Factors That Trigger Bad Mood in Your Child

All of us has experienced this, you little bundle of joy starts of being cheerful then suddenly changes his moods in an instant. A young child's mood hinge on a complex interaction between environmental influences, his psychological state and life events. Here are some factors so you can avert the next crisis.

• HUNGER: A toddler who's feeling out of sorts may not realize he's hungry. It's up to you to make the connection. Always carry healthy snacks, and stop to refuel when out and about for several hours.

• FATIGUE: Lack of sleep can make young children moody.

• PERCEIVED INJUSTICES: If your child thinks you're being nicer to his sibling, his mood may take a nosedive.

• GROWTH SPURTS: Subtle progress in brain development or psychological growth can cause your child to feel cranky.

• OVER-STIMULATION: Some kids become hyper or irritable, or simply shut down after rushing from one activity to another.

• CHANGES IN ROUTINE: Any shift can throw their mood out of whack.

Simple Tips to Encourage Your Child's Imagination

Do you sometimes wonder if playing make believe does your child any good? Yes, undoubtedly. Below are some of the reasons why you should encourage your child when he plays doctor, or when your child plays house.

Develop social skills. By playing around pretend, your child learn how to relate with other people's feelings. They become more willing to play fair, to share, and to cooperate.

Build self confidence. When your girl stands in front and imagine herself a teacher or plays mother, that boosts her confidence and affirms she has abilities and gifts.

Boost intellectual growth. Using the imagination is the beginning of abstract thought. This is important when the child starts to go to the school where a child will have to learn that numerals stand for a group of objects, that letters symbolize sound, etc.

Practice language skills. When your child plays with the neighboring kids or her own siblings, they talk a lot. This helps boos her vocabulary, improve sentence structure and enhance communication skills.

Work out fears. When your child indulges in role playing, it helps him gain a sense of control over things that are big and fearsome, like monsters for example. It also helps him vent confusing feelings he might have.

So read to your child daily before he sleeps, or make up a story of your own. Books offer children the opportunity to visit other worlds and create new ones of their own.

Important Road Safety For Kids

Everyday thousands of children walk to school, playgrounds or the homes of their friends, often close to, or having to cross, busy roads. Parents and schools do their best to reduce the risk of accidents by sending children strong messages such as "Stop, look and listen" and "Look left, look right, look left again, before crossing the road."

Tests show that primary school children have poor peripheral vision (seeing what's coming from the side) and directional hearing (hearing where things are coming from). And they are not good at telling how far away an oncoming vehicle is, or judging its speed. All this means that it is simply not enough to make sure that young children thoroughly learn and understand the rules of the road.

The most important message is that adult supervision is necessary when children are near traffic, and critically importnt when they have to cross the road.

Tips to make going to school easier for your Child

• PUT ON A HAPPY FACE. Children are very receptive to the emotions of those around them. So even if you feel like crying, put on a brave front, and mask your apprehensions with a smile and lots of assuring words. When your child sees you are okay, he is reassured that he will be okay.

• NEVER SNEAK OFF. If parents or caregivers disappear, this would only make the situation worse, and build more anxiety within the child. Do not sneak out of the classroom or keep coming back for a last hug or kiss. The caring thing to do would be to get out efficiently and effectively.

• HAVE YOUR CHILD COME TO SCHOOL WITH A REMINDER OF HOME. A family photo or a special toy will help bridge the familiar with the unfamiliar. It will also give the teacher plenty of opportunity to talk to your child about something he is familiar with, allowing the bond of trust to develop.

• TRUST YOUR CHILD'S TEACHER. Be assured that the teachers are equipped to handle your child's distress. It is easier for a child to warm up to a teacher if he can see that you trust her, too.

• ALWAYS KEEP YOUR PROMISES TO YOUR CHILD. If you say you will pick him up right after school, be outside when dismissal time comes so your child sees you immediately. This reinforces the trust between you and your little one and lessens the anxiety he is feeling.
  

Simple Task to Teach your Children about Math Basic

Teach your child math basics by involving her in your daily routine and getting her started on pre math skills. Here are simple tasks that pave the way for eventually winning the numbers game.

Help her count. Number recognition is the ability to count, knowing that each number represents one object. Encourage number recognition in your child by pointing to objects as you count. This will help form the fundamentals of basic mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Count the number of dolls in her collection, or the number of colors in a rainbow. Count aloud and ask her to count with you.

Help her understand similarities and differences. Grouping and classifying things according to similarities, believe it or not, is one of the most basic pre math skills. Point out similarities between objects and group them together according to their dominant characteristics. You can tell her how all the kittens in the litter have yellow stripes, or ask her to group her toys into those that are big and those that are small, or play matching games with her.

Teach her shapes. Remember the shape sorter? a red and blue toy that has holes of varying shapes? It is a very useful tool for developing you child's understanding of simple geometry. It helps develop your child's ability to recognize and identify shapes at an early age. Tell her shapes of everyday things: the TV, fer favorite Barney DVD, and even the food she eats.

Teach her about space, depth and dimension. Teaching your child about how things fit together and how they affect one another introduce her to spatial relationships. Play with building blocks, fill tumblers with water, move her teddy bear from on top of the bed to underneath it. This will form basic concepts of engineering and architecture.

Teach her patterns. Exposing your child to patterns will help develop her ability to predict sequences, understand cause and effect, and appreciate rhythm and music. Get your child involved in activities that create or use music, cooking, graphs and charts.

