Parents looking for a unique costume for Halloween or pretend play will find an impressive selection at Aeromax.

The company prides themselves on creating dress up gear that is realistic.

From Junior Firefighter to Airline pilot, Aeromax’s costumes come complete with official patches and an array of accessories including footware, hats and matching medical gear (physician, nurse and doctor).

Before I received my son’s costume, I was forewarned by a friend that once I got it on him, he may not want to take it off.

That was funny to me at the time, but it proved to be true after our Astronaut Suit arrived.

Almost immediately, my son wanted to wear it and play Astronauts with daddy.

Our bright orange suit features 4 Nasa patches, buckles around the waist and a million pockets to store all the things boys carry.

Older kids, 5 and up, will love the additional Astronaut Helmet, which features an air vent, communication Receiver, a ‘mock’ boom microphone and a retractable protective visor.

Everything about Aeromax’s costumes impress me. No detail is too overlooked. Their gear is not created for one-time use, but as a toy that can be used for pretend play everyday.

New for Fall, Aeromax is offering 10 styles in 6-12 months sizes for little adventurers.

Big Kid Bonus – The company also creates 11 matching Get Real Costumes for Daddy.

In June, France’s minister for culture and communication, Christine Albanel, issued a “cry of alarm” to parents about channels dedicated 24 hours a day to baby-targeted programming. In a newspaper interview, she called them “a danger” and urged parents not to use them to help their children get to sleep.

She was referring to Baby First TV and Baby TV.

The ruling cites health experts as saying that interaction with other people is crucial to early child development.

“Television viewing hurts the development of children under 3 years old and poses a certain number of risks, encouraging passivity, slow language acquisition, over-excitedness, troubles with sleep and concentration as well as dependence on screens,” the ruling said.

I think that France may be taking this whole thing too far. My son has been watching TV since he was 8 months old. It has helped him learn how to talk and has taught him new songs and dances.

SOURCE

Now the American Physical Therapy Assn. wants parents to know that position is for when they’re sleeping and unsupervised.

A national survey of 400 pediatric physical and occupational therapists by the children’s health advocacy group Pathways Awareness found that two-thirds of therapists reported increases in motor delays in infants who spend too much time on their backs.

“We have seen first-hand what the lack of tummy time can mean for a baby: developmental, cognitive, and organizational skills delays, eye-tracking problems, and behavioral issues, to name just some complications,” said association spokeswoman Judy Towne Jennings from Fairfield, Ohio, in a news release. “New parents are told of the importance of babies sleeping on their backs to avoid SIDS, but they are not always informed about the importance of tummy time.”

It’s not just when they’re asleep that babies are on their backs. What with car seats, infant carriers, strollers and swings, the new generation of babies spend much of their awake time locked into a variety of protective containers — on their backs.

Tummy Time promotes muscle development and helps avoid flat areas on the backs of heads. So regularly get the little tykes out of those convenient containers and get down on the floor with them – even if they don’t like it.
Babycenter offers these tips to help make Tummy Time more enjoyable for both parent and baby:

1. Join them on the floor – get down on their level and encourage them, talk with them, shake their rattle, make funny faces or play peekaboo.
2. Buy a few tummy time toys – invest in a tummy-time toy or gym, designed especially for babies to play with while on their belly. Some have lights, mirrors, moving pictures, music and/or squeaky toys attached.
3. Get the other kids involved – if you have other kids at home have them join you to distract the baby.
4. It’s all about timing – make sure that you baby isn’t hungry or tired when you set them down for tummy time. A just-fed baby may also be uncomfortable if you try it just after feeding

Tip: Some parents find it helpful to roll their babies over on their tummy for a little while after every diaper change. It’s easy to remember to do it, and your baby may come to expect it. Your baby may also enjoy the view, if he’s up on a changing table. Just be sure to hold on to him so he doesn’t roll off.
Some tummy time toy suggestions:

Each video was created to introduce babies, toddlers or pre-schoolers to a second language. (Spanish, French, Mandarin, English/ESL)

Because my son was a bit behind in his speech, I opted for the English version to help expose him to common phrases for everyday activities.

I wasn’t sure what he was going to think because he is a singing and dancing video guy, but he quickly bonded with Little Pim, the Panda that hosts the series.

After watching all 3 videos with my son over and over, I have to say that I am impressed by many parts of the Little Pim program.

1. The Lead Character – Little Pim, the panda is a gracious host who is animated nicely. He is funny, personable and very cute. My son now refers to him like they are friends. It is very cute!!

2. Consistency – I like that each video is broken into smaller segments to help with quicker learning. Every segment has all of the key sections repeated so that younger minds can retain the information learned at the beginning. In between every segment Little Pim entertains with his funny ‘Pandaisms’ and cute antics. On top of learning common phrases – your child will also learn about Pandas!

3. No promotional crap to sift through before the video starts. I LOVE the fact that the video starts almost immediately after you put it in the DVD player. There is no promotional crap to fast forward or detailed maps to sift through, PLUS if the video ends instead of it cycling the main page, it re-starts after 2 minutes of sitting idle.

