Family Tips
Teaching children how to remember
Children whose parents ask more questions about events and experiences tend to have significantly better memories than their less-questioned counterparts. Tell Me More The development of memory, like many functions, is extremely malleable during the toddler and preschool years. At this age, your child’s memory is particularly responsive to gentle but regular training. One activity
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Crying as a sign of stress
We can’t solve the age-old debate about on-demand vs scheduled feedings here, but we can tell you that your baby has to get pretty worked up in order to ‘tell you’ that they are ready for their next meal. Tell Me More When is the last time you cried for a meal? Thanks to our
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Ask for Help
I must fully acknowledge that I can’t imagine keeping these little ones alive without the support of my generous, ever-patient husband, who is a true partner in every sense of the word. But, I know that many moms are raising kids on their own and I think you are amazing-and that at times, every single
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Why children ask why
As the parent of any preschool age child knows, ‘why?’ is one of the most frequently asked questions in the young child’s language arsenal. But why ‘Why?’? In addition to fact-finding tools, children’s questions are a mechanism for developing critical thinking skills. Tell Me More Preschooler’s questions play an important role in mind development, not
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Speaking to babies fertilizes future speaking
Using sensitive new methods that measure brain activity, it has been shown that the areas of babies’ brains that will later be responsible for speech become activated when merely listening to words at six months of age. Tell Me More Even before six months of age, babies’ brains are primed for acquiring language. Before six
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Drawing is a precursor to writing
Scribbling and drawing have their origins in the same parts of the brain that will later be used for writing. Tell Me More Even toddlers, who can barely hold a crayon or pencil, are eager to ‘write’ long before they acquire the skills that formally prepare them to read and write. Children who are encouraged
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Setting Up Your Sitter for Success
When I was the mother of five little boys under age 10, babysitters were of utmost importance-along with food, water, and fresh air. Yet, in the anticipation of time away from daily demands, I never gave much thought to ways I could make the babysitting experience more enjoyable for my substitutes. Of course, there were
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Learning how to read minds
The ability to understand what someone else is feeling and thinking represents the pinnacle of a series of developmental steps toward the development of a mature mind. Tell Me More In the first few years of life, your primary focus was yourself. You wanted food, warmth, or an engaging toy, and you were willing to
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The over-tired child
More than just a product of too little sleep, over-tiredness is actually a real condition with a hormonal explanation. Tell Me More A very common, and the least recognized reason for sleep problems between the ages of 1-2 years is over-tiredness. Over-tiredness and its correction have a neural basis. Children in the throes of a
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Screen Time Guidelines for Children 5 and Under
Today’s parents can often find themselves wondering how much screen time is too much. The ever-changing landscape of digital media can make it difficult for us to keep up with how much is too much and which type(s) of devices and content should our children be exposed to. Childhood is changing, especially when it comes
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