ABC Home Preschool Blog » Children’s Health

Getting Children to Eat their Vegetables

TheNanny612 — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 02:32:05 +0000

As long as children have
been defying their parents, the battle about eating their vegetables has been
a regular part of the dinner table routine. For some families, this gets so
bad that dinnertime is uncomfortable for everyone. You don’t want it to
be this way for your family. Meals should be a fun time when the family spends
time together. But of course you still want your kids to eat their vegetables.
So, how do you do it without causing tears of frustration to ruin your supper?

Here are
some Do’s and Don’ts for getting children to eat their vegetables:

Do
involve your children
in helping with preparation and/or serving of the vegetables at mealtime.
When kids feel involved, they feel helpful and proud. And if they’re
proud of the meal, they’ll want to eat it. Reinforce this by commenting
on how good the vegetables are that children helped prepare.
Don’t
get angry.
If you make eating vegetables a power struggle, you’re going to
lose every time. Even if your children ultimately eat their vegetables,
the resulting frustration and upset feelings will make the problems
continue on in a bad cycle.

Don’t
use food as either punishment or reward
for anything. This adds to the power struggle problems of meals that can make
eating vegetables a chore.
Do praise
your children when they eat vegetables.
You don’t have to make a big deal out of it but you should point it
out in a positive way.
Do give
choices of two different vegetables so that your children can select
the one that they like better. Variety is the spice of life after all. Plus,
the choices will make it an issue of “which” vegetable to eat
not “whether” to eat the vegetables.
Don’t
make your children eat vegetables that they really don’t like.
If they have a few that they do like and they’re getting their nutritional
needs met, don’t stress the issue of trying new vegetables. There will
be time for that as your children get older.
Do change
the colors and shapes of vegetables
to make them more appealing for kids. Cookie cutters and food coloring do
wonders for making vegetables more enticing, especially if the children help
with making them.
Don’t be
afraid to let your kids have a little bit of dip or sauce for their
vegetables as long as you don’t overdo it.
Do stay
calm and upbeat about the situation. The situation doesn’t
have to upset you so don’t let it.
Do set
a good example for your kids
by maintaining a healthy diet yourself.

Believe it or not, your picky
eaters will eventually start to like eating their vegetables. In the meantime,
you need to set a good example and maintain a low key attitude about the situation.
If you really can’t get your children to eat their vegetables and every
meal ends in frustration, work some vitamins in to their diet so they don’t
lack their nutritional needs and wait for a little time to pass before trying
again.

Technorati Tags:kids, food, picky eaters, children, preschoolers, toddlers, parenting, nutrition

Physical Education Ideas

TheNanny612 — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 04:37:13 +0000

It’s no secret that
kids these days aren’t getting as much exercise as they could. After all,
a few decades ago kids had to get up and get out in order to be entertained
(since books and the few TV shows available could only go so far). But today,
our kids are more likely to sit around for entertainment via the television,
video games, computers, and other indoor activities. This, of course, translates
into a whole lot of unhealthy kids who simply aren’t moving as much as
they ought to be. Which means that it’s important for parents to start
actively thinking about how to incorporate physical education into the every
day lives of their children.

Here are some physical
education ideas for your kids to get you started:

Classes
– One of the easiest ways to get your kids started on doing regular
physical activity is to put them on a schedule and one of the best ways to
do that is to sign them up for some sort of class. It doesn’t matter
what it is as long as it gets them moving and is something they like to do
and will want to attend. Here are some ideas:
- Dance class –
  It’s good for both boys and girls and can be anything from ballet
  to modern, as long as they like it.
- Gymnastics or tumbling
  class – A good gymnastics foundation will help limber up your kids
  and make them better at physical activity in general.
- Karate or some other
  form of martial arts that you approve of – This can give them a
  sense of discipline and responsibility as well as physical activity.
Teams
– Another great way to get your kids interested in physical education
is to let them join a sports team. Teams teach your kids about all kinds of
things in addition to the activity itself, things like sharing and (of course)
teamwork, that they can use for the rest of their lives. Plus, most team sports
are seasonal so if your kids don’t end up liking one, they can wrap
it up and move on. Popular choices include baseball, basketball, football,
and soccer.
Solo
sports
– Of course, some kids don’t do so well in teams. And some kids
just happens to like sports that are solo. If that’s your child’s
inclination, go ahead and encourage it. Sign them up for a sports program
that will let them hone their skills in things like tennis, horseback riding,
swimming, or running track. Even things like indoor rock climbing might be
an option as your kids get a little older.
Stay
at home – Classes and teams cost some money and that might
not be in line with what you had in mind for getting your kids into enjoying
some regular physical activity. That’s fine, you can get the exercise
done at home as well, even incorporating it into your daily routine at no
cost.
- Indoors – You
  can get your kids doing things indoors that increase their activity, such
  as dancing to their favorite music. Depending on the space that you have
  for them, they might also be able to jump rope or hula-hoop inside. And
  believe it or not, if you pick the right video games, these can even give
  your kids exercise (games that let them dance on pads or game systems
  like the Wii that encourage actual physical activity are what you’d
  want to look into).
- Outdoors – Get
  the kids outdoors and they’ll be naturally inclined to get some
  activity. Go to the pool. Let them run through the sprinklers. Get a neighborhood
  group together once a week to play tag. Get out there and play some catch.
  Almost all activities that kids get into outdoors are free activities
  that’ll get them moving.

