Strategies That Work With Unruly Toddlers.

Becoming a parent means to some extent you’re always experimenting and trying new things to get the positive behaviors you want while building a strong relationship with

your children. Still, you don’t need to assume the strategies you adopt be a potpourri of hits and misses. Noted authorities on the subject of how small humans act have

put together some templates that work for parents who want to stay on top of unruly toddlers.

For example, psychologists and others who work with hyperactive toddlers have some

helpful tips about what to do when bedtime comes and your little one wants none of it.

Because these children often have a difficult time calming their systems down enough to

shut their eyes at the preordained time , experts suggest parental interventions might be

the best course of action.

Rhythmic Sounds

These children often need rhythmic sounds and a quick dose of rocking to soothe and

reset their biological clocks to fall asleep in the first place or to get back to sleep once

they’ve woken up in the middle of the night. You should make these little episodes brief,

but there doesn’t seem to be any way around this physical contact to smooth these rough

patches over.

Some of the things that can help an unruly toddler along are proactive and have to

do with Mom or Dad being able to spot the signs there’s trouble on the horizon. For

example, if you know when your child is getting hungry or tired, you can generally head

bad behavior off at the pass. On the other hand, there’s the philosophy that says if the bad

behavior is minor enough and no one really gets hurt, it’s best to ignore it.

Labeled Praise.

There’s another concept professionals have found useful when dealing with unruly

toddlers and the idea is called labeled praise. The concept is simple in that the more

attention you lavish on any kind of behavior, the more of that kind you’ll get from your

child. In other words, this parenting style suggests reprimands actually increase the very

actions you’re trying to get rid of. Likewise, offering praise indiscriminately does little

good. The concept behind labelled praise focuses on telling your offspring what you like

about the behaviors you want to see more of and ignoring the ones, as much as possible,

that you want to get rid of . Attention that gets brought to bad acts will only increase

them according to this model.

Do Nothing

There are even child psychologists who suggest that doing nothing is actually a

preemptive way to redirect those tantrums before they start to ferment. The experts

recommend that one hour per week per child is a good starting point to just be with them

and show interest in whatever they happen to be doing. Expressing positive emotions

during these times is a great way to reinforce their feelings and build self esteem as well

as their desire to cooperate with you.

In the end you need to remember to remain calm when your toddler acts out. That will

give you the chance to reasonably access the situation and decide on the best course of

action for everyone involved.

For more interesting articles like this, visit All My Children Daycare.

Author: Rob Starr

Decorate T-Shirts with the Kids

Kids love to create their own works of art, but how cool would it be if they could wear it too? Now they can when you decorate T-shirts with the kids. Let their personal style shine through right on their very own clothing. Here are four ideas for making T-shirts the kids will want to wear all the time. Use inexpensive shirts like Hanes or plain white or light-colored T-shirts that you’ve had for a while. Stretch the shirt over a large board, part of a cardboard box, or ironing board so the surface is smooth and flat as you decorate. Let’s go!

Rockstar T-Shirts

Your child will feel like a star in his own rockin’ T-shirt! You can use special markers or pens created for fabric which you can find at any craft store. You can help stencil or make outlines of stars, microphones and music notes. If your child has a favorite singer or band, you can write their name across the shirt, as well as a lyric or two from a favorite song. Use the pens and markers to color in the designs. Once that is dry, which should not take too long, you can use a fabric glue to outline the stars and apply fabric glitter or sequins to really make the shirt have that rock and roll edge. The kids will love this unique shirt and everyone will wonder where you got it. Rock on!

Sport-T

Get sporty on a T-shirt! It’s easy to create balls used in various sports and design with your kid’s favorite team’s colors or his star player. A sports-themed T-shirt would look great designed with puffy paints which are sold at any craft store. Make large circles to become soccer balls in black and white, tennis balls in a light green, or make oblong oval brown footballs. The kids can make any sort of designs all over the sleeves and empty spaces in the team’s colors and even put their favorite player’s team name or number on the back of the shirt once the front is dry. What a fun way to support the home team and cheer on the game!

Big Sister or Brother T-Shirt

Is your son or daughter about to be a big sibling, or is he or she already? We’ve all seen the “I’m a Big Sister (or Brother)” T-shirts, but wouldn’t it be great for your child to make his own? You can stencil out the words, “I’m a Big Brother” and your child can use fabric markers or puffy paint to go over the words in his favorite shades. You can draw stick figures of a big sibling with a new baby to decorate as well. Let your child decorate with all his favorite things that he plans to share with his new sibling, such as favorite toys, the family pet, and plenty of hearts and xoxo’s!

Chef T-Shirt

Is your kiddo a little chef in training? Why not make a special T-shirt to designate him the mini-chef of the household? It can even be worn while helping in the kitchen in lieu of an apron. You can decorate with simple designs like forks and spoons, fruits and veggies, and some of his favorite dishes. Write something cute like, “Kiss the Chef” across the top. Use puffy paint to line the shapes and fill in with colored fabric markers. He’ll love helping out in the kitchen when he’s got his special chef T-shirt to wear. Bon apetit!

What would you like to design a T-shirt with? Have you tried any of these ideas? Share with us, we’d love to hear what you have created. For more fun ideas like this, visit All My Children Daycare.

By: Melissa A. Kay

Here’s Why You Need To Monitor Your Child’s Access To Mobile Devices

Mention mobile devices and you’re more than likely going to get adults reaching into

their pockets or purses to show you the latest smartphone that helps them to organize

their busy lives, stay in touch with family and friends and stay entertained in almost

every location they find themselves in. These modern innovations have become an

indispensable part of today’s hyperconnected lifestyle and something the average person

would no more do without than their house keys or wallet.

However, there’s an emerging darker side to these devices. A body of research points

to the negative effects overexposure to these handheld devices (including smartphones,

tablets, electronic games and even television) can have on the development of your

children.

Taking Notice

Child care authorities are taking notice of the warnings that include findings that

state in the years between 0 and 2 when a baby’s brain triples in size, overexposure to

technology can actually cause a variety of issues including attention deficit disorders and

a decreased ability to self regulate. Dire predictions and consequences over the lack of

physical development associated with the overuse of mobile devices were documented by

occupational therapist and child development experts like Chris Rowan in 2010.

Because physical activity enhances both learning ability and the attention span, some

experts including Rowan suggest the use of technology for any child under the age of

twelve years can be detrimental. Of course, there are more obvious red flags to the health

and well being of children overexposed to these devices and the rate of obesity has been

tied to them. In fact, a study from Texas Tech University and lead author, Du Feng,

Ph.D., states that children with a television in their bedrooms also have a 30% higher

chance of becoming obese.

Suggested Template

Starting early in life seems to be the suggested template for parents to follow. Some

guidelines have been developed to assist parents who are looking to negate the ill effects

of overexposure to these handheld devices and the experts onboard with this effort

include one neuroscientist, one pediatric occupational therapist and both the American

Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Pediatric Society.

That research is clear that from the ages of 0-2 years, children should not be allowed

access to or be exposed to any video games, handheld devices or even television for

that matter. The numbers stay fairly stagnant with the suggestions being only one to two

hours of non violent television and no access to handheld devices all the way up to the

age of 13, when they should be restricted to 30 minutes per day to ensure their brains and

bodies can develop properly.

Finally, consider the most dire warning of all about the most common of handheld

devices our children have access to. Five years ago, the World Health Organization

classified smartphones as 2B risk which means these and other wireless devices are

possibly carcinogenic when overused.

For more interesting articles like this, visit All My Children Daycare.

Author: Rob Starr