Thursday, January 31, 2013

Dogs and Ghostly Ghouls: Managing Your Child's Fears


All children experience fear during their earliest years—fear of strangers, heights, dogs, or ghostly ghouls. This is all part of normal development!* Often, these fears coincide with periods of rapid growth and learning. Here, the child learns to manage new-found information and abilities.

In his book entitled Touchpoints: The Essential Reference: Your Child’s Emotional and Behavioral Development, Dr. T. Berry Brazelton offers the following recommendations on how to help your child deal with his/her fears:
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  1. Listen closely and respectfully to what your child tells you about his/her fears.
  2. Support your child as s/he learns how to cope with fears (e.g. clutching to a favorite blanket or toy). Your child will eventually grow out of this.
  3. Help your child understand that s/he is experiencing fear because s/he is learning about many new and sometimes scary things.
  4. Let your child know that all children experience fears at some point. Consider talking about your childhood fear and how you learned to overcome it. Be sure to speak to your child in words s/he can understand.
  5. Regularly spend one-on-one time with your child. This will increase the likelihood of your child opening up to you about any anxieties s/he may have.
  6. Acknowledge when your child effectively faces or overcomes a fear. Celebrate the successes! This can give your child a sense of confidence and control in a seemingly scary situation.

* If your child's fears substantially impact his/her daily living or last long periods of time (i.e. six or more months), consider seeking professional support.

Source: Brazelton, T. Berry. Touchpoints: The Essential Reference: Your Child’s Emotional and Behavioral Development. Reading: Perseus Books, 1992. Print.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

7 Ways To Keep Your Little Champ Healthy

A friend recently posted a question about her baby boy: "My baby is 17 days old, and he slept through the night! Should I wake him up to feed him? Or should I just let him sleep? Also, how often should I bathe my baby?"
 These may be questions or concerns that you have, so here are seven pointers about your baby’s body to help keep him healthy as your little champion continues to grow!!

Seven Ways to Keep Your Baby's Body Healthy and Happy!

Body - A baby does not need to be bathed every day.  About 3-4 times a week should be enough to keep him clean. Baby skin is very sensitive, so make sure to moisturize him after bathing. Make sure to keep the diaper area clean to avoid irritation and infection.  It is not necessary to wash the baby’s hair more than once or twice a week. Check out a previous post about an infant massage! It's great for right after bathing your child.
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Helpful Hint: If possible, let baby go without diaper as much as possible, allowing time for the sore to heal.  Change diaper each time he wets or has a bowel movement. Rinse skin in warm water, and you may want to soak baby's bottom for a few minutes to remove bacteria. 
  
            Never leave your baby alone in the in the bath, not even for one second!!!!!

Eyes - A brand new baby will have swollen eyes shortly after delivery. Around the eyes may become crusty and goopy. Use warm water and a cotton ball wipe from inner to outer corner. 

Nose – As your baby grows, he wills start producing more mucus, which is normal.  Use a bulb syringe to clean baby’s nose. You may need to soften mucus with salt water before using the syringe.
Helpful Hint: If baby's mucus is dried out, make your own nose drops! Combine one cup water with ¼ tsp salt. Bring water to boil and let it cool at room temperature.  After cooling, use an eye dropper to put 2-3 drops of cooled solution in each nostril.

Tummy - Worried about if baby is getting enough to eat? Count the number of wet diapers during day. If he has 6 or more wet ones a day, then he is eating enough and getting enough liquid.

Drooling Mouth - This is normal because your baby is making more saliva, especially during teething  – to prevent chapped skin, keep face dry and you may want to use Vaseline around mouth.

Skin - A baby's skin is very sensitive. Be sure to moisturize often. If chapped skin especially inside the elbows and behind the knees persists for extended time, see your pediatrician for further examination. 

Head - Do you notice a buildup of scaly crust on the scalp that do not brush out or go away when the scalp is washed? This is called cradle cap. It’s caused because there are more oils in the skin in affected area, from extra hormones or yeast. 
Helpful Hint:
- Wash hair more frequently with mild soap or baby/dandruff shampoo.
-Don’t use lotions or oil on baby’s head; this can cause buildup of scales on skin.
-Wash the scalp with very soft brush or use a wash cloth to loosen the crusts.


If any of these treatments do not work after two weeks, please take your baby to your pediatrician for further examination.

