Babies quickly become antsy when sitting in a high chair. If you find the child is grabbing the spoon from your hand when you try to feed him, consider giving him his own spoon. He’ll love the independence of holding his own utensil. More than likely he will bang it on the food tray, try […]
 1. Raising a Reader: Read aloud to your children every day. Effective storybook reading is an interactive process. If we wait until after reading to discuss the story, we are missing out on valuable literacy opportunities. When you precede the reading by inviting predictions and personal connections, you are creating context for the reading.  Taking […]
Infants were once thought of as passive and unknowing. It was commonly believed that until they mastered language, young children were incapable of thinking or forming complex ideas. Today, we know otherwise. From the very start, young children are aware of their surroundings and interested in exploring them. Scientists from several fields have shown that […]
What is oral motor development? Â Oral motor development refers to the use and function of the lips, tongue, jaw, teeth, and the hard and soft palates. The movement and coordination of these structures is very important in speech production, safe swallowing, and consuming various food textures. Normal oral motor development begins prior to birth […]
 What is sensory integration?  The senses work together. Each sense works with the others to form a composite picture of who we are physically, where we are, and what is going on around us. Sensory integration is the critical function of the brain that is responsible for producing this composite picture. It is […]
From the start, babies want to explore their world. They are eager to move their eyes, their mouths, and their bodies toward the people and objects that comfort and interest them. They practice skills that let them not only move closer to desired objects, but also move desired objects closer to themselves. As they grow, […]
 Social and emotional milestones are often harder to pinpoint than signs of physical development. This area emphasizes many skills that increase self-awareness and self-regulation. Research shows that social skills and emotional development (reflected in the ability to pay attention, make transitions from one activity to another, and cooperate with others) are a very important […]
 Long before children can say words or join them into sentences, they are active language learners. Within a few short years, young children go from newborns without language to excellent communicators and lively inventers and tellers of stories.   From birth to 3 months, infants pay close attention to language. In the first […]
