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Your child can show that she understands many words even though she can’t say them.
When it comes to picture books, how young is too young? Consider this: by 6 months, babies become very interested in objects—and just 5 months later, babies can respond to 50 or so words, including many names for common objects.
Are you being teased? Older infants and toddlers love to tease their parents. Have you ever been offered a delicious bite of baby food from your little one, only to find that he has rapidly pulled the spoon back and is giggling?
We know conversations are important, but what to talk about? Try a song, for starters.
Most parents wait impatiently for their child’s first word, listening intently to cooing and babbling. After the first or second word, the learning of new words follows in more rapid succession. What determines the order and choice of these first words?
The expressive (spoken) vocabulary of many babies seems to explode somewhere between sixteen months and two years. While your baby may have only been using a handful of words, now she seems to be bursting with new words. How does this happen?
Speech acts help speakers accomplish things in the world. These include requests (“More milk?”) and demands (“No night-night!”) from children, as well as from adults (“Hush!”). Interestingly enough, parents are seldom precise in their requests.
Does talking to your child matter? And how often do we think about the quality and repercussions of those conversations?
Reinforce the names of colors, shapes, and the concept of size using everyday opportunities.
This simple activity will help your toddler learn colours, shapes and sizes.
Toddlers can feel very autonomous. Reminding them that they are less than four feet tall and that only two years old doesn’t seem to help much (actually, it doesn’t help at all!). So, what can be done to foster this independence without letting them run amok?
Changing diapers can seem like a chore. Older babies and toddlers want to get back up and do what they were born to do—move! How can we make this easier on babies and parents?
Have you noticed a bit of pretend play going on in your house? Toward the end of a child’s second year, toddlers are pretending in a variety of ways.
Have you been warned about the “terrible twos?” Don’t believe it. What's really happening in your child's brain is quite remarkable.
How do children develop gross motor skills? Researchers frequently use what is called a “dynamic systems approach” to describe these evolving abilities in children (and adults!).
What are motor skills? You might hear about the development of fine and gross motor skills while in the pediatrician’s office, in a parenting magazine or baby development book. What exactly are they?
At two and three years old, children become interested in drawing and writing. They may not produce recognizable letters and pictures, but this is, nonetheless, an important step on the road to learning how to write and draw.
Listening to rhythmic clapping or drum beats is a good beginning in helping toddlers recognize one-to-one correspondence and patterns. Plus music can encourage toddlers to move their bodies in rhythm, or set the mood for dancing or napping.
Go ahead, let him push your buttons…and flip your switches.
Children’s development is influenced by their physical capabilities, environment and the demands of the activity in which they’re engaging.
Caring for your child's gorgeous new teeth can sometimes be a challenge. Singing along makes everything a little more fun!
Toys now begin to play a bigger part in your child’s life. Researchers suggest that toys that are responsive to your child’s actions are helpful at this age. What does this mean?
Provide simple reminders that math is part of your toddler’s world.
Help your child learn to count to ten.
Help your child recognize and name shapes.
Water play helps build coordination and control, as well as basic science concepts.
Introduce a new perspective on vegetables that makes them seem like an earned treat.
Use frozen peas to cool down hot soups and add nutrition.
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