Common Preschooler Injuries and Accidents

Common Preschooler Injuries and Accidents

One of the worst fears any parent faces is an injury to their child. Unfortunately, despite

your best attempts at childproofing your home and other safety efforts, there are a variety

of common preschooler injuries and accidents you need to be aware of.

As far as accidental injuries go, burns occur regularly. A hot water heater can be the

culprit since preschoolers are very curious about the world around them and can’t always

tell what’s dangerous. Of course, there are other mishaps that involve lamps, matches,

steam from a pan and even bathwater if you’ve set the thermostat higher than 120 degrees

Fahrenheit.

Treating Burns

Treating burns means you’ll need to act quickly. Hold the affected area under cool

running water or hold a cold wet towel over the spot until the pain subsides. Smaller

blisters should be covered with a loose bandage or gauze. You’ll need to call the family

doctor if the burns are larger than 1⁄4 inch and occur on the genitals, face or hands. Don’t

take any chances and call 911 if the burns look deep with skin that appears brown or

white and covers more than one-tenth of your child’s body. After you’ve got the proper

care and these injuries have started to heal, it’s important to remember not to lance any

blisters yourself and to use an antibiotic cream on any areas where the skin does break

open.

For children six months to two years, the most common burn injury is scalding from hot

foods or liquids.

Bruising

Preschoolers are some of the most active children. Because they’re always jumping and

running as they explore their worlds for the first time, there’s bound to be the occasional

bruise that shows up. Bruising starts when smaller blood vessels near the surface of the

skin rupture. The common black-and-blue marking is generally caused by blood seeping

into the skin.

Generally, these small injuries heal on their own within one to two weeks, but an ice pack

applied in fifteen minute intervals during the first few days can keep the swelling down.

You can give your preschooler the right dose of ibuprofen or acetaminophen if the bruise

is especially painful.

Scrapes and Cuts

As you can imagine, there are many ways your little one can get scrapes or cuts. If there’s

bleeding involved, you’ll need to apply pressure with a clean cloth anywhere from three

to five minutes until it stops. Running the affected area under lukewarm water and then

patting it dry will cleanse a superficial wound and if the injury is dirty or caused by an

animal scratch, you can lather it with soap.

When the skin is broken, over-the-counter antibiotic ointment coupled with a bandage

or gauze usually works, but if the bleeding won’t stop after several minutes with direct

pressure, you’ll need to call your pediatrician or emergency services right away. Any

large piece of missing skin should be wrapped in a clean cloth and placed in a bag with

ice in the hopes it can be reattached.

Keeping the tone of your voice relaxed and distracting your child with toys or books will

help the first aid process go smoothly.

How did you treat childs injury? Share it with us.

Read more info like this at All My Children.

Author: Rob Starr

Helping you and your child adjust to daycare

Helping you and your child adjust to daycare

Because getting your children ready to start on their first solo journey in life is a

milestone event for both parents and toddlers, you’ll need to lay a foundation that will

help them make the transition to daycare as happy and smooth as possible. It’s a big

change in your life as well, so here’s a few useful tips to help Mom and Dad adjust to the

new routine.

For the Kids

It’s important to get them used to the new adventure they’ll be embarking on gradually.

Talking to them about what to expect in advance and reading to them from children’s

books that touch on the issues helps. Begin a few months before they start daycare by

telling them about where people go during the day and why they need to leave their

homes for only a short period of time. Tell them about how they will be going to daycare

in the near future and let them know about the types of things they will be seeing and

doing.

Visiting the child care center they will attend in increments is another good idea that

will help your little one build up some ideas about what they can expect. A few weeks or

months beforehand is usually a good timeframe and you’ll want to start with half hour

visits with one parent staying with them. When you feel the time is right, a half hour solo

visit can come next. These can increase over time before the full day visits commence.

You can also let your toddlers bring an object from home to help make the transition

easier. When the time comes for you to leave, they’ll feel better with a favorite plush toy

or picture that reminds them of home and they can keep that reminder with them all day

as a source of comfort and security.

For the Parents

It’s a big adjustment for you too and whether Dad or Mom is leaving their child behind

for the first time, there are a few little tricks to help you get over your separation anxiety

as quickly as possible.

First off, you need to walk away on that first big day and not look back No sneaking back

to see how they’re doing and no big fanfare just before they begin their new adventure. If

you really need to, a quick call to the daycare works, but only after you’re back at the car.

Remember, your toddler might not make as big as fuss as you’d like when you pick them

up and that’s to be expected. At that age, children have issues making a smooth transition

between places and activities so you might even be on the receiving end of a tantrum

when you pick her up.

If they aren’t chatterboxes as soon as they get in the car, getting them to open up at home

is best done by asking about what a playmate did at various points in the day. While you

should ask for specifics about the best and worst things that happened in the day, you

need to respect the fact you toddler is starting on the path to forging their own identity

without you for the first time and might need a little privacy.

