FIRST BASE GLOVES

Confused About Early Childhood Development Milestones?

Early childhood development is the foundation to everyone’s life. Nevertheless, each child has their own personalities and ways about them as well as similarities such as meeting developmental milestones in a relatively similar time in their lives from talking to walking.

Doctors tell parents not to compare their child with other children according to their early childhood development. One child might start walking at nine months and one might be 14 months. Both could be healthy yet have their own time schedule. Often children are around a year old when they are walking or at least starting to walk.

Taking notice of early childhood development is important though. If a child continues to miss milestones and aren’t meeting early childhood development there could be a problem. This is why doctors are parents observe these things. Talking, crawling and other important elements are important parts of development. Doctors will monitor a child. It could be the child is not sitting up on schedule, but they are doing other things related to gross motor skills, such as crawling and rolling over. It could be a sign of something or it could be the child is just skipping that part of development then it will come in eventually. Otherwise a child continues to be monitored and eventually tested to ensure they don’t have a disorder or condition that needs treatment.

Another part of early childhood development is fine motor skills. This includes the movements of their fingers, toes, lips, tongue and hands as well as their feet. Sometimes it might be something small that a parent doesn’t even notice could mean anything. An example is walking on their tiptoes. Doing this a little is normal, but constant tiptoe walking could indicate an issue. Giving complete answers to every question presented by the doctor and the nurse will help determine if there are any early childhood development disorders that need immediate attention.

Any child with a neurological disorder or sensory integration dysfunction can hear properly but process the information differently leading to confusion. Such children are hypersensitive or insensitive to any of the five senses or with all of the senses. Most of the early childhood development disorders are diagnosed by an occupational therapist, especially sensory processing disorder.

Speech skills and articulation are also parts of early childhood development. Your baby won’t be able to answer questions with words as they are still learning about speech. Parents are suggested to talk to their baby. They will learn to answer you even if it is only in babbles now then it will continue to actually words when getting older. A baby can articulate, even if they are not making words they are starting to make clear sounds, which leads to speech. Once they understand the proper sounds by listening they will be learning the correct pronunciation of every word. However, each child is different and may reach the required milestones within a flexible range of 3-4 months and sometimes that is what makes the diagnosis about late development so difficult.…

How to Create a Baby Genius Without Television

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has made it clear that television viewing by children under the age of two is not recommended. Tell that to parents who are the targets of marketers promoting DVDs and television programming claiming to transform babies into geniuses! However, AAP continues to assert its opinion that TV may adversely affect a child’s development during these critical early years. So, what’s better than so-called “genius” videos? That’s easy! There are plenty of activities for parents and their little ones that will help to enrich their baby’s mind, create a stronger body, and encourage parent-baby bonding.

Reading–It is never too early to introduce a child to the wonderful world of reading! Babies love looking at the bold, colorful images in picture books and can never get enough of hearing mom or dad’s voice. The cadence of a parent’s voice reading a nursery rhyme can be soothing to a fussy baby. High-contrast pictures, especially those that are black, white, and red are good for the developing eyes of the youngest babies. Early reading also helps to foster a child’s love for reading–a love that may positively affect a child’s literacy and educational success in the future.

Singing–Don’t worry! Babies don’t mind that your pitch isn’t perfect. They just love the sound of your voice, no matter the octave. Silly songs during playtime and lullabies during naptime both help create a sensory environment for babies, which stimulate their little brains. You could just play a CD, but babies prefer your not-so-perfect singing voice and find it more soothing than any classical music CD. Take that, Mozart!

Dancing–They don’t call them bouncing baby boys for nothing! Babies love movement–boys AND girls for that matter. For older toddlers, encourage them shake their little booties by demonstrating a few of your dance moves. Dancing is fun and teaches them that moving is a good thing–a lifetime lesson that will help prevent a sedentary lifestyle as they get older.

Talking–You may not completely understand each other yet, but talking to baby teaches them basic language skills, which is a complex feat! In fact, some researchers believe that talking to babies can actually improve their language development because they pick up speech patterns during conversations with mom and dad. If you don’t have much to say, simply narrating what you’re doing is a great way to interact with baby.

Breathing–Breathing fresh air, that is. Take baby outside to not only enjoy the scents of nature, but also the sights, sounds, and textures to stimulate baby’s senses. Find some open space and let baby explore. All of this is new to her, so the grass, sky, trees, and are part of an exciting adventure!

Remember that there is no replacement for parent-child interactions. Parents are what’s best for our children; TV, video games, hand-held electronic devices, and the like cannot replace YOU.…

Surveying Physical Educators on Pull Ups and Childhood Obesity Prevention

I confess right up front that the following information represents a totally informal, and unscientific survey. However, as of this past week I’ve finally finished surveying exactly 100 physical education teachers, some by the phone, some in person, and I asked the following six questions.

