers were there also, the toddler next to him kept throwing a boat and Ajani would reach for the boat and give it back to him. That is another example of developing social skills.

Now the next time you want to rush and problem solve for her think ahead as to what that will cause in the teenage years and beyond. The next time you take her to the park or another child friendly setting it's ok to encourage her to interact with the other toddlers.

Be well

Problem solving -8 months

Does your child pick up a toy and put it in his mouth?
When your baby is on her back, does your baby try to get a toy she has dropped if she can see it?
does your baby play by banging a toy up and down on the floor or table?
Does your baby pass a toy back and forth from one to the other?
Does your baby pick up two small toys ,one in each hand and hold unto them for about a minute?
When holding a toy in her hand, does your baby bang it against one another toy on the table
? Keep in mind that you will need to provide the items in order for your baby to get these experiences.
 It is very important to provide developmental  toys for your baby. Your baby's brain is like a cable box and in order to connect the wires you need to provide the experiences.

Risk factors that can cause developmental delays

90–100%

90–100%

chance of developmental delays when children experience

6 or 7 risk factors

Significant adversity impairs development in the first three years

of life—and the more adversity a child faces, the greater the odds

of a developmental delay. In fact, risk factors such as poverty,

caregiver mental illness, child maltreatment, single parenthood,

and low maternal education have a cumulative impact: children

exposed to six or seven of these risks face a 90–100 percent

likelihood of having one or more delays in their cognitive, language,

or emotional development.

Source: Barth, et al. (2007). Developmental Status and Early Intervention Service Needs

of Maltreated Children. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation

I would like to add that I have seen children with both parents and they  are delayed because if the parents do not have the knowledge or skills themselves most likely they will not be able to give it to their infants/toddlers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be mindful of your words and actions

 On the evening of November 21,2013 I was walking home and as I turned the corner I saw a group of people 3 ladies on one side of the street and 3 men and 1 woman on the other side of the street. They were all looking in one direction and talking. As I looked in the direction they were looking I saw a man running into the street (at the same time one of the 3 women shouted the baby the baby. I thought the baby ran into the street) as I looked the grown man was beating on a child who was around 7 or 9 years old (he was beating on him as if he were fighting a grown man). The mother looked on and took her son leaned him against the car and told him to calm down and turned to the man and told him to take the baby (who was in a stroller). As the man walked away with the baby in the stroller he looked back and said, "you sound like a B#$%).

I share this incident not to scare you but to remind you (and share with your friends and family) that words and actions are very powerful and play a major role in shaping the mind and behavior of infants and toddlers.

I am not saying you or your friends will beat on a child as if they are grown. However, words are powerful. There are times we may get upset and want to shout but remember your little one is absorbing everything.

That infant in the stroller just experienced toxic stress. In the news and within the pediatric world that is a major topic of discussion. The question is what does "toxic stress" look like. The scene I just described is an example of that stress. The 7 year old experienced toxic stress and violence-- that child now believes that is the way a person should be treated and may treat other people that way. 

The primary care giver is the first teacher and an infant/toddler's mirror of the world.

We have to some how return to a time when the "village" raised the child. One of the 3 men wanted to go over and say something and another man said, don't get involved. I was about to pull out my phone to call 911 but he stopped. It appears this was going on before I turned the corner.

This is the reality or norm for some of our babies. It is because of things like this we host events to discuss the importance of brain development and became the First 2000 Days New York campaign. People talk about the issues but few are implementing solutions... Join us by supporting and spreading the word about the campaign.

To learn more go to our website click here
 

Holiday gifts

I think it would be a great idea to purchase a few sessions of Baby and Wee classes for a pregnant friend, a new mom or a friend the has a child under four years old. These classes are designed to show caregivers of infants/toddlers how to get their baby ready for school by giving them the social, emotional and cognitive skills that is needed before they turn three years old.
A research was done last month by www. fffyf.org  and 86% of voters feel that children should have the skills needed for kindergarten to ensure a strong start.68% of voters think that fewer than half of children begin kindergarten with the  skills they need to do their best. At Sabree we unbank your fire.

Daseta Gray, M.Ed, Certified Infant/Toddler Specialist

Sabree Education Services
347-524-4178

www.SabreeEducationServices.com
Visit our parent blog: www.SabreeHarlemParents.com

 

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Understanding language

Yesterday my grand some said his first complete sentence "mama I am coming" he turned two on 9/27/13. He is on his way to having a wonderful experience with language. Young children need ot hear whole langue in order for them to develop their skill. Language is developed through a number of ways. Speaking with your baby is only one  source.

