Child Development Archives

4 Ways To Teach Your Child To Be Respectful

January 30, 2017 kidloLand Comments 0 Comment

“Treat people the way you want to be treated.”

This is a powerful saying which sums up a lot in one sentence. Every parent wants his or her child to grow into a wonderful human being. One of the most important qualities a good human possesses is politeness. A person who respects his or her peers, colleagues, authority, elders and children, is a good human. Such a person is greatly admired by people of all ages. So if you’re a new parent, how do you ensure that your child shows respect and gratitude? Read on to know 4 simple ways to teach your child to be respectful.

how to teach respect to your child — image credit: ambermb/pixabay

Lead by example.

Toddlers and preschoolers are growing and learning everything they know from what they see and hear around them. A child observes the behavior of his own parent and emulates it. If you’re a respectful person yourself, your child will effectively start practicing it himself. No matter who you talk to – be it a waiter at a restaurant or the old neighbor you see every day – be polite to each and every one. This is how your child will learn from your example.

teaching children respect and manners — image credit: london-scout/unsplash

Talk about it.

If your preschooler says some disrespectful words or phrases in anger, sit down and talk to them about it. Explain to your child, calmly, why such words and the tone of saying they can be hurtful to the other person. Teach them that kindness and politeness are some of the best qualities a person can have. If your child speaks rudely to you or the elders of the family, you can try saying this – “That is not a good thing to say. We must respect one another.” Avoid yelling or using harsh words yourself.

teach respect to kids — image credit : bevashurst/pixabay

Appreciate when your child is polite.

Disciplining your child with a firm voice when they’re being disrespectful is important. But what’s also equally important is appreciating him when he shows gratitude. Teach empathy to your child by using words such as ‘thank you’, ‘please’ and ‘excuse me’ in your daily lives. Be respectful to your child and your child will respect you too. Again, don’t yell at your child, especially in a public place. Doing this can result in him feeling embarrassed and hurt.

teaching toddler respect — image credit: Bessi/pixabay

Teach your kids to help.

Encourage your child to lend a helping hand, at home and at her preschool as well. Teach her those good manners and good behavior helps her to become a wonderful human being. A caring heart and kind words will make sure that your child grows up to be a good person overall. Teach her that even if she wants to say ‘no’, she can do it politely. Show her how to frame sentences so that it’s respectful.

Summing up

Respect means you care to think about the other person’s feelings before you act. Getting angry is natural but how you deal with it is important. If your growing child learns about being compassionate, kind and respectful to others, it’s half the battle won.

How To Encourage Early Literacy In Toddlers

January 17, 2017 kidloLand Comments 0 Comment

It’s no secret that children of all ages love reading and listening to stories. But why is it really important to start reading and interacting with your child at an early age? How does it help your little one? The answer is simple. Early literacy in children is an important aspect of their overall development. A strong foundation of reading, writing, drawing, and communicating makes sure that your child does well in school and even in the future. It also opens up a whole new world of creative and imaginative ideas which can enhance your child’s thinking and social skills. You can make this whole process really fun for your toddler or preschooler by following the tips given below.

early literacy toddlers — image credit: nickelbabe/pixabay

Keep it exciting

Join a library which has a wide array of books ranging from bedtime storybooks, fairy tales, fables, early reading stories and more. Your little one can choose whichever storybook she likes the best and you can read it to her or read along with her. Use voice modulation and give funny voices to different characters in every story. Not only does this strengthen your parent-child bond, but it also develops language and vocabulary as they learn new words every single day.

early literacy activities — image credit: dassel/pixabay

Teach poetry and rhymes

Apart from storybooks, another great form of reading is reading poetry! You can introduce your child to the fun world of rhymes with classic nursery rhymes as well as other children’s poems. As an early learner, they will be fascinated with how words work and rhyme with one another. Emphasize the phonics and rhyming words, and ask your child to repeat them as well. Once your child gets used to rhyming words, ask them to write tiny poems on their own. This will surely create some wonderful moments for you and your child.

literacy development toddlers — image credit: Publicdomainpictures/pixabay

Read, read, read!