You already know
that it’s important to your children’s health that they become more
physically active. And the reality is that it probably wouldn’t hurt you
to get in some more activity either. By incorporating fun physical activities
into your daily routine, you can get in that exercise in a way that’s
fun and easy. And if you do it at home, it doesn’t even have to cost anything.

Technorati Tags:physical education, gym, kids, children, preschool, fitness, health

Teaching Your Child to Deal with a Bully

TheNanny612 — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:12:41 +0000

You feel like your
worst nightmare has come to pass. Another child in your preschooler’s
life has started to bully him or her and you’re not sure what to do about
it. On the one hand, you want to teach your child to stick up for himself and
to handle things alone. On the other, you want to intervene and stop the bullying
before it gets out of hand. You have no idea what to do. And the worst part
is that the situation brings out all of your feelings of helplessness as you
begin to realize that you are not going to be able to protect your child from
the world.

Relax. This
isn’t your worst nightmare. And although it’s a difficult
situation which must be dealt with carefully, it’s certainly one
that you’re capable of managing. It’s true that you can’t
protect your kids from the horrors of the world, but you can use every
opportunity as a learning example for giving your child the skills necessary
to deal with the difficult situations that the world will bring to you.
And teaching your child how to deal with bullies is one step in that learning
process.

The
Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander: From Preschool to High School–How
Parents and Teachers Can Help Break the Cycle of Violence

The first
thing that you need to do is get your own feelings of helplessness under
control. Parents often feel an immediate protective urge towards children
who are bullying their kids and this can sometimes lead to negative situations
in which parents react poorly to the bullies. Since you are obviously
bigger and older than the child bully, you actually perpetuate the problem
if you handle it poorly because your child sees that the bigger, stronger,
older person wins. Instead, take a moment to relax and handle the situation
appropriately. Remember that the child bully probably has a reason that
he or she needs to assert such power over your child and remember that
you’re the adult and these are the children.

Be supportive
of your child and help to give your child a sense of empowerment so that
he or she can deal with the bully. This means talking with your child
about the situation, encouraging him or her to come up with some solutions
to the problem and discussing appropriate ways to handle the situation.
Simply having an open, loving and safe environment in which to solve the
problem can help your child immensely in dealing with the bully. Consider
reasonable solutions to the problem and teach your child how to enact
those solutions. For example, verbally confronting the bully is one option.
Teach your child to appropriately say, with confidence, “you may
not treat me this way”.

If your child
can not cope with the bullying on his or her own after strategizing and
working to solve the problem, you may need to intervene. This is particularly
true if your child is being physically harmed or is too frightened to
attend preschool or otherwise engage in normal social activities. It is
best if your child can deal with the bully alone, but if that’s
not possible, you must protect your child. Doing so means handling the
situation appropriately in a manner which doesn’t diminish your
child’s abilities to handle the situation. Having your child discuss
the situation with a teacher at the preschool or another authority figure
in a position to help can get the trouble under control while still allowing
your child to exercise some power in the situation.

Remember that
the best attack against bullying is to teach your child preventative measures
from an early age. Help your child to develop self-esteem so that he or
she does not allow him (or her) self to be bullied. Also teach your child
to handle problems (such as issues in sharing with other kids) on his
or her own with appropriate behavior. And always create an environment
in which your child feels safe to come discuss the problems that he or
she may be having with others and to problem solve about them with you.

