Your Toddler and Maximizing Environmental Sensory Experiences

We often read about the sensory system in five parts.  We talk about our five senses. Sight, smell, touch, sound, and taste.  In fact, our sensory system is also made up of movement called the vestibular system and our ability to feel where our body is in space called the proprioceptive system. Movement and proprioception help us with our balance, body awareness and our ability to understand the information getting through to us from our other senses. 
Recently a mom of one of the toddlers I work with expressed her concern regarding her child's tactile sensitivities.  She explained that her toddler avoids touching certain textures.  Since toddlers can still put objects in their mouths during play it is important that what they touch and explore are safe.  The best way for young toddlers to experience new tactile information is by allowing them to touch and handle the foods that they eat.  The first exposure to touch and a variety of touch input can come safely from different food and their textures.  This is the safest way to allow them tactile exposure initially.
The recent snow storm in the New York area ha provided another great way to open a world of tactile exposure to toddlers and chidlren.  Observing my 3 year old learn about snow reinforced how environmental experiences and opportunities can be used to stimulate the sensory system. She was overjoyed to touch, push, throw, stomp, and fall into the snow.  I could see how experiencing the wonder of the snows temperature and texture excited her. She was able to articulate the experience by saying "The snow is so funny".  Don't forget to use the environment and all it's wonders to stimulate your toddlers senses.

Soothing Your Newborn

The best way to calm your infant is by mimicking his environment in the womb.  Mothers have been doing this instinctively for years by rocking their babies, while holding them tightly next to their bodies saying "sh sh" in a rhythmic fashion. Others ways to mimic the womb include swaddling your baby, an infant swing, rhythmic and gentle rocking and bouncing, dim lights, limited noise, and your soothing voice.  Keeping your baby warm will help him sleep better.  A well rested baby is a calmer and happier baby.  Infant massage is another way to keep your baby calm and relaxed. There is a commercially available product called the Miracle Blanket. It is a swaddling blanket made to keep a baby wrapped up and comfortable.  Using the Miracle Blanket is one great way for you to help mimic the comfort of being in the womb for your baby.

Holiday Season Behavior Expectations and Toddlers

We have been waiting all year for this and finally the holiday season is here!  We have prepared so much and made many plans for enjoying this time with our loved ones, friends and family.  While in a perfect world out toddlers would be on their best behavior, we are gonna have to be realistic.  Holiday's and change of routines can be rough for everyone, toddlers especially. Lets recognize all the factors that can have an effect on a toddler's behavior. Change in schedule might mean different nap, sleep, and eating routines. The hustle and bustle might limit expected attention from mommy and daddy.  Guests or visiting others might introduce new and unfamiliar suroundings and people.  The foods your toddler is used to eating might suddenly be replaced with something undesirable.  If we consider all the changes happening in a toddler's world in this short time it will be easy to understand if his behavior is not exactly the "best" we have ever seen.
Ways to help decrease some of the holiday stress on toddlers is:
1) Trying to keep to the schedule as much as possible.
2) Bring favorite foods with you if you are visiting others, or offer these favorites at home holiday meals.
3) Napping and eating before going out when possible
4) Try to keep some 1:1 time with your toddler or facilitate transitioning to a new place by taking the time needed until your toddler is comfortable in their new suroundings.
5) Encourage others to respect the toddlers boundaries such as reading cues of he does not want to be picked up or kissed by strangers.
6) Most important : Just understanding why this season might be tough on your Toddler and adjust your expectations.

Happy Holidays!!!!!!

Fun Crossing MIdline Activities for Infant, Baby, and Toddler

 

Our last post described why crossing midline activities were beneficial for your baby's Brain development.  Here are some ideas for fun crossing midline activities for your baby at every stage.

For infants - Tracking tasks such as following an object or a moving mobile from side to side. Tracking in this manner engages the body visually in its first opportunity to cross midline from the right to the left side and back.                                                                                                                                                                                                                             For babies – crawling and side to side reaching activities, encouraged by you, such as having them hold a desired item in one hand so that they need to use the other hand to cross over and retrieve another item, are examples of midline crossing in play. Another activity that facilitates visual midline crossing is using puppets moving in different directions that encourage a delighted baby to follow with his eyes.

For toddlers –Games like patty cake, bubble popping, passing the ball around in a circle while holding the ball with two hands, rolling a toy car along a path, turning the wheel of a toy car all the way around with one hand only, and pretending to be an elephant while on all fours swinging one hand right to left like the elephant swings its trunk, are more examples of midline crossing in play.

Now that you are aware of the importance and benefit of midline crossing activities you will know what games to encourage during playtime.

CROSSING MIDLINE AND BRAIN DEVELOPMENT

Babies new experiences enhance brain development.  Each new experience creates a new connection and repetition of that experience helps influence the speed of response for that task or activity.  Of course we want to help our children respond to their environments and experiences with the greatest ease possible allowing for improved learning opportunities and success with tasks. The brain is divided into many parts, each of which is responsible for an individual action.  For example, the area of the brain know as the "Broca" area is responsible for language, the cerebellum is responsible for coordination and on and on it goes.  In truth, the brain does not work part by part but rather multiple parts of the brain are working simultaneously to complete the complex motor actions of human beings. On a larger scale the brain is divided into two parts that we call the right brain and left brain. The brain will work with greatest efficiency when the right and left sides of the brain work together easily. One very significant task that requires midline crossing, for older children, is reading and writing. In order to read and write a child must be able to work from one side of the page to the other. So yes, how we encourage our babies now will help facilitate their educational needs later. We therefore encourage our children to engage in activities that require crossing the midline and by doing so we encourage the right and left brain to work together. Cross lateral movement patterns such as the right arm moving over to the left side of the body to retrieve an item is one example of midline crossing. 

Our next post will discuss play and activities that will promote midline crossing.

 

Baby Development 18-24 Months

Many exciting changes will take place during the 18-24 month stage. Your toddler’s balance has improved so that she’s now able to run, climb, play ball and negotiate stairs. Your toddler’s play skills will mature to being able to color, complete simple puzzles and build a multiple block tower. She will start stringing large beads and turning the pages of a book one at a time. Your toddler's pretend play skills are growing. Your toddler is now able to solve simple problems and communicate her needs to you. She can do things like remember where an item belongs and turn the handle of a doorknob to open the door. She has begun to express emotions and understands emotions in others. Language skills and social interaction are increasing at a rapid pace. With practice self feeding and dressing skills will continue to grow .

During this stage offer ride on toys, tunnel games, and encourage jumping. Your toddler should be enjoying the slide and other playground equipment. Continue to offer toys such as Lego, puzzles, and pegboards.  Your toddler will want to play pretend play games with you.  Encourage her interest in shopping, fixing things around the house, or taking care of her baby. Keep up the conversation and sing song games. Encourage labeling of items in the environment. Read to your toddler. Provide sensory play opportunities with bath toys, and varied textures like cookie doughs and containers filled with rice and similar tactile items.  Keep on encouraging the development of independent skills such as feeding and dressing.