Encourage Motor Skills

Encourage Fine Motor Skills

Teach the pincer grasp. To help your child learn  to pick up small items like Cheerios using her thumb and forefinger, stuff an empty baby-wipe container with scarves, and then let her  try to pull them out. You can also give her toys that have dials, switches, and knobs.
Embrace his filling and dumping obsession. Your toddler will likely load every toy possible into a  plastic bin—only to spill it  out and start over. While  this activity may seem dull,  it takes integrated muscle movements, concentration, and cognitive reasoning. Other ways to boost grip and finger strength: squeezing a wet sponge or looking for toys that are buried in sand.
Let the stacking begin! Your child needs hand and wrist stability to place  blocks with control. Large wooden ones are easiest  for toddlers to manipulate. Once she gets the hang of  it, you can switch to smaller building materials—but hold off on interlocking bricks until she’s at least 2.
Facilitate creativity. Most kids can make a mark with a crayon at around  15 months and scribble by age 2. Big crayons are best  for little hands, but you can also give him large pieces  of chalk and finger-paints to express himself.
Be patient with utensils. Have your child start using  a fork and spoon at every meal. If she makes a mess or struggles, resist jumping in  to help—let her try to figure it out on her own.
Build on basic skills. As your toddler’s dexterity improves, encourage him  to use both hands to do new tasks. Have him try threading big beads or rigatoni pasta with yarn. And play games like “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider” to teach him how to work his hands in tandem.

Encourage Your Child's Creativity

Once you've provided your child with the tools that inspire creativity, stand back and let him loose, even if things are likely to get rather messy. Preschoolers tend to focus more on process than on product. They throw themselves into exploring the properties and possibilities of materials like paint, mud, sand, water, and glue without worrying about the results. In fact, when your 3-year-old proudly displays his latest masterpiece, you should try not to ask, "What is it?" That question may have never even occurred to him.

Instead, admire the work for what it is: "That's really wonderful! Tell me just how you did it." Then, encourage him to explain to you in his own words how he felt and what he was thinking about while he was making it.

The less control you try to impose over your child's creativity, the better. This advice especially holds true when it comes to the hand your child favors. One of the milestones of this age is becoming right-handed or left-handed. In fact, handedness is an important sign of increasing brain organization. By age 4, some 90 percent of children have become clearly right-handed, while the rest have become dedicated southpaws.

The main determinant of handedness is heredity, so it's best not to tamper with your child's genetic predisposition. Left-handers are no less socially acceptable than righties. And when pressure from parents or preschool teachers induces a child to switch, doing so usually takes a long-term toll in emotional upset and poor coordination.

So let your child lead the way. And don't be alarmed if her fine motor skills progress more slowly than her gross motor development. Fine motor skills develop more slowly because the kinds of delicate movements that enable children to manipulate objects (stacking and nesting blocks or putting together puzzle pieces, for example) can be learned only over time with a lot of practice. Unfortunately, while most 3-year-olds will run happily for hours on a playground, few really have the patience to sit and copy a drawing of a circle or a cross over and over. And keep in mind that the smaller muscles of the body (like those in the hands and fingers) tire out more easily than the larger muscles in the arms and legs, so endurance and strength must be built up gradually before your child's dexterity can improve.

There's one more reason why your child's fine motor skills progress more slowly: They are closely linked to cognitive development. In order to build a fort with blocks, for instance, a child must be able to think in a three-dimensional manner. Adding limbs, hair, or facial features to an incomplete picture of a person means that your child is capable of understanding that two-dimensional drawings can symbolize real people. Your child must mentally compare the picture with stored images of what people look like to figure out what's missing from the drawing, and he must be able to manipulate a pencil or crayon well enough to fill in the absent features.

Motor Skills

Developing Motor Skills

Your child's mastery of fine-motor skills will allow him greater independence. Here are some of the skills your youngster will perfect in the preschool years.

