Growing Your Baby - Parenthood from Pregnancy to Pre-school » Toddlers

According To Survey Toilet Training Should Be By 24 Months

Summer — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:02:16 +0000

An Australian survey found that half of all toddlers are not toilet trained by the time they are 3-years-old. However, the best time to toilet train a toddler is between 19 and 24 months the results show.

The survey, Toilet Training of Infants and Children in Australia: 2010, is part of the The Restraint Project out of the University of NSW. It began from growing concerns about the impact of disposable diapers and the environment and the contamination that bodily waste poses in the trash. Anna Christie, the creator of the survey, proposed that children were being toilet trained up to a year later than earlier generations because of “underskilled parents, wrong-headed ideas.”

The survey has support from some experts, such as Robin Barker, author of The Mighty Toddler. Baker agrees that children were meant to be in control of their bodies by 3 years of age.

Toddlers want independence. And [delaying toilet training] flies in the face of all this other stuff we go on about with young children. We want them all learning the violin and reading … but they’re not potty trained.

In comments, Baker pointed out that her comments were based on her experience rather than on research. However, Christie beleives that later toilet training leads to many issues. – Summer, staff writer

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SOURCE

Study: Naps Are Important For Baby Brain Development

Summer — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:24:00 +0000

Most parents cannot wait until nap time so they can have a few moments of free time. Now researchers from the University of Arizona in Tucson are saying nap time is equally important to your child’s ability to learn and development.

The research team studied 48 toddlers, first by playing for them phrases from a generated language until they became familiar with them. The 15-month-old toddlers were then followed up to see if sleep helped them with abstract learning. What the researchers found was that when the toddlers napped without 4-8 hours after hearing the phrases, they showed evidence of abstract learning. This did not happen to the toddlers who did not take a nap during that time.

What the researchers believe is that the deem REM (rapid eye movement) sleep that infants and toddlers have the most of is when their brains develop the most. When they are able to sleep soon after learning new information, their brains are able to detect the general patterns in new the information. This makes it vitally important for toddlers to have naps during the day and a healthy sleep schedule at night.

Parents and teachers can use this new information to plan educational moments before naps and bedtime. By structuring the day to give toddles and infants new information shortly before they will sleep, parents and teachers can help ensure that their brains will be able to process the information and learn it easier.

The results of this study were presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in San Diego, California. More research on this is sure to follow soon.

Related Articles:

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Teach Your Child a Second Language With Little Pim

Expert: Kids Under 2 Who Watch TV Could End Up Developmentally Delayed

Source.

Study: Obesity May Be Set During Toddler Years

Summer — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:57:55 +0000

A new study on obesity in childhood has found a link between weight during the toddler years and weight later in life.

This study followed more than 100 children and teens that were considered obese. Dr John Harrington, an assistant professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School, lead the study and feels the findings are a wake-up call to doctors and health officials. What was found was that among the obese children studied, more than half were considered overweight when they were only 2 years old. By 5-years-old, 90 percent were described as overweight already. All of the children were labeled obese by the age of 10.

Researchers working on this study feel the results show that weight problems can begin much younger than previously thought. Some of the researchers feel that a poor diet could be to blame for the weight problems. Food preferences can often be established early in life.

However, not everyone agrees. Many feel that obesity is more about genetics than eating habits. Unless a direct link between the children in the study and their diet is connected, the study could show that weight is predetermined.

Genetic studies have shown that the particular set of weight-regulating genes that a person has is by far the most important factor in determining how much that person will weigh. The heritability of obesity—a measure of how much obesity is due to genes versus other factors—is about the same as the heritability of height.

Whatever the cause of obesity, Dr. Harrington hopes this study will encourage doctors to look at possible signs before medical complications arise.

Related Articles:

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SOURCE

Toddler Left Alone In Car Rolls Into A House

Summer — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:30:33 +0000

A toddler left alone for only a few minutes in a car managed to knock the car’s gear into neutral, causing it to roll into a house. The child was, fortunately, unharmed.

A mother in Cedar Grove, West Virginia left her 2-year-old daughter inside her running vehicle for a moment while she went back inside her house to retrieve a car seat. While she was inside the house, her toddler managed to knock the car into gear causing it to begin rolling. The car managed to roll across an embankment, down a hill, then knocking down a pole before crashing into a house. Luckily the house was empty at the time.

The toddler girl was pulled from the car and checked by paramedics before being taken to a local hospital. No injuries were found on the girl. However, the situation could have been far worse. Between 1990 and 2000, vehicles were the sixth leading cause of death in the US.

Parents are warned to never leave their children alone in a vehicle at any time. Some parents believe that leaving vehicles running will prevent death from overheating, however young children can easily cause a running car to begin moving. It is safer for parents to keep their children by their side rather than left alone within a vehicle. – Summer, staff writer

Related Articles:

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SOURCE

Little Girls Face Health Risks From Wearing Heels

Summer — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 05:11:08 +0000

Lots of little girls like to wear high heel shoes when dressing up, however the heels can cause health problems for girls younger than 12.

High heels are being marketed more and more to little girls. Princess style shoes with heels can be found for children as young as two and three. Even celebrity children, such as Suri Cruise, have been seen wearing high heeled shoes on more than one occasion. The health effects of heels can be serious however, says Dana Points, editor in chief of Parents magazine.

