Mom Trusted Blog

Nutrition is a key ingredient in a child’s development. Nutrition plays an important role in long-term development but also in the day-to-day learning activity of young children. As a 2007 study pointed out the effects of nutrition are not limited to under nourished children, which clearly must be addressed, but also extends to children that many would consider well fed. They found statistically significant cognitive gains among all children who were given a vitamin and mineral supplement.

Recognizing the fundamental role of nutrition plays in the educational setting the U.S. Department of Agriculture just released a new proposal this week that changes the requirements for subsidized school lunches. The proposal was combined with new legislation extending the requirements to all school based lunches not just subsidized programs to improve nutritional standards for all school children and hopefully improve learning and development.

The proposal, though still in the early stages, changes the current standards to include more fresh fruits and vegetables and limits the amount of transfats and non whole grains served. While not blockbuster and likely still a couple of years from taking effect, the change highlights the importance of nutrition for a child’s learning and development.

As parents this is hopefully not news. It should be, however, a reminder that we (as parents) contribute to our children’s education and development in many important ways. Understanding all of the ways we can set our children up for success is the first step, making it a habit is the second and most important step. Most of us recognize the importance of healthy eating, but we also know how hectic the day can become when juggling work, kids, and any thing else life sends our way.

Morning times are probably the most challenging for most parents but most important for our children’s nutrition. The chaos that is the morning time generally determines at least two meals – breakfast and lunch. A small amount of planning can go a long way toward improving the morning time routines. Here are a few suggestions that may help alleviate the morning time stress and get you and the kids out of the house with a healthy meal in hand and stomach.

-       Plan for the chaos when shopping: At the grocery store we all have grand plans and great meals in store, but those take time. Pick out items that are fast and nutritious for the morning. Ideally, they are items that are portable (ie a banana and whole grain peanut butter toast) having fast and healthy options available makes it much easier.

-       Bedtime stories & brown bags: Add to your bedtime routine. Reading to our kids is critically important so why not go for the one two combination and involve your kids in packing their lunch for the next day. It’s an opportunity to have fun and involve your children in their own healthy development.

-       Start early: Our children watch us from the very beginning. Create healthy habits from the very beginning, as they are much easier to reinforce and maintain than to create once they are older.

Babies are born with their brains literally still under construction. While they have the majority of the building materials already on site the construction of the elegant and complex pathways of the brain are still very much in process. Babies are born with roughly 100 billion neurons already in place. Most of these neurons have not been ‘connected’ meaning they have yet to form into the useful pathways that enable vision or language. These connections are formed over the first ten years of a child’s life. More importantly, the brain develops in predictable stages based on the chemical changes occurring in the brain at that time. Because these stages are predictable scientists and developmental psychologists have been able to identify “prime times” for specific development activity and learning.

A recent publication by Judith Graham and Leslie A. Forstadt of the University of Maine detailed these prime times, what’s happening, and what a parent can do to support. Here is brief summary of their findings:

Helping your child’s vision

-        From birth to age 6 a child’s vision is developing. There is a peak in development between ages 1 and 3.

-        Babies, when born, can see clearly objects that are 8-10 inches away from their face. Over time they begin to develop greater depth perception.

-        Eye exams are the biggest help a parent can give. If problems go uncorrected the neural pathways could lose functionality.

Helping your child’s feelings

-        Emotions are a complex development process lasting through about age 10.

-        The first emotions the brain builds are calm and distress at about 2 months these emotions begin to develop into more layered feelings.

-        You can help nurture your baby’s emotional development by providing a structured and supportive environment. Simple things like expressing joy, providing routine, and positive discipline help your child develop robust and healthy emotions.

Helping your child’s language

-         Language skills begin developing at birth and grow through age 7. Vocabulary specific development starts at age two and continues into adulthood

-        The first 6 years are critical for brain development to understand, recognize, reproduce language.

-        Talking to your baby is the most important thing you can do. Continually share your language and vocabulary with your child. As a baby the singsong talk is especially helpful in helping babies learn new words.

Helping your child’s motor skills

-        A baby’s motor skill development starts with the large muscle groups and refines to smaller muscles from there.

-        The basic motor skills (arms, legs, back, etc) start at birth, with fine motor development starting around 6 months old.

-        Motor skills are refined primarily over the first 4 years of a child’s development

-        You can help your baby’s motor skill development by having age and stage appropriate activities available. For example drawing with crayons or painting helps with fine motor skills while having reaching for objects helps large motor and hand eye coordination in younger babies.

Your child is equipped from the day she or he was born with all the tools needed to develop and grow into an amazing person. Understanding how your child develops will help you provide the best environment possible to stimulate those 100 billion neurons.

My picks for the top 20ish mom (+1 dad) blogs in Ohio.  They are all a little different, so I like them for different reasons.

Stop, Drop, and Blog – Fun theme, beautiful pictures, down to earth posts

Classy Chaos – Fun and sophisticated

Mommy Bits – Writings about family, life, and tech

Ms. Single Mama – Packed with tons of great content and videos

Mom of 2 Peas – This blog makes me smile

Working Moms Against Guilt – 4 moms write about working, kids, and guilt

Classic Ivory – Cute blog about Lindsey and her family

The Life of Dad – Humorous writings about parenting and fatherhood

Paper Glue Etc. – Eclectic and thoughtful

The Bird’s Nest – Lots of fun stuff packed in this blog

The Tomecko Echo – Just an honest look at life

Mom Going Green – Going green for a healthy family and earth

Mommin’ It Up – 2 moms writing about life with kids

Starr Family Blog – Lovely designed blog with lovely photos of life

Family Friendly Cincinnati – Family friendly dining, events, and attractions in Cincinnati

Akron Ohio Moms – Giveaways, Food, and Reviews

Being Mom2Amara – Just feels real…Like a close friend

So This Is Life – Blog about life + cute crafts

Mandi Minding Money – Deals and money saving tips

Bullfrogs and Butterflies Baby – Product Reviews

A Busy Mom of Two – Who can’t relate to a busy mom? :)

DustinNikki Mommy of Three – Giveaways and Products

Know any other really great Ohio parent blogs?  Post your top pick here in the comments! :)