Have you ever heard of “Safety City?” It is a week long summer camp many cities offer to teach kids road safety and fire safety. The program is detailed, aggressive with content and effective. My 5 year old daughter attended this past summer (it is a program for children entering kindergarten) and to this day still sings the songs and jingles they taught the kids.
I am nearing the last two weeks of pregnancy and the desire to have this baby sooner than later gets stronger and stronger with each passing moment. I find myself feeling trapped and at a loss of control when it comes to my own body. Some may call it a depression, I feel it is more of a fear of the unknown. When is this baby coming, will everything go as planned, will the baby be okay, will I be okay?
It was a SHOCK to me when I found out that my first born was late to the game of getting her teeth checked by the dentist. I thought for sure waiting until she was almost 4 years of age was “safe” and what every other parent did. What I didn’t realize is that all of my other mommy friends had been taking their littles to the dentist starting at a very young age…say…18 months. YIKES! This made me think and reevaluate when the right time to take my second born would be. I did some research and found some answers to many of my unanswered questions. What better way than to compile all of my questions and sought out answers here to help someone else who may have those same questions.
We have all done it. I know that with my youngest, between play dates and extra-curriculars, we were always on the go. I dealt with meltdowns, tantrums, etc. just to fulfill the daily activities I had planned. Don’t get me wrong, I love to stay busy, but when it came to my second daughter, I decided to change the schedule up a bit. We have played more at home, said “no” to more play dates than “yes,” gone to less scheduled activities and enjoyed being each others’ company. The conclusion I have come to is that tantrums are less frequent, meltdowns are non-existent, and the one-on-one time I am getting with my second born is priceless.
I have written it before and if you have followed along with my family’s story, you know that we have a 3 year old daughter who struggles with a sensory processing disorder. We have spent HOURS figuring out her quirks, what works for her, how to best support her and what to do next to continue her “therapy” at home.
Family meals should feel more like bonding opportunities than chores or ordeals. But to make mealtime more positive, you have to serve foods that both meet your kids’ nutritional needs and are tasty enough for children to actually eat and enjoy.
My kids have always been great sleepers…I tend to say it’s because they both have hypotonia (low muscle tone) and that causes them to sleep well. Maybe that is the reason, or maybe it is because I take a “no excuses” approach to nap time and the importance of it. I carve out time in the day where my girls (ages 5.5 years and 3 years) must take a nap to rejuvenate themselves. Sometimes I think maybe I should let up a bit and then I am reminded that them resting for a length of time each day is of utmost importance for their growing and developing bodies and minds. This information, found from http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/naps.html, further proves my thoughts and theories on kids napping. I encourage you to read through the site and familiarize yourself with the importance of sleep in growing young children.
So our oldest daughter decided about a year ago that she no longer enjoyed reading. It was the “boring” thing to do, it took away from play time and getting her to read on her own was, well, an impossible task. I found myself asking why other kids LOVED books and my daughter was turning up her nose at the thought of cracking one open.
Being a former teacher, books are OOBER IMPORTANT to me. For one, I know that statistics prove the more your read to your child and have them read to you, the more they learn. Reading is linked to vocabulary development, cognitive understanding, and overall growth in academics. So why is my oldest daughter displaying distaste toward reading?
In our house, we are in a stage where board games are a hot commodity. My girls LOVE Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Headbandz, Guess Who?, Enchanted, etc. Basically if it is a board game, we are all in! I love that we can turn the television off, relax with one another, have some good laughs and enjoy the company of being a family. I believe this art of “gaming” is transforming into an art of “video gaming.” Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and place for video games (we aren’t in that phase of life and probably won’t be anytime soon) but there needs to be a consistent push for parents to require “family time” on a weekly basis. If we allow kids to isolate themselves at an early age, I believe it only hinders the future relationship parents will have with their children.
Our family has been on a road that has taken us so many places and allowed us to meet so many people. Our girls were diagnosed with Hypotonia at a very young age. This just meant that their limbs were very “loose” and doing gross motor activities such as walking, running, jumping, riding a bike, keeping their balance, etc. came at a much slower pace than your average child. As a first time mommy and daddy, this news was awful (and I am well-aware our news could have been worse). We felt alone and unable to put together a plan that would best support our oldest daughter and her needs. A specialist doctor recommended Help Me Grow and I decided to give them a call. I was AMAZED at their professionalism, their quick response to my situation, and their support right from the beginning.