When To Baby Proof

Some parents start baby proofing their household as soon as they find out they are expecting a child. This is perfectly fine and keeps you ahead of the loop, ensuring you are prepared well ahead of time.

However if you are too busy with other preparations for the baby and have not had the chance to baby proof your home, don’t panic. During the first couple of months after the baby is born, the child will still be confined to its crib or bassinet. Use this time for baby proofing so by the time the baby is crawling, your work will be done.

How To Baby Proof The House

Once you have found the time to baby proof your house, it is important you get right to it so you can ensure your new born is very safe when you bring them into your home.

• Start by thinking from the perspective of a crawling baby. This means you must place yourself at the level of your baby and look at objects, appliances, cupboard doors etc from that level and see what your infant is capable of hurting themselves with. As your child grows, you will have to keep making changes to the baby proofing to keep up with your child’s height growth and reach capabilities.
• Once you have identified possible danger sports for the child, star by baby proofing the house with outlet covers. Children often love to stick their fingers into power outlets and this is very dangerous. Baby proof your home by covering these outlets properly.
• Furniture needs to be well taken care off too as toddlers use furniture as support, especially when they are trying to learn how to stand up and walk. Baby proof your furniture by ensuring it is firmly bolted to walls, and in some cases, even to the floor. This way when the child uses the furniture for support, there is no chance of the furniture toppling over.
• If your home has stairs, especially if they are within the house, you must consider installing a baby gate so your child cannot easily go down the stairs. A baby proof gate reduces the risk of your infant falling down the stairs.
• A common sense way to baby proof your house is to keep all small objects out of reach of the infant. Little children love to put objects in their mouth and by keeping these objects away from them, you are successfully baby proofing your house.
• You must also ensure you install appropriate baby proofing clasps on fridge doors and cupboard doors so the baby does not get their finger jammed on one of these.

These are just some of the ways in which you can baby proof your home. Keep thinking from your child’s level and you might spot objects that are potentially dangerous and hence that will require baby proofing too.

Pre-Delivery Steps to Avoid Sibling Jealousy

• Tell your child that you are expecting a baby before he or she hears it from another family member. Introducing the new baby idea early allows time for your child to accept it.
• Let your child know that Mommy’s stomach is going to grow big, that she will be tired and will need to rest, that one day she’ll go to hospital to deliver the baby, and even details like where the baby is growing. Keeping a child involved reduces chances of sibling jealousy later.
• If there are changes to be made, make them before introducing the new baby or the older child will feel displaced. If your toddler has to be potty trained, weaned from breast feeding, or has to join childcare for a few hours, start it during the pregnancy months itself.
• Changes such as redecorating or moving a child to a new bedroom to make place for the baby could be causes of sibling jealousy. However, showing that you value your child’s opinion and talking to him like a grown-up about decisions can help. Involve your toddler in choosing wallpaper or paint, allowing him or her to perform small tasks or to help moving toys to a new room.
• There are books about introducing new babies that you can share with your child to prepare him or her. Spending quiet time together provides an atmosphere for children to air their views about the pregnancy and their worries or fears. Listen to them and discuss them with your child seriously.
• Explain that your child will have a little brother or sister to play with, and how they will always have a special friend. Talk about the good part of being a big sister or brother, about how big siblings look after little siblings.
• Acknowledge their feelings of sibling jealousy and tell them its acceptable to feel like that. Helping them by talking through it can make it easier in the months when the baby is around and when you may not have as much time.

Introducing the New Baby

• Try to have a small gift ready for your toddler “from his baby sister or brother” for the first time you introduce the new baby to your child.
• When your child first sees the baby, let him or her decide if they want to just look, or touch its hand or hold it for a few minutes.
• Don’t force your child to kiss or hug the baby until he or she is ready.
• Sibling jealousy is often just a result of the child feeling that they are no longer important. Shower attention on your child and ask how school or preschool has been, what they have been up to, or what they ate for dinner.
• When introducing the new baby to visitors and relatives, remind them to show attention to your toddler too, and talk to him or her about things other than the baby.
• Set aside special time for the child, either while the baby is asleep or being cared for by your partner. Let your child know this time is only for the two of you, and do whatever the child wants.
• Allow the older child to participate in looking after the baby, helping with feeding or bath time, or fetching things, but only if they show willingness. Telling them repeatedly that they are being wonderful big brothers or sisters can reduce sibling jealousy to a large extent.
• Tell your child stories about how happy everyone was when they were born and stories about their birth and infancy. Children love stories about their own babyhood, and it will show them that their stories are just as special.