Taking
the Bully by the Horns – Children’s Version of the Best Selling Book,
"Nasty People"

Technorati Tags: bully,
child+bully,
bullies, kids,
children, family,
parenting,
school, preschool,
neighbors,
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Establishing Healthy Bedtime Routines

TheNanny612 — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 05:04:01 +0000

Bedtime. Does the very word
strike fear into your heart? Don’t worry; you aren’t alone. Many
parents dread the nightly bedtime ritual. This is especially true for parents
of preschoolers who are worried about leaving their children alone in the night
but getting a little bit desperate for some rest of their own. Establishing
healthy bedtime routines can help make that part of the night go more smoothly.
In fact, healthy bedtime routines can even make getting ready for bed a fun
family activity. Believe it or not, bedtime doesn’t have to be bad time.

The first thing
that you should know about establishing bedtime routines for your family
is that there is no “right” way to do this. What you need to
do is figure out what is going to work best for your family, given your
particular schedule and needs and then to work out a routine that makes
sense around that. Since all families eat dinner at different times, have
different homework and activities needs for older children and go to bed
at different times, the specifics of what your family will do for their
bedtime routines will depend on those factors.

The phrase
to keep in mind when establishing your bedtime routines is “wind
down”. The idea is that you are going to spend the several hours
before bedtime winding down with your children, creating a relaxed atmosphere
that is inviting to sleep. Additionally, you will be creating habits that
are done in the same order every night (or at least regularly) so that
your child will get adjusted to doing certain activities and following
them with sleep. This combination of winding down and creating a predictable
pattern that ends in sleep leads to healthy bedtime routines that make
the night easy for everyone.

In general,
bedtime routines begin with the time period just after dinner. It is at
this point in the night that you will want to start thinking about winding
down. Some families have a short period of high-energy activity after
dinner (outside play, for example) whereas others go straight into wind
down time. Whether or not you engage in that high-energy activity to get
your kids energy out, this period is followed by quiet activities such
as watching TV or videos, coloring, or reading together.

This is also
the time during which you will do your nightly family activities that
all lead up to bedtime. Chores may happen at this time. Bath time, brushing
teeth and getting into pajamas will all follow. Families with young children
usually then have a routine which involves spending time in the child’s
room. Taking the child to bed and reading a story there, sharing thoughts
about the day or otherwise quietly engaging in activity in the room together
will be the final thing that your family does together as part of the
nightly routine.

Some parents
remain in the room with their children until they fall asleep. Others have
lights out at a certain time and then the parents proceed to their own nighttime
activities. What works for your family may depend on the age and needs of
your child, your parenting techniques and your own nighttime activities.
Just remember that you’re establishing a routine that will let your
children wind down and know that bedtime is approaching. This should prevent
a lot of the problems which make bedtime “bad time” for some
families.

Technorati Tags: bed+time+routine, bed+time, kids+bed+time, children’s+bed+time, child, kids, children,, sleep, behavior,, parenting, schedule

How To Stop Your Preschooler From Thumb Sucking

TheNanny612 — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 06:16:42 +0000

Thumb sucking is an issue
of concern for many parents right around the time that kids are entering preschool
age. As babies, it’s not an issue. In fact, many parents feel that it’s
good for their pre-teeth youngsters because it comforts them, helps them to
fall asleep and can ease the pain of teething. But as kids get older and those
teeth are coming in, it’s necessary for parents to intervene to deter
their children from sucking their thumbs. Continued thumb sucking in these older
years can cause dental problems and it is therefore recommended that you break
the habit entirely by the time that the child is kindergarten age.

Stopping your preschooler
from thumb sucking can be a difficult thing. For one thing, you don’t
want to take away what you know is a source of comfort for your child. For another,
you admittedly don’t want to listen to your child’s cries as he
or she adjusts to not sucking his or her thumb. But you also want to make sure
that you’re doing what is best for your child and the sooner that you
get him or her out of the habit of thumb sucking, the better it will be for
all of you.

