Sharing

I  went to the museum recently and many  observe that many children are not bale to share. The parent will say "he is an only child so he does not know how to share". Many of these skills start at home . You should introduce that word share to your infant/toddler along with the action. For example when your baby is drinking a bottle you can say to her would you like to  share your milk with me and do the action. Overtime she will associate the work with the action. When she is 2yrs she will understand the concept. Keep in mind that you are your child's mirror to the world.

Cooperation

Cooperation is a  school readiness skill that your toddler needs to be able to do. Usually care givers will refer to this as "he does not listen". This is a challenge because many times you have allowed your toddler to do certain activities and now you are telling her she can no longer do that. For example , Ajani would climb on the chair while I am sitting and get on the back and sit there without holding on . That allowed him to practice his balance and gave him a chance to take risk. He has mastered that activity. Had a chance to build his confidence and  do some critical thinking. Now we are working on transitioning him to another level of development . Getting him to understand that we no longer want him to get on the back on the chair. Currently his favorite word is no. Yesterday  he was watching his show "Surf' Up". He began to climb on the back of the chair. "Ajani get down  if you do  not I will turn your show off" no please he responded but continue climbing on the chair. His mother turned off his show. he began to scream No No. His mother asked him to sit on the couch he cries for a while .It is ok for your toddler to cry however, you should help him to calm down by redirecting him like his mom did. Ajani would you like  us to read a book she asked . Yes . This also teaches self-regulation.
This process will take a while but you must begin to set limits and give consequences. All this is new to your toddler so you need to be patient and  be gentle and with time your toddler will be socialized.
 The roots of socialization begins during the infant/toddler years. He is 2 years and five months. We will see how long it will take him to cooperate. Remember you must explain the behavior that you want .

The ability to make choices

Yesterday (February 21) Ajani's mom took out a coloring book and ask " would you like to crayon? He said no puzzle . His mother asked would you like to do a puzzle ,extending his language. He  said yes. He walked over to the bin and get the puzzle that he wants to do. He is clearly learning how to make decisions . This skill is critical to have because as he gets older and is interacting with a number of children he must have that ability to think, and  make decisions. The roots of making decisions begins during the infant/toddler years. This skill will help him to choose which group of kids he will hang out with as he gets older. Many kids end up in gangs because they are easily influenced by others. I know that you are saying "my baby is only 2 why should I think about that". We want to help you get it right the first time . It is difficult to revert to stages of brain development.

Developining your infant/toddler vocabuary

Understanding spoken language is very important for your infant/toddler. You should speak with your toddler and use words  for example do not say put this on the table ,you should say "please put your cup on the table". Your infant/toddler should have a number of books . They help to build vocabulary  as each book has different pictures and your infant/toddler will learn  to associated the names with the pictures. The brain is powerful it only needs to be exposed to  an experience  once and it stores it. That is why it is very important for your infant/toddler to be in a peaceful space.

Brushing teeth

Brushing your infant/toddler teeth is a challenge. For the past few month it has been a struggle to get Ajani to brush his teeth . His mom has to put him to lay in her lap and constantly negotiate  the process. This morning I said to him " Ajani let's brush our teeth" he headed to the bath room I gave him his tooth brush he said "tooth paste". I said to him do you want some tooth paste? he said yes. I helped him to extend his language skills.
Back to tooth brushing . Remember that all these experiences are new for your infant/toddler so at first it will be a struggle . You need to be patient and give your infant/toddler time to adjust to the new experience.  You are always teaching and guiding getting your baby ready for school and life.
You are also developing the brain. It is very important for you to understand that brain development is taking place all the time.
Wernicke's area –

area located in the temporal lobe that plays a critical role in the ability to understand meaningful speech.

Broca's area –structure located in the frontal lobe of the brain that controls the production of spoken and written language

Social emotional readiness

One of the  readiness skills that your toddler needs before 3yrs old is social/emotional readiness skills. Self -esteem and self confidence is one of them. Now your toddler is 2years and four months and if her favorite phrase is "I did it with her hands in the air" you have reached  one of your goals. It is a joy to watch Ajani zip up his coat half the way and declare "Look ma I did it " with a big smile on his face and his hands in the air. Feeling good about accomplishing a task is one of the best gifts you can give to your toddler. As care givers you must give your toddler the opportunity to do for  her self. He is not able to pull up his zipper from the bottom so we pull it half way and he pulls it the rest of the way. The roots of self-esteem and self confidence begins during the years 0-3.

Eye level

The items that your infant/toddler plays with should be at eye level  this will allow your infant/toddler to have access . You need  to have several things available as they provide different experience. This allows your infant to have choices and also will teach multi-tasking. He may be watching his favorite show and wants to read a book also. I have observer Ajani doing that or he is playing with his leggos and listening to music  and he will pause and begin to sing along and then goes back to his play. This is all brain development and  getting your baby ready for school, by giving him those social emotional and cognitive skills before he gets to school. Even his favorite video  so Ajani's favorite is Surf' Up  when he is home he will watch that video or listen to it several times while he plays . Sometimes I think that he was not paying attention and I stopped it. He yells No No .Young children are able to multitask but you must give them the opportunity. My question is Do you think that leaders  are born or are they made?

