Sep
25
Get Your Son Or Daughter to Quit The Thumb Sucking Habit: Essential Parenting Tips
Filed Under Parent Resources, Parenting By Age, Parenting Reports, Quick Tips, Toddler | Leave a Comment
Thumb sucking is a concern lots of parents have. Toddlers suck their thumbs because it’s calming and comforting. It’s probably something they did before they were born and revert back to it when they are nervous, agitated, scared or feeling poorly. They may also use it to lull themselves back to sleep in the middle of the night.
Parents shouldn’t concern themselves unless it continues after the age their permanent teeth begin to appear, around six years old. Experts say that it’s the intensity of the thumb sucking and the tongue’s thrust that deforms teeth and makes braces necessary later. Children who rest their thumb passively in their mouth are less likely to have difficulty than kids who suck aggressively. If you’re concerned, closely monitor your son or daughter and analyze their technique. If they appear to be sucking strongly, you may want to begin curbing their habit.
Punishing or nagging your son or daughter to stop won’t help because it’s usually an automatic response. Attempting to curb it by putting an elastic bandage on their thumb or another method will seem like an unjust punishment, especially as they indulge in the habit for comfort and security.
Try to wait it out. Children usually give up thumb-sucking when they’ve found other ways to calm and comfort themselves. Consider offering them other alternatives to comfort themselves such as a soft blanket or lullaby toy.
The key is to notice when and where they are likely to suck their thumbs and offer an alternative. If it happens while they are tired, try giving more naps. If they suck their thumb often while watching television, try to distract them with a toy that will keep their hands occupied.
Older children may need gentle reminders to curtail thumb sucking while in public, and praise should be given freely when the child finds and uses an acceptable alternative. Your child’s pediatric dentist can offer other suggestions for helping your son or daughter kick the thumb sucking habit.
If there is one stage of child development that seems to fill many parents with dread then it has to be toilet training. I think this originates from our own parents and grandparents telling us tales of woe about their own experiences of toilet training their children. But that was ages ago and knowledge about child development has grown dramatically. That means that your experience of toilet training can be very different from that of your mother or grandmother. The key is to follow a reputable toilet training program. And that actually starts well before you introduce your child to a potty. Check out the following article for further advice
tips for toilet training boys
And the guidance applies equally well whether you are toilet training a boy or girl.
Jun
3
Reading, Books and Toddlers
Filed Under Parenting Reports | Leave a Comment
I received a unique parenting tip from Angie, regarding books for toddlers & young kids. She says:
“Everyone knows that reading to children is essential. Here is my unique parenting tip. Keep your children’s books in the toy chest. They will think of books as fun things to do, just like dolls and trucks. They’ll look at them more than if you have them on a shelf, separate from their other things. It didn’t matter if the pages got torn or if soda got spilled on them - they will think of them as a fun thing to do. I had a few family heirloom books though, ones that my grandmother had read to my mother, and I kept those on a high shelf and my children had to wash their hands and sit on the couch with me to read those. They need to also understand that books are to be treasured.”
My extra tip for parents in this regard:
I have always valued reading & have loved books from an early age. While I do believe books should be treasured,and I try to pass the love of books on to my son, Angie’s tip makes a lot of sense. I suggest buying children’s books from Amazon.com or you can shop at a Half-Priced-Books in your area to get GREAT deals on kid’s books. I’ve found classics in good shape there for a quarter to 99 cents. 
or even garage sales.
Then you can keep some cheap ones to play with and have the books on the shelf that kids learn to cherish & protect from”harm”. 
If you have a unique parenting tip you would like to share please send it to info(at)parentchronicles.com.
I am growing the blog and hope to really flesh it out into a valuable resource for parents and parenting tips. As always I appreciate your comments here on my parenting blog or votes on the social networks. You can see the different button’s below for some of them, but please submit us to your favorite even if it’s not there!
Thanks so much!
Marilyn