Is it nearly impossible to get them to listen to you?
Do you yell at your kids and then feel guilty about it?
I understand. It’s hard to feel good when your kids are driving you crazy. What if I told you that there are simple ways to solve these problems? The tools and tricks that I want to share with you are totally different. They work. They reduce your stress and bring more smiles to your family. If this interests you, please keep reading.
My name is Chris Thompson. I’m a father and an expert in communication strategies, language patterns, influence and persuasion. I created “Talking to Toddlers” as a tool for parents. It shows you exactly how to get the positive results that you want with your toddler or preschooler. I use these tools with my children, and I teach other parents to do the same. Now it’s your turn to learn these valuable tools.
I was speaking to Loraine, another mum of my vintage today, who has also raised 4 children (now young adults).
We spoke about how we would start our baby’s off on very small amounts of a variety of foods at a young age and we didn’t have near the amount of food allergies as there is today. Over the last 6 years there has been a 500% increase in food related allergies. What is going wrong?
There are many contributing thoughts and much research to back up why.
1. Holding off introducing foods for too long, beyond the window of opportunity when a babies immune system is being developed.
2. Not allowing your pet dog to come inside and dirty your perfectly clean home. A bit of dirt and bacteria about is again good to help the body fight against. That is what a body is designed to do and needs to do it.
3. Cleaning products on the market today are formulated to kill 99.9 % of bacteria and germs. Why!!! We need to build up our child’s natural immunity to be able to fight against illness and disease that they will come across as they get older. A little bit of everyday dirt will not kill you it will make you stronger. A poor ability to fight illness because the immune system has not been given the opportunity to develop at a young age will lead to a slower recovery from disease or illness. With many children attending day care facilities and being in contact with other disease carrying children it puts a child at a greater risk of catching something. Do your child a favour and help them to build up their ability for fighting disease at a young age. You won’t have to watch them suffer as long when you do.
I am about to launch (or maybe by the time you read this it will be launched) an easy to read and understand baby and toddler recipe book with professional child health advice on the introduction of foods based on the most current based research findings. I think it is great for babies and mothers to be able to continue to breast feed as long as possible and slowly introduce solids. It works well.
Eating behaviours and food choices are a vital link to a healthy future.
Other topics that are important in child health that are touched on in my book include:
1. Reducing the risk of obesity
2. Avoiding slow speech development from poor facial muscle development
3. Helping parents and children enjoy the culture of eating and not have it as a battle ground that has the potential for eating disorders as an older child.
As a Midwife and Child Health Nurse who works closely with babies and children from birth to 5 years old, I have some useful insight into the use of dummies for babies that I would like to share with you. The decision to use one or not will be up to you. Not all babies take to sucking a dummy but there are certainly babies in the world who do benefit from sucking one. Once you have heard my findings the decision to use one or not will then be up to you.
Six positive reasons for a baby to use a dummy
1. Babies who are three to four weeks old who have learnt to attach and feed well from the breast but think they should feed constantly. In this situation, the breast feeding mother and her nipples could do with some relief and possibly repair from constant sucking. It is however, important not to substitute a breast feed for a dummy as this can reduce milk production resulting in an undernourished and unsettled baby
2. A baby sucking a dummy can reduce tummy discomfort, cranial pressure and wind pain until the cause of the pain and discomfort is diagnosed and relieved. However, by aiding the digestive process this then can cause them to become hungrier earlier
3. Sucking a dummy can reduce the pain of oesophageal reflux allowing for a bit more sleep!
4. Recent knowledge indicates a baby sucking a dummy can reduce the incidence of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). This is thought to be due to a baby being in a more alert state of sleep and having their airways in a more open position allowing for better air entry. There are also other factors relating to the reduction of SIDS
5. Premature babies are given dummies to help them suck when they are fed via a tube and to stimulate their suck before they are able to breast feed efficiently
6. A baby who settles to sleep best with a sucking action. Commonly, a baby who is fed either breast milk or infant formula from a bottle requires a dummy to build up the length of sucking time they require in a day
Seven reasons why a baby is disadvantaged using a dummy.