Reading doesn’t have to stop at books! Whenever you go outside with your toddler, ask them to read out the various labels, signs, names of restaurants, shops, streets etc. Take her to the supermarket and ask her to read everything around her. This will keep her mind alert and inculcate a habit of reading everything she sees. Don’t forget to ask her questions like ‘which shops did you see today?’ or ‘which sign did you see today?’ which will develop her memory skills too.

importance of early literacy — image credit: dagon_/pixabay

Communicate

Asking and answering questions is an integral part of every little one’s early literacy skills. Good communication skills ensure that your toddler will successfully communicate his feelings, thoughts, ideas, and opinions! If your child gets nervous about speaking in front of multiple people, slowly ease her into it by supporting her, cheering for her and appreciating her when she does it well.

preschooler language development — image credit: klimkin/pixabay

Draw & write!

Motivate your preschooler to write each letter, short words, and draw simple objects. Introducing your child to picture books with simple stories is another great idea! Your toddler will look at the colorful illustrations, point out different objects and characters, and repeat the dialogues of the characters which are all beneficial in the long run. This will improve his understanding and will make reading so much fun for him.

As parents, you need to actively work towards the development of your child’s early literacy skills. Children imitate parents in every way and being excited about reading will make them excited too! If you follow these ways to build your children’s early literacy skills, they will surely have a strong base for their future academic life.

How To Develop Your Toddler’s Fine Motor Skills

December 8, 2016 kidloLand Comments 0 Comment

Raising toddlers is a Herculean task that only super moms can handle. A toddler’s daily routine includes running around the house all day, having cranky and stubborn moments and being picky with food. Amidst all of this, it is essential for every super mom to make sure your toddler is learning and growing well, too. Hand-eye coordination, learning to balance on their feet, jumping, running, grabbing objects, speech, and language skills are all important abilities that your toddler should develop. A crucial aspect of every toddler’s growth is the development of his fine motor skills. A fine motor skill is the coordination of small muscles of hands and fingers with the eyes which helps a child to perform various activities like zipping up a sweater, holding a pencil, scribbling and much more. Below are 10 ways to develop and grow your toddler’s fine motor skills :

1. Playdough

Introducing your toddler to playdough can have a lot of beneficial effects. The squeezing, rolling, squashing, poking, flattening, separating and cutting (with safety scissors) involved with playdough makes sure that your little one develops hand-eye coordination while keeping it fun and interesting. It also enables your child to fuel his creativity by creating different objects with the malleable playdough.

fine motor skill playdough — image credit: republica/pixabay

2. Tearing paper

Paper tearing might seem like a boring thing to do for adults, but for toddlers, it is extremely fun and also necessary for the development of their finger muscles. Tearing paper helps your child to enhance his grip on the paper with his fingers, increases his hand strength and also makes way for more complicated actions like opening and closing zippers and tearing bread into small pieces. A great activity to keep your toddler engaged and entertained is to let him tear papers into small pieces and make a collage from it.

3. Finger exercises

Finger exercises are a significant addition to your child’s fine motor skill development. This is also a simple and helpful activity for your baby to develop hand-eye coordination. Even simple activities like holding a pencil, clapping, crumpling paper, holding a ball etc. can make a huge difference in your child’s growth.

4. Finger and hand painting

Apart from being a creative way to develop fine motor skills, this is also an essential aspect of your toddler’s artistic progress. Let your child dip her fingers and hands in toddler-safe or edible paint and set her free with a blank canvas or printable coloring sheets. This is how you will motivate and encourage her imagination.

finger painting fine motor skills — image credit: nadinedoerle/pixabay

5. Coloring and doodling

Another way to develop your child’s creative talent is to provide coloring books or printables to him. Crayons, coloring markers, pencils are all great for your children to set their imagination free. You can also let your toddler scribble or doodle on a white sheet of paper. This activity imbibes patience, improves bilateral coordination, develops their color sense and keeps them engaged for quite some time.