1. Name

2. School and Location

3. Total Years of Physical Education Teaching Experience

4. The number of obese boys you’ve seen who can do pull ups

5. The number of obese girls you’ve seen who can do pull ups

6. The total number of obese students you’ve seen who can do pull ups

Zero Obese Students Can Do Pull Ups

As it turns out these teachers have an average of 8.8 years of teaching experience under their belt. Which is to say, collectively they have 880 years (8.8 years X 100 teachers) of teaching experience among them. And in those 880 years these 100 physical educators have seen ZERO obese boys, ZERO obese girls, and ZERO OBESE STUDENTS WHO CAN DO PULL UPS. On the flip side, in all of these 880 years of physical education experience EVERY STUDENT who could do pull ups was relatively lean, strong, and NOT OBESE!

Let’s Speculate

Now let’s do a little speculation. Let’s be ultra conservative and estimate that each of these teachers taught 100 students per school year. That means each teacher would have overseen 880 students (100 students X 8.8 years) during this period. And collectively they would have overseen 88,000 (880 students X 100 teachers) students. And out of 88,000 students these 100 teachers had never seen an obese child who could perform even one pull up. That is to say the obese child who can perform at least one pull up is as rare as the Loch Ness Monster or Big Foot. They just don’t exist.

Starting Young and Winning the War on Childhood Obesity

The implication of this survey of course is that, if we start early (kindergarten or even pre-school) and help kids across America learn to physically pull their own weight, we can turn the tide on childhood obesity. Yes with this frighteningly simple and cost-effective (ok it’s cheap) solution in hand, we can create an entire generation of students who can physically pull their own weight, and who will have naturally immunized themselves against obesity for life by learning and maintaining the ability to do at least one pull up. My only question is, what are we waiting for?

If other physical educators or coaches around the nation would like to weigh in on this survey, we’d be more than happy to add your contribution to the existing data. You can do so by going to the website listed below and clicking on the Survey Tab.…

PTSD Anniversary Can Be a Celebration of Life Not Sorrow

Well, just like many of you I have been dreading this day, October 29th, today.

Rather than bring up any childhood PTSD sorrow this is what I have to say.

Here is a sign that comes from the Universal thought.

For me it is revealed in not being able to view past images in film caught.

You know that your heart is still heavy when this happens with tears.

Even though the person or event has passed on what lingers may be old fears.

Perhaps your time of remembrance coincides with a holiday.

That person is no longer there arranging or attending this special day.

What has happened to the joy you were once able to share?

All the pleasant memories have been covered up with only pain left to bear.

A tip to remember is that pain, grief, and hate make a terrible mental stew.

They are proliferated with old negative thought recordings like library books over-due.

Here is a strategy to attempt to shake off past trauma and grief.

The concept is not very new, but will surly bring your soul relief!

Try to visualize the whole picture of the person or event of your sorrow.

Was there a history untold-unspoken pushing from another perspective borrowed?

Now let it go, really drop it from your head right down to your toes.

Bend and kneel in prayer where how to forgive will be revealed regarding your foes.

It may take you 10 years or more to be able to stop forgetting to remember the past.

Even though we may have put faith in God far away, prayer will bring it back in a blast!

This is a heavenly process that moves beyond what we are capable of doing alone.

Choosing to take the remedial path will make us strong again from powers unknown.

That same universal force reveals to us uniquely when the healing has begun.

For me no longer was there fear or sorrow from old pictures hung.

My heart mended when I choose to forgive my mother for what she had done.

Our Mother Mary helped me, too, be forgiven by her precious Son!…

Where Did My Imagination Go?

Somewhere along my journey through life I lost my imagination. I don’t know if there’s some mystic lost and found box somewhere that you have to go and pick it up again after a certain age or if your mind locks it up after you get and job and experience the “real world”. Maybe it’s more simple than that, like it just silently creeps out of your ear while you are sleeping. In any case all I know is that mine is lost.

I can remember playing with toys when I was younger and back then they had their own personalities and feelings. Now I think they’re expensive pieces of plastic put on this Earth to give kids something to whine about and for parents to have something they can take away to make the kids stop whining. When I see my girlfriends’ son playing with his toys, I can remember back to myself playing with mine as a kid. I can remember all the toys I had and their personalities as well. Now however, when I pick up one of his toys it seems as if the magic they once held is completely gone. I try to play with them but I just feel silly as an adult playing with them. If I do play with them, her son has to move the story along and setup what happens next because of my lack of imagination. I never thought that would happen to me. Growing up, I had an interest in toys even when I was getting too old for them. I probably played with toys until I was almost thirteen or fourteen. After I stopped playing with them, I figured if I ever had a kid I would be able to just pick them back up and start playing again. Again I would wage war in epic battles of good versus evil or just build things with Legos or K’nex.

