When I was a stay-at-home mom (SAHM) with five little boys, I yearned for an older woman to talk to—someone who had walked the path ahead of me. I had a close relationship with both my mother and mother-in-law, but sometimes I needed a neutral voice to speak to my concerns. My husband and I
Category: Family Tips
The difference between boys and girls – not so great after all
Despite common statements such as “girls speak earlier than boys” when it comes to developmental milestones, there simply is no proven significant difference between genders. Tell Me More Despite this fact, we tend to compare the genders often, with the result that there are many misleading perceptions about differences between the genders. Boys and girls
Pointing to print preps the brain for reading
Years before children actually learn to read, they begin to realize that letters and written text carry meaning. Tell Me More Research has shown that most toddlers and preschool children don’t pay attention to printed text unless they are encouraged to do so by the person reading the book. Simply by pointing to the text
Thinking “outside the box” has roots in early experiences
Like many other skills, creative thinking can be strengthened by early environments. Tell Me More Seeing things from different angles is considered a form of abstract thinking, but it has concrete roots in visual-spatial perception. For example, being able to see an object in two different ways of finding objects hidden in drawings. These skills
Even praise has its pitfalls
Across cultures, children respond better to praise for effort rather than praise for outcome. Tell Me More Let’s start out by saying right away that praise of any kind usually starts out with good intentions. However, praise yields greater encouragement and motivation when it is directed towards a child’s effort (ie “You are drawing very
5 Steps to Help Your Children Overcome Fear
As parents, our greatest vision is to have children who have a positive sense of self with enough self-confidence to navigate the challenges of life. Life experience has taught us that at times, we are faced with situations which create fear preventing us from moving forward. One of the greatest gifts you can give to
Early multilingualism builds stronger learning skills
Learning an additional language, especially in early childhood, improves certain brain functions besides language, including overall learning abilities. Tell Me More The old myths that bilingual children are somehow more intelligent than other monolingual counterparts, or that early bilingualism causes speech delays, are simply unproven. Speaking two or more languages doesn’t increase general intelligence measures,
9 Tips for Raising Boys
Being the only female in a family consisting of a husband and five sons taught me a little about males and rearing boys. What I’ve learned over the years can be summarized into one sentence: Boys want to act like grown men, and grown men sometimes want to act like boys. So what’s a mom
PC’s and Preschoolers
Carefully collected observations indicate that judicious computer use may offer gains for children over three years of age. Tell Me More Many researchers recommend against exposing children under three years old to computers. Computers simply do not match children’s learning style at this age, where learning occurs predominantly through the eyes, ears, mouths, hands, and
Good sleep behaviors linked to cognitive benefits
During sleep, our brains, especially those of babies and young children, aren’t actually resting – in fact, quite the opposite: the brain continues to be extremely active, laying down pathways and forging new connections while you slumber. Tell Me More It’s no big surprise that adequate rest is an important component of child development. One