How did you and your children adjust to daycare? Share it with us.

Read more info like this at All My Children.

Author: Rob Starr

Tips for Communicating With Your Toddler

Tips for Communicating With Your Toddler

Before they’ve reached a certain age, having a conversation with your toddler can be a very one-
sided experience, but as soon as the little ones hit two or three, the avalanche of words begin. In

fact, children know about 20 to 200 words by the age of two and those numbers balloon to 1,000

only a year later. The expectations for your toddler keep growing with the anticipation your child

will have a strong vocabulary by the time they reach preschool.

Like almost everything else in your toddler’s life, your input is important to developing the skills

they’ll need to communicate effectively and the run-up to that all important third year can start

earlier than you might have imagined.

Gestures

Responding to your baby’s gestures and sounds is a great way to initiate the process. For

example, when your baby holds her arms out to be picked up, use some simple words to affirm

the gesture. Saying: “You want up, don’t you?” helps the baby to associate gestures they make

with words they can’t yet understand and interests the child in the relationship.

Of course, when they move into the toddler stage, reading to them is a great way to

build their curiosity in developing their own language skills, but there are some other interesting

methods that work wonders too. Here’s a few of the more effective ways to turn your toddler into

a nonstop chatterbox.

Peanut Butter and Tissues

Helping them understand how words form makes developing language more interesting. For

example, you can place a little dab of peanut butter behind her front teeth and tell her to touch the

spot with her tongue, carefully explaining afterward that’s the same spot her tongue will touch

when she pronounces words with the letters T and D. Other games you can play with your toddler

include demonstrating the way in which consonants work by placing a tissue in front of his face

and then asking him to make the P sound so the tissue flutters.

Giving your child a narration of your day is another great way to get them interested in the

relationship between language skills and the world around them. Describing how you’re washing

the dishes gets them to feel more connected to the activities of the older members of the family

and talking to them as you play keeps them interested in learning language skills on a constant

basis. Be simple and specific telling them how their arms and legs get wet when bath time comes

around and, if possible, have each member of the family share an important event from their day.

Finally, although it’s usually considered irritating when you do it in conversation with another

adult, repeating yourself when talking with your toddler is a good thing. New words have a better

chance of sticking in your child’s vocabulary when they get repeated in the same sequence. For

example saying: “See how big the tree is? That dog across the road is big too,” draws attention to

the one word you want to focus on.

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

Author: Rob Starr

Simple Solutions To Troublesome Toddler Behaviors

Simple Solutions To Troublesome Toddler Behaviors

Although the statement might sound unusual, there is a place for aggressive behavior in our

society. New parents might even be shocked to find out we should consider it reasonable when

it comes from our toddlers. Remember, these fledgling adults are learning skills that will make

them part of society and the frustration associated with developing language skills alone can be

one of the reasons they are often guilty of aggressive or unacceptable acts.

Add a fierce need to be independent and impulse control skills that are far from mature and even

what would normally be considered completely unacceptable behaviors like biting and hitting can

be viewed in a new light by parents who understand these are just normal reactions to growing

pains. Of course, that doesn’t mean these kinds of behaviors should be overlooked by parents

who want to raise responsible people. It’s important children at any age understand prolonged

aggressive behavior is unacceptable and you can help them to express their feelings in positive

and decent ways with the following ideas.

• Try instilling the notion of consequences for the actions. Younger children don’t usually

learn the art of reason or empathy until they are at least four or five, so the best you

can hope for is having your toddler grasp the consequences for their bad behavior. That

means taking them out of a game where they’ve been acting out and letting them know

they can join the other children again when they don’t behave badly without explaining

too much about how they’ve made the other children feel.

• Consistency works wonders. Setting up a simple pattern the toddler understands is

much more effective than trying to explain situations to them. For example, telling them

to, ‘Wait for your turn on the swing,’ in a calm, reasonable tone is much better than

scolding them. If you do this often enough over a period of time, your child will make the

connection.

• Don’t react. Toddlers are notorious for saying things that can provoke an adult style

argument if you don’t show restraint. So, when your two or three year old yells at you,

it’s best to respond with a positive affirmation that teaches the child he or she won’t get

a reaction. Telling them you still love them no matter how many times they say they

hate you is the best way to keep your blood pressure down while teaching them about

restraint.

Finally, remember toddlers often act out to get attention. That means when they’re holding their

breath or throwing a tantrum, these little folks are also paying attention to see what kind of

reaction they’re getting from you. Sometimes the best solution is to ignore the bad behavior and

reinforce the good. You’ll need to be consistent with this approach since you’re always being

watched carefully and if they think they can budge you, your toddler will act out again and again

until they’re sure there’s no way you’ll react. Praising them when they act appropriately offers a

new set of alternatives they can explore.