But now I realize that it doesn’t really work like that when it comes to toys. It’s not really like riding a bike or ice skating. You can’t easily just rekindle or reignite your imagination. He is seven years old now and there will only be a few “toy years” left so I guess I will have to find that mystic lost and found box or see if it fell out of my head… “Imagination? Where are you?”

Lessons we learned Today: Rubber band your ears together at night so your imagination can’t sneak out. Also, wear a hat in case it tries to escape through the top.…

How Your Family Dentist Protects Your Future

Although all parts of the human body need care and upkeep in order to work at their peak potential, teeth require a bit more attention than most. A person’s teeth experience a great deal of wear and tear throughout his life, and though they’re designed to be permanent and function with a minimal amount of problems, teeth that are improperly cared for can cause a whole host of difficulties.

In addition to affecting a person’s overall appearance and level of attractiveness, teeth that are yellowing, broken, have cavities, or have caused gum disease have the potential to affect a person’s general health. Dental problems can cause a build up of bacteria, or even abscesses.

These conditions are not only extraordinarily painful, they can cause the bacteria to spread to the nasal cavity, throat, ears, or even enter the bloodstream and travel to the heart and lungs. Unresolved issues are not only unattractive and unpleasant, they can be downright dangerous.

Fortunately, there’s a weapon available at virtually everyone’s disposal: the family dentist. Many people avoid seeking proper treatment for themselves or their children because of the prohibitive cost of dental care. Without insurance, which many companies are cutting back on offering or even discontinuing altogether, even simple treatments like cleanings, fillings, and braces can put a family in debt.

Not to mention, problems that go ignored may require even more detailed procedures such as root canals, crowns, and bridges. These procedures are extremely costly, and also a relatively unpleasant experience for the patient. Combine these problems with the fact that nobody enjoys a trip to the dentist, and an American diet rich in sugars and high fructose corn syrup, and we have a society where more and more American children have dental issues at an early age.

It’s important to choose a family dentist not only for your kids, but for the adults in your family. Routine checkups and cleanings, combined with daily brushing and flossing, are truly the best way to make dental care more affordable. Even with limited or no dental insurance, checkups every six months can be worked into the family budget, while extractions, root canals, and crowns often cause severe financial distress.

For those with financial difficulties, programs are often available through the government to ensure access to proper care, particularly for children. No American should go without proper dental care, at home or in the dentist’s chair. Choosing a family dentist you trust is the first step toward achieving that goal.…

How to Stop Childhood Obesity – Tips to Help Your Overweight Child

Almost one out of five children become obese in their growing years. The percentage of children who has become overweight has doubled since the 70’s. No thanks to the food advertisements being shown in national television.

A research done in 2009 by the Center for Science in the Public Interest reveals that eighty percent of the commercials shown in Nickelodeon were food with no nutritional value. It was a modest improvement from ninety percent in four years, but it’s nothing to be happy about. The self regulation of the industry did not do a good job and the numbers were just not enough.

Children nowadays thought it’s normal to over stuff themselves with junk food and fast food meals. You can attribute that to restaurants who serve double their recommended proportions. Yet, parents have the most difficult time to break these new lifestyle patterns of dining out for the family.

The solution is simple but it’s definitely not easy. The child should eat more healthy meals and be active. Instead they have greasy foods and carbonated drinks while in their PC’s and game consoles.

It’s nothing more than having small decisions in a day-to day basis, which for the most part will make up the solution for the child’s healthier diet. Just being aware of these practical steps is the most important step you can take to help your child.

What could be the best ways to prevent your child in becoming obese? Or how you would help your children who were already overweight to slim down? Here are some suggestions.

Try serving a healthy breakfast to your child at the onset. Breakfast jump starts your child’s metabolism faster, preventing them from over eating in lunch.

If you can, minimize the fast food meals. Though it would be quite impossible to eliminate them altogether, and kids would crave for fries and burgers, try to just limit them to at least once a week.

Cut down the soda drinks that they usually have. Remember that calories in liquid still count.

Go back to the good old traditional family meals. You can help kids learn a healthy attitude towards their food if you’ll be able to emphasize “civilized” meal time, instead of on-the-go eating.

Give your kids some control in the kitchen. Get them involve in food preparation by teaching them how to plan the menus and giving them the facts on nutritious foods.

Turn off the TV and shut down the PC. Invite your kid to walk around the block. You can play some Frisbee in the park, walk your dog or even go biking.

If you’ll be able to do these strategies, you’ll be surprise on how discipline and moderate you child can become in their eating habits. But remember, practice what you’ve preached. That means you should improve your eating lifestyle as well for often times they act on what they see from adults.…