Another area of development to encourage this year is fine motor skills—or use of the hands. Just as gross motor skills enable your child to perform important everyday tasks, such as getting out of bed and going downstairs for breakfast, fine motor abilities allow for increasing independence in smaller but equally significant matters: opening doors, zipping zippers, brushing teeth, washing hands, and so on.

When combined with increasing hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills also open new doors to exploration, learning, and creative expression. In fact, research shows that emphasis on purely intellectual activities—memorization of letters and numbers, for instance—is far less useful at this stage than pursuits that encourage fine motor abilities and hand-eye coordination. These skills—rather than counting or reciting the alphabet—lay the foundation for academic learning in later years. In order to learn to write or draw.

Among the fine motor skills your child will perfect in the preschool years are the abilities to:

• paste things onto paper
• clap hands
• touch fingers
• button and unbutton
• work a zipper
• build a tower of 10 blocks
• complete puzzles with five or more pieces
• manipulate pencils and crayons well enough to color and draw
• copy a circle or cross onto a piece of paper
• cut out simple shapes with safety scissors

The best way for you to help promote these and other hand-related skills is to provide your child with a wide range of materials to manipulate as her imagination dictates. Good choices include blocks (especially the interlocking types like magnetic blocks, Legos, bristle blocks, Tinker Toys, and construction straws), crayons, nontoxic and washable markers and paints, paste, glue, modeling clay, an easel, construction paper, safety scissors, a smock to guard against stained clothing, coloring books, and simple sewing cards. This is also a prime time for puzzles, sand and water toys, and musical instruments.

We came across the heart wrenching news of the loss of an innocent life within the premises of a school. This is the second time in a year that a child has lost his life within school boundaries. It is natural to feel hurt and angry about the injustice of it all.Who is responsible for the safety of our children? Is it the school or the parents or at a larger level, the government? Perhaps it is all of them.

As a parent, it is important that we teach our children to be assertive in order to protect themselves against incidents of bullying and emotional exploitation. And most importantly, make our homes a place of trust and support. At school, creating a safe learning environment, identifying pupils who are suffering or at risk of harm and then taking suitable action, are vital to making sure that children are safe.We, as parents, have an added responsibility to use such forums with utmost care and caution. In today’s time of dwindling family ties internet sometimes takes over the role of pseudo parents and may function as their only emotional support systems. We, as the community, need to provide more robust personal “ live” forums where our children can seek support for all their emotional needs.

Turning off our computers, our phone, logging off Facebook, and just getting rid of social media and actually having face to face conversations with our children is the need of the hour and may actually save this generation. Together we can protect our future generation by teaching them to be smart, strong, and safe.

Developmental Delay

Developmental Delay

As a child grows and develops, he learns different skills, such as taking a first step, smiling for the first time, or waving goodbye. These skills are known as developmental milestones. There is normal variation around what age children will achieve a specific developmental milestone.  Developmental delay refers to a child who is not achieving milestones within the age range of that normal variability. Most often, at least initially, it is difficult or impossible to determine whether the delay is a marker of a long-term issue with development or learning (i.e. known as a disability) or whether the child will ‘catch-up’ and be ‘typical’ in their development and learning.  ’There are five main groups of skills that make up the developmental milestones. A child may have a developmental delay in one or more of these areas:

• Gross motor: using large groups of muscles to sit, stand, walk, run, etc., keeping balance and changing positions.
• Fine motor: using hands and fingers to be able to eat, draw, dress, play, write and do many other things.
• Language: speaking, using body language and gestures, communicating and understanding what others say.
• Cognitive: Thinking skills including learning, understanding, problem-solving, reasoning and remembering.
• Social: Interacting with others, having relationships with family, friends, and teachers, cooperating and responding to the feelings of others.

Usually, there is an age range of several months where a child is expected to learn these new skills. If the normal age range for walking is 9 to 15 months, and a child still isn’t walking by 20 months, this would be considered a developmental delay (2 standard deviations below the mean). A delay in one area of development may be accompanied by a delay in another area. For example, if there is a difficulty in speech and language, a delay in other areas such as social or cognitive development may coexist.

