Baby Clues
Information & advice on dealing with babies

The best advice I can give is to get your baby into a routine that fits around your other children to ensure that you are able to spend quality time with them, otherwise they may grow to resent the baby and this is where the problems start. Your children’s behaviour may become erratic temporarily following the birth of your baby, however this usually settles in time if you deal with it patiently and with understanding. In some cases reward chats may help. If you are at all concerned speak to your health visitor but keep reminding yourself that it is most likely a phase while your child adjusts to having to share your attention and just generally the idea of having a new sibling.

All toys could potentially enhance your child’s development as long as you use them at the appropriate time, for example the toys you would use to enhance your child’s development as a baby are not the same as those that you would use for a toddler.

For the purpose of this article I am going to focus on toys for toddlers.

• Matching games such as snap or dominoes are great, they encourage the child to recognise when things are the same and when they are different. It also encourages them to take turns.
• Giving your child paper and something to draw with helps develop hand-eye coordination as well as their fine motor skills.
• Building bricks are good as they aid gross motor skill
• Toys that allow your child to use their imagination such as pots and pans, these encourage your child to broaden his or her vocabulary, they also open opportunities for interaction, it is also allows the child to explore and make sense of the world around them.

I’m not saying that you need alot of expensive toys just a few good quality ones that aren’t even that expensive. Other things that will make a difference to your child’s development is talking to your child as a normal person rather than dumbing things down to the level of a baby. Also giving your child the opportunity to be independent but at the same time having very clear boundaries about the type of behaviour that it is acceptable and the consequences for unacceptable behaviour. Involve the child in daily tasks such as setting the table, this provides the child with numerous benefits such as learning the vocabulary for everyday items as well as boosting the child’s self esteem if you give them praise for helping you, as toddlers attempt to imitate adults so if they feel that they are achieving the aim successfully it will boost their confidence.

There is no fixed age at which you should start potty training your child, it is simply a case of waiting until your child is ready; although it is easier in summer as the weather is generally warmer and there are fewer clothes to take off.

How do I know when my child is ready?

• They are aware of having a wet or dirty nappy
• They know when they are peeing or pooing and may tell you they’re doing it.
• They know when they need to pee or poo and will tell you in advance

You can start when your child is aware that they are peeing or pooing it will just take longer than if your child is at the the 3rd stage.

How to do it

• Leave the potty where it is easily accessible to your child this may mean moving it from room to room
• Explain to your child what the potty is for
• It is helpful if your child sees you using the toilet and knows what you are doing
• If your child regularly poos at the same time each day you may want to try and see if they will do it in the potty
• If you see that your child wants to pee try to see if they will use the potty
• Give your child plenty of praise when they manage to use the potty

A word of advice don’t shout at your child if they don’t manage to make it to the potty; there will be lots of accidents during the whole process, if you make it into a big deal it may cause alot of problems, such as your child hiding the fact that they have had an accident or regressing.

Here are a list of common problems you may encounter:

• The child has no interest in using the potty – don’t worry your child isn’t ready try again in a few weeks
• Make sure that the child doesn’t feel pressured – speak to your health visitor as stopping and starting alot will confuse your child
• If your child has been dry for a while and then starts wetting again – be understanding the child is not doing it on purpose and will be upset about the lapse

Some health professionals claim that it is possible to complete the process in 3 days if you put your child in pants and don’t go out for those 3 days. However not every child will be able to do this as every child is unique so if your health visitor gives you this advice please don’t get upset if your child doesn’t grasp the idea in those 3 days. My daughter is nearly 2 and we have been trying to potty train her for nearly 2 weeks and although we are making progress she isn’t dry most days yet. The only time I put her in nappies is if we are going out in the car and at night or if she has a nap during the day, please don’t try and get your child to be dry both day and night at the same time only attempt getting them dry at night when they are dry most days . When we go out I get her to go use the potty before we go out then every half hour I take her to the toilet and get her to try I make sure that I have plenty of clean clothes in case of accidents.

Until recently I knew that you could increase your child’s knowledge but what I didn’t realise was that you could actually improve your child’s intelligence! The brain is essentially a muscle so the more you stimulate, by exercise and nutrition, the better it is able to focus and think clearly this is because the synapses fire quicker and more neural pathways form.

You can enhance you’re child’s intelligence and knowledge by:

• Minimising the amount of TV your child watches

This sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how much TV the average child watches because parents are rushing about doing other things so sit their child in front of the TV to keep them out of their way. Another reason is that parents believe that alot of the programmes have an educational element. You can reduce the amount of TV by putting music on instead.

