Flash Cards with Toddlers ~ What’s All the Hype?

There seems to be a lot of hype about teaching toddlers how to read with flash cards. I personally don’t think that toddlers have the brain development to be able to read at their age. In my child care program, I use flash cards not to teach them how to read, but to teach them that each object has a name with pictured flash cards. This helps the little ones with their language development as they learn to use words when they have a need to express what they want.

When Tantrums Turn Stormy

Toddlers and preschoolers have days when they fall into a full stormy tantrum. When you feel like nothing you say or do is going to calm him down. He might throw things or hurt someone in his way. I know it can seem a little scary; however, know that this is normal.

Keep some thoughts in perspective:

They can easily sense your anxiousness by your face expressions and body language. Try to avoid yelling or showing your frustration by getting mad. This only intensifies his behavior even more.  Your calmness will reflect onto him. He needs you to be the rock or the calm one during his stormy emotions. Sometimes, I find the more attention I give during the stormy tantrum, the more the tantrum carries on. I encourage you to find what works for your child as each child has a certain level of temperament along his own personality. What I write here is merely suggestions from my experience with caring for little ones.

Musical Pillows ~ An Aerobic Exercise for All

I engage the little ones of my child care program with this activity. We always have oodles of fun. This is an ideal activity for ages 1 (or walkers) to preschoolers along with an adult for encouragement. I keep it simple and enjoyable.

This musical activity is also beneficial as it helps the little ones with their large motor or gross motor skills. Large motor activities are intended to help develop the abilities required in order to control the large muscles of the body for walking, running, sitting, crawling, and other activities.

Bedtime Routine Struggles for Your Infant and/or Toddler?

For infants ~ usually, at the age of eight months (or sooner) your infant will start the routine of crying when you leave the room. This is after he had bath time, last bottle feeding, diaper changed, book read, and was placed in the crib. Make sure he has his favorite attachment with him (blanket, stuffed animal, or binky). Turn down the light, and allow a night light or a hallway light to lighten the room a little bit. Let him cry for a little while – anywhere from one to five minutes. Go back in and soothe him without picking him up. Leave again, and stay out for a few minutes longer. For example: The first night stay out one minute, then three, then five, and continue to go in every five minutes if he is still crying. The next night try

What to look for in child care

Looking for child care can be overwhelming for parents. Here is an explanation of the different types of child care and a checklist when visiting a facility:

Throughout the United States there are child care listings for:

• Department of Health Services in every state and could be easily searched online by using the keywords: Department of Health Services (with your state) 
• Department of Economic Securities in every state and could be easily searched online by using the keywords: Department of Economic Securities (with your state) 
• Child Care Resource & Referral in every state and could be easily searched online by using the keywords: Child Care Resource & Referral (with your state)

For local Arizona community:

Social Skills and Sharing for Toddler Age Group

Is your toddler grabby or territorial with toys? Is there an issue of your toddler always wanting the toy in his playmate’s hand? Do you struggle when you have a couple of toddler’s sharing a space and there is constant fighting over toys? What could a parent or caregiver do to keep a playroom environment calm?

For age: one year to three years ~ social skills for toddlers are completely different from social skills of preschool children and elementary age children. It’s a huge learning curve to help toddlers understand sharing toys (especially if it’s their own toys). Generally, they have more interest in what is in their playmate’s hand than a toy on the floor or a toy in the toy box that nobody is playing with. They have a sense that they will never see their toy again, something is going to happen to it, or simply because they are drawn to their playmate’s toy. At times, for toddlers, the thought of sharing can be very traumatic. The skill of socializing and sharing is a learned skill that takes patients and lots of opportunities for toddlers to socialize with other toddlers. Yes, coming from several years of caring for toddlers, I am a true believer that it is possible to teach toddlers how to share by taking turns.

My advice with teaching social skills to toddlers:

The Magic of Choices vrs. Struggling with Power Play?

7 tips in how to minimize those every day power struggles and enable your independent thinker

Power play between parents and toddlers could be a constant everyday issue. Here are some scenarios we can all relate with:

Library of Children’s Music . . . 18 CD’s with Iva’s New Favorite Toy

Ever wonder how to create a calm environment with music for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers? I notice a difference in their social behaviors and their moods when there is music playing in the background. Music not only helps calm the little ones but encourages imagination, language and motor development as well. 

Separate Play Space or Playroom Setup for Little Ones

A child’s play space or playroom becomes the comfortable, therapeutic, and imaginative place where dreams are born when they can relax in their own space. Ideally, a play space would be a separate room by itself created specifically for play time. Here are some pictures and points for you to think about when setting up a child’s play space:

Social Skills With an Infant in the Mix

What about teaching social skills while mixing toddler age (1 year old to under 3 years old) with an eight to twelve month infant that is more mobile and crawling? This requires a different approach compared to two or more toddlers playing together. Toddlers could be high energy at times. How can they play together in the same play space when an infant wants to crawl around and grab everything? The toddlers are not quiet old enough to fully understand that an infant is only curious and doesn’t know how to share yet. The toddlers typically don’t pay attention when they are pushing toys like trucks super-fast with the potential of hurting a little one by running over fingers or toppling over. How do we keep it calm and safe?