Please vote for us--Fueling for Good Project

Daseta and I entered the Fueling Good Project competition for a chance to win $5,000 to continue the work we we are doing with parents of infants/toddlers. Please vote for us we are listed as Beulah Wesleyan Methodist Church (our home base).

 

The next step to winning a $5,000 CITGO Gift Card is here. Visit  www.fuelinggood.com/participate to vote once a day. Please note, you must create a voter profile in order to vote.

 

Votes are an important factor in determining which 501(c)(3) organizations, like yours, will be awarded $5,000 in CITGO Gift Cards. Remember, every vote counts.

Please spread the word.

 

Be well

A great event 11/20/13 United Nations Universal Children's Day

A great event to attend. I attended last year and it was a great event (held at a different United Nations affiliate location).

 Daseta will also give a presentation.

2013 United Nations Universal Children's Day

The United Nation's Universal Children's Day was established in 1954 and is celebrated on November 20th each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children's welfare. On November 20th in 1959, the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and in 1989 the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Since 1990, Universal Children's Day also marks the anniversary of the date that the UN General Assembly adopted both the Declaration and the Convention on Children's Rights. Theme:   Children's Education: An imperative to Sustainable Development Wednesday Nov 20, 2013, 12:00 p. m. - 4:00.p. m. at Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations 828 Second Avenue New York 10017 For the full event details click here

Early childhood mental health

I was reading information from Center on the Developing Child and wanted to share this with you.


The science of child development shows that the foundation for sound mental health is built early in life, as early experiences—which include children’s relationships with parents, caregivers, relatives, teachers, and peers—shape the architecture of the developing brain. Disruptions in this developmental process can impair a child’s capacities for learning and relating to others, with lifelong implications.

This is a good example of the relationships we've shared in previous posts.

I would love to hear your thoughts

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Be well

Interrupting the flow of imagination

A few weeks ago I took Ajani to a children's museum. There was a boy toddler near by using a toy (not as it should be) the father quickly told him "that's not a phone" (for example, I don't remember exactly what was said) and the father began to show his son how to interact with the toy.

Sometimes we as adults forget what imagination is and forget that toddlers are exploring their imagination. When we hinder them we begin to stifle a component of the brain (frontal lobe) that  develop their critical thinking, problem solving, planning, reasoning and decision making. Your toddler make the decision to take an object and turn it into another function.

There was nothing wrong with the toddler testing the toy as having a different function. Rather than saying, "no sweetheart that's not a phone." You could consider saying, "oh wow you turned xxx (name the toy) into a..."

You want to encourage creativity especially if it's not a dangerous situation.

Be well

Great resource on Autism

One of our partners is doing great work. Please visit the site. The website will also be listed on our recommended sites. A particular section of their website I would like to point out is the Early Access to Care initiative.

Autism Speaks

Early Access Care Initiative click here


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The work and the partnerships

Outside of maintaining this blog we conduct classes... I want to say thank you to one of our subscribers that attended the last class.

We were able to create a new partnership with the InfantSee program (they are listed under checking your infants eyes. Take a look at their website infantsee.org) and with Autism Speaks (mentioned in a previous post and also their link in under the Great websites section).

Share the blog with family and friends

Please share the blog with other parents (expectant and newborn - age 3)

We also conduct  PoP up sessions...

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Like us on Facebook

 

 
  

 

Tooth Decay - The first 2000 days

Many young children have tooth decay that can be avoided
Here are some tips to prevent early childhood tooth decay

Don't put your baby to sleep with a bottle
Limit the time spent sipping on a sippy cup
Don't share utensils or bites of food with your baby
Clean off pacifiers with water not your mouth
Take care of your own teeth to
Avoid sugary snacks and drinks
Don't give more than six ounces of juice per day
as soon as your baby gets her first tooth start brushing with a soft tooth brush
Children should see a dentist every six month after their first birthday

Who is guiding your infant/toddler ?