References:

1. Cure Sibling Jealousy – Baby World

2. Preparing your Child for a New Sibling – Kids Health

3. New Baby Sibling- University of Michigan Health System

Readiness for Easy Potty Training

For easy potty training, watch for signs of curiosity in your child when siblings or family members go to the bathroom. If your toddler is aware of bowel movements, can notify you by body language or sounds, or tells you about soiled nappies, it shows an increasing amount of control and understanding about this bodily function. Also, if your child remains dry or needs to use the toilet at regular timings, it shows a level of control. This is the right time to begin using potty training methods.

Tips on Potty Training

Before you begin, it is a good idea to introduce your child gradually to the idea of sitting on a potty, and other potty training methods. Allow toddlers to be in the bathroom when you are using it, teach them how to flush, let them watch the flush work, encourage and answer questions about the process of elimination: these are all effective tips on potty training and will help to introduce them to the concept of potty usage. Allow your child to select his or her own potty if possible, and let them know it is theirs to use.

Potty Training for Toddlers

Children may be apprehensive about what exactly they are supposed to do on the potty. Explain in detail what the potty is used for, or use feces from a dirty diaper to demonstrate it by placing it in the potty first and then disposing of it in the toilet. Potty training for toddlers can be confusing and stressful, especially if it becomes a source of disciplining and scolding. Reinforce the idea that using a potty is a grown-up activity, but do not insist on your child sitting on the potty if they don’t want to.

Other tips on potty training include: Let them sit on the potty fully clothed at first if they want, to get comfortable on it. At first, children using a potty may take a long time to complete a bowel movement because it is a new feeling. It helps to add fun to potty training for toddlers, by talking to them, encouraging them, or distracting them with a story or nursery rhyme when they are on the potty.

Potty Training Accidents

Even with excellent potty training methods, children are still likely to have ‘accidents’. Make it a point not to scold or show disappointment to children who have soiled their clothes. Deal with it in a cheerful manner and praise them when they successfully use the potty next time. Bear in mind that children may not be able to control their elimination at night and may still have to wear a diaper. Placing a child on the potty last thing at night and restricting water for an hour before bed-time will lead to dry diapers in the morning fairly soon after they are potty trained.

Things to remember before beginning potty training for toddlers: It is important to remember not to introduce potty training methods during times of stress or illness for a child. This could be anything from a disruption in routine, family problems, new babies or moving house, to any other change that seems to be causing some amount of adjustment issues or stress. Children usually take between 3-6 months to learn how to use a potty regularly, but it varies, and parents must watch children for signs of readiness.

References:

1. Toilet Teaching Your Child – Kids Health

2. Toilet Training Your Child – Family Doctor

3. Toilet Training – BBC UK

How to Stop Bad Habits

• Let them grow out of it naturally: Many child bad habits are part of growing up. As children grow and interact with more people, they may not like being laughed at for those habits, or they may want to be like the others, leading them to stop bad habits on their own. Ignoring a habit often denies them of the attention they are seeking by doing it, and they will stop.

• Understand the reasons for the child bad habit: Children often repeat bad habits when upset, scared, sleepy, or insecure. Identifying the feelings that lead to this bad behavior can help you treat the emotions, so they don’t resort to the habit.

• Start in small steps: If your child has a number of habits that you want them to stop, pick the most annoying or harmful habits first and work on those. Trying to break bad habits at one time is bound to make the child feel inadequate and harassed.

• Allow some control: Some child bad habits are developed when children feel that they have no control on anything in their lives. They use these habits to prove that they can do what they want, even if their parents don’t like it. Forcing them to stop bad habits only worsens this problem. Instead, offer them choices and responsibilities that make them feel in control. Letting them decide on what to wear, what to eat or drink, and what they would like to do in their play time can allow them to feel in charge of their lives. This does not mean not providing any guidance; offering them a choice between two alternatives, ‘milk or juice’, ‘red socks or blue’, ‘paint or draw’, is good enough for young children.

• Do not overreact: Some child bad habits are used only for the shock value. Acting shocked or surprised when a child does something like picking their noses or touching themselves in public will be amusing and make them repeat it. Try telling them in a normal or bored voice instead that people don’t like to see it, and they may do it in the bathroom if they wish but not in public. These tactics are much less fun for children and will lead to breaking bad habits.

