Tag: Activities

Categories
Development

Tips on How to Encourage Your Toddler to Talk

Every parent eagerly waits for their child to talk. It’s a whole new world when your toddler starts talking and you would be at cloud nine! Remember that all children are different and develop at their own pace. Here are some ways to encourage your toddler to get these words flowing. 

Keep talking about everything

Talk a lot with your toddler. Exposure to the outer world is important to improve your child’s vocabulary. Speak slowly and smoothly using small simple words and very short sentences.

Keep narrating to your little one what you are doing, where you are going and all that you are up to. In your conversations, keep enough pauses in between, to listen to your child and wait for him to respond. 

Become your child’s echo

Repeat what your child spoke by adding on one or two words at a time. This will encourage toddlers to further develop their expressive speech. They will feel motivated.

Reward words

Be generous and appreciate when your baby talks. He will be happy getting applauded for his effort and will try speaking more. Also, share some additional words related to what he/she just spoke. 

Don’t anticipate

Make your little one work hard for what he wants. Wait until he or she asks, rather than anticipating their every need and request.

Be blind to gestures

Delay your response to your toddler’s gestures and help your little one work on his/her words. If you fulfil their needs with gestures, your child might be reluctant to work on his or her speech. 

When you respond to any request, ensure that you use the word repeatedly and make him understand that you are trying to emphasize a particular word.

Limit screen time

Only active interaction can help your child talk. When they are hooked up in front of a TV, this cannot happen. Researches have proved that with an increase in screen time, language acquisition gets delayed for children below three years of age. 

It is recommended that children over two years should not be allowed to watch television for more than 2 hours. Children below 2 years of age should be completely discouraged from watching TV.

Listen

Listening is equally as important as speaking. We always seek the person who listens to us when we want to tell something. The same holds with children. So when you give your child your attention when he is talking or making sounds, help him/her to understand that they are really important and worth your time. Sustain their interest in talking by paying attention and encourage them with supporting words.

Point and repeat

Point to things in your everyday life and repeat them until your child gets attentive. The more your child hears a particular word, the more they are going to comprehend it; so keep repeating. You’ll soon hear your baby repeating it! 

Remember these sets of words or phrases must include the words of items that the child is attending to, visually at that particular time and then label it for them. Some such words include: during bath time- water, bubbles, soap, bucket; during meal time- spoon, fork, plate, eggs, apple, banana, yummy.

Be animated 

Use lots of facial expressions and variations of tones when you talk with your toddler. This will help you create interest around the act of talking and you can retain your baby’s attention for longer periods. Use changes in volume, sing, recite and be narrative all the time. All this gives your baby even more opportunities to learn.

Give your toddler plenty of opportunities to talk during your everyday routine. Keep encouraging them by engaging in fun-filled activities. The more the better; they will get familiarized with words and our little ones will start playing with words!

Categories
Parenting and Childcare

The Pleasure in Parent-Child Bonding Activities

Bonding with your baby is an indispensable part of early childhood development. Children who receive adequate attention, love, guidance, and nurturing grow up to be stronger individuals. The family bond is stronger when the parent-child bonding activities are enjoyable. A family that laughs together, stays together!

Outdoor Parent-Child Bonding Activities

The primary advantage of parent-child activities outdoors is that you all can enjoy the sunlight and fresh air. The easiest and cheapest activity is, playing together in the nearby park. You can walk, jog, race, or play football. Other equally pleasurable outdoor family-bonding activities include:

  1. Gardening – For you, tasks like weeding, digging, planting, trimming, etc. are chores. But when you include your little toddler to plant seedlings, it becomes an enjoyable activity. You can put each kid in charge of tending one plant.
  2. Nature trails – Plan a nature trail to a nearby forest. While walking along the paths, point out interesting trees, plants, flowers, creepers, birds, and small animals. Believe me, even your toddler will absorb some of the information. Kids have an infinite capacity to store knowledge. Gardening and nature trails will also teach your kids to love nature.
  3. Parent-child classes–There are several parent-toddler classes that you can enrol in. Parents and children can enjoy together, leading to a stronger parent-child bond. Such classes may be art and craft, colouring, music, dance, etc.