It is important to identify developmental delays early so that treatment can minimize the effects of the problem. Parents who have concerns about their child’s development should consult the child’s physician, who, in turn, might make a referral to a developmental pediatrician, developmental psychologist or pediatric neurologist. The consultant can evaluate the child and recommend treatments and therapies that might benefit the child.

What Causes Developmental Delay?

Developmental delay can have many different causes, such as genetic causes (like Down Syndrome), or complications of pregnancy and birth (like prematurity or infections). Often, however, the specific cause is unknown. Some causes can be easily reversed if caught early enough, such as hearing loss from chronic ear infections.

Can Developmental Delay Be Prevented?

Since there are so many different conditions that can lead to developmental delays, there isn’t one “right way” to prevent developmental delay. What’s important is to be aware of when your baby should be reaching developmental milestones and to consult your pediatrician if you think there may be a problem. Early intervention is key in helping your child overcome any developmental delays.

How is Developmental Delay Treated?

There is no one treatment that works for every child with a developmental delay. Children are unique; they learn and grow and develop in their own way, at their own pace, based on their strengths and weaknesses. Any treatment plan will take this uniqueness into account and be designed to focus on individual needs. Early intervention services are the main theme of treatment, but any underlying conditions that have led to developmental delay will need to be treated as well. Early intervention services may include:

• Speech and Language Therapy
• Occupational Therapy
• Physical Therapy
• Behavior Therapies, such as those used to treat autism and behavioral issues

In addition, if there are other disabilities present medical or surgical treatments may be required to manage those conditions.

It is important for all children with developmental delay to have their hearing and vision evaluated so that untreated visual or hearing impairments do not complicate the situation.

DIFFICULTY IN LEARNING

IS YOUR CHILD SUFFERING FROM DIFFICULTY IN LEARNING?

Learning disabilities is a general term used to describe a variety of learning disorders. According to the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities  struggles with reading and writing, avoids school, and has difficulty communicating. Many children with learning disabilities are extremely smart. They can use their strengths to hide certain difficulties, like using a phenomenal auditory memory to avoid reading or taking notes.If you notice your 3- to 5-year-old having difficulty rhyming words, singing the alphabet song, or mispronouncing words more than other children their age do, these could be signs of a learning disability.
Here are some symptoms -


Mispronouncing words
Word substitution
Poor spellings
Difficulty copying shapes, letters, and words
Letter and word reversals


TYPES OF LEARNING DISABILITY
Many children may have both an LD and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder .Here are the six main types of LDs.

Dyslexia
 Contrary to popular belief, dyslexia is a language-based disorder, not a visual problem that causes children to reverse letters. Individuals with dyslexia may have challenges with reading, spelling, and writing in conjunction with challenges in both understanding and expressing language. Such challenges may be severe or subtle and difficult to recognize,"The reason may be that girls tend to sit more quietly in their seats while boys often have behavior problems that draw attention to their learning disabilities.

Dyscalculia
 Dyscalculia refers to difficulty with mathematics, such as computing, remembering math facts, and learning time and money concepts. The signs of dyscalculia change over time.This type of LD affects functional skills such as playing board games, counting money, or measuring things.

Dysgraphia
Dysgraphia refers to difficulty with the task of writing.Children with dysgraphia struggle to organize letters, words, and numbers on a page. Handwriting is a complex process that involves processing information and putting thoughts on paper by coordinating vision and pencil movements to form letters and words.Children with this type of LD may also have difficulties with other fine motor skills and spelling.

Dyspraxia
Dyspraxia refers to difficulty with fine motor skills, such as controlling a pencil, grasping scissors, and hand-eye coordination. Parents may observe early signs of dyspraxia in a baby who does not imitate waving and pointing. Dyspraxia also affects gross motor skills such as the coordination to ride a bike or play sports

Auditory Processing Disorder 
Children with auditory processing disorders have difficulty with interpreting auditory information related to language development and reading. Parents and teachers might observe difficulties with discriminating similar sounds and words, following directions, and distinguishing important sounds.

