Tag Archives: child development

Tips for Dealing with a Clingy Child

Just about every parent has a time when their child is clingy, some more than others are. I remember when my son started to go to daycare around age five months of age, he did not want to leave mom. At home, I constantly had to pick him up to keep him from crying. Unless he had someone giving him full attention, he wanted to be held. As you can imagine, this was exhausting yet, I did not want to be a bad mother. Remember that this type of behavior from a child is very common, even expected. In fact, … Continue reading →

Why – A Child’s Favorite Word

If you have a child that is around the age of two to three, chances are you have heard the question “Why” more times, than you would like. It seems as if everything conversation is riddled with “why…why…why”. Although exasperating, it is important to understand that children at this age are simply curious with their little brains are like sponges, absorbing everything heard and seen. As your child’s language skills begin to expand, and the mind begins to comprehend more and more, your chills is going to want to know everything. For one thing, this situation is frustrating to the … Continue reading →

Tips for Dealing with Temper Tantrums

Tantrums – Screams and crying oh my As a single parent, sometimes the challenges of dealing with babies and toddlers can be stressful, especially when it comes to temper tantrums. Of course, if you have children like mine, the best time for a tantrum is in the middle of the grocery store when your cart is near full. I actually had my son do that one time when he was about four. I told him twice that if he didn’t behave, we would leave. He refused so I asked the manager if he would put my shopping cart in the … Continue reading →

Checking up on your Daycare Provider

I remember when my son was four months old and time had come for me to go back to work. My greatest fear as a brand new mother was finding someone that would love and care for my child similar to the way I did. Yes, I knew that no one could love my son as much as me but I wanted to make sure I found someone that was responsible, clean, organized, and provided a safe environment for my precious baby. I have to say, my first daycare provider was horrible. Within one month, my son would start to … Continue reading →

Learning Positive Values

Children need to develop positive values that help them in making good decisions. According to the Search Institute, “The more a child develops positive values that guide her or his behavior, the more likely it is that she or he will make positive choices and grow up healthy.” Some of the more prominent values that are necessary to grow up healthy include: • Caring • Equality and social justice • Integrity • Honesty • Responsibility • Restraint Children learn values primarily by observing parents and other people in their lives. If you regularly exhibit the above-mentioned values, your child will … Continue reading →

Engaged Learners

The next asset in this series recognizes the need for children to be engaged in learning. Like many of the other assets, this one is best acquired by parental modeling. It helps children to see their parents engaged in learning new things. As single parents, we may feel like we do not have enough time in the day to keep up with what we need to do in our jobs and homes let alone learn something new. You do not necessarily have to take a structured class at an adult education center, although this could be a viable option for … Continue reading →

Positive Peers

Asset number 15 from the Search Institute states that children should spend time with children of varying ages that model responsible behavior. The first part of this asset tells us that children need to be around people of all ages. This does not commonly occur at a high level in most schools where children are primarily with their age peers throughout the day. In the olden days, schools were one room and teachers taught children of all age ranges in the same room. In addition, back when our country was more prone to farming, families usually were quite large, which … Continue reading →

Adult Role Models

Children learn how to act by watching and interacting with other people in their lives. Adults need to set good examples for their children and other children. In a nationwide survey conducted in the late 1990’s only 27% of student’s in grades 6-12 said they had parents and other adults in their lives that model positive, responsible behavior. I guess the old saying “Do as I say, not as I do” is still a widely used method of parenting. Like it or not we parents are our children’s most important role models. We need to have a sense of purpose … Continue reading →

Safety

Another important asset is helping to make our homes, schools, childcare centers and other environments safe for our children. In our post 9-11 society, this might seem like a daunting task. Fortunately, there are organizations solely dedicated to improving the safety of our nation’s children. The National SAFE KIDS Campaign’s goal is teaching adults how to make their community safer for children of all ages. On the SAFE KIDS website, you can look up safety tips and even sign up for a free monthly newsletter containing information and news about how to help keep your child safe. You can start … Continue reading →

Positive Family Communication

The next external asset that children need in order to grow up healthy is Positive Family Communication. This can take many different forms and for some people may be more difficult to achieve than it sounds like. For people who have a family history of verbal abuse, or negative family communication it can be a difficult habit to break. When speaking with children of all ages-make eye contact, don’t interrupt, and really listen to what they are saying. Communication can occur without words. Use appropriate hugs and touches to convey your love for your child. My boys love to wrestle, … Continue reading →