Search Results for: blog your childs development pace

Empowering your Child

When raising a child as a single parent, you will be faced with some new and unexpected challenges. As your child begins to age, he/she will start to develop independence, which is healthy and positive. However, what you want is to make sure your child is empowered, not powerful, at least in the sense of discipline. Just expect your child to try to outsmart you, becoming very creative during this headstrong phase. While some people might thing of this as the child being stubborn, bratty, or even rebellious, the child is actually just trying to grow up. Typically, from the … Continue reading →

When They Act without Thinking

It might help you to know as a parent that a child acting first and thinking later is the norm–it does not mean that there is something wrong with your child or that he is somehow doomed to a life of mishaps, mistakes and apologies. As parents, however, it does mean that we have our work cut out for us in teaching our children how to slow down, weight the options and think BEFORE they act… Have you ever heard the following from your child: “I just wasn’t thinking” or “I forgot” or “I didn’t know what would happen”? I … Continue reading →

A Sense of Humor

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Believe it or not, blogging is not my full time gig. Most of the time, I am actually coaching team sports for 3-5 year olds. One of the more satisfying aspects of my job (besides getting to play team sports all day with 3-5 year olds) is being part of their lives, and seeing them grow and develop. Many of the children in my program return year after year, and so it is a special treat to see them mature not just athletically, but mentally and socially as well. Of the thousands of young children that I have worked with, … Continue reading →

“Why is My Child Clumsy?” The Symptoms of Dyspraxia

I’ve gotten rather used to driving my huge 12-passenger van around town. The size of my family requires it. However, I remember a while back when my sister loaned me her average-sized car. As I drove it down the highway, I felt like my rear end was scraping on the ground. It definitely required some getting used to. Everything was in a different location and I felt strange sitting in it. A child with dyspraxia feels this way in his own body. Although eventually I became acclimated to the smaller car, the child with dyspraxia continues to do things as … Continue reading →

Why – A Child’s Favorite Word

If you have a child that is around the age of two to three, chances are you have heard the question “Why” more times, than you would like. It seems as if everything conversation is riddled with “why…why…why”. Although exasperating, it is important to understand that children at this age are simply curious with their little brains are like sponges, absorbing everything heard and seen. As your child’s language skills begin to expand, and the mind begins to comprehend more and more, your chills is going to want to know everything. For one thing, this situation is frustrating to the … Continue reading →

Echolalia: Repeat After Me

About seventy-five percent of children on the autism spectrum use echolalia in some form. Echolalia is the tendency to repeat back, or “echo” what someone else has said. It’s also sometimes referred to as “parroting,” because of the way that parrots mimic human speech. For some time it was thought that this echoing of speech by children on the spectrum was completely nonsensical. But we’ve now determined that there usually is the intent to communicate, but the delivery gets confused along the way. Immediate Echolalia There are two types of echolalia: immediate and delayed. With immediate echolalia, the child will … Continue reading →

Sensory Integration Dysfunction: Just What Exactly Is It?

Imagine you’re a child, and the sweater your mother dressed you in feels like sandpaper chafing your skin. The sensation of the threads rubbing across your arms is so irritating, you can barely concentrate on anything else. You grunt and whine in frustration, trying to convey your feelings, but you can’t put them into words that make sense. You throw a tantrum, and finally your mother removes your sweater. Then she casually turns on the dishwasher. The buzzing of the motor rings terribly loud in your ears. You run into the corner of the room, covering your head and moaning. … Continue reading →