toddlers – Page 4 – Marisa Meidle's Baby Showers

Toddlers Development Calls For New Skills

Imagine how much easier your daily life would be if your toddlers tantrums were easily managed. The end of toddler tantrums, bribery, screaming and crying. It may seem very unbelievable if you have ever lived with a toddler. However it does not need to be. It is amazing that when it comes to parenting, or using techniques to get the right toddler behavior, we often think it should be in built or come naturally. But more often it is not something pre programmed into parents.

We need to remind ourselves that parenting can be learnt and ask for assistance where needed. With good instruction, practice and repetition you can improve your skills and expand your knowledge. You can use these skills through out parenting different ages. The parenting skills we build up over time can be used on a daily basis in different situations. Who wants to admit, “I am not a very good parent, I cant handle my toddler.As a parent this is not something we want to freely admit.

I feel this is sad as parenting is really a learned skills. Tantrums and the behaviors associated with toddlers is just part of normal healthy development. It is a normal part of development but it can be made easier to manage. By learning and applying different techniques you can have your toddler behave the way you want. These foundation skills can be added to as your child develops through various stages.

As you do with other areas of your life, invest in your parenting skill development and in turn assist your child. Remember the baby tantrums are not a burden but a celebration of flourishing independence, mental development and most importantly an opportunity for parents to learn and develop new skills which they can keep and improve on through life.

Toddlers – the importance of drawing and coloring

To the casual observer a child who is drawing or coloring in, is just scribbling. The marks seem to be haphazard, almost meaningless. But there is more going on in your young child’s mind as s/he engages in the physical act of drawing and coloring.

In fact, examining a child’s drawing gives us important insights into how drawing fits into the overall physical, emotional and cognitive development of the young child. From toddlerhood through primary school, children choose to draw and color, but the process starts much earlier – during toddlerhood.

At around the age of 18 months, toddlers become interested in scribbling. It seems to provide sensory enjoyment, but the child is also interested in the marks that are made. The act of scribbling can serve several useful purposes for the young child. Small muscle coordination and control improve with practice, cognitive abilities are exercised, opportunities for social interaction arise, and the physical movements provide emotional release.

Because a toddler’s small muscle control is not fully developed, he or she may approach the coloring sheet by grasping the marker with his or her fist and may have difficulty placing the marks exactly where he or she wants them. Movements are typically large, involving the whole arm with very little finger or wrist control. This is because the pattern of physical development proceeds from the center of the trunk outward.

With practice, the toddler will naturally improve his or her control, full control, however, will not be achieved until much later. A few toddlers rest the forearm on the drawing surface to give them additional control. A repetitive scrubbing motion is common among two-year-olds. This provides them with sensory enjoyment and making drawing a very physical act.

By providing children with the materials and opportunities to scribble we can promote physical skills. Just as babbling is a natural way to gain language, scribbling is a natural gateway to muscle control and coordination.

Intellectually toddlers are concerned with both the process and results of their art. They do not intend to represent objects at first. Instead, they are concerned with color and line. However, they may look at the marks and scribbles they have made and, in surprise, recognize a shape and name it. While they may not have intended to draw a car, a house or a tree, the scribbles suggest the shapes. Children interpret, rather than intend. This is called fortuitous realism and becomes common as a child approaches three years of age.

As a parent you can encourage your child to draw and color by offering him or her opportunities to do so. Provide them with blank sheets of paper to let their creativity run wild or supply a coloring book or coloring sheets – many of which are available free of charge online. Little boys may enjoy coloring images of cars and trucks or of favorite characters such as Pokemon and at sites like Pokemon Coloring Pages you’ll find the best Pokemon to colour in

Little girls on the other hand tend to prefer images of fairies and princesses and these too are plentiful online.

Remember to always supervise toddlers while they draw and color – due to the choking hazard that crayons pose.

Travel Easy With Kids On Strollers

The history of baby carriages is long beginning in Europe. It is only in recent times the baby carriages have become immensely popular as a mode of transport for infants and small children. These days people have to travel a lot. Often they have to take the children along with them. Baby carriages are also called by such names as carry cot or pram or perambulator. These baby carriages are actually bucket shaped. They are fitted with wheels so that they can be pushed as you walk. There are also other kinds of baby carriages such as baby slings, backpack carriers, soft front carriers and hip carriers. The difference is that you will have to carry these baby carriages with you while the former is pushed in front of you.

Baby carriages are made from different materials. They are available in different designs and vary in its comforts, support and rigidity. A stroller is a carriage to transport infants or small children up to the age of three or four. A stroller is often called also as a buggy or push chair. The children face forward away from the pusher in strollers while a pram usually has the infant facing the pusher so that the child can constantly be within the full eye sight of the pusher. Strollers are normally designed for carrying one child. But there are strollers that carry two and also three children. It is also designed to accommodate children with small age gap. Strollers to accommodate three children are a recent addition.