Sensory Processing Disorder
Learning disabilities affect the brain's ability to take in information, process it, and use it in a functional manner such as reading, writing, or following directions.children with learning disabilities often have sensory processing issues that compound their difficulties,

Visual Processing Disorder
Visual processing disorders involve difficulties interpreting visual information related to reading, writing, and math. Children with this type of LD might have a problem discerning visual similarities and differences.Other signs of a visual processing disorder include difficulties sequencing symbols, words or images, and spelling.

Diagnosing a Learning Disability

Teachers typically offer a referral for educational testing to understand why a student is not working up to his potential. Usually the discrepancy between a student's expected achievement (such as reading at grade level) and actual academic performance is a hallmark of a learning disability.A speech and language pathology (SLP) evaluation can diagnose dyslexia or, along with an audiologist, diagnose an auditory processing disorder, and an occupational therapy evaluation may indicate dyspraxia, dysgraphia, or a visual processing disorder. Although developmental or learning challenges may be observed in younger children, learning disabilities are typically identified in school-aged children when academic demands increase and skills are closely monitored.
Learning disabilities vary in terms of severity, with sensory systems (e.g., visual, motor or auditory) and functions (e.g., difficulty speaking, reading, or writing) being affected. Parents who observe that their child is struggling to learn should ask their school to provide comprehensive testing by a team composed of a psychologist, occupational and physical therapists, a speech language pathologist, and an educational specialist.

Depression in Children and Adolescents

Depression in Children and Adolescents

Depression is a common and serious form of childhood mental disorder. Until as recently as the 1980s, doctors and others rarely considered that children could become depressed. But research has shown that they do, suffering many of the same symptoms that are seen in adults with a major depression, but also some that are unique to their age. When recognized early and diagnosed accurately, depression is highly responsive to treatment; still, each episode of this recurrent illness tends to increase the likelihood that episodes of illness will recur; and, thus, depression must be treated and managed with an eye toward the long term.

As many as 5 percent, or one in 20, of children and adolescents experience a potentially disabling depression before age 19. This frequency of occurrence, or prevalence, of depression at young ages – and the fact that fewer than half of those who have the illness receive appropriate treatment – helps explain why depression is now the leading cause of disability among adults
Several forms of depression affect children and adults alike. Major depression is characterized by specific signs and symptoms; suffering at least five of these symptoms for two weeks or more is a highly reliable marker of depression. In dysthymia, symptoms generally are less severe, but the illness is marked by a more chronic and persistent course; rather than shifting episodically into well-defined periods of depression, the child with dysthymia lives in world tinted a joyless gray.

Does my child have a mental disorder?

The question is difficult, even frightening, for a parent to voice. Understandably, it is easier to overlook or explain away subtle signs of illness that may occur periodically at worst and are set against the rapid changes of childhood or the turmoil of adolescence. “It’s just a phase.” “He’ll grow out of it.” “She’s under a lot of stress.” “We need to assure him that we love him.” “No one in our family has a mental illness.” Yet the concern that sparks a parent’s question may be justified. One in five American children and adolescents has a mental or behavioral disorder that interferes with their ability to learn in school or to establish healthy relationships with family members and friends. For one in 10 youngsters, a mental disorder will lead to moderate to severe impairment in one or more facets of their life.

What Causes Childhood Depression?

No single cause of depression has been identified. However, we know that depression is an illness with a pronounced biological basis. The genes that we inherit, and which continue to be influenced by experience throughout life, may predispose a person to the illness, but this predisposition, or vulnerability, to depression typically is “triggered” by life events.

Researchers have begun to identify these triggers, called risk factors, for depression.

A child’s risk for becoming depressed may increase with stress or with an experience of devastating loss or trauma. Behavioral problems and mental disorders – for example, conduct, attention-deficit, learning, anxiety, and substance abuse disorders — frequently co-occur with depression and may help explain its onset. A family history of depression or bipolar disorder is a significant risk factor for depression in a child or young adult.

