Interrupting

Do you get frustrated when you’re trying to carry on a conversation with another adult or even one of your other children and you get interrupted? It’s frustrating to everyone involved. Here are a few tips to help your child learn to wait their turn during conversations.

Children have a small world around them. They often interrupt because they feel that they are the center of their world and that it all revolves around them and their needs. Helping them understand that there are rules around conversations with others and that what others have to say is just as important as what they have to stay is critical to stopping interruptions.

• Establish some basic rules of the road and stick to them: 
• Establish rules for when visitors come to your home – when you have company coming over tell your children that it’s really important that you talk to your company uninterrupted. Offer them alternatives to keep them busy such as a toy or book.. 
• Point out when your child interrupts – this will help them identify the disruptive behavior and learn that it is not appropriate. 
• Don’t ignore interruptions – this is likely to result in frustration and often makes children interrupt more. 
• Explain when interrupting is ok. Describe what types of situations are important and what aren’t. 
• Explain how important listening is instead of interrupting. Listening is a critical part of the communication model and an important skill need to excel in school. 

Hopefully, over time, you’ll see a reduction in interruptions from your child.

Fire Safety Web Site

To continue with Fire Safety week, I found this great website called the US Fire Administration. They have a kid’s page that offers fire safety tips and color pages, cross word puzzles and much more. Click here to check out the site

Fire Safety

October is Fire Prevention Month and Goddard Ashburn is reviewing fire safety with the kids at school. Here are a few tips for teaching fire safety to kids.

· Practice fire drills at home – rehearse different emergency scenarios with your family. This can avoid wasting valuable time when you’re dealing with an emergency in your home.

· Talk about escape routes for each room of your home.

· Designate a meeting place outside your home that is a safe distance away

· Test your plan


It’s always good to introduce scary topics to your children through games. Here are a few games that teach valuable safety lessons.


Feel Your Way to Safety – have your kids close their eyes and feel their way out of the home. This can also help your kids get some exercise. Just make sure you watch your kids closely so they don’t fall and get hurt.

Stop, Drop and Roll – press your fire alarm test button, or simply say go and have your kids see how fast they can stop, drop and roll.


Teach your kids about fire safety

Explain what smoke detectors, escape ladders and fire extinguishers are, how they work, why they are installed in the house, and what they will do when you use them.


Explain that getting out of the house is most important in a fire. And once you’re out, stay out.

These rules can go a long way to protecting and even saving the lives of your family

Separation Anxiety

Babycenter.com gives some great advice and background on separation anxiety and you little ones.  They offer tips and advice on when you may see separation anxiety, how to prepare for separation issues, and how to make it easier on your little one.  Click here to read the article.

Tall Tales

We have all heard our little ones bend the truth as they tell stories. But the question is, when is this just an overactive imagination and when do you consider it lying?

Why Toddlers Lie
Generally there are three main reasons toddlers lies:

1.   They have a strong imagination and are making up stories

2.   They lie out of fear of being punished when they know they did something wrong

3.   They lie so they can feel special, or make friends

All of these activities are normal for young children.
Tips on How to React

• Don’t make a big issue of the lie
• Don’t react with fear or anger
• Respond calmly and let your toddler know that you are aware of the lie
• If they are lying to avoid consequences, explain the lying to hide bad behavior makes the situation worse.

• Make sure to give your children lots of praise when they do tell the truth
When Lies Become a Problem
Here are some signs lying is becoming a problem:

• If the frequency, seriousness, and behavior surrounding the lie is becomes problematic.
• If your child continues to lie as they become older and right and wrong become more defined

In general, lying is perfectly normal and it is part of growing up and fitting in for toddlers. Help your children define the lines between truth and lies and given them a great start in life.

Home Safety: Hidden Risks to Kids

As caregivers we secure book cases, keep the medicine out of reach and use outlet protectors to keep our children safe around the house. Here is a great article about some appliances and other everyday things in the home that can pose hidden dangers. Click here to read the article.  

Helping Children Adapt To A New Sibling

When a new member of the family is introduced to their sibling it is an exciting time. But it can also be a difficult time for the new brother or sister. Here are some tips that might help make the transition a little easier.

The older the sibling the more difficult it can be for them to adapt.

· Child under 18 months of age may have fewer issues adapting to a new sibling. They might not understand or recognize the change that is about to occur.

· Children between 18 month and 3 years of age may have a more difficult time. They are old enough to recognize and comprehend change, but they still might have difficulty talking about their feelings.

· Older children will have an easier time because they can discuss the impact of a new sibling with others, which can ultimately help them adapt.

Setting the stage for this change is important. Here are a few tactics you can use to prepare siblings

· Read books to your child about the introduction of a new sibling.

· Involve siblings in the preparation activities including shopping, decorating and preparing the new room.

· Ask your child to make a special gift to give to their new sibling.

· Attend a sibling prep class at a local hospital. They learn about topics such as what to expect on the big day and how to be careful around new babies.

· Once the baby is here, ask the sibling to be a little helper.

You might experience regression with your child. Some signs of regression include: being more demanding, more bathroom accidents and trouble sleeping. Keep your cool when your child demonstrates these behaviors because in most cases this is temporary and it will pass after a few month