Archive: Parents

Baby Development: What to Look for in Babies 4-7 Months

When your baby hits four months, they’ll begin to go through all sorts of physical and mental growth. From new movements to name recognition, you’ll be amazed at the baby development that your little one goes through in a few short months. MomTrusted has summarized a few exciting milestones to keep an eye out for:

Physical developments

Babies will develop remarkably in physical ways during this stage of growth. Some typical physical developments include:

-The ability to roll right to left

-Some may even develop the ability to roll over to their stomachs

-Color vision

-Clearer vision in general

-Sitting with support and possible on his or her own

-The ability to put support on his or her legs

-Reaching

-Grabbing and transferring with alternating hands

-Raking, or pulling items closer

Mental developments

In addition to going through some big physical changes during these three months, babies will also have tons of new information shaping their minds. Here are some of the cognitive developments that you can expect:

-Spotting covered, “hidden” objects

-Starting to understand and respond to words like “no” and his or her name

-Can keep an eye on moving objects

-Beginning to recognize emotion in voices

-Responding to sounds with his or her own baby noises

Social, language and emotional developments

Finally, between four and seven months, babies will begin to grow socially and emotionally, starting with very small, but powerful signs including:

-Babies’ language skills will increase through babbling consonants.

-He or she will begin to interact with you or others through the form of play.

-Babies start to see, recognize and enjoy their own reflections.

-Not only will babies begin to recognize emotion through voice, but they’ll respond to others’ emotions, often by imitating them.

Sources:

-“Growth and Development Milestones: 4-7 months” parents.com

-“Infant Development: Milestones 4 to 6 Months” Mayo Clinic

-Photo courtesy of magerymajestic/freedigitalphotos.net

“Bad” Charter Schools Show No Signs of Improvement

Charter schools have received a lot of attention from the media in recent years. The movie Waiting for Superman shed light on the alternative schools as a positive possibility for solving poor education in the public school system. At the same time, many experts don’t believe they’re the answer due to their small sizes and availability, ability to bend rules like time regulations on school days and their access to both federal and outside funding.

While some argue that good charter schools could be the answer to low reading and math scores in public schools, a new study by Stanford scholars shows that this can only be an option if they start out strong in the first place. According to a report by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), a group that studies student performance and educational reform, charter schools that start bad, stay that way.

The group followed thousands of charter schools throughout their first five years. CREDO looked for performance trends, comparing early scores to ones after the charter schools matured. The results were basically the same across the board: the ones that started with high scores, still had high scores five years later. However, the trend held true for those on the opposite side of the spectrum. Charter schools that started off shaky were still low performers five years after their launch.

What does this mean for parents today? If you’re considering sending your child to a charter school, do your research. Compare test performance between the charter school and local public schools. Send your child to whichever performs better. And whatever you do, don’t listen to anyone who claims the charter school is just having a shaky start and will work out the kinks down the road. According to CREDO’s new study, they’re doomed to stay exactly where they start- bad charter schools are bad charter schools.

Sources:

-“CREDO at Stanford University unveils national charter school growth and replication study.” CREDO

-“Charter school arguments.” NCSL

-“Charter schools that start bad stay bad, report says.” HuffPo

-“Parents daily news roundup.” Parents.com

-Photo courtesy of criminalatt/freedigitalphotos.net

3 Ways to Help Your Child Reach Their Full Potential

With the job market in its current state, colleges getting more expensive and scholarships getting pickier and more difficult to obtain, the need to help your child reach their full potential is becoming increasingly important. The importance of outshining fellow classmates has become an obsession for many. We’ve put together a few steps to help your kiddos be as great as they can be without putting too much pressure on them:

Step 1: Talk to your child

Ask them questions from when they’re learning to talk to when they’re leaving for college. Ask them about their day. Ask their opinions. Ask about their goals. Throw in a few challenging vocab words when you’re asking these questions. Even if your little one doesn’t know exactly what they mean, he or she can use the context of the question to figure them out, teaching important problem solving skills.