Indoor Parent-Child Bonding Activities

In bad weather, you compel your kid to stay indoors. They become restless and irritable. But these fun-filled indoor parent-child bonding activities give a lot of pleasure:

  1. Reading competition – Take turns in reading storybooks aloud. The best reader gets the largest piece of cake. Your toddler gets a turn to read as well, and never mind the gibberish!
  2. Dance session–Clear floor space in the center of the living room. Use CDs or smartphones to play the latest popular tracks. Sing and dance together to your heart’s content!
  3. Artwork – One of the most popular and effective parent-child bonding activities indoors is painting. You can use paper, stones, shells, discarded cans, boxes, or any other surface on which to paint. Always use toddler-safe paints, crayons, and pencils for artwork. Try out Origami (paper folding) and colouring books.
  4. Soft-toy party–The most thrilling way of teaching kids organizational skills is by letting them plan and organize a party for their teddies and dolls. From seating arrangements for the toys to the choice of music, leave it to the kids. You are invitees and so are the soft toys. The kids will love being in charge. Keep some scones, sandwiches, and juice.
  5. Photoshoot–In this activity, each family member wears a favourite outfit and you click pictures in different sections of the house. Make sure you all pose differently for each shot. Make a collage of the pictures and frames.

Irrespective of the parent-toddler bonding methods you use, expressing love with kind words and hugs always strengthens the bond. Listen to your kid’s words and spend a lot of time together.

Categories
Activities

Spark Your Child’s Imagination by Promoting Creative Skills

A highly creative child is imaginative and thinks out of the box. So there is a strong connection between a child’s creative skills and imagination. But how to ignite a toddler’s imagination? Here are some cool ideas that will give you and your little one a lot of pleasure:

Imaginative Home Activities for your child

Children are naturally creative and it does not take much effort to ignite that little spark of imagination in them. 

Sparking your child’s imagination with stories

Bring out all your childhood fairy tales full of adventure and imaginary creatures. Describe them and their actions using different voices for the various characters. 

Children’s encyclopedia

Invest in a good children’s encyclopaedia. The ones for kids are normally full of beautiful pictures. As you point out animals, birds and insects from the book, imitate their sounds or movements. 

Books

While reading aloud from books, embellish your story with sounds, voices, and movements. These graphic descriptions will teach your toddler to image the existence of those creatures even if he has never seen them. 

Enacting the stories

Use soft toys, dolls, or other items in the house to represent characters in the stories. Enact these stories along with your toddler and turn it into the most enjoyable parent-child bonding activity. 

Developing your kid’s imagination with artwork

Colouring books

These books are the easiest way of igniting your child’s imagination and creative skills. Motivate your baby to use unusual colour combinations on every page of the colouring book. 

Doodling

Another fun-filled activity is doodling. Let your kid scribble with an ordinary pencil on a piece of paper. In the maze of scribbles, identify shapes like circles, triangles, squares, animals, faces, etc. and teach your kid to colour only those areas. 

Abstract art from waste

One of the most inexpensive ways of using creativity to spark your kid’s imagination is making art pieces from waste. Recycle cans, boxes, wrapping papers, grocery bags, plastic bottles, etc. and indulge in abstract art projects. The waste items can be painted, dried, and glued together to form different shapes. 

Other creative games that ignite a child’s imagination are stone art, sand art, puppet-making with waste, Origami (paper folding), paper cutting, and more. 

Outdoor Activities to Ignite your kid’s Imagination

When we go to parks or the zoo, we would normally just point out trees, flowers, birds, animals, and other objects. Even in the outdoors, there are immense possibilities to spark your toddler’s imagination with creativity. 

  • Nature’s tale – Carry a small bag to the park. Ask your toddler to pick up small pebbles, shells, buttons, string, flowers, seeds, or any other small items found on the ground. When you come home, ask your kid to arrange them on the floor and create a story around those items. 
  • Garden tent – Set up a tent in the backyard so that your kids can pretend they are camping. You can join in the fun and encourage them to think of something new every time they use it. The tent can be a cave, spacecraft, aeroplane, ship, or anything else. 

Have fun…

Categories
Activities Education and Curriculum Fun Parenting and Childcare

Make Homework Fun and Engaging for Your Child

We all know homework is uninteresting, but there are some easy ways you can make homework more fun for the student. The time for homework can instigate growls from kids and parents. As a guardian, you know it is essential to make sure that your child is advancing academically; however, you also need to know that it can be taxing and a bit tedious too. After looking at the board for hours and bounded by quizzes and books, and taking note of lectures, there is a chance that kids will throw a fit of temper when you enquire them to complete their tasks.

The good news is that there are a few ways by which you can make homework fun for the children.  Few of which are explained below:

Make a creative and fun space

You may have found in your own professional or academic life, working in a distracting or boring space can make progress difficult. It is no diverse for children, so begin them off on the correct track. Prepare a creative, cosy, space for your child to work. Stay away from hectic areas of the home that may be disturbing, and keep TVs and any needless technology far-off. It is vital your child likes the space and feels at ease, so with her input, add some inspirational imagery, colour, and lots of academic essentials, such as pen pencils, markers, and paper. Just as it is typically suggested to only use your bed for sleep and not for work, your child will relate this space with just schoolwork and learning, instead of playtime.

