Parent Fact Sheets

As a parent, you are in a position to facilitate your child’s social and emotional development. One of the developmental benchmarks is a child’s ability to feel compassion. Compassion is defined as a feeling of empathy which makes one want to help or show mercy. Compassion in young children is the process which allows them to begin to think about other people’s feelings and not just their own.

Lead is very dangerous to children. A child’s growing body absorbs more lead than adults do. A young child between to ages of 9 month and 6 years old are at most risk. Their brains and nervous systems are very sensitive to the effects of lead. If you are pregnant, lead can hurt your baby. One of the reasons babies and young children are so susceptible to lead poisoning is because they are constantly putting their fingers and other objects into their mouth that can have lead from dust or soil on them.

CHILDREN CAN BE EXPOSED TO LEAD PAINT BY:

After a death in your family, it is important to monitor how your child is feeling. All children grieve and some of these symptoms may be normal reactions, however when they last a long time or seem to be getting worse, it is time to seek medical health. Your pediatrician can recommend a trained therapist or counselor to help your child. You may be trying very hard to handle your own grief, but it is important to the healthy growth and development of your child that they process what has happened.

Here are some signs to look for that your child may be struggling:

Infants develop many skills as they grow. We watch them learn to turn over, crawl and walk. They learn to coo, and eventually learn words. We watch how they learn to use their hands and fingers to pick up and manipulate objects.

IDENTIFYING LYME DISEASE

What is Lyme disease in children?

Lyme disease is an infection caused by bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi. The bacteria are usually spread by tick bites. Lyme disease is a year-round problem, but it peaks during the spring and summer months. It can cause short-term symptoms, and may cause long-term problems.

WHAT CAUSES LYME DISEASE IN A CHILD?

Lyme disease is caused by bacteria that are spread to people by tick bites. The ticks that carry the bacteria are:

Toddlers are just beginning to learn language.  They may use gestures and sounds to get their message across.  As they grow, they begin to use two word sentences.  They express both positive and negative emotional expressions and body movements.  "No" is often a favorite word for toddlers.

How you communicate with your toddler will have an impact on how they develop a healthy self-esteem.

TODDLERS 12 TO 36 MONTHS

Here are ways you encourage communication with your toddler:

 HOW TO  RECOGNIZE SLEEP DISORDERS

Sleep is necessary for children to grow and develop.  Here are some reasons why sleep is important to your child's healthy development:

HOW TO ESTABLISH A GOOD BEDTIME ROOUTINE

 Is bedtime at your house a battle?  Have you noticed how sometimes children can get more wound up before bed and it's hard to calm them down?  You are not alone.

A good bedtime routine is essential to helping your child to calm down and prepare to fall asleep.  This fact sheet will discuss ways to make bedtime more successful.

HELPING CHILDREN TO MAKE FRIENDS

Every parent wants to see their child happy playing with their friends. No parent wants to hear, “I don’t have any friends. No one likes me.” However, that does not always come easily to children. Children develop at different rates, however all children need to develop the skills necessary to make friends and to be a friend.

When in social situations observe your child and see how other children react to them. Ask yourself:

 HELPING CHILDREN TO MANAGE DISAPPOINTMENT

Part of growing up is learning how to face disappointment.  Every child will at sometime face disappointment because of not being invited to a party, not being picked for a team, not being first in line, or even not being able to go outside because of bad weather.  As your child gets older, disappointment can become more important to the child.  Such as, not getting invited to the prom, not getting into the college of their choice, or failing their driving test. 

Parents are generally concerned with their child’s development. Is your child doing what other children his age are doing? It is comforting to know that all children progress at their own pace. Some children never crawl at all. In fact, they may go straight from sitting, to pulling up, to standing and then to walking. Often a baby’s temperament is playing a role, since placid infants are often content to stay in one place.

My child never finishes anything he starts! How can I help him learn persistence? When your child goes to school, he will be required to finish projects, games and assignments. Your child needs to learn how to follow through with an assignment even if he is frustrated or not interested in it.

As a busy parent, you have many responsibilities. Your job, other children in your family, your partner, routine house duties and many more demand your attention. You learned when your child was an infant that infants can be very demanding. Your baby needed to be fed in a timely manner and can often be very insistent when hungry. Their diapers need to be changed and your baby needs to be kept clean and comfortable.

Reading is essential to a child’s learning. Instilling into your child a love and enjoyment of reading is a skill that will follow them into adulthood. The love of books and reading can begin as early as infancy as you begin to read to your baby.

TIPS ON INSTILLING APPRECIATION OF BOOKS

• Children particularly love the closeness they feel when they can cuddle up with you as you read them a story.

• Allow your child to be able to see and touch the book.

WHAT IS BULLYING?

Bullying is the intentional tormenting in physical, verbal, or psychological ways. It can range from hitting, shoving, name calling, threats, and mocking to extorting money or possessions. Some children bully by shunning others or spreading rumors. Older child can use technology to harass other children. The effects of bullying can be serious and affect children’s self-worth and future relationships.

WHY DO CHILDREN BULLY?

Just mentioning head lice often makes us itch. Head lice can be a problem especially if your child goes to preschool or elementary school. Every parent dreads a call from school asking you to pick up your child because they have lice. The following are frequently asked questions discussing what head lice, treatment, and prevention:

WHAT ARE HEAD LICE?

When you are going through a separation and/or divorce, your child is feeling the effects and dealing with many emotions. There are so many changes going on in their lives. They may be experiencing:

• One parent is now missing from the home

• They are witnessing fighting and arguing between two people they love

• You and the child may have to move

• You may be in the middle of a custody battle and the child feels the strain.

• Awkward and strained visitation or transitions from one parent’s home to the other.

As a parent, you are contracted with a child care provider tocare for your child. You expect that their first obligation will be to keep your children safe. In order to do that, you must have open and honest communication with the provider who cares for your child.  This is especially true when it comes to releasing your child from childcare. 

Let’s look at the following scenario:

Sara enrolls her 3 year old son, Nathan, in a child care program. She fills out her  parent information sheet with her contact information and signs a contract contract.

What is it like at your house in the morning? Are you struggling to get the children up and ready for school or child care? Are your mornings chaotic, rushed and confusing? Here are 10 helpful hints to make you mornings calmer and more organized.

As a parent, one of your goal should be to help your child in their development of proper interaction with others. You need to teach your child how to solve problems, know his boundaries, and how to control his behavior. Clear and concise rules are very important for children to know their boundaries. Knowing and understanding the rules helps a child feel secure in their environment. Often behavior problems arise when the rules in your home differ from the rules at school or childcare program.

Let’s look at some ways we can guide children’s behavior.