The stroller is designed for easy maneuverability. This is aided by its free wheels allowing it to be turned around within small spaces. The Maclaren Quest stroller gives an instance of a stroller that is meant for babies 3 months and old with an underneath storage basket for holding goodies. The stroller also has such safety features as rain cover, shoulder strap and hood. Its seat can be reclined in 4 positions and has adjustable 5 point safety harness.

You may choose the stroller from amongst the models that are in the market. They differ in their features and weight. You can also buy strollers online.

Safety Devices Make Infants Secure

Accidents are not intentional, but take place unexpectedly. A category of accidents is traffic collision. There can be fatalities, injuries and damage to properties resulting from traffic collision. Even in a country reputed to have a higher degree of safety measures and adoption of the most technologically advanced systems in vehicle and traffic management, have a 40,000 annual fatality due to accidents. Safety requirements have been steadily increasing. The accident rates too have been steadily declining. But in terms of pure numbers, the number of deaths and injured too are on the rise. Rising population, increased travel and travelers and more traffic remain the unavoidable causes.

Safety devices and systems are of two types – the active and the passive safety devices and systems. The active safety devices and systems are those that require the occupant of the vehicle to act such as fastening seat belt. The passive safety devices and systems are those that operate on its own such as air bags on sudden jerks or collision.

The most vulnerable section of travelers is the children when it comes to accidents. They are smaller and lighter than the adults. Sudden jerks during collision impact can dislodge the children and throw them off. Safety measures as air bags and active seat belts can be useful. Special safety measures for children and infants are recognized to be installed or adopted according to the height, weight and age of the children. Many countries have adopted safety measures for children and made them mandatory in vehicles that transport children. These include child safety locks and child seat. Power window lockouts are installed so that the driver can control the opening and shutting of windows and doors to prevent children from meddling with them.

There are specially designed seat for infants. These infant safety seats are secured to the automobile seat. When there are sudden jerks or collisions, the infant seat belt holds the child firmly. These are now a part of the safety regulations prescribed in some countries. There are different models of infant seat belts on sales in the market. Britax Frontier Seat has advanced shock-absorption and cushioning. These are also easy to set up.

Internationally the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe has set an international standard for baby and child seats called ‘Regulation R44-04’. ISOFIX standard has been developed by the International Organization for Standardization in 1990 for car seats. The United States equivalent of this is the LACTH. Some manufacturers supply ISOFIX standard compliant baby seats.

Raise Your Vegetarian Toddler With Confidence

While some parents have the belief that feeding toddlers a vegetarian diet is detrimental to their health, as long as they make certain that all the required nutrients are received, it’s really quite healthy. Some of the advantages of a lifetime of well balanced vegetarianism include lower rates of common diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and cardiac problems. If you raise your toddler on this type of diet, he or she will embrace it willingly later on.

The primary concern with vegetarian toddler food is to make sure that your child gets enough calories and nutrients. Your toddler needs enough calories to ensure that he has enough energy to grow and play.

It may be somewhat of a challenge to develop a well-rounded vegetarian toddler menu that will give them enough iron and protein. Some toddlers are picky eaters as well as having smaller appetites, and it can be a real challenge to coax them to consume the amount of beans and vegetables that will ensure they get the nutrients they need. Therefore, if you have a vegetarian toddler, make sure you serve nutrient-dense food.

Soybeans and tofu are a good source of protein for grownups and children over four. However, they should not be considered as the major source of protein for a toddler. For your littlest ones, complement the tofu or soybeans that you serve with soymilk that has been fortified with vitamins and minerals. In addition to providing some protein, it will also improve your toddler’s diet by providing calcium and vitamins A and D, which can frequently be hard to get in a vegan diet.

Iron can be found in many vegetarian foods. Green beans, kidney beans, spinach, and lima beans are all excellent sources of iron. Unfortunately, unlike iron originating from animal products, the iron in vegetables can be tough for the body to process. You can remedy this situation if you serve a Vitamin C rich food with those beans or spinach. Some great sources of Vitamin C are oranges, red peppers, tomatoes, broccoli and cantaloupe.

Getting sufficient amounts of Vitamin B-12 may be especially hard for vegans. Although vegetables contain some B-12 vitamins, they are not easily absorbed by the body. Your toddler’s healthcare provider can help find a B-12 supplement appropriate for a toddler.

Calcium is another important consideration for your vegetarian child’s nutrition plan. Calcium helps make bones stronger and aids in proper growth and development. Choose soymilk that is calcium-fortified, but make sure it is also fortified with other nutrients that your toddler needs for good nutrition.

It will take quite a bit of effort on your part to bring up a healthy vegetarian child. You may have to supplement your toddler’s diet to make sure they get all the nutrition that their little bodies need.