Here are some tips for ending
the thumb sucking:

Distraction. Neither of
you wants your child to be upset so instead of drawing attention to the thumb
sucking and making it a “bad” thing that you’re trying to
stop, actively distract your child from thumb sucking by giving him or her
alternative activities which require both the child’s attention and
the use of both hands. Doing this on a regular basis will diminish the thumb
sucking over time in a pleasant manner.
Educate. Explain why thumb
sucking is bad for your child as he or she gets older. Point out all of the
things that babies do that your child no longer does and describe why thumb
sucking is the same kind of issue.
Make it a game. There
are many ways that you can help turn the process of ending thumb sucking into
a game. You can make up a secret word that you and your child use for thumb
sucking so it’s fun to talk about. You can have signals that you use
to remind your child that he or she is thumb sucking so that the behavior
will be noticed and stopped. Anything that allies you and your child against
the thumb sucking in a fun way will work in your favor.
Make it unpleasant. One
of the most commonly used methods of stopping your preschooler from thumb
sucking is the application of products to the thumb which are unpleasant tasting.
There are household products (such as vinegar) as well as store-bought products
that can be used in this manner.
Relax. If you make this
an issue over which you battle with your child then you’re going to
increase the stress in the household and prolong the process of stopping thumb
sucking.
Reward change. Your preschooler
loves it when she’s rewarded, even if it’s just with your praise.
When you notice that he or she has stopped thumb sucking, comment positively
on the action.
Use steps. Start young
with ending the thumb sucking and you have more room to go slowly with the
process. Start with discussing thumb sucking with your child and point out
that he or she will do this less and less as time goes on and the child grows
up. Begin with working on not thumb sucking in public, then go on to reserving
thumb sucking only for nighttime and naps and finally you can end it all together.

Thumb sucking is a natural
part of your child’s development and will likely go away almost as naturally
as it started. With your help, the process can be done sooner in order to prevent
dental problems and other issues associated with late thumb sucking. Take the
process in stride and trust your ability to get through this stage and you and
your child should be fine.

Technorati Tags: thumb+sucking, stop+thumb+sucking, quit+sucking+thumb, bad+habits, child, children, kids, preschoolers, parenting

Understanding Your Preschooler’s Imaginary Friends

TheNanny612 — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 03:02:36 +0000

We are always wondering if
our children are “normal”. We don’t mean to do it, but nevertheless,
it’s something that we do all of the time. From the time that we first
count those ten toes and ten fingers, we’re subconsciously (or consciously)
comparing our kids to some ideal standard of what is “normal” and
wondering how they measure up. And when it comes to areas of life that aren’t
so easy to understand, we often have trouble figuring out what’s “normal”
and how to deal with it. Often, this is the case when it comes to imaginary
friends.

We wonder if it is “normal”
for our kids to have imaginary friends. Of course it is. But at what age does
it stop being normal? Or what behaviors in interacting with these imaginary
friends are not normal? We worry, because we want our kids to have a healthy
level of social and emotional development. Here are some things to think about
which can help you alleviate those concerns:

It is
absolutely “normal”
(meaning common) for children to have imaginary friends.
Imaginary
friends
usually turn up in a child’s life during the preschool years and often
fade out of the child’s life during elementary school.
Imaginary
friends
are more common among first born children and only children and may reflect
the child’s desire to have increased interaction with other children.
Preschool groups can assist with this.
Imaginary
friends represent the creative side of your child’s brain so
you should never discourage your child from healthy exploration of this part
of life.
Children
often keep their imaginary friends to themselves. While it’s appropriate
to ask questions about the imaginary friend to ascertain what your child believes
about the situation, you shouldn’t pretend to interact or play with
your child’s imaginary friends unless your child invites you to do so.

If you’re still having
concerns that your child’s experience with an imaginary friend isn’t
normal, here are some warning signs for negative play with imaginary friends.

Your
child
regularly refuses to play with other children and only wants to play with
the imaginary friend.
Your
child’s
imaginary friends linger into the older elementary school years.
The imaginary
friend
is introduced into play with other friends who make fun of your child.
Your
child
acts out behavior with the imaginary friend which is violent, sexual in nature
or otherwise indicative of an underlying problem. In this case, your child
may be using the imaginary friend to try to tell you something that he or
she can’t tell you alone.

As a general rule, it’s
perfectly “normal” for your preschooler to have imaginary friends.
They help your child exercise his or her imagination and provide additional
stimulation during playtime. And of course, all children develop differently
so your child’s interaction and length of time spent with the imaginary
friend may vary from that of other children of the same age. As long as you
don’t see any of the above warnings signs, you can probably assume that
the imaginary friends are a fun phase that your child will pass as he or she
begins to enter elementary school age.