In extreme cases children who watch alot of TV tend to learn fixed phrases and can’t apply the vocabulary correctly. It doesn’t enable other areas of development such as their fine motor skills as they focus on the TV, they’re also not as active as most children either sit or stand in front of the TV which can cause childhood obesity.

• Keep your child’s brain hydrated

Water is the only drink that goes directly to the organs all other drinks are processed in the same way as food, this would explain why some children who drink alot of juice and squash throughout the day don’t want their main meals because their system is trying to cope with processing the juice. Water keeps the brain hydrated which keeps it working at it’s best, if the brain becomes dehydrated its learning capacity drops as well as concentration. It can also cause behavioural problems as a dehydrated brain causes headaches, I don’t know if it’s just my daughter but when she is feeling unwell regardless of what the complaint is she tends to have more tantrums and be more “clingy”; I’m sure I’m not alone with this.

• Give your child toys that will stimulate them and promote different areas of development

I know this sounds slightly sad but when I am buying toys for my daughter I find something I think she will like then think “well what can she get out of it?” If the answer is not much in most cases I won’t buy it because I know that she will get bored of it very quickly and it will then sit in a cupboard until have a clear out, which makes it a waste of money too. As a result although my daughter doesn’t have loads of toys she will sit and play with those that she does have for hours, it’s a great feeling watching as she explores new ways to use the toys. For more information see Toys that could enhance your child’s development

• Make sure your child gets enough sleep

Most children need an average of between 12-16 hours sleep. Make sure that you have a good bedtime routine, and if your child needs it let them take a nap during the day, my daughter sleeps from approximately 7:30pm ’til 7:30am and then if she’s had an active day she may have a nap mid afternoon. Tired children don’t concentrate very well and also are not as receptive to learning.

• Encourage your child to mix with other children

Children learn best from each other. This is because children are at approximately the same level whereas adults tend to either talk to their children either by incomprehensible babbling or by talking to them like an adult. This is not intentional it is just a case of most adults not knowing how to talk to children. Not only this but children who socialise with others tend to pick up new things and also stimulate areas of the brain that are not stimulated in children who are isolated such as the area of the brain that deals with language and also that which deals with social interaction.

• 1 cup of plain flour
• 1 cup of water
• Half a cup of salt
• 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• Food colouring (optional)

* Mix together the dry ingredients
* Add the water
* Mix until smooth
* Add the food colouring followed by the oil
* Cook on a medium heat, stirring constantly, until the dough leaves the side of the pan in a ball
* Allow to cool before use

Playdough has a short shelf life and will dry out if left out in the air when not in use so store in an freezer bag in the fridge.
ENJOY!!!

There are no fixed guidelines on when your child should go into a bed instead of a cot, so it is up to the parent. My daughter is nearly one and is still in a cot, but we are putting her into a bed as she keeps leaning right over the bars, which was a problem as she has nearly fallen over them several times.

There are various things that you can buy to aid the transition from cot to bed such as bed sides (they look a bit like the ones on hospital beds) but you do not need these we are putting a spare duvet on the floor by the side of the bed, but anything soft will do. Also make sure that you have a gate either across the child’s door or at the top of the stairs to make sure your child doesn’t fall down the stairs in the night.

I don’t know if it’s just me but I’ve had a fair few funny looks or people mistaking my daughter for a little boy. Why?
The confusion seems to be caused by the fact that she has a steering wheel attached to the front of her pushchair, basically it seems that the stereotypes still exist (girls have dolls and boys have cars) I think that this is wrong so I have tried not to impose them on my daughter, she has both dolls and cars.

According to various studies it can put pressure on the child to conform to the “norm” also it can take away your child’s individuality if you impose the stereotypes. So basically don’t stifle your child with outdated ideas

Here are some ideas for messy time activities:

• Jelly
• Cornflour
• Cooked Pasta
• Water
• Playdough
• Painting

Most parents avoid messy play in the home, due to the mess. Although messy play doesn’t have to be too bad if you contain it to one room; I started messy play with my daughter when she was 8 months; she loves it I put the activity in a washing up bowl on a bath towel, with the exception of play dough which went straight on the floor, obviously you can’t do this on a carpeted area. The clean up time is literally 2-5 minutes.

The Benefits:

• Language – you can encourage the child to describe it to you
• Role Play – this can be something like bathing a doll or making you dinner
• Improving manual dexterity – this basically means the use of their hands
• Emotional outlet – Your child can express his/her feelings without affecting anyone else for example they can punch play dough instead of you or another child

You can vary the activities by putting cars, spoons and other cooking utensils or whatever you want in, changing the colour, you can vary the texture by adding things like uncooked rice to them.