• Talk to your child about the habit: Explaining to a child that they are putting germs into their mouth or nose can be deterrent enough to children sometimes. If the child bad habit springs from a physical or medical condition, such as an itchy nose, dry cuticles that snag on clothes, or itchy genitals, treating the symptoms can help reduce and eventually break the bad habit.

• Positive reinforcement: When a child stops a bad habit, praising them or rewarding them always works. Try making a chart with pictures that mark each day that passes without the child biting nails or picking their nose. Set a target for the child to achieve, with a reward at the end of it. And make sure you follow through on the reward. Avoid offering candies or other unhealthy treats as rewards: the most positive rewards are activities that the children enjoy, such as trips to the zoo, or being allowed to look at childhood albums.

It is important not to try to break a bad habit during a time of stress or sorrow for children. Most child bad habits provide an element of comfort or self-soothing for the child, and should be allowed to pass unnoticed during this time.

Common Child Bad Habits

• Nose picking: Parents find this child bad habit one of the most annoying mostly because of the risk of transmitting germs, and also because it is socially frowned upon. It could begin because of encrusting inside the nose due to a cold, and then become a habit. When children pick their nose and put their fingers in their mouth or eyes, or touch other children, infections can be passed on. Dirty or sharp fingernails can irritate the sensitive lining of the nose and create bleeding or oozing cuts inside the nose.

• Sucking thumbs and fingers: Children indulge in sucking their thumbs and fingers when they need comfort. While most outgrow this form of child bad behavior, it can last for some others till past five years of age. This habit should be discouraged because it can cause teeth to grow unevenly or create speech defects. The child bad habit can extend from thumbs or fingers to objects like pacifiers, blankets, or favorite toys.

• Teeth grinding: Bruxism, or grinding teeth is a common child bad habit. Usually infants grind or clench their teeth when milk or permanent teeth are pushing through the gums or in their sleep. Children who grind their teeth at other times are likely to let this develop into a bad habit. This form of child bad behavior can cause defects in the teeth or in the jaw joints and should be stopped.

• Nail biting: Biting nails could be caused by many factors, but the concern is that dirt and bacteria lodged under nails is transferred directly into the mouth through this child bad behavior. It could also lead to infected or bleeding cuticles that are very painful. Some of the same methods used to stop the bad habit of thumb sucking can be used to stop nail biting – using bitter liquid on fingernails, distracting the child when he or she is biting nails, and providing an activity to keep hands busy.

• Holding breath: Children hold their breath because sometimes they feel it is the only thing they can control. It could carry on for enough time that they lose consciousness. This child bad behavior can be the most frightening for parents. It is best to consult a doctor when this happens, to rule out medical complications that have caused this.

• Touching genitals or masturbation: Children explore all parts of their bodies and are fascinated by their own discoveries. It is a natural urge to explore their own genitalia as much as exploring their own hands and face. When children explore their genitals it gives them pleasure, causing them to repeat the child bad habit again. They do not realize the sexual connotations of this behavior but can cause a great deal of embarrassment to the parents.

Children enjoy any kind of attention and if a bad habit brings them parental attention even in the form of reprimand, they will repeat this child bad habit. It takes patience, understanding and creativity to help a child give up a bad habit.

References:

1. Bad Habits/ Annoying Behavior – University of Michigan Health System
2. Hair Pulling, Head Banging and Other Bad Habits – Keep Kids Healthy

How Do SIDS Deaths Occur?

Infant cot death can cause the death of even a healthy baby which makes SIDS deaths almost impossible to predict. When a death occurs, it is only when illness, birth defects, parental negligence, and genetic disorder have been ruled out as a cause that it will be ascribed to SIDS. Infants who have succumbed to SIDS deaths show no signs of suffering, but a true SIDS-related death could be due to a combination of factors.