Technorati Tags: imaginary+friends, kids, child, children, parenting, behavior+issues, social+skills, normal+behavior

Preschool Kids & Fitness

TheNanny612 — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 21:52:17 +0000

There was a time when parents
didn’t worry about their preschoolers getting enough exercise. After all,
kids that age are a bundle of energy that don’t ever seem to stop being
in motion so they naturally get all of the exercise that they need, right? Wrong.
It was probably always true that kids needed more exercise they were naturally
getting but it’s even truer today, when technology has created more sedentary
activities for children as young as toddler age.

Television, video games,
computers … these are tools that, when used correctly, can help improve
your child’s life. They can give him or her new skills, be used for educational
purposes and appropriately entertain your child at certain periods throughout
the day. But these tools come with a price (or several, but we’ll focus
on one) and that price is lack of exercise. With more sedentary options available,
young children are exercising less. We’ve all heard that obesity is increasing
and we know the risks that come along with that. Don’t let your child
become a victim early on; make sure that he or she has a daily routine which
incorporates regular fitness.

Luckily, it’s not too
difficult to get kids to exercise. Fitness is fun at their age. They like to
be out, running around, playing games like tag and taking risks on the monkey
bars. Find out which activities interest your child the most and make sure that
you make them a regular part of the day. For some families, this could simply
mean a certain amount of outdoor / playground time each day. For other families,
a more structured activity like a tumbling class or a preschool sport may make
more sense. Fitness for kids just means getting them moving so do whatever is
right for you and your kids.

And when we say “you
and your kids”, that’s precisely what we mean. If you want your
kids to understand the importance of fitness, you really need to make sure that
you practice what your preach. Get out there and play ball with your kids or
take a class that lets you and your children engage in fitness activities together.
By modeling good exercise behaviors, you’ll show your children that fitness
can stay fun at all ages. And by enjoying their fitness time with them, you’ll
make it that much more fun … for both of you!

Technorati Tags: kids+fitness, children’s+fitness, exercise, kids+exercise, children’s+health, preschoolers, activities, family+health

Homeschool burnout

TheNanny612 — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 01:29:43 +0000

I found this absolutely wonderful post at HomeSchool Zoo Annex. It is in regards to Homeschool Burnout. Not only do parents get burned out, but so does Homeschooled children. Whether you are thinking about homeschooling your children or you are already homeschooling you should definitely check out this post!!

read more | digg story

Preschool Activities That Help With Potty Training

TheNanny612 — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 03:04:23 +0000

Since
preschool aged children are in the process of potty training, it makes sense
for the preschool program to include activities which help with the potty training
process. Whether you homeschool your kids or send them off to participate
in a formal preschool program, you can provide materials and activity ideas
which are supplemental to potty training. This helps your child
more rapidly incorporate potty training into his or her daily life and therefore
to pick up on the process more quickly. Here are some ways that
you can achieve this goal:

Media
material. One of the best ways for kids to understand
potty training is for it to be explained to them in different ways.
There are numerous resources out there for children to learn
about potty training including books, coloring books, movies and audio
tapes. Incorporate these items into your child’s preschool
activities to help him or her learn about potty training.
Playing
with the potty training doll. Many experts agree
that the “wet baby” dolls can be used to teach children about potty
training. Playing with dolls is an excellent downtime activity
for preschool and the potty training doll can be incorporated into the
preschool schedule to teach kids about potty training.
Songs
and games about potty training. If children are
comfortable with the idea of potty training, they’ll be comfortable
with the act. Songs and games which make the idea fun will
help make the act easier too. Preschool classes may have
a song that is sung each time a child goes to the potty to help encourage
all kids in the class to want to go.
Transporting
the potty chair. If you’re currently in the process
of potty training, your child probably has his or her own potty chair
located in your bathroom. This is an important tool which
helps your child remember to use the potty. If your preschool
will accommodate you, you may consider transporting the potty to the
preschool so that your child will have this consistency there as well
as at home.
Using
rewards. Preschool kids love reward systems and
the potty training process can have rewards just like other things (such
as chores). Make sure that your preschool is using a non-competitive
award system so children don’t feel like they’re failing at potty training
if they aren’t at the same developmental stage as the other kids.

Potty training is something which will be
learned primarily at home but can be enhanced by the activities which take
place at preschool. Preschool age children benefit from learning
through hands-on lessons and so can use dolls and games to get a better
understanding of the process. Before you know it, your kids
will be out of diapers!

Technorati Tags: potty+training, children, kids, child, parenting, family, preschool, toddler, boy, girl