One of my favorite strategies to develop a warm but equitable relationship with toddlers is to share the power. Yes, I said it. Adults have power in the relationship and toddlers know it. In order for you to succeed in using this strategy with your toddler, you have to accept the fact that children long…… Continue reading Give (Some of) Your Power Away To Your Defiant Toddler And Create Calmness
Category: parenting
The Informed Parent and Happiest Baby on the Block
I read The Informed Parent recently to decide whether it would be a good resource for my clients, and found that the chapters on The Art and Science of Baby Soothing, SIDS, and Sleep Training were worth reading. This book distills a lot, a whole lot, of research that can confuse those parents who want…… Continue reading The Informed Parent and Happiest Baby on the Block
Toe Walker? Why The Problem Usually Isn’t Touch Sensitivity
Kids that toe-walk after they have fully mastered walking and running (usually 24-30 months) are often accused of avoiding the feeling of their feet on the floor. It certainly looks that way. The truth is usually not so simple, and the solution not so easy to achieve. Getting a toe-walker to use a heel-toe gait…… Continue reading Toe Walker? Why The Problem Usually Isn’t Touch Sensitivity
The Tally Sheet, Updated For End of Preschool
Fans of my simple and fun pre-writing activity Preschool Handwriting Activity: The Tally Sheet, come on back into the pool for more! The tally sheet is a great way to keep score during a fast and fun game such as Pop-Up Pirate or Crocodile Dentist. As this year’s group or preschoolers are approaching the stage…… Continue reading The Tally Sheet, Updated For End of Preschool
Use The Fast Food Rule to Help ASD Toddlers Handle Change
Kids With ASD can react strongly to changes in their routines or environments. Even changing the location of furniture they don’t even use can create screaming and aggression. Why? Often they use their external concept of home and environment to provide internal consistency, structure, and spatial comprehension. We all do, in reality. Ask anyone who…… Continue reading Use The Fast Food Rule to Help ASD Toddlers Handle Change
Is Low Muscle Tone A Sensory Processing Issue?
Only if you think that sensing your body’s position and being able to perceive the degree/quality of your movement is sensory-based. I’m being silly; of course low tone creates sensory processing issues. It isn’t the same sensory profile as the child who can’t pay attention when long sleeves brush his skin, nor the child who cannot…… Continue reading Is Low Muscle Tone A Sensory Processing Issue?
Active Baby? Active Mom? It May Be Epigenetics Again….
This week’s New York Times ran a story Does Exercise During Pregnancy Lead to Exercise-Loving Offspring? that echoes what I told a mom last month during a Happiest Baby consult about how her behavior during pregnancy “taught” her son to love movement. She is an athletic woman, a pediatric physical therapist, and her baby really didn’t…… Continue reading Active Baby? Active Mom? It May Be Epigenetics Again….
Plus Plus Toy Review: This Toy Can Make Your Child Turn Off The Tablet
I got a box of mini PlusPlus building pieces as a gift from a client. Her son is apparently addicted. He was totally occupied with them for their entire vacation plane ride earlier this year. The entire ride. These toys from Denmark come in midi (medium size) and mini sizes. They are intended for…… Continue reading Plus Plus Toy Review: This Toy Can Make Your Child Turn Off The Tablet
How Using Utensils To Eat Prepares Your Child To Write
My post on selecting great utensils has generated buzz with my clients. When I mentioned in therapy sessions that every time a preschooler uses a fork or spoon with a mature grasp, they are building the strength and control needed for good handwriting, parent’s jaws hit the floor. It never occurred to them that there…… Continue reading How Using Utensils To Eat Prepares Your Child To Write
Which Spoon Is Best To Teach Grown-Up Grasp?
Using a spoon to scoop with a mature grasp (thumb on top, fingers curled under) and using a pencil to write are two preschool fine motor skills that last a lifetime. Did you know that the design of the spoon can make teaching mature spoon grasp easier? I had a discussion with a child’s speech…… Continue reading Which Spoon Is Best To Teach Grown-Up Grasp?