 Source: Keeping Your Baby Healthy: The First 12 Months Patty Reid, B. S., Ed.; R.N.




Friday, January 25, 2013

Potty Training Part 2 - After Training, what to do??



Whew!  Successful potty training finally accomplished!  Or is it?

Toilet training is most successful when your child is in charge and when you stay non-judgmental and matter-of-fact during the process, so your child can feel pride in his achievement, not yours.  Even so, it is common to have setbacks in both bladder and bowel training after control is learned.  They are as upsetting to your child as they are to you. (For additional info, check out our other blog post about potty training!)

I ask three questions when a setback occurs:
1) Has there been a change?
2) Is there an illness?
3) Has the child experienced trauma?

Illness such as a bladder infection is easily ruled out with a simple urinalysis (not invasive procedures like catheterization, ultrasounds, etc).

Trauma is often accompanied by behavioral or emotional signs besides toileting accidents.  These cases can be treated by your pediatric health care provider.

Change, however, can be enough to derail most children.  “After any family stress, such as a move, a parent’s absence, or a new baby, expect your child to fall back a few steps.  This often happens as a child faces a Touchpoint, a demanding new developmental advance or any new fear.  You need not feel defeated when your toilet-trained child suddenly wets or soils again.”  (Brazelton and Sparrow, Toilet Training the Brazelton Way, p.40)

What to do?  Realize that, as distressing as setbacks are, they are the norm (just not a norm parents want to share much).  Reassure your child that she will get herself back on track when she’s ready.  Let her choose whether she needs diapers or training pants again for a short while.  Help her change her sheets and put them in the washer, but don’t point out her failure.  When she’s ready to try staying dry again start with daytime, then add nap time and finally nighttime.  (Nighttime dryness takes the longest to achieve.)

Trust your child to be in charge of regaining control.  He will do it for himself, not you, and will never forget his feeling of achievement.  And you’ll be delighted at what he’s capable of on his own.

For other resources check out this great book by Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, M.D.


Contributed by our Child Development Specialist, Robin Lindsay, MSN, FNP.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Problem Solving The Baby Way

 What infants, toddlers, and children do best to learn, is explore! From a very tiny age babies are learning  lessons of cause and effect. When parents interact with their child with love and trust, children start to make sense of the world around them. (For more information on child Cognitive Development from ages 0-3 click here ).  

Exploring, making faces, picking up a book and wanting to be read to, are some of the many ways your child starts to problem solve. If you want to track your child's problem solving development, click here!


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             Problem Solving Milestones

Birth to 3 Months
Watches faces
Moves or makes noises to get attention
Learning to manage sleep/wake states

4 to 6 Months
Explores textures/objects: touch, mouthing, banging
Repeating pleasurable activities
Simple object and people permanence

7 to 9 Months
Imitating sounds and gestures
Repetitive cause & effect play
Combines related objects in play 

9 to 12 Months
Simple trial and error
Playing with toys with their intended purpose
Searches for hidden or missing objects – harder to distract

12 to 24 Months
Imitates adult activities
Matching and sorting – recognizing similarities
Pretend play with realistic and then non-realistic props

24 to 36 Months
Sustained attention to preferred activities (15-60 min)
Enjoys stories and books
Pretend play with real life and emotional themes 

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Here are some fun activities that you can do with your child to help them learn how to problem solve :

BOOKS
Sharing Books: look at books together, point to and label pictures, share excitement about what the child sees and is interested in, tell stories about the pictures instead of reading the words only.

BALLS
Balls and Bins:  Play with different size balls and bowls or boxes.  Play with how many balls you can get in a container or which balls are too big or small for a certain container.  Talk about the problem-solving process with your child as you play.

BLOCKS
10 Ways to Play with a Block: Stack and crash, line up to make a train, come up with as many ways to play with the blocks as you can.

These are just some examples of Problem Solving skills. Each child develops differently, if you are concerned about your child's development contact us here!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

The Teeny Tiny Motor Movements

Tying shoes, turning pages, using a fork, picking up toys, throwing a ball. These are all the tiny fine motor movements of a young child. The ability to use hands and fingers with confidence is important for young children.  These small muscle movements fun to watch develop and there are so many activities you can do with your child to help them as they improve their fine motor control. If you want to track your child's fine motor development, click here!

For example, one question asks  “Does your 2 month old grasp your finger if you touch the palm of her hand?” or for a 14 moth old,  "Does your baby throw a small ball with a forward motion?"