Depression may – and frequently does – occur when no member of a family has knowingly experienced a serious mental disorder. The underlying biological mechanisms and triggering events for illness in these instances have yet to be clearly understood.

What can be said with surety is that in children no less than in adults, clinical depression is not a character weakness, normal sadness, or a passing phase. It is a real medical illness that can be accurately diagnosed and effectively treated. Indeed, a child’s response to appropriate treatments is a valuable way of validating the presence of the disorder.

What is the Risk of Suicide?

Suicide frequently is a direct and lethal outcome of depression. When a teenager thinks or talks about suicide, the risk is real. Children should understand that if a sibling or friend discusses suicide, it should be called to the attention of an adult. A suicidal gesture should not be viewed as attention getting, but as an anguished cry for help.

The mid-1960s marked the start of an alarming, three-decade long increase in rates of suicide by young white males, a tragic incline that has been followed more recently by young black males. Each year in the U.S., almost twice as many adolescents commit suicide as die from all natural causes combined. Not even pre-teens are immune.

A recent down-turn in rates of adolescent suicide may reflect increasing widespread use of safer and more effective medications to treat depression. Suicide remains a public health crisis, however, that demands research to improve preventive strategies.

How Can We Recognize Depression?

Extensive research has identified the signs and symptoms of major depression. In children, doctors are learning, these classic symptoms often may be obscured by other behavioral and physical complaints – features such as those bracketed. At least five symptoms must be present to the extent that they interfere with daily functioning over a minimal period of two weeks.

Signs and Symptoms of Depression
(As seen often in children and adolescents):

1. Frequent sadness, tearfulness, crying
2. Increased irritability, anger, or hostility
3. Hopelessness
4. Preoccupation with nihilistic song lyrics
5. Decreased interest or enjoyment in once-favorite activities
6. Low energy
7. Persistent boredom
8. Frequent complaints of physical illness; for example, headache, stomachache
9. Poor communication with family and friends, social isolation Low self-esteem, feelings of guilt
10. Oppositional; negative
11. Extreme sensitivity to rejection or failure
12. Inability to concentrate (poor performance in school; frequent absences)
13. Changes in sleep habits (Excessive late-night TV; refusal to wake in the morning)
14. Changes in eating habits (Failure to gain weight as normally expected; bulimia or anorexia)
15. Talk of running away from home or efforts to do so
16. Thoughts or expressions of suicide or self-destructive behavior

What Can We Expect From Treatment?

Treatments for depression are well-defined and effective for the vast majority of those with the illness. Teachers, or a pediatrician or other health care provider, often are the first to put a name to the changes in a child’s behavior that are seen with depression. Your child’s doctor can rule out the presence of general medical illnesses that might present with some depressive symptoms and, in some instances, may be willing and capable of treating depression. Often, however, seeking specialty care is advisable.

A mental health professional can verify a suspected diagnosis and help a parent and child understand the array and benefits of different treatment options.

Ideally, a treatment program will combine psychotherapy and medications. The former relies on age-appropriate communication as a tool for bringing about changes in a patient’s feelings or behavior. While different types of therapies tend to be offered in various communities, research has shown that “here and now” approaches that concentrate on solving problems (rather than on gaining insight into psychological processes) are preferable.

15 Things you Should Never do to an Introverted Child

15 Things you Should Never do to an Introverted Child

If you are an extrovert – your introverted child might completely baffle you?
 Being an introvert isn’t a problem in and of itself. We are all wired differently. Some of us get energized being around others and some of us get depleted. Many of us understand these types of kids because we are introverts ourselves.
The bigger problem emerges when an extroverted parent doesn’t understand their introverted child. When you birth a child who is wired completely differently than you – parenting can become a struggle.

 Here are 15 things you should NEVER do to your introverted child.
Some parents have a jokey personality. They like to tease and poke fun at their kids. They aren’t doing it to be mean – they are doing it to be funny.