6. Tracing

Tracing is a task that helps to develop fine motor skills in a huge way. Children learn how to control their grip on the pencil, learn to draw carefully along the dotted lines which can be curved or straight and thus, prepares them for preschool. Spatial awareness and dexterity are some of the benefits of tracing activity. You can also download apps like KidloLand which includes fun tracing and tapping games to further help your child.

7. Grasping activities

Building your toddler’s hand strength can make things much easier for him/her when they start preschool. Give multiple objects to your child to grasp, such as plastic glasses, toys they can squeeze, toys that they can shake, building blocks etc. Switch it up in between by asking them to pick up a tiny object and then pick up a big object. This makes for good hand and finger exercise for every toddler.

fine motor skills activities toddler — image credit: jarmoluk/pixabay

8. Cutting paper with safety scissors

The next level of your child’s hand and finger development is getting him used to cutting (only with safety scissors). Cutting paper or playdough with safety scissors can refine their finger strength and hand-eye coordination. Your child can start with cutting straight lines, curved lines, circles, squares, and many other shapes. Supervision is a must, especially for this activity.

9. Sock puppets

Easy DIY sock puppets are exciting and significant for the development of fine motor skills. Making different sock puppets will let your toddler think creatively, encourage imaginative play and also improve hand-eye coordination. It’s a complete win-win situation for both, parents and kids! Parents.com has a great video to make a simple sock puppet.

10. Sticking and folding

Sticking and folding small pieces of paper or using stickers can help your toddler improve his spatial awareness and also increase his finger strength. Exposing your kids to art and craft activities can not only keep things fun and interesting for them but also improves their creative skill, hence making them perfectly ready for preschool.

fine motor skill toddlers — image credit: vincentvan/pixabay

Summing up

Fine motor skills and gross motor skills are important milestones of every toddler’s and preschooler’s development and starting early is very effective. Encourage your little one to perform the activities above and get him/her ready for preschool easily.

10 Ways To Raise Shy Kids

October 18, 2016 kidloLand Comments 0 Comment

Every child is inherently different. Some children are extroverted and outgoing, while some others are shy and introverted. Every child has a distinct temperament. If your child is one of the shy ones, don’t be worried! It’s okay to have a shy child and there is nothing wrong with it. Researchers have found that inhibition is an important aspect of temperament that is partly hereditary. They also believe that some children are biologically born shy. So instead of trying to change the fact that your little one is shy, embrace it!

Here are 10 ways you can care for your introverted bundle of joy –

1. Let them know that you understand

Your child needs conversation and he will be most comfortable with his own parents. Make sure you keep talking to your child gently and let him know that you understand and care for him.

2. Ask questions

Ask your child if something or someone is bothering him, kindly. Do not interrogate your child in any way. Have patience and give him time to open up. He will respond positively to kindness.

3. Encourage outdoor play time

Your shy child doesn’t have to stay at home all the time. Let him be around other kids of the same age. Even if he doesn’t open up to the other kids easily, at least it will expose him to social settings which will eventually help him warm up to them.

4. Be Patient

Nothing is worse than pressurizing a shy child. Don’t rush him to do something. Give him time, even if he’s taking more time than the other kids. Take a deep breath and just be patient with your child. Use a calm and soothing voice to help your child.

5. Help them find their passion

Some kids can be very timid but can express themselves better through art. Maybe your child likes to draw or maybe your child loves to play the piano. Whatever it is, channel this interest of your shy child into a passion she will truly treasure forever. It will be a liberating experience for your child and bring great joy to her.

6. Motivate your child

Be their personal cheerleader. If your child is making an effort to do something out of his comfort zone, appreciate him and remind him that he’s doing great! “I know that this was difficult for you but you did it so well!” is a great way to uplift and inspire your child.

