Tag: Upbringing

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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!

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Development Parenting and Childcare

Tips on How to Teach Your Baby to Walk

Seeing your child take his first steps is one of the most thrilling early milestones. Children go through numerous developmental stages before learning to walk, which include crawling, sitting, standing and pulling up. While all toddlers tend to pursue the same development through these phases, no two babies experience them at the same time or in the same manner. That said, there are lots of ways you can assist your baby along in his journey to walk!

When do babies start walking?

Usually, a baby learns to walk at about 14 months, but every baby is different, so some may get there earlier and some will take a little longer. It is important that you give them time, even up to 18 months is considered common, though you can persuade them to practise often and try not to carry them in all places. If you are still concerned, it may be wise to seek medical assistance, so trained professionals can check your child’s reflexes, muscle tone, and posture.

Tips on how to teach your baby to walk
  • Even though you cannot rush their development, there are a few things you can do to assist build their harmonization and self-assurance.
  • Place an attention-grabbing toy on a chair to motivate your baby to get to it
  • Provide your baby lots of appreciation whenever they drag them up to standing and assist them to sit down again as they would not have learned this yet
  • If your baby is standing self-confidently by holding furniture, motivate them to ‘travel’ around furniture or to grasp their hands and get them to stroll
  • Once your little one tries to pull a push-along toy, they use it to support themselves when walking. Ensure it is firm and solid enough to support their weight steadily.
  • Your encouragement and smiling face is the most excellent way to motivate your baby to take their first steps on their own. Thus, stoop a few feet away, hold out your arms and smile as you advise your baby to take a few steps towards you
Things that you should not worry about

There are several peculiarities you will notice as your child waddles around — all of them completely normal:

Flat feet

Although you may find your baby’s feet appear flat, that is just baby fat plumping them up. By three years, the extra “plump” should dissolve and you will be able to see her natural curves. The feet may also bend inward, almost like half-moons. That is quite normal as it will take time to straighten out.

Tiptoe walking

Some babies have a desire to go around on their tiptoes which helps them develop their sense of balance. While in few cases tiptoeing may specify too-tight muscles in the feet or heels, it is almost always a peculiarity that goes away on its own.

Trips and falls

Ensure your home is childproofed and watch her at all times cautiously — then try not to tension over her predictable fall over. Your little one may indeed cry if he falls, but prospects are he is more irritated than wounded.

Once your baby is getting around on her own two feet, she will keep on discovering new things.

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Parenting and Childcare

8 Tips on Confident Parenting

Parenting is a stressful experience for most of us. Well-meaning but bad advice from relatives and friends adds to the confusion. You may often ask yourself, “Am I feeding the baby enough?” or “Should I give full-fat milk to increase the baby’s weight?” These self-doubts may plague you till you start feeling you are a bad parent. Which is definitely not true! Every parent makes the most effort to provide the best for the child. Here is a list of few ideas on self-confident parenting.

Ignore bad advice

Some of the common bad advice you might get is feeding fatty milk and cereals for weight gain. Another very common suggestion is giving antibiotics every time your baby has even a mild cold.

Never make drastic changes in the baby’s diet or administer strong medications without consulting the paediatrician. As long as your kid is active, doesn’t have a fever, and retains all the feeds without retching, you have nothing to worry about.

Opt for isolation in distress

When your baby is bawling and inconsolable, take the child to another room till you can calm down the baby in private. Having a kindly audience giving conflicting advice will cause more distress, both to you and the child.

Never feel guilty

No one is born with parenting experience so all of us make some mistakes. Never allow yourself to develop a guilt complex about these small errors. Just learn from them and try never to repeat them. Move on and continue parenting with confidence.

Increase exposure to emotions

Your baby will learn how to handle emotions from your reactions and moods. It is not necessary to shield your kid from all negative emotions. Your child will learn to handle emotions better by seeing you sensibly deal with them.

Follow your gut feeling

Our parenting instincts are usually very strong. Accordingly, our thoughts and actions will always be with the child’s wellbeing in mind. Once you have decided to feed something to the baby or do anything else for the child, avoid self-doubts. Just go ahead and do it!

Ignore Comparison

Friends or relatives with kids of the same age may ask nasty questions. They will ask why your kid is not walking yet or speaking at least a few words! Comparisons are fruitless. Although there are general guidelines on early child development, children learn speech and motor movements at different levels. Even siblings may develop at different speeds.