Risk of SIDS

Studies show the following characteristics or features lead to higher risk of SIDS:

• Babies between 2-4 months old are the most common victims, but the first six months have a high risk of SIDS
• SIDS deaths are most frequent during colder months
• African-American babies twice as likely to die of SIDS
• Babies of Native American origin are three times as likely to die of SIDS
• Male infants are more vulnerable to risk of SIDS than female infants
• Addiction to or use of drugs, alcohol or nicotine during pregnancy
• Inadequate prenatal care can increase the risk of SIDS
• Teenage pregnancies and mothers under the age of 20
• Premature or low weight babies are more susceptible to infant cot death
• Exposure to cigarette smoke after birth can lead to SIDS death
• Babies who are covered or overdressed could overheat while sleeping, leading to SIDS death
• Babies who are put to sleep on their stomach or side could succumb to infant cot death as it hampers breathing

Parenting Tips for Preventing SIDS

• Pregnancy care: During pregnancy, fetuses that are exposed to nicotine, alcohol, or drugs are more likely to succumb to SIDS deaths. Expectant mothers should ensure regular prenatal check-ups are performed at the right time.
• New born infants: Breast feeding has lately shown to be effective in preventing SIDS. Ensure that babies are kept in smoke-free atmospheres.

Sleeping Habits to Reduce the Risk of SIDS:

• Ensuring safe sleeping habits for babies is the most effective way to reduce risk of SIDS.
• Use firm mattresses for babies to sleep on. Do not use water beds, beanbags, sofas or fleece and lambskin.
• Avoid placing stuffed toys and pillows in the cribs or bassinets of infants.
• The most important precaution against SIDS deaths is to place babies on their backs to sleep. This keeps airways and breathing patterns open and unobstructed. If babies have reflux problems or parents are worried they may choke on milk, vomit or other substances, it is best to talk to the family doctor.
• Babies should be placed in a separate crib or bassinet to sleep, but if possible kept in the parents’ room so that you are always close at hand. This significantly reduces the risk of SIDS deaths.
• Once babies can roll over both onto their sides and stomachs, it is acceptable to allow them to choose their own sleeping position. This is usually possible for babies during their 5-7^th months.
• Keep the room in which the baby is sleeping at a pleasant temperature. A temperature that is comfortable for an adult in a short sleeved shirt is the right temperature for babies. This is usually around 16-20 degrees Celsius.
• Babies do not need to be covered by blankets during the first 6 months, but if used, a blanket should be tucked under the mattress at the bottom of the bed so that it cannot move above the baby’s shoulders.
• Studies show that pacifiers can help reduce the risk of SIDS. Babies who are comfortable using a pacifier can be laid to sleep with one in their mouths. There is no need to replace it if it falls out during sleep.

While all the precautions are important, also ensure that any caretakers or family members who may interact with the baby are aware of these guidelines to prevent SIDS. Keeping regular appointments for well baby check-ups are important as well.

References:

1. Preventing Cot Death – Baby and Pregnancy
2. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome – Kids Health
3. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDC) – Mayo Clinic

Create a Culture Sensitive Child Care Center

To make a child care center more culture sensitive takes time and patience, as well as an open mind. Culture

Children should be sensitive to all cultures

equality is an attitude to be nurtured and instilled in the staff members as well as in the children and parents and can be difficult at times. A few tips to make it easier:

Culture Attitudes: Dealing with Parents

• Identify problem areas: Common areas of difference in culture attitudes when it comes to children are discipline, breast or bottle feeding, table etiquette and good manners, sleep habits and nap times, potty training, and play time and games. These are all areas that you should discuss with parents.
• Schedule time to meet parents and get to know them: Assuming knowledge about a background based on the appearance of the parents does not allow you to provide a culture sensitive approach. Spend time talking to parents and understanding their concerns and requirements from you. Building a trusting relationship with parents before running into problems helps when a disagreement arises.
• Resolve problems amicably: When a situation arises due to differences in culture attitudes, it is important to discuss it with parents in a comfortable atmosphere. Many child care professionals make short visits to the homes of the children they look after, in order to build a more personal relationship with parents.

Culture Equality at the Center

• Avoid stereotyping: Examine yourself carefully for any evidence of judgmental culture attitudes or stereotyping, either of children or their parents. Do you assume that a child may have a troubled family background, low intelligence, slower development, or a different set of values based on his or her religion or ethnic background? Talking to the child and to the parents will help you gain a realistic and far more useful understanding of the individual qualities.
• Educate staff: Encourage meetings and discussions between staff members to develop a spirit of culture equality amongst other child carers.

Culture Sensitive Child Care

• Make culture sensitive changes at the center: Children who come to the center should feel as if they belong. Display photographs of the child with his or her family, put up drawings that the children make, or allow children to help clean up or perform small tasks so they develop a sense of responsibility towards the center.  Ensure that books, toys and pictures around the center are culture sensitive and encourage tolerance.
• Educate the children: Spend time talking to children about culture equality and how they feel about diversity. Reading aloud from positive books, celebrating different festivals together, comparing cultures through plays or songs help cultivating a multicultural spirit. It is important to set an example yourself. Children pick up cues from adults very quickly and will imitate any discriminatory behavior once they see it.