Unfortunately, your introverted child will completely miss the humor in this type of interaction. Worse – it has the potential to make them resent you.



Force them to have discussions with others.



I get it – you want them to be social. You want them to talk. But, forcing them to talk with others isn’t going to work. An Introverted child needs to feel comfortable in order to open up. If they are pushed into talking too soon – they will withdrawal completely.



Orchestrating social interactions.



Maybe you see another quiet kid on the playground. You think this is your time to help your child make friends. You call the kid over. Introduce the child to your child. You wind up talking for your child and the conversation is going south quickly.


There is nothing wrong with helping your child jump start a social interaction – but know when to back off and let the conversation naturally flourish or die a quick death.



Make fun of them in front of others.



There is only one thing worse than making fun of an introverted child – and that is making fun of them in front of other people. Introverted kids can be highly self-conscious and they are more likely to get embarrassed over things you might think are no big deal.



Put them on the spot in front of others.



Did your child forget to do a chore? Did they say thank you too quietly or not at all. Putting your child on the spot and scolding them in front of others will just make them want to curl up and die. There will be no learning curve in those moments. If you want to correct their behavior – address it after the audience has left.



Ask them to perform in front of other people.



Maybe your daughter has the most beautiful voice or your son tells the funniest jokes. Introverts don’t want to be on stage and do not appreciate an unwanted spotlight on them. Avoid putting them on show and asking them to perform for others. You might think it is cute – but most likely they will not.



Talk for them – when they do not want you to.



People ask your child a question and you are quick to answer for them. He’s too quiet. He’s too shy. He won’t answer quickly enough. Give your child some space to talk for themselves.



Over schedule them.



Many kids are over scheduled – but some kids flourish with an abundance of activities. In general an introverted child needs more down time. They get overwhelmed with too much stimulation and need to recharge at home.


Plan back to back activities with no down time.



If you have a busy day – be sure to plan some down time in between. Think of your introvert’s social energy as a battery. Every time they are out their battery is getting depleted. Your home is the charging station. An Introverted child needs to be recharged frequently.



Force them to go outside and play when they want to recharge inside.



A seven hour school day can be completely exhausting for an introverted child. They might want to come home and just collapse.



You might feel uncomfortable with your child just sitting on the couch or lying on their bed reading. However, that might be just what your child needs after a long school day.



Belittle their quiet demeanor.



The worst thing a parent can do is demean their child for being an introvert. I witness this all the time and it makes me cringe. Telling your child, “stop being so quiet” or “just go up and talk to them!” doesn’t help and only makes them want to withdrawal even further.



Consider them rude when they have a hard time saying hi to acquaintances.



An introverted child may have a hard time saying hi to acquaintances. People might walk past them and they might ignore their hellos. They are not being rude. Introverts can have a hard time being friendly to acquaintances. Instead of scolding them – teach them that a nod or a smile would be the polite thing to do.



Be loud and draw attention to yourself when you are around their peers.



An introverted child can be acutely self-conscious around others. When you are loud and rambunctious around their peers – that might mortify them (just sayin’).



Ask their peers questions.



An introverted kid might be on high alert around peers. When you swoop in and start asking their friends questions – this can be unnerving for your child. They might worry about what you might say or do.


Disclose personal information in front of other people.


You might think it is no big deal to talk about silly things your child did as a baby or what cute mistakes they made when they were younger – but to the introverted child this can feel like ridicule.

Even the most mundane facts about an introverted child can be perceived as personal and private information to them.

Not all extroverted parents do these things to their introverted kids. You don’t have to be an introvert to successfully parent an introverted child.

Taking the time to read your child’s cues and learning to respect their boundaries will go a long way. Even if you don’t understand why they get embarrassed so easily or why they don’t talk as freely – respecting their feelings is huge!
****

Are you raising an introvert at home? What are your experiences? Leave a comment and share with other parents.



Do you know other friends and families who could benefit from learning more about the introverted child? Share this article and educate others.