7. Don’t shame or humiliate them

Do not compare them to other children, especially with harsh words. Don’t put them on the spot. This can give your child anxiety and lower her confidence even further. Your child doesn’t choose to be introverted – this is just how she is.

8. Don’t force them

Don’t force them into any situation they clearly want to avoid. If they really don’t want to do something, don’t push them to do it. Interacting with other people can be stressful and emotionally draining for your child and sometimes it’s better to take a break.

9. Encourage them to express themselves

Your child might have a lot of ideas, questions, opinions, fears which she just doesn’t know how to express. Make it easier for her by encouraging her to ask you anything at all. Make it a routine so that she gradually gets comfortable with it. Answer these questions with attentiveness & positivity.

10. Be affectionate

Avoid calling your child ‘shy’ every time. You don’t need to put your child into a category. Be affectionate, sympathetic and loving to your kid. Snuggle and hug your little one every chance you get!

It is essential to know if your child is introverted by nature or has become reserved because of a specific event. If your child is going through something or if the shyness is severe, it is best to take her to a mental health professional who specializes in child care. Either way, keep loving your children just the way they are!

Image credits: LuidMilaKot , Ben_Kerckx , Unsplash

10 Easy Exercises For Your Child

October 14, 2016 kidloLand Comments 0 Comment

Any form of physical activity or exercise is a must for every individual. Children are active little creatures and running all around the place comes naturally to them. Being agile right from an early age has health benefits which will be useful even when your child grows up.

Unfortunately, childhood obesity is the number 1 health concern in the United States according to heart.org. Childhood obesity, in turn, leads to other health problems such as type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol levels, and high blood pressure. An overweight child can also suffer from low self-esteem and sadness, which is extremely worrying.

This can be prevented by maintaining a healthy balance of a good diet and sufficient physical activity for your child. ShapeAmerica.org has great guidelines for the exercise duration and requirements of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Remember, exercise doesn’t have to be boring!

Here are 10 fun and easy exercise ideas that your child can do easily : …

10 Strategies To Teach Your Toddler To Listen Better

October 12, 2016 kidloLand Comments 0 Comment

A toddler begins to exhibit non-compliance at the age of two! Common behaviors during this stage are frequent use of the word “no,” difficulty sharing, claiming possessions as “mine”, picky eating, and throwing tantrums when they do not get their way. Below are a few strategies for minimizing non-compliance and increasing listening.

Top 10 Strategies To Teach Your Toddler To Listen Better Are:

1. Be genuine and sincere

Use phrases such as “I need you to” instead of “You need to” when you need your child to do something.

2. Use directives and questions rarely

Avoid firing questions or instructions to your child that they fail to respond to.

3. Be a good listener

Be a role model for good listening by showing that you are listening to your child by imitating and reflecting back what your child says.

4. Provide information

Give information in a non-demanding manner like “It is time to get changed” or “I’d like you to get changed,”, hoping that your child will consider the information and change their behavior.

5. Give choices with acceptable parameters

State all requests or directions as choices when you can. Instead of saying, “You need to get dressed now.” Try, “Do you want to put on your shirt or pants first?”

6. Reinforce your message

Along with verbal messages, give visual cues, physical cues, and demonstrations. Say, “Time for bed!” by flicking the light switch, laying a hand on baby’s shoulder and steering her toward her bed and pulling down the covers and patting the pillow.

7. Get down to the child’s level

Eye contact is important. Squat down or pick up your child, so you can look him in the eye and get his attention.

8. Practice friendly and a positive tone

Make use of positive terms that tell your child what to do (e.g., “Walk!”) instead of what not to do (e.g., “No running!”).

9. Give warnings

Practice giving advance notices before a big change will take place, especially if your toddler happily involved with toys or a friend.

10. Use appropriate language

Make use of positive terms that tell your child what to do (e.g., “Walk!”) instead of what not to do (e.g., “No running!”).

Image Credits: PublicDomainPictures, Kasman, ImagesBG