While child carers and parents share the responsibility of ensuring that children grow up to be culture sensitive and accepting of multiple cultures and ethnic identities, child carers need to pay special attention to this area for different reasons. When there is a difference or insensitivity between a child’s experiences in a child care center and at home, it affects the child, parents and professional. Differences in culture attitudes can make a child feel insecure, confused, frustrated and torn between the two. Without culture sensitive carers, parents may feel misunderstood, defensive, or that their background and heritage is being threatened or disrespected. Child carers will find that there is no support from parents, that the child is absent often or that the parents withdraw the child from the center to find more culture sensitive services.

References:

1. Responsive Teaching for Children with Diverse Language, Culture and Abilities – National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center
2. Cultural Sensitivity when Caring for Infants and Toddlers – Wisconsin Child Care Improvement Project
3. Accepting the Challenge of Diversity – Making Child Care Centers Culturally Comfortable Places. University of Connecticut
4. Diversity in the Classroom – Public Broadcasting Service

Create a Child Bedtime Routine

When you plan a bedtime routine for children, make sure it is one that you and your partner will be able to stick to. Choose a time that will not force you to rush or keep children up late, and one that allows time for bedtime rituals that you might like to include. Simple rituals during a child bedtime routine like a warm bath, a bedtime story, being tucked in with a toy, saying prayers, or a goodnight hug and kiss are enough to keep children happy. A glass of warm milk or hot chocolate or a light snack is a good idea if children ask for something before they sleep.

Help Children Adapt to a Bedtime Routine

Once you have worked out a bedtime routine for children, help them to adapt to it and time themselves by it. Children should not watch TV, play rough games, or take part in animated discussions in the hour before bedtime otherwise their sleep patterns will be affected. Similarly, coffee, desserts laden with sugar, colas and aerated drinks will keep children awake. Simple learning games, preparing their school bags for the next day or mild discussions are soothing and calming. Help children unwind by reminding them that bedtime is close. For young children, describing what they will do next usually gives them a sense of perspective.

Child Bedtime Routine Rules

Bedtime routines for children should come with rules and rewards, so that they are more strictly adhered to. Depending on the kind of behavior and the number of children, create rules that ensure each bedtime routine helps the children to sleep better and more regularly. Rules like no talking after lights-out, no getting out of bed, no asking for water more than once – all these are common rules that make sure children know their limits within a bedtime routine.

Setting Bedtime Routine Rules for Yourself

Sending children to bed early helps them grow and develop. They also remain healthy and fit when they have a regular sleep pattern. Also, putting children in bed earlier than your own sleep time offers a number of benefits for you and your partner. A bedtime routine makes time for planning the next day, school work and homework, and will make it easier in the morning. Come up with a few rules to make the best of this time.

• Don’t keep returning to the child’s room when they call. Children don’t usually want to sleep and will do anything to avoid it. Going back each time they call shows them that you’re awake and probably doing something interesting, and will be willing to spend more time with them.
• Children may be scared of the dark or of half-open closet doors. Take down anything hanging up and shut closet or washroom doors. Place a dim night light in your child’s room or leave the bedroom door ajar and keep an outside light on.
• Avoid making loud noises or watching TV close to their rooms. Children sometimes stay awake waiting for their parents to go to bed, and will force themselves to stay awake if they hear you.

A bedtime routine allows parents to spend quality time with children and forge a special bond through cuddling and reading to them. It also provides a safe atmosphere in which children learn to expect sleep and ready themselves for it. Also, you and your partner will be able to spend time together without the distraction of children, which helps keep your bond strong. Planning for trips, finances and holidays, or just discussing the day is done best after the kids are asleep.

Children with Imaginary Friends

It is not always true that single children create imaginary friends as companions. Children with imaginary friends create them for a number of reasons, and as the real world begins to increasingly take over, the friend will disappear or fade away. Having an imaginary friend means that your child is imaginative and creative, not necessarily lonely. Also, being three or four years old in the world can be intimidating for many children and an imaginary friend can help them deal with the new stimulus. Punishing your child for it will only serve to make them retreat further into their own private world with their friend and not tell you about it.