In order for young children to learn acceptable behaviors, socialization skills a caring adult must be engaging with the infant/toddler. This is called the serve and response method. The idea od interacting with young children appears to have lost it's place due to your cell phone, i-pod etc. These are just some observations a caregiver is pushing a stroller across the street and using one hand and the other hand is holding a cell to his  ear, a caregiver is walking with a  young child the child is behind her and she is walking with  two ear plugs in her ear and jamming to her music, she lets out a yell "stop" as the child runs a head of her, in the park the caregivers gather in a section and are busy socializing  while the children play with no supervision or interaction from the adults, in the museum the parents is on  blackberry while their toddlers play in the sand box.

Who is actually teaching infants/toddlers how to negotiate if you only paid attention because your toddler is on the floor crying but you did not see the she  was trying to grab the shovel from the other toddler and was pushed down. This is where bullying begins during these infant/toddler years  when that caring adult is not engaged in order to guide positive behaviors.
You are your infant/toddler mirror to the world  .

Developmental toys

It is very important to purchase developmental toys for your baby. These toys are inter - active, the baby can interact with it and discover different things about it. Books should also have a variety .
Development toys teachers your baby the idea of sitting for a while. The ability to sit and complete an activity is a skill that is needed for school . You cannot wait until your baby gets to school for her to learn these skills . Getting your baby ready for school begins the day the you bring the baby home. Social, emotion, and cognitive skills must be given before your baby is three years old . You can now visit us on face book.

www.SabreeEducationServices.com
Visit our parent blog: www.SabreeHarlemParents.com

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"The brain is like a circuit breaker, in order for your infant/toddler to learn you must provide the tools to connect the wires" -Daseta Gray

Reminder--Mommy & Me class 11/13/13

Did you remember to register for the class at Swing ? No, why not? There is still time

Stop by the store 1960 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd (corner of 118 St) or email us SabreeEducationServices@gmail.com

You can call us also 347-524-4178/917-721-3648

When: Wednesday, November 13, 2013
10:00am - 11:00am
Where: Swing 1960 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd (corner of 118 St)
Cost: $25 per family

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Music- and Brain development

Listening skills
Music is  a  great way to introduce a  number of skills to your infant/toddler. Music teaches, culture, how to follow directions, rhythm patterns ,listening skills, language skills and a number of other things.
I will discuss listening skills on this post. When your baby gets home from the hospital and  you can also do these things if your baby is in the hospital. You should play soothing music for your baby this helps the brain to develop. You also want to play music that tells you to do an action -patty cake is a good song also. Your baby is also developing listening skills.
You can find infant/toddler music on line . It is also good to join a parent group because they usually swap items or sell used items that are in good condition. Music should be age appropriate .

Join us for a Mommy & Me class 11/13/13 and 11/16/13

We will conduct a pop up class for you and your infant/toddler. If you can't make it send your caregiver

Wednesday 11/13 @ Swing 1960 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd (corner of 118 St)
10:00am - 11:00am
cost $25 per family

Saturday 11/16 @ Artists & Craftsmen 2108 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd (btwn 125 & 126 St)
10:00am - 11:00am
Cost $25 per family

Registration strongly advised you can register at the store or by emailing us at SabreeEducationServices@gmail.com or call 347-524-4178/917-721-3648

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Fine motor- brain development

Your infant should be scribbling in her own book since she was 10 months. There should be a writing book on the floor that allows your baby to write when she wants to. I know that you are saying "what is this crazy lady saying how can a baby write".
This is called pre-writing skills  allowing your baby to scribble. You should have a note book for her allowing your baby to scribble helps to develop the muscles in her fingers and her wrist . You will observe that the scribbles will be light when your baby just begins and as time goes on the marks will get darker as  her muscles gets stronger. It is good to have a book as you can observe the development over time. These experiences  are allowing your infant/toddler to get ready for writing. When your infant/toddler does not get these experiences before three years old she will have a difficult time writing as her muscles will not be developed.  When the  finger and wrist muscles are not developed before three years old your child will be referred for occupational therapy. This means that your child has a developmental delay. It is best to prevent these things as reverting to a stage that has been missed is very difficult. This is just one activity.

