HELPFUL HINTS FOR HALLOWEEN

Trick or treat! To keep this experience a positive one for you and your child, we have enclosed some ideas to make life easier.

• Do not force your child to wear a costume. It will backfire.
• Plan in advance and help your child know what to expect.
• If your child is afraid of costumed people, do dress-up activities or read books in advance to prepare him/her.
• If your child wears a costume, let him/her pick it out. Your child needs to tolerate the feel of the costume as well as how it looks visually.
• If your child wears a costume, make sure he/she can easily use the bathroom. It should be easy to remove and adjust to keep your child comfortable.
• Do not insist that your child wear face paint or a mask.
• If your child wears face paint, bring baby wipes or make-up remover in case he/she becomes uncomfortable.
• To avoid sugar overload, arrange a deal in advance whereby you and your child agree on how much or what can be eaten and what needs to be saved for another time.
• Acknowledge to yourself in advance that you may need to help your child more than other parents.

Have realistic expectations. Limit the amount of time you plan on spending at an event or doing an activity. For example, enjoy a successful hour- long outing rather than staying for an unsuccessful two hours.

Blog written by:

Aviva Goldwasser, OTR/L

Baby Einstein Smarts

Can Baby Einstein make my baby smarter? Many companies claim to sell “smart” baby products and parents often feel that if they don’t buy these products for their child, they are depriving their child of an opportunity to get ahead. But should they feel that way?

The History of the Product

The Baby Einstein company designed a series of videos ostensibly for parents to enjoy with their baby. According to their website, the videos were developed with the intent of fostering parent-child interaction and were specifically designed to promote exploration and discovery.  Parents are instructed to watch the videos with their child and take advantage of the opportunity to point to objects on the screen and talk with their child.

What the Experts Say

In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that children under the age of two should not watch any television.

In a recent study conducted at the University of Washington, researchers found that despite the recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics, 40% of babies regularly watched videos by the age of 3 months and that by the time they were 2 years old, nearly 90% of the babies spent between two and three hours a day watching television or videos.

Researchers found that videos may be more harmful than helpful. For every hour per day that a child spent watching videos, six to eight fewer new vocabulary words were learned as compared to children who did not watch videos. The negative effects of watching videos were most pronounced in children aged 8-16 months, the age at which language skills surge. Language development may actually be delayed in children who watch videos.

The Alternative

Face-to face interaction is the ideal way for children to learn. No video, however educational, can replace the human interaction that is so crucial to learning and development. Interestingly, the same researchers found that babies learn a language faster and better from interacting directly with a person compared to watching that same person speak on a video screen.

Resources:

www.aap.org

www.babyeinstein.com

www.time.com

‘Fall’ In to Fun

The air is brisk, the leaves outside are changing colors, and Thanksgiving will soon be right around the corner. It is officially autumn, and your children are well into their second month of school. The weather may be getting cooler, but it not time to stay indoors yet. Take advantage and do some fun outdoor activities with your children that will simulate the senses by touching different textures, stuffing, carrying, jumping, climbing, and kneading. Here are a few suggestions:

Activities:

* Raking Leaves:
o Collect the leaves that have fallen in your yard and gather them into big piles. Use your hands to feel their crunchy texture, or a small rake or broom.
o Separate the leaves by color, size, or shape.
o Run and jump into the leaves. Have a race with a sibling or friend. Play Hide and Go Seek in the piles.
o When you are done, gather the leaves into large trash bags and push them to the corner.

* Apple Picking:
o Go to a nearby apple orchard. Make sure to bring baskets with you.
o Reach up high to pick as many apples as you can!
o Separate the apples by color or size.
o Help carry those heavy baskets of apples to the car and then into your home.
o Use the apples to make homemade apple pie or applesauce. Try using a food mill to churn out applesauce.

* Pumpkin carving:
o Scrape out a pumpkin and carve a Jack-O-Lantern. Have fun feeling the “insides” of the pumpkin with your hands!
o Save the seeds to bake or roast them.
o Paint your pumpkin different colors. Use glitter and sequins to make it interesting.

* Scarecrow:
o Go to the closet and pull out an old pair of jeans and a button down shirt.
o Fill the jeans and shirt with straw to make the body.
o Fill a garbage bag with straw to make the head. Draw a face on it.
o Add shoes and a hat to make it look more real!

* Leaf rubbing:
o Collect different kinds of leaves from the yard.
o Put a leaf under a piece of tracing paper. Peel the paper off of a crayon and rub the side of the crayon over the paper to create a leaf design.

* Playgrounds:
o Play outside in all different playgrounds. Variety is the key.
o Swing on the monkey bars and tire swing and slide down the slide. Keep moving so you don’t get too cold!
o Play on riding toys such as wagons, pedal cars, and tricycles. **Make sure to wear a helmet when riding!

For those Rainy Days:

* Baking:
o Mix and knead dough with your hands or roll it with a rolling pin to make cookies.
o Push cookie cutters of different shapes and sizes on the dough with your fingertips to make cookie cutter cookies.

* Pumpkin Play Dough:
o Add orange, red, or yellow food coloring to white Play Dough.
o Add pumpkin pie spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg.
o Make sure to store the Play Dough in an airtight container so you can play with it again.

PART 1: ORGANIZATION

Homework can be a particularly challenging time of day for you and your child. Your child is probably exhausted by the time he/she comes home and it is difficult to sit down again to do homework. Your targeted involvement in the homework process, especially helping your child stay organized and focused, can be beneficial to your child’s success.

Kindergartners and first graders, who are new to the concept of homework, should be guided to establish good homework habits from the start that will serve them throughout their academic careers. Listed below are some recommendations for keeping homework time calm, efficient, and successful.

• Designate a quiet place to do homework away from distractions like TV and radio. Avoid cooking or playing with siblings right near your child.
• Keep the area well-lit.
• Equip your child’s work-space with all of the materials that he/she might need, such as pens, pencils, erasers, paper, etc. so that he/she is not distracted.
• Establish a consistent after school routine including a snack, sensory preparation if indicated (see next week’s blog post), homework, and play time with clear beginning and ending times for each component.
• There are different ways to sequence homework assignments. Tackle homework in an order that works best for your child, keeping in mind that the ultimate goal is for your child to work independently.
  • One strategy is to divide homework assignments by what your child can do with and without help. Let your child do as much as he/she can independently.
  • Another method is to work on more difficult assignments first while your child is most alert.
  • Alternatively, he/she might benefit from successfully completing easier assignments first.
• Impose short breaks as soon as you notice that:
  • Your child is becoming fatigued
  • He/she is becoming frustrated
  • Sitting posture is deteriorating
  • He/she is getting fidgety

Provide him/her with opportunities for intense, controlled movement (proprioceptive input) such as 30 stride jumps, jumping jacks, or jumping on the trampoline.

• Help your child with time management and prioritizing assignments, especially when preparing for an upcoming test or completing a long-term project. Write each phase on a designated calendar.
• When your child asks for help, provide guidance- not answers.
• Teach your child to check that homework is complete, by doing it together.
• Help your child get organized for the next day by helping to pack his/her backpack the night before with whatever materials need to return to school the next day.
• Provide frequent praise and positive reinforcement for putting forth their best effort as well as a job well done.

Stay tuned for next week’s blog for Homework Hassle Help Part 2: Sensory Techniques.

Resources:

www.ed.gov

www.kidsource.com

www.teachersandfamilies.com

Blog Written By:

Aviva Goldwasser, MS, OTR

Chaye Lamm-Warburg, MA, OTR, Director POTS