Why Children Have Imaginary Friends

Given here are some of the most common reasons for children to invent imaginary friends:

• Companionship: this can happen even if the child is one amongst siblings but feels left out or feels the need to have a friend of their own
• Imaginary friends are a way of dealing with an overdose of new stimulus and help in absorbing it all
• Socialization: children often invent friends to practice their social skills on if they need more than they get
• Imaginary friends for good children are usually the ones who are blamed for ‘accidents’, and get up to all the mischief that the child himself would like to do
• Traumatic situations like divorce, death, moving, separation etc can give birth to an imaginary friend to help deal with it
• Young children often feel overwhelmed by the world and all the people in it who control their lives; imaginary friends who are easily led and a whole private world of their own are a reaction to this

Remember, these are not the only reasons a child invents an imaginary friend, and you’ll know your own child and his or her reasons best.

Dealing With an Imaginary Friend

The best way to deal with your child’s imaginary friend is to accept it as part of growing up. Your child will grow out of it soon and move towards socializing with real children, and a smooth transition can be possible. Showing acceptance to your child’s imaginary friend shows your child that you respect his or her feelings and will make your child trust you. Showing acceptance also means involving the invented friend in games or discussions, or making space for it, sometimes even laying a place at the table or kissing it good night.

One way of turning this into a learning activity for your child is to encourage your child to perform simple tasks for the imaginary friend such as serving food, making a bed or teaching it nursery rhymes or alphabets. However, be careful not to add your own creativity to the stories or games played by your child and the friend. Your child has created this friend to allow him or her to develop creativity and imagination and will not benefit with you leading the way.

When Imaginary Friends Become a Nuisance

While imaginary friends can help children deal with a number of developmental issues, sometimes parents find it very difficult to manage a child and an invented friend who both get up to mischief. Disciplining an imaginary friend who is blamed for unruly behavior can be beyond the scope of normal parenting activities. A few tips to deal with them:

• Just like your child, an imaginary friend can be scolded. Tell your child you don’t mind that the friend caused an accident, but that you and your child must help the friend clean up.
• Help your child differentiate between the real and the imagined world by remaining in the real world and providing an anchor yourself.
• If at all your child begins to complain about the imaginary friend becoming malicious or injuring your child, you should consult a doctor for help.

The process of socialization is a natural one and will happen in time. Help your child meet other children and interact with them so that his or her interest stays riveted in the real world, and the influence of the created world lessens.

Development through Play – Types of Play

Children engage in different forms of play, and while they don’t understand this categorization, it is important that parents and child care professionals do, so that they can direct the activity and ensure that children are exposed to and can learn from games. Children play either on their own, with other children, or with adults. Games take the form of activities that involve exercise and movement, or activities performed while seated or sprawled out, with limited motion. Games also include use of toys, props, imagination, and children’s tools or play-items like beads or coloring books.

Learning Through Games – Life Skills and Play

The strength, energy and fitness levels of children increase when they play in a healthy manner. Exercising muscles, developing active habits and burning up excess energy that could turn destructive are the more obvious benefits of learning through games. Play time is also a good time to teach children about life skills like good manners, appropriate behavior, obeying rules, sharing and team playing, cooperation, and concepts of winning and losing. Vocabulary, speech, curiosity, problem-solving, cognitive and intellectual understanding are some of the abilities that develop through play that is guided or planned. Behavioral problems such as temper tantrums, fussy eating and refusal to perform tasks like using the toilet appropriately or getting dressed can be solved through patient play.

Learning through Play – Tips on Learning Games

• Role playing and dress-up activities help children develop their imagination, and teach them about different roles in society
• Sorting, building and fitting shapes and blocks help children understand concepts of color, shape, size and relative concepts like inside/outside, bigger/small, above/below
• Singing and reciting rhymes and songs develops vocabulary, speech patterns and introduces new ideas
• Story telling encourages children to pay attention and to ask questions
• Painting, cutting and pasting, drawing or coloring and jigsaw puzzles develop motor skills and coordination, as well as teaching about colors, shapes and new objects

Directing and guiding play activities are an important part of a caregiver’s role. Children can often lose focus, put themselves and others at risk, or just get bored while playing. A caregiver is there to side-step these issues and lead children towards healthy development through games. A good child care professional knows when to let children play on their own, and when to control or monitor a game. A simple “What are you doing?” question during a game can lead to the child having to think through a concept, use vocabulary to explain it, and develop interpersonal interaction skills in replying.