Gross motor skills-Brain development

Your 2 year old should be able to walk down the stairs with one foot in front of the other.
She should be able to throw a ball to you
She should be able to kick a ball
When she is sitting on the floor and you say  " Mary let's roll the ball' she should understand and begin the action.
When you say throw the ball she should do the action
When you say now let's bounce the ball she should be able to do the action
You can also note to color of the ball and the it is round.
You can see the different skills that your toddler is learning just by playing with you and a ball.
It is critical that your toddler have these experiences. children that are able to control their body have good self-esteem and feels competent. You can now visit our site and like our page.

www.SabreeEducationServices.com
Visit our parent blog: www.SabreeHarlemParents.com

 

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"The brain is like a circuit breaker, in order for your infant/toddler to learn you must provide the tools to connect the wires" -Daseta Gray

Tempermant -Normal range of behavior

The  purpose of these blogs on temperament is to help you to recognize that  differences  in temperament  in young does not mean that the child has a problem. Just like adults we have our own temperament . You may have a friend who loves  rock climbing and another one that love sky diving but you will not do those activities ,that is your temperament. Your friends may have been introduced to those activities when they were infants/toddlers also. Experiences help top build a brain .If your infant/toddler has a temperament that you deem troublesome ,the objective should not be to protect the child from situations  that you may dean interruptive instead you should guide that child towards  the behavior that you want.
A lot of times a child whose behavior is different from the  average is labeled by mental health professionals as having a behavior problem, when the child is showing  only  normal  temperament. for example some children  need to move a lot ,they get labeled as being hyperactive and is referred for services when thy are only showing normal temperament.

Books

Your 24 month old should have had experience with books and is now able:
To turn the pages from left to right
Read the book right side up
recognizes that the book is up-side down and turns right side up by herself
Respect books
choose books on her own
will sit and read books on her own
will recognize different items in books and will say the words that she knows: example elephant, lion , cow, sheep ,chicken etc.
Your two year old should have an extensive vocabulary because you have been speaking with her
You should have a variety of age appropriate books for your infant/toddler and they should be in a bin on the floor this allows your infant/toddler to have access.
Books should be board books(think pages) that small hands can manage.
You also should read to your infant/toddler every day.

Parent & infant/toddler class 11/9/13

Join us for the next class were we do activities, music, cooking, art and storytime with you and your baby. Feel free to share the information with your friends. Registration strongly suggested

Time: 10am - 11am
Place: Beulah Wesleyan Methodist Church
219 West 136 Street NY, NY 10030
Cost: $25 per family
Age group: 0 - age 3
To register email us at SabreeEducationServices@gmail.com or call 347-524-4178/917-721-3648

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Listening skills - Brain development

Listening skills is need for school. Reading to your infant/toddler is a great way to help her to develop listening skills. You should sit the baby on your lab when you are reading to her. This allows you both to spend quality time . As your baby gets a little older she will begin to notice pictures in the book and you will be naming them . This is how you begin to build her vocabulary. She is not able to speak but  you are developing the Broca's area of the brain ,responsible for the production of spoken word and written language . You are also teaching your baby how to focus or we call it paying attention. Many children get to school and are not able to focus  they  usually get referred for  attention deficit disorder(ADD). These children are label as being developmentally delay . Some of this can be avoided by reading to your infant/toddler daily. The different parts of the  brain works together that is why it is very important that you provide different experiences for your baby.

Temperament

·         Adaptability: Related to how easily the child adapts to transitions and changes, like switching to a new activity. Does the child have difficulty with changes in routines, or with transitions from one activity to another? Does the child take a long time to become comfortable to new situations? A slow-to-adapt child is less likely to rush into dangerous situations, and may be less influenced by peer pressure.

·         Persistence: This is the length of time a child continues  an  activities in the face of obstacles. Does the infant  continue to work on a puzzle when he has difficulty with it or does he just move on to another activity? Is the  infant able to wait to have his needs met? Does the child react strongly when interrupted in an activity? When a child persists in an activity he is asked to stop, he is labeled as stubborn. When a child stays with a tough puzzle he is seen a being patient. The highly persistent child is more likely to succeed in reaching goals. A child with low persistence may develop strong social skills because he realizes other people can help.

·         Mood: This is the tendency to react to the world primarily in a positive or negative way. Does the child see the glass as half full? Does he focus on the positive aspects of life? Is the child generally in a happy mood? Or, does the child see the gall as half empty and tend to focus on the negative aspects of life? Is the child generally serious? Serious children tend to be analytical and evaluate situations carefully.

 

When does literacy begin ?

