Let's Get Moving With Our Children!

• Choose  a fun place to walk. Make walking fun! 

       ex. park or zoo

• Pack fun activities while walking.

       ex. bubbles or chalk

• Talk to children while walking. (notice colors, shapes, objects, etc.)
• Pack a snack 

        ex. bring water, fruit

Causes and Solutions for Children Who Bite

Biting is a typical behavior often seen in infants, toddlers, and 2-year old children.

Children bite for many reasons some of them are...

• To relieve the pain
• Get attention
• Self defense
• Oral stimulation
• To express feelings of frustration

Suggestion on things to do to prevent biting...

• Provide items for biting such as, teething rings
• Provide multiple toys to avoid frustration
• Understand child development so that you will have age appropriate expectations
• Give the child language to express his/her emotions 
• Provide opportunities for relaxing activities such as, bubble play. 

When a biting incident occurs...

• Remain calm 
• Approach the incident quickly 
• Acknowledge both children in the incident 
• Give children opportunity to express their emotions (giving them language as needed)
• Reinforce positive behaviors by acknowledging children's appropriate with words and actions

What is Success?

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty,
To find the best in others,
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.

by Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Importance of Play

• Through play children are able to express their feelings and thoughts more easily.
• Play children is the best method to use with children having difficulty dealing with life at home or at school. 
• Play is essential for a child's development and for learning life skills. 
• Play helps your child your child learn social and motor skills and cognitive thinking. 
• Play is needed for healthy development for your child. Play helps with the development by stimulating the brain through the formation of connections between nerve cells. 
• Children gain knowledge through play. They learn to thing, remember, and solve problems. 
• Play gives children the opportunity to test their beliefs about the world. 
• Children develop a sense of self, learn to interact with other children, how to make friends, and the importance of role-playing. 
• Playtime provides opportunities for the parent and child to confront and resolve individual differences, as well as family related concerns and issues. 
• Play allows a child to learn the skills of negotiation, problem solving, sharing, and working within groups. 

Dealing wtih Challenging Behaviors

A couple of examples of  challenging behaviors can be described as aggression, such as biting, hitting or throwing or inappropriate play such as knocking others toy structures down or snatching toys from others.

Difficult behavior is never because a child is "bad" and their behavior is often a result of many factors. For example, frustration, trying to be independent or physical causes such as, a hearing loss.

What can a parent do?
Step 1: Observe the child to see if you notice causes of behavior.
Step 2: Get observation and feedback from the childcare provider.
Step 3: Consult physician for thorough growth and development screening.
Step 4: Help the child verbally express his/her emotions by giving them language to describe how they are feeling and help them describe what they would like to have or what they want to happen.
Give children the opportunity to experience a range of emotions and express themselves accordingly.
Step 5: Continue to try different strategies to work with the child.