Maintain a record

Keep a ready reckoner on the baby’s temperature, frequency, and quantity of feed, urine, and stools, frequency of colic pains, sleep pattern, etc. Carry this information when you visit the paediatrician. You will never feel lost or confused when the doctor asks questions.

Avoid over-parenting

A little bit of healthy neglect is necessary. Coddling your baby to prevent a crying bout is not always a good idea. Even tiny babies know how to take advantage of a fussing parent.

Enjoy every moment of calm and confident parenting!

Categories
Development Parenting and Childcare

Effective Techniques to Improve your Child’s Skills

The first and most important teacher in your child’s life is you! Your baby is gathering new information and developing new skills every day. Teaching various skills at the early child development stage is the most appropriate way of managing their behaviour. Instruction is the common way in which all of us try to teach our kids different skills. But the more effective and pleasant way of teaching children skills by example.

Teaching Children Skills Through Instruction And Example

Telling your child how to do things is the first method we use to develop children’s skills. But this method can sometimes ignite toddler temper tantrums which can turn into rebellion as the child grows. But if you combine examples along with instruction, then you are bound to get a more positive response from your kid.

To make your child follow the instructions, always:

  • Kneel and speak to the child as an equal
  • Speak in simple sentences that your toddler will understand easily
  • Use a calm and pleasant tone of voice
  • Alternate between instructions and requests to get the desired result
  • Avoid using your smartphone while teaching your child skills
  • Make sure a distraction like TV is shut off
  • Use hand or facial gestures to emphasize important aspects of the instruction
  • Use props like drawings, posters, pictures, photos, educational toys, etc. to teach skills.
Set an example
  • Demonstrate a new skill by showing how to do it
  • Ensure your child is watching carefully while you do it
  • Teach your child social skills by following a certain pattern of social behaviour
  • Lay emphasis on some important aspects of a particular task
  • Give your child ample practice
  • Indulge in role-playing games where these skills can be included.
  • For instance, you can play the game “party-party”. While playing, you can demonstrate and teach skills like greeting the guests, laying the table, serving the food, etc.
Teach Skills At The Child’s Pace

You cannot expect your toddler to learn everything at the first attempt. Overloading your kid with instructions will only confuse the child. This can result in frustration and potential toddler temper tantrums. Understand the speed at which your child can assimilate information and teach your child skills at that pace.

Teaching children skills one step at a time is a pleasant way of going about it. This way, you will not overestimate your kid’s abilities. For example, if you are teaching your toddler to wear his footwear, on the first day just teach how to wear socks. The next day, teach your kid to slide the feet into the shoes. Once your toddler has learned to wear the correct shoe on the correct foot, you can teach the skill of fastening the strap or tying the laces. Splitting the task of wearing socks and shoes into three distinct steps is an easy way to teach a child skills.

To sum up, the most effective habit of parents in improving a child’s skills is doing things at the child’s pace. You should neither overestimate nor underestimate your toddler’s capacity to learn new skills

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Activities Behaviour and Discipline Parenting and Childcare

Helpful Tips for Busy Parents to Keep Homes Clean

It can be difficult to keep the home clean with kids around. Once you get one room cleaned another room becomes a mess. It is an everlasting job of picking it up, put it away, and do again. The good thing is that a home does not always have to be untidy just because children are there.

Here are a few tips and tricks that make home cleaning simpler for parents:

Establish playtime rules and designate a place for toys

Teach your children to take out one toy set at a time. Before they move on to their next playful venture they need to put the previous items away. Kids do not need to spread toys throughout the house; the dining room, living room or even the bedroom of the parents’ can be a toy-free zone. Educate them not to take toys into that one room. Or if you do not have that type of space, then choose an area, like the table or a countertop.

Keep a huge vacant box or container around to throw things in

When you require diving through the areas and cleaning fast, or if anyone leaves something laying out overnight, throw it all in the large basket. This way, it is all in one area and everybody knows where to search for their things. As the basket gets filled, the entire family can get fifteen minutes to vacant it all out and put it away.

Have a cleanup time each day

Just before bedtime, get everything cleaned. Lift everything that has been taken out and put it away. It is so fast and easy, and once you get in the routine, the messes are less irresistible.