Play an educational game

This tactic can work in a couple of diverse ways. You can turn the actual homework task into a game. For instance, if your student is working on vocabulary words, you can create a matching game or flashcard. If your child is learning concepts of mathematics, you can use small pieces of toffee to assist with the numbers. Division and subtraction units are so much more fun when they can eat a few of those toffees!

If you are not capable to find a way to turn the task into a sport, try playing a brain puzzle before your student begins studying to warm up, for instance, scrabble, chess, bingo, or connect four.

Track progress for rewards

Making a rewarding method to use as positive support can assist make homework appear less like a task. Set up some objectives with your kid’s contribution and match them with suitable rewards for something to look forward to. For instance, for every task completed on time, a star or a ticket is earned and placed on a chart in the homework space. Once the chart is filled, the child can choose a reward, such as getting ice cream, watching an entertaining movie, purchasing new attire, or acquiring a new game. Only ensure your child clearly understands the big picture of what good grades indicate for his future, so you do not fall into an entrap where your child exclusively studies as a way to earn treats.

Work beside your child

While your child is doing homework if the rest of the family is relaxing and having fun, then it can feel isolating for a child. Rather than leaving your child to work alone, join her and complete some work of your own. This can include checking emails, developing a budget, pay bills, or planning a trip, do it next to your child. It not only assist your kid feel that she is not the only one working hard, but it also offers an opportunity to spend time with your kid and be present for any questions she may have.

These are some of the simple ways that parents can follow to make homework fun for your child.

Categories
Health Parenting and Childcare Sleeping Habits

Soothing Activities to Help Your Baby Sleep

Some babies sleep much more whilst a few sleep pretty less. For instance, a few sleep through the night and some do not, for a long time. Your little one will have their pattern of sleeping and waking, and it is not likely to be similar to other kids you know. It is not going to fit in with your necessity for sleep. Try to sleep when your baby sleeps. If you are breastfeeding, in the initial weeks your little one is likely to sleep off for short periods during a feed. Continue feeding until you think your baby has completed or until they are completely asleep. This is a perfect opportunity to get a bit of rest yourself.

Soothing activities to help your baby sleep.

Teach your infant that night-time is different from daytime. During the day, play games, open curtains and do not worry too much about daily noises when they sleep.

At night, look out for tired signs and put your baby to bed as soon as they have been fed. You might also find it useful to not talk much and keep your voice low. Keep the dim lights on and do not play with your baby

Babies will show signs when they are getting tired such as frowning, yawning, grimacing, sucking, grizzling, staring, jerky movements, snuggling in, becoming overactive, rubbing eyes, clenching fists, crying or fussiness. Replying early to these tired signs stops your baby from becoming distressed and makes it easier for them to sleep.

Set-up schedule with a newborn

Newborn babies will sleep on and off all through the day and night. It could be useful to have a pattern, but you can always alter the routine to suit your requirements. For instance, you can try feeding your baby just before you go to sleep so that he/she can get sleep for longer hours.

Know how to settle your babies

In the initial six months, you can hold your newborn in your arms till they fall asleep. Utilize mild rocking, rhythmic patting, talking, stroking, or singing softly before placing your baby into the cot. These reiterations signal recreation and sleep.

You can also try placing the baby in the cot awake but drowsy and calm and gently stroke or pat them till they fall asleep, comforting them with mild sounds. If your baby becomes distressed, lift them for a cuddle until quiet or asleep before putting your baby back in the cot. Stay with them till they doze off.

Preparing a bedtime schedule

You might be prepared to start a bedtime schedule when your baby is approximately three months age. Getting them into a soothing, simple bedtime schedule can be useful for everyone and can assist to stop sleeping problems afterwards. Here are some things to try.

  • Changing into nightclothes and a fresh nappy
  • Reading a bedtime story
  • A warm bath before bedtime
  • Putting them to bed
  • Singing a lullaby or having a wind-up musical mobile that you can turn on when you have put your baby to bed
  • Dimming the lights in the room to create a tranquil atmosphere
  • Giving them a cuddle and goodnight kiss

As your child grows older, it can be useful to keep to a similar bedtime habit. Excessive stimulation and excitement just before bedtime can awaken your baby up again. Use some time relaxing and doing some quieter things, such as reading.