I highly recommend this video series to any parent looking to expose their child to a second language or to those who would like to help their child master their primary language.

The video touches on all aspects of everyday life from nap time straight through to spending time with your pets.

Once my son masters English, I would definitely love to introduce Spanish or French.

The 3 disc set we have retails for $49.95 at littlepim.com

“There are numerous parenting books telling people what to expect when they’re pregnant. But once a baby is born, an astonishing number of parents are not only unsure of what to anticipate as their child develops, but are also uncertain of when, how or how much they are to help their babies reach various milestones, such as talking, grabbing, discerning right from wrong, or even potty-training,” said Dr. Heather Paradis of the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.

Parents were asked to complete an 11-question survey designed to see which parents were well prepared and which were not.

The survey asked questions like, “Should a 1-year-old child be able to tell between right from wrong?” and “Should a 1-year-old child be ready to begin toilet-training?”

The correct answer to both is no.

Parents who got four or fewer correct answers were considered to have low parenting knowledge.

Other tests included teaching their child a new task, how often they engaged their children in enrichment activities, such as reading books, singing songs or telling stories.

Researchers found that 31.2 percent of the parents had a low level of knowledge about what to expect from their child, and this was strongly correlated with lower parental education level and income.

“The fact that almost a third of parents could only answer four out of eleven questions correctly was very surprising to us,” Paradis said

Here are a few Milestone Highlights: 1-3 months

• Support head and upper body when on stomach
• Open and shut hands
• Bring hands to mouth
• Grab and shake hand toys
• Swipe and bat at dangling objects
• Push down legs when on a flat surface
• Follow moving objects

4-7 months:

• Roll over both ways (stomach to back, back to stomach)
• Sit up with, and then without, support of his hands
• Reach for object with one hand using the raking grasp
• Transfer objects from hand to hand
• Support whole weight when on legs and held upright
• Explore objects with hands and mouth
• Explore objects by banging and shaking

8-12 months:

• Get in and out of a sitting position independently
• Get on hands-and-knees position and crawl
• Pull self up to standing position, walk holding on to furniture, stand without support and, eventually, take a few steps without support and begin to walk
• Use pincer grasp (thumb and first finger)
• Place objects into container and take them out of container
• Begin to do more functional activities, such as hold a spoon or turn pages in a book
• Say “mama” and “dada” and use these terms specifically referring to a parent
• Use exclamations such as “oh-oh!”
• Use simple gestures, such as shaking head for “no” or waving for “bye-bye”

SOURCE, SOURCE

Today, I came across this article that has found that good old fashioned blocks may make their toddlers smarter. Go figure…

Children who played with blocks scored on average 15 percent higher on language tests — an early indicator of cognitive development — than their peers who didn’t get a chance to stack and pile, according to research released Monday by the Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute.

“Many toys make claims they are actually educational for kids,” said Dr. Dimitri Christakis, who led the study. “The interesting thing is that things like blocks never made such claims.”

Playing with the blocks stimulates a child’s imagination – and encourages them to spend less time watching TV.

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This learning crocodile is great for kids 1 year and up to learn many new skills. The mouth zips shut, the legs can be unbuttoned on/off and the tail unsnaps, comes apart by Velcro and unties.

This stuffed guy is made of many bold materials that have different textures and colours to keep your child interested.

Hand wash in cold water to clean. Air dry. Made of mixed cotton/polyester fabrics with metal snaps, a plastic zipper and large, plastic buttons. Designed in Germany. Made in under Sigikid’s direct supervision in China. Comes in a coordinating clear vinyl case with zipper.

Learning skills:

Creative Expression, Early Motor, Fine Motor, Sensory, Social/Emotional, and Independent Play.

I found it at oompatoys for $32.49

I love everything that is designed by lamaze. The bright colours, unusual fabrics and interesting textures always made my son happy and kept him occupied for long periods of time.

Tummy time is an issue for most parents because babies have to work harder and they don’t like it. The majority of parents will tell you that they don’t do tummy time because it is a hassle and they don’t want to hear their baby complain.

The Spin & Explore Garden Gym is a neat way to get your baby used to being on their tummy.

Your baby will gently and comfortably spin round on his/her tummy, stretching and building upper bodies while exploring lots of squeaky, crinkly, tactile fun. You can also remove the spinner, after you child can sit up, which will allow them to explore on their own terms.

The colorful play mat with varying texture and layers, stimulates your baby visually and physically. The spinning feature allows them to control what part of the mat they would like to see and when.

I really love this toy and wish it was around when my son was born. It has received praise from many new moms on the learningcurve.com site which is always a good sign.

‘Doug and Melissa’, a great toy company that specializes in wooden products for children, have come out with this Bird House Shape Sorter.

This stuffed toy was designed to help develop fine motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination. It will also attract your child with it’s bright colours and fun characters.

Each side of this peek-a-boo bird house features a window that houses a velvety bird that rattles, jingles, squeaks o crinkles, and can be sorted by shape or color.

All Melissa and Doug toys are on sale for 15% off through May 29th at gummy lump