Fine motor milestones
 Birth to 4 Months
Regards colorful object momentarily
Moves arms symmetrically, Brings hands to mid-line
Follows with eyes moving person while in multiple positions
Grasps toy actively

4 to 8 Months
Looks at distant and smaller objects. Can follow with eyes w/o moving head
Reaches for objects with both arms
Retains small object in both hands
Rakes at small objects

8 to 12 Months
Bangs 2 toys together at mid-line
Takes objects out of container
Releases objects voluntarily
Pokes with index finger
Uses crayon, tries to imitate scribbles

12 to 18 Months
Scribbles spontaneously
Puts 3 or more objects in container, dumps container to retrieve objects
Builds tower with at least 3 blocks
Points with index finger
Uses neat pincer grasp

18 to 24 Months
Imitates vertical and circular drawing strokes
Builds tower with 4+ blocks
Attempts to fold paper

24 to 36 Months
Holds crayon with fingers and thumb, imitates simple forms (cross)
Strings large beads
Snips with scissors
Folds paper in half
Imitates multiple forms with blocks




Doing fine motor activities together helps you as a parent observe your child's progress and strengthen your relationship and attachment. Check out our previous posts for great ideas of things you can do with your child to help improve their fine motor skills such as: cooking together, Parent-Child Yoga, or even making snow with scissors

The following provides a basic outline of fine motor developmental milestones. Remember each child is developing individually, so don’t become discouraged if your child is not on track in all elements. If you are concerned about the progress of your child, contact us here.



Tuesday, January 15, 2013

FREE Parent-Infant Workshops

Infant Massage
Interact With Your Infant through Massage Therapy
(Bring a yoga mat or towel if possible)
Held on 1st Wednesday of every month

Happiest Baby on the Block
Learn Foolproof Methods to Soothe Fussy Babies
Held on 2nd Wednesday of every month



“Baby-Wearing”
Baby Carriers: How-To’s, Benefits and Safety Tips
Held on 3rd Wednesday of every month

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Classes are held 5-6pm on the Wednesday evenings indicated above.
You do not need to be a WIC client to participate.

EVERYONE is welcome!

Please feel free to bring your baby with you.
All classes are taught at the Utah County Health Department 
151 S. University Ave, Provo, Suite 3200

Thursday, January 10, 2013

The Conscious Parent Workshop

The Conscious Parent Wokshop
with Dr. Shefali TsabaryConscious Parent book cover
McGillis School in Salt Lake City, Utah
Date: Saturday, January 12, 2013
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Cost: $45 for parents
        $65 for professionals 
Box lunches are available for $10 (pre-registration required)

Connect to your child by connecting to yourself!  Clinical psychologist and author of The Conscious Parent, Dr. Shefali Tsabary, will show you how in this day-long workshop for parents and professionals. Expect a day of discovery and insights as Dr. Tsabary shares from her clinical expertise and her experience as a mother, to teach attendees about embracing the conscious approach to parenting presented in her best-selling book.

Dr. Tsabary will show parents how to transform their relationships with their children and guide professionals in supporting parents in their journey. You can benefit if: you are feeling overwhelmed as a parent you have a hard time connecting with your children you have lost your own sense of purpose since becoming a parent you are a professional working with parents

This event is presented by the Utah Association for Infant Mental Health and sponsored by Easter Seals-Goodwill, Utah Department of Health Baby Watch Early Intervention Program and Westminster.

For more information and to register click here.  For a sneak-peek see the video below.





Friday, January 4, 2013

New Help Me Grow Website!!

Help Me Grow has launched our much improved website! We love it and are excited for you to visit!



Though we're still working on adding all the resources we have, check out the list of reliable website available to support you in this challenging and rewarding job of being a parent. 


Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Smarter Ways to Discipline Children

The Wall Street Journal just published this GREAT article titled, "Smarter Ways to Discipline Children."  I thought it was so great that I wanted to share it with you!


In summary,
  • Parents need to praise their kids more. Focus on the good things they do.
  • Be Patient. Give your kids time to respond.
  • Clearly explain your commands.
  • Watch your own behavior. Do you yell and throw tantrums, too?
  • Have your child "practice" throwing a tantrum so they learn how silly it really is. Pretend to throw a tantrum with your child. It will often end in laughter. 
Read the full article by clicking here.