Step 2: Read to your child

Reading stimulates parts of the brain that talking and playing don’t. It also helps grow children’s vocabulary pools and literacy. Keep plenty of books around the house and make sure to take fun trips to the library. Read aloud to them, but also encourage them to read on their own. Ask them what they’re reading about and teach by example by making sure you’re reading in front of them.

Step 3: Praise results, but don’t fuss over shortcomings.

Did your child ace a spelling quiz or learn a new word? Tell them how awesome that is! Don’t necessarily buy them a special toy or treat though. You want to make it clear that getting results is important in itself, not a way of getting presents.

However, don’t make a big deal out of a mistake or not coming in first. Failures are just another way of learning. Remind your child of the valuable lesson they’ve learned and ask them what they think they could do next time to improve. Doing this will set progression tools for the rest of their lives.

Sources:

-“How to Raise Gifted Children.” Parenting.com

-Photo courtesy of photo stock/freedigitalphotos.net

5 Discipline Tips for Toddlers

Trust us, we know there’s a reason for the phrase, “the terrible twos.” But good disciplining can help tame the twos, making your life easier and teaching your little one important discipline skills for later in life. Here are some tips on the often-confusing practice of teaching good behavior:

Tell the truth.

Avoid lies at all costs. It may be tempting to tell what seems like a white lie (ie: “Don’t go past that fence because there’s a monster on the other side.”) But young kids are extremely prone to repeating anything and everything that comes out of your mouth. Imagine explaining to your neighbor why your little one thinks he or she is a monster. It’s better just to tell the truth.

Remain consistent.

It holds true for everything from naps to snack time: toddlers do best with routine and order. It makes them feel safe, secure and helps them learn faster. If your child does something they shouldn’t, remind them not to and continue to do so each time they do afterward-even if you’re tired and it would be easier just to let them get away with it. Remember, “just this one time” is not a concept that toddlers easily grasp.

A little bribing never hurt anyone.

A lot of parents advise against bribing and it’s true that too much bribing can lead to spoiling, but there’s no harm in having a couple good bribes up your sleeve. Just remember that reinforcing good behavior is always better than discouraging bad so keep things positive. For example, instead of saying “If you stop that, I’ll give you a piece of candy,” say “We’ll go to the park after we go to the grocery store.”

Follow your own rules.

It’s a lot easier to say, “We only eat in the kitchen” than it is to say “You only eat in the kitchen, but mom can eat in front of the TV sometimes.” Set an example by following your own rules.

Avoid the need to discipline in the first place.

You know what gets your toddler worked up so avoid those stressful situations whenever possible. Make sure you don’t miss a nap or meal. Generally speaking, the less crabby toddlers are, the better they listen.

Sources:

-“7 Secrets of Toddler Discipline.” WebMD

-“8 Discipline Mistakes Parents Make.” Parenting.com

-Photo courtesy of David Castillo Dominici/freedigitalphotos.net

Happy Valentines Day! +Beautiful Hand Drawn Coloring Sheet

Happy Valentines Day from the MomTrusted.com Team!

Just click the image above to download the printable coloring sheet.

10 Ways to Increase Brain Development in Babies

Baby brains develop at a rapid rate. Infants’ neurological wiring holds a world of opportunities. Key development begins at an incredibly early age and stimulating your child’s mind could end up boosting their brainpower and shaping his or her intelligence for years to come. Here are 10 ways to help grow your baby’s intellect:

1. Grow a healthy brain before your baby’s born.

Staying as healthy as possible during pregnancy will give your baby-to-be the best shot at a healthy mind. Maintain a well-balanced diet, exercise, get plenty of sleep and schedule regular doctor appointments. Avoid medications that are known to harm fetal development because often, the brain is the first body part harmed.

2. Pay attention to your little one.

Children have a much higher chance of learning when their curiosity and observations are rewarded. Follow their gaze and comment on what they’re looking at, respond to pointing and describe what the two of you are checking out.

3. Converse with your baby.

Talk to your baby, even if he or she isn’t talking back just yet. Respond to baby talk and describe whatever you’re doing, whether it’s talking about making dinner or changing a diaper. This is how babies learn vocabulary and basic sentence structure.