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

Author: Rob Starr

Money Mistakes New Parents Make And What To Do About Them

Money Mistakes New Parents Make And What To Do About Them

There’s a lot to learn when you’re new to the parenting game and one aspect that’s often

overlooked is the adjustment that must be made to your family budget when that little

bundle of joy comes along. Remember, as rookie parents you need to pay attention to

your finances like never before because even the smallest misstep can compound and cost

you in the long run.

Ignoring A Drop In Income

First and foremost, you need to be practical which is hard when you’ve just brought that

new baby home and want make sure they have everything. Still, there’s bound to be a

drop in income even temporarily and you just can’t afford to ignore that hard fact. There

will almost certainly be a cash-flow pinch because maternity leave doesn’t often cover

100% of your previous income. While many new parents have a ‘spend now and pay

later’ mentality, it’s important to stay frugal so you’ll be used to penny pinching later on.

Take a look at your existing budget to see where you can cut down on things you enjoyed

before baby came along like movies and perhaps even charitable donations.

Over Fitting the Nursery

Overzealousness can be a big issue when it comes to new parents trying to find their

financial footing. Often parents wind up with a nursery full of the things that want and

that list doesn’t necessarily coincide with the items they need. Here you need to be a little

discerning and make sure you can distinguish between the wish and need categories.

That’s not to say you can’t splurge on one or two big ticket items, but most of the items

that will fill that special room can be bought on the cheap, or better yet, even borrowed.

Ignoring the pratfalls of credit

Credit cards in particular can be very enticing for new parents that don’t want to wait for

what they consider to be the essentials like a new running stroller, but they should really

understand the deal they are making with the credit card companies before they satisfy

their immediate desires with plastic.

Cycle of Debt

There’s a shocking number of Americans (up to 48% according to some research) that

only pay the minimum amount on their credit card balances. By using their credit cards

irresponsibly, these people can get trapped in a never-ending cycle of debt where it

takes years to pay off what you owe. Remember, carrying a balance on these cards is

in effect mortgaging part of the control of your family’s financial future to the credit

card companies. The solution isn’t to do away with the cards altogether, but have a plan

to bring the balance down by making more than just the minimum payments over a

reasonable amount of time.

Overall, new parents that want to be financially responsible should adopt a budgeting

process and be frugal money managers.

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

Author: Rob Starr

Different Parenting Styles And How They Affect Your Child

Different Parenting Styles And How They Affect Your Child

Quite often because they’ve been raised by different parents themselves who had

different styles of raising children , today’s new parents often disagree on how to bring

their offspring up. This is nothing new to experts in the field, who have long been

suggesting there are three general categories parenting styles fall under.

• Permissive: Where there are few guidelines or hard and fast rules since parents

don’t want their children upset.

• Authoritarian: Here the parent sets down a definite set of benchmarks the child

needs to be obedient to.

• Authoritative parenting which is more or less a hybrid that blends a gentle tone

with a set of clear limits on behavior.

Psychologist Diana Baumrind is considered a pioneer on the subject and it was her

studies on 100 preschool-age children in 1967 that laid the groundwork for the modern

templates used today. Along with the three categories of parenting, Baumrind furthered

there were dimensions that were blended in. These included various disciplinary

strategies, communication styles, warmth and nurturance capabilities and finally the

expectations of maturity and control parents had of their children.

Baumrind’s studies were the foundation for numerous others and today parents have a

body of research to look to when deciding which parenting styles best suit their children.

Research over the years has found that:

• Permissive parenting creates children that are unhappy and don’t have a lot of

the self regulation that’s needed to do well in school. These children often have

ongoing problems with authority.

• The child that’s grown up under an authoritarian system has some advantages and

drawbacks. For example, they tend to be proficient and obedient but are lacking in

self esteem, social competence and happiness.

• Authoritative parenting often results in children that are the most well rounded

and capable according to research conducted by Maccoby in 1992.

So, parents that blend these styles don’t need to be at odds with each other. There are

ways to get around the different approaches that can actually lessen friction between

Mom and Dad. First and foremost, you need to keep any disagreements out of the little

one’s ear shot. All the professionals in the field agree that arguing in front of your

children over different parenting styles can be highly destructive and thwart the original

intentions of bettering their behavior.

Remember that counselling is a great way to arrive at a template that will be equitable for

everyone involved. This will help both parents to understand how their own upbringing

will drive their current parenting focus. Although authoritative parenting clearly has some

advantages that are of benefit, other factors like culture and a variety of social influences

can mix together to create a myriad of hybrid parenting styles. In the end, there is really

no universal style of parenting that has blanket approval from all the professionals in the

field so parents need to be flexible and willing to work with each other.

