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” →

Learning Apps and Marketing to Children

Parents want the best for their children.

Many turn to “learning apps” that their children can “play” on phones, pads and computers. But, most parents might be dismayed to find out that 95% of apps marketed to children contain at least one form of advertising directed at children. And, often, these ads are not age appropriate. Continue reading “Learning Apps and Marketing to Children” →

Developing Trust

What is trust? As parents, how can we teach our children to be trustworthy? Trust is difficult to understand for most adults, and even harder to teach kids.

Dr. Brené Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston, recommends using a marble jar to help children visualize trust. Her research suggests that small, seemingly insignificant acts of support or kindness create trust, each action building upon the other. Use Continue reading “Developing Trust” →

Sunscreen

As rainy days (eventually) turn into sunny days, we spend more time outside. Which is wonderful–but we don’t often think about sunscreen until the hot days of summer.

Just a few serious sunburns can increase the risk of skin cancer later in life. Children’s Continue reading “Sunscreen” →

Hand-eye Coordination

Children as young as a couple months old show beginning signs of purposeful hand-eye coordination. Hand-eye coordination is the combined control of eye and hand movements—seeing something and reaching for it. It’s using visual input to guide the hand.

Without hand-eye coordination we wouldn’t Continue reading “Hand-eye Coordination” →

Children And Civility

I teach a stress management workshop to teenagers as part of my job as Child & Teen Services Manager with Parent Trust. Each year I go into the health classes at a variety of high schools and spend 90 minutes with mostly 9th graders.

Every once in a while, someone will visit my class. Continue reading “Children And Civility” →