Have a specific spot for everything

If no one understands where it goes, then how will they be able to place it away? Ensure everything you bring in the house has a place where it belongs. If you are having a difficult time finding a place for everything, it is time to take inventory and dispose of a few things or rearrange.

Educate kids to clean up what they are playing with

Kids tend to move from one game to another fast. They leave a section of the room scattered with toys and go off to do something else. When you see the games or toys abandoned, have them stop what they are doing and come back to clean it up. They might not like it, but they will get accustomed to it and with your assistance, they will be trained to place their things at the proper place. Make it entertaining by being joyful as they put their things away fast.

Get rid of things

If you see you are getting overrun and it is becoming very challenging to get it cleaned up, then it is time to cleanse Make it a goal to get rid of everything that you do not have space for.

Practice what you teach

If you want the kids to be a bit clean, be sure you are doing your best to stay neat too. Before you go to bed spend a few minutes picking up the things that are around the house.

Let the kids do some of the work

Get the children to do a cleanup of the house once a day with dad or mom. Remember that cleaning together can be entertaining if mom or dad keeps their attitude happy and humorous.

These are some of the simple tips using which you can keep your home neat and clean.

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Behaviour and Discipline Parenting and Childcare

Tips on Teaching Your Kid to Say Sorry

Most child experts’ consent that kids should not be compelled to say “sorry” when they do anything wrongly. But, that does not mean kids should be let off for bad behaviour. Adults should take the opportunity to educate kids about why their behaviour was wrong and learn about good etiquette simultaneously. Forcing a young child to apologise after he hits or bites a friend, may mean just saying a “sorry” statement without making their behaviour change. In such cases, what should parents and providers do?

Teaching your kids etiquettes for saying sorry is harder than it seems. For beginners, your kid needs to let go off his self-esteem and ingest his arrogance to say sorry. Also, your child may not think or consent that his behaviours call for a confession at all. And finally, also if they are eager to say sorry to run away your anger, it is hard to make sure that they mean it.

Why teaching your kids etiquette for saying sorry is important?

Saying sorry is not just a social gesture. It assists your child to identify right from wrong, take liability for his wrongs, modify his errors, clear the air and cure a relationship. For raising an adult who is accountable enough to accept his errors and say sorry, practice the below-mentioned tips with your child.

Teach your kids etiquette when to make an apology

It is hard to teach a small kid what is always incorrect and correct. But it is also vital that you start making them alert of these two concepts in the early hours. To aid them to understand their errors motivate your child to understand – enquire them how they will feel if something similar was done to them.

Explain to your child how to apologise correctly

A good apology is not just saying sorry. Teach your child different “elements” of a good apology:

  • Stand still and straight
  • Make eye contact
  • Motivate your kid to put in language what he did incorrectly so that the listener knows that your kid knows why he/she is disturbed.
  • Conclude with a promise for future behaviour
  • Follow up with a question to ensure that he is forgiven
  • Use the correct tone of voice. For saying sorry you can utter it in diverse tones and assist the child know when it sounds like you does not mean it and when it does.
Be unbiased

Maximum parents fall on two edge – they are either very guilty about their kid’s behaviour or they are too nice, blame their kid and support the other children. But none of these are excellent ideas. Explain to the kids that it does not matter who did it, however, now that there is an issue both kids need to make an apology to one another. If your kid feels awful about it, later on, clarify to him that argument typically happens when more than one person is involved, may not be equal but both add towards it. Thus, it is essential to say sorry even if your child did not begin it.

Though it might be difficult initially, slowly your child will develop a sense of liability and understand the implications of his behaviour and actions. Empathy will grow and you will feel proud to have raised a well-bred child.

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Behaviour and Discipline

5 Techniques for Taming the Anger Monster in Children

A toddler has to deal with different types of emotions, including negative ones. Frustration and anger can lead to aggression, disrespect, temper tantrums, fighting, teasing, etc. For coping with your toddler’s anger effectively you may have to implement specific strategies, such as:

Differentiating between good and bad behaviour

A toddler has strong emotions and some of them may be negative ones like anger, disappointment, distress, embarrassment, stress, frustration, etc. These emotions can manifest in bad behaviour. You can follow a two-pronged approach to teaching your kid deal with anger:

  1. Teach your child to differentiate between good and bad emotions
  2. Explain that some emotions should not be expressed in the form of action.
Setting an example

Your toddler will learn more from your actions and reactions rather than by following instructions. If your kid sees you losing your temper in a stressful situation, how can you succeed in taming your toddler’s anger issues?