Following directions

Understanding and  directions  and being able to follow them is very important. You should give your infant/toddler directions for example : put your bottle on the table or give me your bottle. At first your baby will not understand but with time and repetition she will understand the language. Following directions is a very important skill that is needed for school. Bing able to follow directions also help with Guidance  . Guidance is  when you   explain to your toddler the behavior that you want and your toddler will begin learning how to cooperate and begin to develop self-discipline. You should use "Dos  instead of Donts" You should explain the behavior that you want. This way your toddler will understand what you want from her.
You will be helping to develop the following areas of the brain:
Wernicke's area –

area located in the temporal lobe that plays a critical role in the ability to understand meaningful speech.

Broca's area –structure located in the frontal lobe of the brain that controls the production of spoken and written language

You are preparing your toddler for reading .
 

Play

Play is very important for your infant/toddler  brain development. Play teaches your infant/toddler how to interact  with others, they get a chance to laugh ,they learn new words and have fun. Ajani has learned how to roll and he is playing with his mother . He told her roll and they are both rolling and he is giggling .  Play allows your infant/toddler to experience joy and happiness. It also  helps your infant/toddler to understand language by associating words with actions. In this case he is understanding what the word roll means and the action that goes with it. These are all reading readiness skills and you are helping to develop the:
 Wernicke's area –

area located in the temporal lobe that plays a critical role in the ability to understand meaningful speech.

Broca's area –structure located in the frontal lobe of the brain that controls the production of spoken and written language

Understanding language is the first stage before you get ready for reading. That is why your infant/toddler should have props in order to engage in meaningful play.

Understanding language

Following directions is very important  because you are helping your infant/toddler to understand language. That is why you need to speak  with  your infant/toddler in complete sentences. I said speak with your infant as opposed to "to your infant" there is a big difference. Speech is also developing but at 13 months your baby begins to speak . You must help to develop the areas of the brain that is responsible for speech . That is why it is important for you to red different books to your infant/toddler . You should also make books available for your infants/toddlers this allows her the ability to choose her own book to read when she wants to.
Wernicke's area –

area located in the temporal lobe that plays a critical role in the ability to understand meaningful speech.

Broca's area –structure located in the frontal lobe of the brain that controls the production of spoken and written language.

Young children must understand language before the will move on to reading on their own.

First 2000 days--Gross motor skills

Your baby should be confident, have self-esteem and is ready to learn. These skills begin in infancy. You can begin to develop your baby's confidence  by giving her tummy time . You should start  this when you bring the baby home. Tummy time: put your baby on her/his stomach for a few minutes  base on her /his . This allows the baby to  strengthen  her  arms, stomach muscles and  to practice  her development. As the baby gets older you should increase the time. Your baby will begin to first shuffle on her tummy.

When she  shows a sign of  frustration you should end the activity. Your goal is to have your baby accomplish a goal so do not let the activity become over whelming .You should also hold your baby upright allowing her to stand on her feet this will strengthen her  leg muscles. These activities also helps the brain to develop. When your baby begins to crawl around you should avoid using "NO" to your baby by creating a safe  space  that will allow your baby to explore freely. The word "NO"  inhibits your baby form exploring. Just imagine if some one keeps saying "NO" to you. Would you be  confident to try new things? You do not want to do that to your baby.

Reposted-- The next few days will be blogs that were posted a few years ago. I thought it was important to revisit these for the new subscribers.

 

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Ready, Set, Grow with Dr. Meltzoff

The infant's brain... fascinating

Reposted-- The next few days will be blogs that were posted a few years ago. I thought it was important to revisit these for the new subscribers.

 

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First 2000 days--language development

You should communicate in whole language with your baby, do not speak baby language. You need to help your baby to develop the language center of the brain. I know that you are saying the baby does  not understand, however the baby's brain is always working and it stores the information that it is exposed to. The baby is new to all these activities and needs time practice.

Reposted-- The next few days will be blogs that were posted a few years ago. I thought it was important to revisit these for the new subscribers.

 

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First 2000 days--Social Emotional Development

Young children need to develop social skills that will help them prepare for  formal school. In order for children to be successful in school they must feel secure within them selves. As a care giver/parent you must nurture the infant/toddler's self-esteem. You should star this by allowing the infant to think  for example: it the infant is climbing allow her to finish just make the space safe. Keep toys at eye level  that will allow the child to reach  and choose her own toy. Infants and toddlers begin making decisions very early,but they must be given the opportunity do it. This will let the infant/toddler begin to feel that she can have an impact on the world. It is important to respond  to the infant when a need is expressed. When you  give a prompt and caring response to the infant's need ,they begin to feel a sense of power. Over time they build trust knowing that their needs will be met.This is a very important gift .