1. There is an increased risk of bacterial infections from dirty dummies. Sterilise them regularly and throw out any that have cracks or worn areas where bacteria can settle
2. The continued use of a dummy after three or four months can set up strong sleep associations that can lead to unsettled sleep in the months that follow
3. The regular and frequent use of a dummy has been shown to decrease the length of time a woman will continue to breast feed
4. A young baby who sucks too often on a dummy can be too tired for nutritional breast feeding
5. The use of a dummy after nine months can not only disturb good sleep patterns but it can also interrupt speech development
6. Choking hazard from faulty or worn out dummies
7. Sucking on a dummy when your baby could be awake and babbling restricts the natural development of language
Which dummy do we choose?
There are many dummies on the market and it can be difficult to know which one is best. Consider one that closely mimics your breast nipple.
1. Look for the dummy that is soft and supple. The brown latex rubber is usually the softest
2. Choose a shape that is similar to your nipple, this is usually the round cherry or bulb shaped dummy. Large or small
3. It needs to be large enough to reach back into the back of your baby’s mouth. This will depend on the size of your baby
With the above information in mind, I believe there can be a place for dummies for some babies, providing that it is an appropriate dummy used at an appropriate time and only for the first three to four months of life when a baby’s strong sucking reflex is present. After this age they discover other ways to soothe themselves and dummies can be discarded.
If you like to include this article in your newsletter or website; you can, providing you include the following blurb with it:
This article was brought to you by Jan Murray, Private Child Health Consultant who is an internationally renowned expert in her field. Jan encourages parents in the area of infant sleep, nutrition, activities and family balance. She publishes regular ezine and blog articles to provide free parenting tips, tools and resources to educate and support those caring for young babies and children. For more online resources visit http://www.settlepetal.com
“Toddlers are concrete thinkers, therefore for a toddler to be able to understand and talk about things, they need to physically see, touch and handle them.”
Encourage a toddler through all types of hands on play and discovery.
It is not through watching TV that they master their world.
Enjoy parenting today as tomorrow is not a promise it is only a chance.
Bronwyn has a Bachelor of Education and has taught P - 3 for 13 years, and has seen what works well when
children are learning to read. Bronwyn is now a new mum herself and has put together some great information for us.
Here are Bron’s Tips for Buying Books and Starting Reading with your baby…
1. Read. Read. Read. Immerse your children in books
and storytelling. Be a reader yourself.
Set the example and be their biggest role model.
2. The little cardboard books are great.
They have bright pictures and a few words.
They are little enough for kids to hold and carry around,
and if they chew on them that’s OK! They fit in your handbag
and are quick to read. Often the pictures are objects and items
that are in your homes or body parts and immediately identifiable
so children can start making links to their own knowledge,
which is important with pre-reading skills. You can pick them up
really cheap at bookstores and newsagents, etc.
3. Rhyming books – lots and lots of rhyme. Being able to rhyme
is something children really need when learning to read and write.
It’s all about building blocks and patterns in words. If they can
read and write “cat” then they can easily master “bat”, “mat”, etc.
And children love listening to the lyrical tones. It keeps their attention.
4. Colourful, interesting pictures that you can talk to your child
about what it is happening in them. Most of early reading starts
with pictures and using language, talking about what they see
and predicting what could happen next. It is not just about reading the words.
Children get a lot of their cues from pictures when learning to read.
5. Nursery rhymes and finger plays. They’re fun and kids can use
their bodies which helps them to link in with what is being read.
6. Browse. See what children’s books you like to read.
If you pick up a book and laugh at it or love the pictures,
you will enjoy reading it to your child and your love of
reading will come through, which is also really important.
7. Find an assortment of fiction and non-fiction books.
Road test a few. You’ll soon learn which ones your
child loves and what you love to read to them.
8. Lift-the-flap and pop-up books are great because
they are so interactive.
If you like to include this article in your newsletter or website; you can, providing you include the following blurb with it:
This article was brought to you by Jan Murray, Private Child Health Consultant who is an internationally renowned expert in her field. Jan encourages parents in the area of infant sleep, nutrition, activities and family balance. She publishes regular ezine and blog articles to provide free parenting tips, tools and resources to educate and support those caring for young babies and children. For more online resources visit http://www.settlepetal.com