4. Read to your little one.

Sparking an early interest in books and literature is essential to teaching language. Pick out books with large, colorful illustrations and simple story lines.

5. If your toddler is old enough to play, he or she is old enough to help clean up.

Enforcing cleanup early on introduces important concepts like responsibility and the idea of consequence. But remember, your toddler doesn’t know that cleaning up is a chore yet so make it fun! Sing a cleanup song while you work. Toddlers are eager to help and want to please so make a game out of cleaning up and always remember to thank your little helper.

6. Don’t shy away from a mess.

Scooping mud, splashing water and digging in sand is how little ones explore basic physics. Even though these messy ideas may seem like your worst nightmare, they’re essential for spiking your child’s curiosity and learning. Avoid disaster by making messy play extra structured and keep it outside. Then, when it’s cleanup time, head to the bathtub where your toddler can explore even more textures like slimy soap and a squishy sponge.

7. Allow for crawl space.

Many parents have a hard time letting their newly crawling babies run loose, but this is an important part of their development. Set up a safe, baby-proofed area, free of little objects and blocked off from stairs and sharp corners. Then let your baby run (or crawl) wild. This is how they can investigate the world around them and start to familiarize themselves with day-to-day objects.

8. Sing songs.

Songs are a fun way to learn. Children’s songs teach everything from the alphabet to animals to shapes and colors. They’re also a great way to pass times that may otherwise be boring for a little one. So next time you’re stuck in traffic, bust out your new secret weapon: the Itsy Bitsy Spider.

9. Use every opportunity to learn.

Sometimes parents forget that necessities, like meals or bath time, can be great learning opportunities to explore daily activities. So when you sit down to feed your baby, describe what he or she is eating. Is it fruit, a vegetable or something else? What’s it called? What color is it? Babies will begin to develop favorite tastes and learn to request them by name.

10. Remain positive whenever possible.

No matter how crabby, sleep-deprived and frustrated you get, try your hardest to remain positive. State rules clearly and, by all means, punish if you need to, but always try to reward good behavior. Often times, rewarding the good stuff will save you from having to punish the bad stuff later on.

Sources:

-“20 Ways to Boost Your Baby’s Brain Power.” Scholastic.

-Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles/freedigitalphotos.net

Diaper Bag Checklist

photo from fao.com

With closets full of diapers, bottles stuffed in your cupboards and toys cluttering your countertops, it’s tough to know exactly what you should have in your diaper bag. You hear phrases about how moms always need to be prepared, but how can you possibly stuff all of that gear into one little (ok, maybe it’s closer to the size of a minivan than you’d like to admit) bag? Here’s a simple checklist to help you organize and prioritize what goes into your diaper bag:

Essentials

The essentials are items that you probably want to have on you at all times, regardless of where you’re going and for how long.

-Diapers (always at least one more than you think you need)

-Wipes (Tip: Save by buying in bulk and sticking them in ziplock bags “travel” bags)

-Plastic bags

-A changing pad

-Bottles and formula

-Snacks (toddlers)

-Sippy cup (toddlers)

-Backup outfit

-Blanket

-Sunscreen

-Pacifier (maybe throw in an extra one since little nooks tend to go missing often)

-Emergency info (better yet, store important information, like doctor’s phone numbers, in your cell phone)

-Favorite toy

-Diaper rash cream

-Bib

Extras

If you have extra space (haha) or plan on being away for a full day or more, consider taking a few more items.

-Extra clothing (and really extra of everything in the essential list)

-Pain relievers

-Comfort toy for your little one to nap with

-Hat if you’re going to be out in the sun

-Hat, mittens and other winter gear if it’s chilly out

-Nail clippers

-Camera

-First-aid kit

Sources:

-“Checklist: What to Put in Your Diaper Bag.” Baby Center

-“What to Keep in Your Baby Diaper Bag.” Parents.com

-“Diaper Bag Essentials.” Mom Advice

-Photo courtesy of digitalart/freedigitalphotos.net