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

Author: Rob Starr

Stuttering and Toddlers: What You Need To Know

Stuttering and Toddlers: What You Need To Know

You might not be surprised to learn that stuttering or stammering isn’t uncommon in

toddlers between the ages of two to five. In fact, these little blips that can take the form

of a repeated sound or a syllable at the beginning of a word (li-li-like) or a complete

break in speech coupled with fillers like ‘uh’ or ‘umm’, are thought to be your child’s

mental processing abilities racing ahead of their ability to make sentences in normally

developing children.

Boys are more likely to need to work through this often frustrating aspect of growing

up than girls and the prolongation of certain sounds like “ssssee” can be frustrating for

Mom and Dad as they watch their little ones struggle. Experts suggest you can listen for

a rise in pitch in your child’s voice that accompanies repetitions—it generally means

they’ve experienced a block where there’s no airflow for several seconds, and use that as

a springboard to get involved and foster the kind of slow and relaxed speech Mr. Rogers

was famous for. You’ll want to talk slowly around your child but not so much so that it

sounds forced and abnormal.

It’s also suggested you take some time each day to give your toddler your undivided

attention so you can listen to the way they talk. Their struggles may be evident in the

facial muscles around the mouth. When they ask you a question, remember to take a few

seconds before you answer so slow and unhurried speech becomes the template they get

used to.

Positive Attitude

It’s also best if you don’t get annoyed when your toddler suffers with mild stuttering.

A calm and positive attitude will foster the same in your child and this is critical since

effortless, relaxed repetitions are the best way for any child to move through this phase.

However, there can come a time when parents might need to take their toddlers’ stuttering

more seriously and even consider getting some help from a specialist. Some general

benchmarks indicating this might be the case includes stuttering more than 10% of

the time, changing words completely to avoid stuttering, or an excessive amount of

frustration or tension when trying to get the words out.

Six Months

Statistics tell us that one in 20 children will develop a stutter that lasts for more than six

months and, although that’s not necessarily the timeframe where there’s an issue, parents

who are concerned can have their toddlers evaluated by a qualified speech-language

pathologist (SLP).

Stuttering has a few causes that need to be taken into account. A family history can be a

deciding factor in whether you want to pursue professional help and children who have

issues in other areas of speech development are more likely to have issues in this area as

well. Neurophysiology is another factor since for some children, language gets processed

in different parts of the brain and this might interfere in the necessary alignment with the

muscles controlling speech.

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

Author: Rob Starr

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

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

Cognitive development in the first six months of life

Cognitive development in the first six months of life

There’s every indication babies start developing awareness of their surroundings long

before they’ve made their grand entrance into the world. Studies have shown newborns

can tell their mother’s amniotic fluid from a stranger’s and it’s well known they prefer

the sound of their mother’s voice over any other.

It all points to the fact their tiny brains have started developing, growing and even

thinking from the earliest stages of their lives and that all-important cognitive

development which is defined as the ability to taste, hear, touch, smell, think, learn

language and eventually even talk, starts well before they can walk.

Cause and Effect

A baby’s brain develops quickly in their first six months and one of the first things they

begin to understand is the cause and effect relationship between certain events. Cry and

Mommy picks her up and the sound of your familiar voice heading down the hall means

you’ll be with her soon. These future heads of state, doctors and lawyers only have a

limited memory capacity in that first year, so they tend to live in the moment and that’s

why they are so easily distracted.

Babies start to learn about themselves around this time and the term proprioception refers

to discovering different parts of the body, where they are in space and in relation to each

other. Of course, every parent will want to know what they can do to speed the process

along and be positive influencers in their children’s early cognitive development.

Reading to Newborns

The experts say reading to newborns is a positive step. They won’t understand the

words but bright colors, interesting patterns and, of course, the sound of their mother’s

voice is just the kind of sensory stimulation they need in these early stages of cognitive

development.

The experts still stand by the traditional mobile as one of the best ways to spur on

development and a plastic unbreakable mirror in or near the crib will allow baby to see

her face and movements. Although there is a parting of ways when it comes to deciding

whether a baby learns simply because their brain is wired for it or whether these little

bundles of joy get educated through experience, researchers that study these areas agree

on two important points:

Neural Connections

Babies do a tremendous amount of learning in the first six to 12 months and interactions

with the people who look after them is critical. Secondly, the experiences they have

are vital to the neural connections that get alternately fixed and lost. There’s even hard

evidence cognitive development starts as early as in the first two months of life when

baby has learned to process enough information to imitate the facial expressions of those

around them.

Spatial perception starts to improve in months three or four and by months five and six,

your child’s personality is emerging and they become frustrated if favorite toys are taken

away. Your baby will even start making links between the words you associate with

objects at this age.

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Author: Rob Starr