Teaching Handwriting To Kids with ASD
Handwriting still matters, and it matters just as much to kids on the spectrum. Teaching handwriting to kids that have difficulty focusing and that learn better with individualized instruction can be a challenge for any teacher, including special education teachers in a self-contained classroom. For teachers in an integrated classroom, it can be an overwhelming…… Continue reading Teaching Handwriting To Kids with ASD
Homeschooling? Make Learning to Write Easy for Everyone
Handwriting is a skill that powers the development of language and literacy, as well as math skills. This is an important early foundation skill. Keyboarding does not replace writing at any age. If you doubt me, gather up all your pencils and pens for a day or two. See what happens. If they are truthful,…… Continue reading Homeschooling? Make Learning to Write Easy for Everyone
End Toddler Biting Using Clear But Compassionate Messaging
I couldn’t resist it. Nip. Biting. Bud. But toddler biting is no joke. According to one of my clients, a child can be asked to leave preschool or daycare if they are a repeat offender. The problems that lead to biting are easy to see, the solutions are not. Here are my explanations for why toddlers bite,…… Continue reading End Toddler Biting Using Clear But Compassionate Messaging
Why Do You Start (Uppercase) Letters at the Top? Speed and Accuracy
Another week, another second-grader showing me how he writes uppercase letters starting on the baseline. You don’t have to use Handwriting Without Tears to use correct start and sequencing of strokes; no standard letter style starts uppercase letters on the baseline. For a reason. It is harder to achieve good control of your fingers in…… Continue reading Why Do You Start (Uppercase) Letters at the Top? Speed and Accuracy
Baby Wearing For Better Infant Sleep
Most parents use carriers/wraps for two reasons: practical and personal. But did you know that wearing your baby can also help your newborn sleep better? Being able to carry your baby allows you to have both hands available. Baby wearing is an intimate connection that parents usually enjoy. Babies feel their parent’s heartbeat and listen…… Continue reading Baby Wearing For Better Infant Sleep
Too Fussy to Breastfeed? It May Not Be Latching-On Issues
Latch-on is a big deal when you nurse. Getting a newborn to achieve that solid seal and then synchronize the suck-swallow-breathe rhythm is essential. When I was a younger occupational therapist, I was all about the mechanics of achieving oral control and teaching that rhythm. Some babies have medical issues that make it harder, but…… Continue reading Too Fussy to Breastfeed? It May Not Be Latching-On Issues
Why Cutting Nails Is Such a Challenge for Autistic and Sensory Kids
Most children resist nail trimming. But kids on the autism spectrum, kids with sensory sensitivity, and children with significant language delays can turn this simple grooming task into an epic contest of wills. Parents tell me all too often that it is two-person job for them. It can be the hardest thing they do all…… Continue reading Why Cutting Nails Is Such a Challenge for Autistic and Sensory Kids
Will Swaddling Affect Newborn Sleep?
The short answer? It almost always gives them a slightly longer sleep cycle. The longer answer: many babies need more than a good swaddle to add that extra hour or so to their sleep cycle. Interestingly enough, research and the American Academy of Pediatrics have suggested that swaddling makes a newborn’s sleep lighter. Lighter isn’t…… Continue reading Will Swaddling Affect Newborn Sleep?
Get Your Toddler And Preschooler To Sleep Faster When You Use Happiest Toddler Techniques at Bedtime
The Happiest Toddler on the Block has a unique perspective to bedtime sleep training: it starts right after breakfast. One of the cornerstones of THTOTB is Patience Stretching. In my post Stretch Your Toddler’s Patience, Starting Today! I wrote about Dr. Harvey Karp’s fabulous technique, and how parents have to use a little creativity and…… Continue reading Get Your Toddler And Preschooler To Sleep Faster When You Use Happiest Toddler Techniques at Bedtime
Improve Transitioning Skills in ASD By Helping Kids Pay Attention To The Sounds Around Them
Kids with ASD often have limited auditory awareness and processing. Imagine your life if you struggled with this: Should I pay attention to the hum of the fan or your voice? That ringing; is it a doorbell, a toy, or a phone? I didn’t notice you speaking to me, and now you tell me that…… Continue reading Improve Transitioning Skills in ASD By Helping Kids Pay Attention To The Sounds Around Them