Literacy begins the day that you bring your baby home from the hospital. You need to develop literacy through language by speaking with your baby. When you look at the brain there is no section that indicates literacy development, however the Broca's area  that is located in the frontal lobe of the brain controls the production of spoken and written language. This  means that you need to be speaking with your baby "not baby talk" in order for that section of the brain to be developed. Language proceeds literacy have you noticed that children who are able to speak well reads at an early age? When you speak with your baby they will develop a rich vocabulary. Reading to your baby also helps to develop her vocabulary, showing educational videos ,take your baby to different places is a great way to set the stage for pre-reading .

Temperament traits

It is very important for you to know your infant/toddler's temperament.     This will help you to adjust your parenting style to match your  baby.

• Sensory Threshold: Related to how sensitive this child is to physical stimuli. It is the amount of stimulation (sounds, tastes, touch, temperature changes) needed to produce a response in the child. Does the child react positively or negatively to particular sounds? Does the child startle easily to sounds? Is the child a picky eater or will he eat almost anything? Does the child respond positively or negatively to the feel of clothing? Highly sensitive individuals are more likely to be artistic and creative.
• Approach/Withdrawal: Refers to the child’s characteristic response to a new situation or strangers. Does the child eagerly approach new situations or people? Or does the child seem hesitant and resistant when faced with new situations, people or things? Slow-to-warm up children tend  to think before they act. They are less likely to act impulsively during adolescence.

Adaptability: Related to how easily the child adapts to transitions and changes, like switching to a new activity. Does the child have difficulty with changes in routines, or with transitions from one activity to another? Does the child take a long time to become comfortable to new situations? A slow-to-adapt child is less likely to rush into dangerous situations, and may be less influenced by peer pressure

Allow infants/toddlers to make decisions

Ajani is 2yrs and 5wks and clearly knows what  he wants when he wants it. He has several educational videos and  when he wants to watch any of them he begins taking them all out . When you  ask do you want to watch this one ,he says no and when he gets to the one that he wants he will hand it to you.

It s very important  that you allow  your infant/toddler to have choices and learn to make decisions. This is a skill that your infant needs for life. it is very important that your infant/toddler learn hoe to make decisions.

Temperament experts say that you are born with it

We will be looking at these traits and we would like to here your thoughts. The experts say that your are born with temperament  traits .

Classic child development research conducted by Doctors Chess and Thomas has identified 9 temperamental traits:

• Activity Level: This is the child’s “idle speed or how active the child is generally. Does the infant always wiggle, more squirm? Is the infant difficult to diaper because of this? Is the infant content to sit and quietly watch? Does the child have difficulty sitting still? Is the child always on the go? Or, does the child prefer sedentary quiet activities? Highly active children may channel such extra energy into success in sports; may perform well in high-energy careers and may be able to keep up with many different responsibilities.
• Distractibility: The degree of concentration and paying attention displayed when a child is not particularly interested in an activity. This trait refers to the ease with which external stimuli interfere with ongoing behavior. Is the infant easily distracted by sounds or sights while drinking a bottle? Is the infant easily soothed when upset by being offered alternate activity? Does the child become sidetracked easily when attempting to follow routine or working on some activity? High distractibility is seen as positive when it is easy to divert a child from an undesirable behavior but seen as negative when it prevents the child from finishing school work.

Intensity: The energy level of a response whether positive or negative. Does the infant react strongly and loudly to everything, even relatively minor events? Does the child show pleasure or upset strongly and dramatically? Or does the child just get quiet when upset? Intense children are more likely to have their needs met and may have depth and delight of emotion rarely experienced by others. These children may be gifted in dramatic arts. Intense children tend to be exhausting to live with.
Regularity: The trait refers to the predictability of biological functions like appetite and sleep. Does the child get hungry or tired at predictable times? Or, is the child unpredictable in terms of hunger and tiredness? As grown-ups irregular individuals may do better than others with traveling as well as be likely to adapt to careers with unusual working hours.

Observation

Last week I was driving in the Bronx and I stopped at a stop light. There was a caregiver on the side  with a baby in a stroller . The baby was about 8 months old  and when I took a second look the care giver took a lollipop from the  his mouth and gave it  to the baby.

Age appropriate behavior -Brain development

Many times  you will be trying to do house choirs but your toddler decides that she wants to play. She will begin throwing the ball at you and will say catch. You will try to explain that you  cannot play right now. Your toddler does not understand  so you will need to stop what you are doing and play. Toddlers are very demanding and will not stop until they get your attention. You must be patient as your toddler's brain in being developed and her ability to reason and negotiate is not yet developed.