Reposted-- The next few days will be blogs that were posted a few years ago. I thought it was important to revisit these for the new subscribers.

 

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Music and Brain development

Music plays an important role during the infant toddler years. Music is used for a to develop a number of skills  for this post I will discuss a few : Memory skills are very important it is a section of the brain. It is important to play music for infants/toddlers  with clear speech and slow beats. Music helps with language skills also . Once you play the same songs over time the infant/toddler will begin to know which song comes next. She will also sing along with the songs. It is important to play songs with directions "Five Little Monkeys" and the  Wheels on The Bus and many others. The ability  to listen and follow directions is a skill that a child needs for school.

First 2000 days-----Developning fine motor skills

 Birth to 18 months
Your baby should be able to grasp your finger and any small toy that  give her. She should be reaching for objects, you should purchase a baby gym for her put it on the floor .He should begin playing with own feet . Should be engage in pretend play, give the child a toy telephone one that is interactive. You should purchase developmental toys. Toys that the baby can interact with  for example-- the baby can open area parts the requires pushing using the fingers. The baby needs to strength her finger muscles . This prepares her for writing. Teach the baby how to clap, sing Patty Cake to him and do the actions. If you do  knot know the songs goggle it.lol. At six months begin giving the baby snacks and allow her to feed her self-- this is call hand to mouth coordination.Give the baby a small ball to play with ,this helps to develop her small muscles. These are just a few ideas for fine motor skills.



Reposted-- The next few days will be blogs that were posted a few years ago. I thought it was important to revisit these for the new subscribers.

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Socialization--You Got It... raising a child to be "of the world"

Reposted-- The next few days will be blogs that were posted a few years ago. I thought it was important to revisit these for the new subscribers.

Here are some pointers for helping your child with appropriate socialization skills:

·         Take your child on different trips. They are tons of free activities in the city.

·         Expose your child to different cultural activities

·         Take them to a park outside their neighborhood

·         Offer choices( eg) would you like to were your red shirt or the green one

·         Focus on “Do’s” Instead of “Don’ts”-tell children what you want them to do .Toddlers do not understand stop and no. They  will comply when they know what  is expected or appropriate

Discipline is teaching a child what you would like her to do. For example- don’t say to the  child  don’t touch if she is reaching for another child, say touch gently and demonstrate for the child. The infant will begin to learn that there are different touches. Introduce the following   words   soft, slowly and carefully.

·         You should praise infants/toddlers for pro-social behaviors: You should praise children for good behaviors and try not to let anti-social behaviors be the best way to get attention. When you praise tell the child what you like. You can do this with a hug, a smile, or words.

Praise builds self-esteem and as their self-esteem grows so will their self-control. You  will  have a positive feeling regarding your efforts to socialize and discipline the children  in a positive way. Limits should be guided based on the development of the child.

 Many parents do not set limits and guidelines for their infants and toddlers.

 Limits are guidelines or rules. They are usually specific it explains your expectations for the child. For example you may say there should be no eating or drinking on the couch. This is a basic rule that will guide the child and she will understand your expectation. 

You should explain the limit and what the consequences   will be, the couch will get messy. Don’t say that is how my mother was we could not eat on the couch.

 When these children go to a pre-school program adhering to routines   becomes a challenge for the child and their teachers. Teachers spend a lot of time allowing these children to adjust when the child could have been guided to a different stage of development. As a result many of these children fall behind on the developmental scale. Later on many of these children requires special services. You are the root of socialization.

Reminder:  You are preparing your infant/toddler for life outside your home. Many infant/toddler attends a childcare program. The data shows that it is important to have cognitive skills. However, cognitive abilities are not enough. Children must have social skills-that are defined as, attentiveness, perseverance, impulse control, and social ability for school success and later in life. All these skill must be taught during the infant toddler years.

Remember that the roots of   socialization begins in the infant/toddler years.

 

Developmental questionnaire 2 yrs - 4 yrs

Here is part 2 of the developmental chart many Pediatricians use.

Click here

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Well care visits 9- 24 months

Moms and Dads, grandparents too...

I would like to share the Denver developmental chart with you. Take a good look at it and then I would like you to share on the blog or our fan page on facebook your thoughts, concerns or questions.
Click here to view the file.

We are here to assist you in developing your infant/toddler's social, emotional and cognitive skills.

If your toddler is ready for pre-school then it makes the learning process easier on you, your toddler and the teacher.

If for any reason she is not doing any or most of the items listed please please please email us so we can make suggestions on what you can do at home to help her. You may email us at SabreeEducationServices@gmail.com

Be well

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Charlesbridge Blogger of the Month

Charlesbridge Blogger of the Month



Congratulations . I would love to share my blog with you www.sabreeharlemparents.com