Cooperative Play And Socialization

Do infants need to socialize?

Many parents I work with wonder how important it is to socialize their infants—spending time with other children the same age–to develop social skills.

Parents are usually surprised when I tell them that cooperative play and sharing skills don’t emerge until at least 3 years old!

Infants tend to interact by looking at or touching the other child. This is why babies tend to grab at other babies’ faces. They are not trying to harm; they are just exploring the concept of “other.” This is how babies interact, regardless of time spent with other children. Continue reading “Cooperative Play And Socialization” →

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

By JK Rowling

After years of my niece telling me I just HAD to read Harry Potter, I finally got it from the library. I was lucky enough to get the edition with Jim Kay’s illustrations, which are terrific.

I have to admit; I wasn’t looking forward to this read. I’m not much into magical/fantasy fiction. I enjoyed the first Harry Potter movie, but reading this big book was more of a commitment than popcorn and a couple hours in a theater. Continue reading “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” →

Flashlight Walk

This activity is a way to get more outside time for your children AND potentially help them settle down for sleep at night.

If you were to try to get your children to take a walk around the neighborhood, maybe you’d get eye rolls and “boring!” comments.

But, if you wait until it’s dark, give each of your children a flashlight, and take a nighttime neighborhood walk, you’ll get a very different response! Continue reading “Flashlight Walk” →

Relax in Nature

Spending time in nature is a stress management strategy that works for many people. And now there is a great research study that supports this! A recent study published in Scientific Reports has identified the time threshold for when time in nature is positively associated with good health and wellbeing. 120 minutes a week.

“Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing”

That’s right. Just two hours a week. And, it doesn’t matter if it’s all at once or in shorter doses. Male or female, young and old, regardless of income. It applies equally to everyone. Continue reading “Relax in Nature” →

Peanuts!

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released a report encouraging early introduction of peanut based foods to prevent allergies.

There is a growing body of research that indicates early introduction of peanut-based foods to infants as early as 6 months (after other solid foods are tolerated) can prevent peanut allergies.

“There is no reason to delay giving your baby foods that are thought of as allergens like peanut products, eggs or fish,” said Dr. Scott Sicherer, MD, FAAP, a coauthor of the report. “These foods can be added to the diet early, just like foods that are not common allergens, like rice, fruits or vegetables.” Continue reading “Peanuts!” →

Flower Rubbings

Many of us are familiar with the craft of making leaf rubbings. You find a sturdy leaf and put a piece of paper over it. Using a crayon without a paper wrapper, rub back and forth to get the impression of the leaf on the paper. Lovely.

But I recently learned about flower rubbings–or flower poundings. Using the flowers’ natural color, you can create a rubbing that picks up the color from the natural flower dye onto a paper. Continue reading “Flower Rubbings” →