Whereas, if he observes that you always deal with stress gently and calmly, he will pick his cue from your behaviour. The best toddler anger management strategy is to set an example by your actions, moods, and behaviour. So if you are upset, speak out your concerns so that the child learns to talk about his feelings as well. If you lose your cool, remember to apologise later. Your kid will learn to do the same.

Setting acceptable limits

Family rules on acceptable behaviour are tacit and usually not written down. If you have more than one child, your toddler will learn the acceptable limits by watching the behaviour of the older kid. But with your first child, you have to set down the ground rules. Explain that throwing things in anger, screaming, crying uncontrollably, breaking things, hitting others, etc. are not acceptable.

Formulating a toddler anger management strategy

The use of anger management activities for toddlers is a pleasant way of teaching your kid to cope with negative emotions. Older kids tease the younger ones who cannot express their frustration except in the form of anger. Teach your kid to move away from such situations, maybe to another room. Distract your toddler by bringing out his favourite toy and playing with together till he calms down. Whenever possible, use toys that have both entertainment value and educational value.

Explaining the consequences of bad behaviour

Dealing with angry-toddler behaviour is not easy. Your child may not always be able to cope with anger and may cross the acceptable limits. You have to explain that there are positive consequences for good behaviour in the form of treats and more quality time. And that there are negative consequences for bad behaviour in the form of extra chores, denial of a toy (or goodies), or fewer privileges. Ensure that you follow through immediately with these consequences, whether positive or negative. Now your toddler will know you mean business and cannot be ignored.

Despite different strategies, if you are unable to tame the anger monster in your child it may be sensible to seek the help of professionals.

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Feeding Parenting and Childcare

What Are the Most Comfortable Positions to Carry a Baby?

We relive the magical moment when we first held our newborn in the arms. It was a moment of trepidation, ecstasy, and gratitude all rolled into one big emotion! The baby’s crown (top of the head) is a delicate spot so you must avoid exerting pressure. Secondly, the baby cannot hold up its head at this stage so the head and neck need constant support. In this article, I have given you a few tips on safe and gentle positions to hold a baby.

Gentle and Safe baby-carrying positions

You may have to carry the baby while you are standing, walking, sitting, and even in a prone position. Every time, you will have to adjust the hold so that the position of holding the baby is safe and gentle. Here are the tips:

Feeding Position

Place your left hand under the head-neck of the baby and the right hand under the buttocks. Lift the baby to your torso. Gently move the right arm upwards along the spine to support the head-neck as well. Place the head at the elbow the left arm and slide the baby’s body along the left arm. Lean the left arm against your torso for extra support.

Carrying Position

Carrying a baby against your shoulders is one of the most natural and easy babies carrying positions. Place your hands under the baby’s armpits while it is facing you. Make sure that your fingers are supporting the neck and head. Now gently lift the baby till its head is resting on your shoulder. To make this a truly safe and gentle position to hold a baby, ensure that the child can see over your shoulders. The nose should not be resting on your shoulder otherwise the baby will feel smothered.

Burping Position

One of the easiest baby-burping positions is the belly hold. Turn your baby so that the stomach is facing down on the mattress. Now slide your right arm under the baby from the face towards the legs and lift the baby. Support the back with the other hand. Use gentle strokes on the back to burp the baby.

Chores Position

Once your baby can hold its neck steady, you can use the hip hold. Face your child towards you or outwards and place the baby on your hip. Place your arm around the baby’s waist for support. This is a gentle and safe baby carrying position while you want to complete some chores with the free arm.

Coffee-Break Position

This baby carrying position is the most comfortable one for you as well as the child and perfect for a much-needed coffee break. Sit down in a comfortable chair and let your baby sit facing outwards. Your torso will support the baby’s head, neck, and spine.

Crying Baby Position

Lift your baby, secure its arms and hold them with the other hand. Make a 45-degree angle of your arm and move it slowly like a swing. The baby will feel soothed and will stop crying.

Holding your baby safely and gently is an instinct but knowing the best positions will make you and your baby happy.

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Parenting and Childcare

What Should You Do If Your Toddler Is Too Clingy?