Teach her time. Using words and phrases that refer to time, such as "tonight" "in an hour" and "after dinner" introduces your child to the concept of time. Soon, it will be easy for her to associate these words with numerical time.

Encourage critical thinking. Problem solving skills are very important for high level functioning, including math. Encourage your child to solve problems with little help or on her own. Ask open ended questions to get her to think and extend play.

By providing your child with strong pre math skills, you prepare her for success in school and beyond. Your child will learn to add, multiply, subtract and divide well.

Websites for your Toddler and Kids

I read in a magazine an article about sites that is great for your toddlers and your kids. I check the site out and it was great, especially the site Starfall. So here are two site that you may want your child to visit.

1. Starfall.com - Both toddlers and big kids will enjoy this site. It has great phonics program, is very attractive and interactive. Beginners will enjoy the alphabet section where toddlers and preschoolers can learn about each letter of the alphabet, how it sounds, and what words start with each letter. Older kids will love the online books and plays, including fables from all around the world.

2. Whyville.net - In the age of social networking, this site provides a secure and educational platform for such an activity. This online virtual world immerses children in a video game like experience where they mist manage money, make sure they eat properly, and have the ability to communicate with others. More importantly, the sire seeks to educate its users about online safety and how to behave in an online community.

Perks and Drawbacks Of An Only Child

Me and my wife as far as today have no plans to have another baby, maybe its because our salary cant compensate for having another child for now. Raising only-child toddlers is becoming the most viable and practical option for parents in many parts of the globe, here is a nice article about the pros and cons of raising an only child.

PERKS

1. All the love in the world. With no one else to shower parental love on, an only-child toddler benefits from this setup because he is pampered, with "more lap time" or more attention, states Dr. Oliver. Parents are able to focus on the child's needs. The child is then given the best of everything in terms of education, housing, health care, etc.

2. No rival. According to Dr. Dimantala, an only child "is also free from sibling rivalry and comparison." An only-child toddler is expected to grow up feeling loved and feeling special.

3. Me time. In this setup, these children may learn to be more secure with themselves. "An only child learns to depend on himself, enjoys being alone, and can readily entertain himself," says Dr. Dimantala.

4. Stress free. Dr. Oliver states that parents also enjoy the perks of this setup. "Balancing the child's needs with your needs plus your spouse's needs is much less stressful physically, emotionally, and mentally," she says. There are fewer demands to meet compared to the demands of a multiple-child setup, and this should help parents enjoy more moments with their child.

DRAWBACKS

1. Too much attention. There may come a time when the little one becomes a little too much. One disadvantages is that the child get's spoiled and bratty at times because she is used to getting all the attention. Dr. Dimantala mentions how parents tend to shower their kid with fancy things. "When they get onto that habit, the child will begin to expect those things to satisfy his needs."

2. First time parents. Dr. Oliver notes that another disadvantages is that an only child has parents who are still feeling their way through parenting. "First time parents do not have the experience of parenting a previous child. Skills and the art of parenting can only be honed through practice."

3. Lack of socialization. Aside from having no playmates to interact with, there are also no other older children to learn from. An only child will also prefer playing with adults more. According to Dr. Dimantala, there is a possibility that the child may turn out to be a poor sport, as he will always want to win: "Because the child only plays with his parents, he is not used to adjusting his play with others.

What do you look for in a dentist??

Ok my baby's teeth is not yet out, shes 8 months now, but when choosing a dentist for yourself and for your kids what do you look for? Here are some guidelines to follow:

1. Ask a friend. Ask a friend or a relative or a co-worker. Ask if they have a dentist they would recommend.

2. Look for the dentist credentials. Look for diplomas and some certificate on seminars attended. joining seminars and organizations updates the dentist on new technology, current dental trends and techniques.

3. Location and space of the dentist clinic. Of course its important that your dentist is not that far away from your residence and that the dentist clinic is spacious and accommodating, some dentist have plenty of clients that there no space for you to wait for your turn.

4. Schedule. Yup its also nice that the schedule of your dentist corresponds with your's. Some dentist tend to have a clinic every M-W-F some everyday.

5. Be comfortable. Its very important to be comfortable with your dentist, my wife is very picky when it comes to dentist, she always look if the dentist teeth are good, she always said" why pick that dentist if he/she can't take care of his/her teeth( hmm she has a point there).

Golden Truths

The vertical file of a library has many nice articles worth reading. Heres one that caught my attention.

The Golden Truth( Things I have Learned from Children)
For those with children, those thinking about it or those who have an excuse not to..

1. There is no such things as child-proofing your house.

2. A four year olds voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

3. When you hear the toilet flush and the words "uh-Oh," its already too late.

4. Super glue is forever.

5. You probably do not want to know what the odor is.

6. Quiet does not mean don't worry.

7. A good sense of humor will get you through most problems in life( unfortunately, mostly in retrospect)

A Salute to Parents

It is often said that in the stages of life, we are least prepared to become parents. Yet this is probably the most important role we will play, even long after all other roles have come and gone.

Parenting can make or break a person.. a testing ground for character and values, choices and decisions. Some say that parenting is one of life's great tests. Though some may be given an easier questionnaire, others a more difficult one, still the call to parenting can challenge our inner strength, belief in oneself and even our capacity to love.

But, it is when we respond to this call with passion and dedication, heart and soul that we achieve the personal triumphs and quiet rewards that make this sacred mission worth pursuing and living for.