A toddler’s clingy stage is not an easy phase for a mom. There are many reasons why toddlers want to be carried all the time. It may be because your baby is learning to adapt to changes like a new crib, a new room, etc. Sometimes, kids want to be carried when they are in crowded areas or just because they are tired. It is better to make the child independent during the very early stages of childhood development. Here is a list of things you could do to make things easier for yourself

Encourage independence

Your love for the baby may compel you to carry the child more than is necessary. Curb the urge to carry the child and do so only when your little one asks to be carried; that too, not every time he asks! Let your toddler crawl or walk around the house freely and let him/her explore. Be in the same room and just keep a watchful eye to prevent falls or injury. While going out, use the stroller instead of carrying the child.

Take your kid for walks

Walking to the park is another easy way of preventing clingy behaviour in toddlers. Point out children who are running around the park and having fun. Offer incentives like more pushes on the swing or more ball-play time if your little one walks to the park. But the incentives should not be in the form of more cookies, chocolates, or toys. That will give your kid the wrong signal and he will refuse to walk just so that he can get more goodies. You can carry him while returning because he is naturally going to be tired and probably hungry too.

Avoid giving in

Toddlers who always want to be carried resort to temper tantrums if they do not get their way. To avoid embarrassment in public you may feel tempted to give in. You are doing more harm by encouraging laziness. Your kid will learn to use tantrums as a way of getting whatever he wants. So you will need to be firm and not let emotions get the better of you.

Praise good behaviour

Whenever your child has walked around a mall or park, carried out simple tasks independently or is very accommodating remember to praise such actions. Your kid will develop a sense of self-reliance. He will also get a feeling of achievement every time he walks instead of being carried around. Praise goes a long way towards boosting your toddler’s self-confidence.

Keep your temper in check

Scolding a clingy toddler will only worsen the situation. Both you and the child will be distressed. Instead, use a pleasant, gentle but firm tone of voice to persuade your kid to sit in the stroller or to walk.

Look for signs when your toddler is tired and carry your child. The rest of the time, let him romp around and enjoy his freedom. Set these habits as soon as your baby starts crawling so that he learns to play on his own. As you go on teaching your child more self-reliance, your kid will not be a toddler who clings anymore.

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Parenting and Childcare

How to Deal with Saying ‘No’ to Your Child

Are you caught in a dilemma if you want to refuse your child anything or not? Do you fear that your child will retaliate aggressively after you say no to them? Will you mind succumbing to every demand he/she makes?

You are at the right place to deal with these complex problems effectively. Today, we are going to have a detailed look into the most effective means of saying no to them.

Some tips on saying no to your child

Here are some of the most remarkable yet simplest techniques to try for parents.

Substituting ‘No’ with some other phrases

According to research, children tend to retaliate if you say no to them very often. This word has a psychological impact on their brains in the long run. Hence, you can subtly replace no with phrases that suit the situation. Ensure that your child understands the message you are trying to convey. Also, the subtle phrase must have an equivalent impact on your child. For example- If your child eats too much chocolate ice-cream, do not say no directly. You can tell them that your teeth will get rotten. Instil a sense of fear that will prevent them from repeating this.

Let them have other options to choose

Your child does not want to be restricted a lot. They enjoy their freedom and their growth thrives when you provide them with this freedom. Hence, the next time you intend to say no to them, have an alternative ready in your mind.

For example- Let your child be adamant on having their favourite foods in unfavourable circumstances. Give them an option to eat the same foods which are home-made. This will ensure that the nutrition value is intact. Therefore, your child will not develop the habit of eating out a lot.

Assent with their demands putting certain conditions

The next time your child is too adamant on having something, you can simply tell them that they have your assent. However, this must come with a condition that they must fulfil before they get what they want.

For example- You can agree to buy their favourite superhero toy set. But, they must secure certain threshold marks and behave like a good child. This will help them understand their priorities well as they grow up.

Logical reasoning

This is one of the most effective tools to substitute the no with a better alternative. If your child wants to have a Dairy Milk chocolate before lunch, tell them that their stomach would fill up.

Also, tell them that you will not become healthy if you do not eat this. Let them picturise the repercussions of their demands before they agree with whatever you say. This will prove to be a very effective tool provided that you use it wisely.

Playful acts to divert their attention

Does it happen that your child wants to use your brand-new iPhone? You can playfully divert their attention to some activities that will make them forget about it. You can opt to indulge them in their favourite toys without saying no in this regard. 

These tips will surely help you in dealing with these situations. We hope you liked reading this article. Thank you!