Until age 12, the bones are still developing in the legs. Frequent wearing of heel can cause shortening of the tendons and damage to growing legs. Bone structure, posture, and core muscles will also change to adjust to the position heels put a child’s legs. The effects of wearing heels can be long lasting in young children.

Experts recommend parents limit the amount of time their girls wear heels. Parents can introduce other colorful items to a child’s wardrobe and explain the dangers of wearing heels. – Summer, Staff Writer

SOURCE

Study: Rates of Toddlers Taking Antipsychotics Has Doubled

Summer — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 20:54:43 +0000

According to a new study, the rate of toddlers and young children taking antipsychotic medications has doubled in recent years. Yet little is still known about the effects these drugs could have on those so young.

Dr. Mark Olfson, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University, headed the study and is worried about what effects these types of strong medications could have. Antipsychotic medications are rarely needed to be prescribed to children aged 4-5, and only as a last resort when no other therapeutic treatments are working. However this new study shows that the number of children is increasing, with questionable means.

Dr. Olfson noticed that in 1999-2001, only about one in 650 5-year-olds were medicated with antipsychotics. By 2007, however, this number had risen to one in 329. Less than half of these children had received mental health treatment from a psychotherapist or psychiatrist. This study raises the question of whether doctors were effectively making use of all therapeutic options before turning to medications.

The most common antipsychotic being prescribed to these young children is risperidone, a medication commonly is used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in teens and adults. For young children it is prescribed for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and disruptive behavior disorder, as well as mental retardation and mood irritability in autistic children.

This reported trend is causing some concern among health officials. There is not enough research yet on the effects of powerful drugs on children younger than 5. According to Dr. Jensen, co-director of the division of child psychiatry and psychology at the Mayo Clinic

“With kids who are 2 to 5, most can be managed without these medicines. Rarely a 5-year-old goes on them. But a child of 2 or 3, in my experience, I have never had to put them on [an antipsychotic]. There is so much else that can be done.”

The study is published in the January issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

SOURCE

Postman Saves Toddler Life While Delivering Mail

Lisa — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 22:37:59 +0000

Mail Carriers seem to be going above and beyond the call of duty these day. A few months ago a postal worker caught a 1-year-old baby who fell out of a second-story window and now today one performs CPR and revives a toddler.

Robert Sweeney said he was finishing his route through a Natomas neighborhood Thursday when he heard the panicked cries of Kelly Jimenez’s mother, who came running out of their house.

“She said, ‘My baby, my baby,’” Sweeney said. “My first thing was, I grabbed the baby from her arms, and I just brought her over here and laid her in the grass.”

Even though neighbors had called 911, Robert performed CPR on the 19-month-old and revived her before paramedics arrived.

She is listed in good condition at UC Davis Medical Center.

“I’m hoping that she’s going to be OK. You know, her still being in the hospital concerns me but at least she’s in good hands,” he said.

Robert also said the emotion of the moment didn’t hit him until he got back in his truck to go home, and started crying.

“You don’t ever think you would be in a situation like that,” he said.

SOURCE

Texas Toddler Survives Three Story Fall

Lisa — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 01:37:19 +0000

In an amazing event, a toddler who tumbled from a third-floor window at an apartment complex in Austin escaped serious injury.

Lt. Doug Dukes said told a local news outlet the 23-month-old fell through a screened window while playing with other children Friday afternoon.

The fall is believed to be an accident and the tot was taken to an area hospital for observation.

It was not clear whether the child landed on something that cushioned the fall.

SOURCE

Chicco’s Garden Table Grows Smiles

Cari B — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 05:06:10 +0000

One week after my daughter’s first birthday, we received Chicco’s “Talking Garden Activity Table”.

Chicco is well known for its educational and innovative children’s products but this was our first. Upon opening the package, I was happy to discover how easy it was to assemble the table. I was even more relieved to find batteries already installed, as two sets of eyes were watching my every move, waiting as patiently as possible for the table to be ready to play with. In no more than five minutes from the time I opened the box, my four-year-old son and one-year-old daughter were taking it for a test-drive.

As I sat back to observe, I noticed the gentle male voice that spoke in English and was impressed with the original songs and music that accompanied the voice. The flower section plays a lovely song as numbers one through ten are highlighted. My son was intrigued with the bee section, although the song the bees sing is a little creepy to me! However, he played it repeatedly and loved it. It actually became an object of debate as both kids wanted to turn the bees to start the song.When my son finally moved on to something else, my daughter was able to explore on her own. Although she is not yet walking, she loves to pull herself up to standing and then attempt to climb everything in sight. I thought this would be an issue as the table is not particularly big; however, it was very stable and easily withstood all her pushing and pulling. It’s the perfect height as she was not able to get her knee up high enough to climb on top. She was very entertained by the songs, lights and colours on the table. In the MUSIC mode, she listened to music nursery rhymes and sounds, while the WORDS mode exposed her to numbers, letters, shapes and colours. She methodically manipulated areas on the table to hear the music and words she liked best. It was definitely a hit with her!

To my surprise, the table was also a hit with my son. The second language on the table is Spanish, and although he speaks French at school, his only real exposure to Spanish has been through television shows that use limited language. In the week since the table arrived, he has memorized the songs and has actually made connections to French and English. In the flower section, he points to the numbers as he sings them in Spanish. It’s the same with the alphabet in the bee section. Being a second language teacher myself, I find it amazing to hear him speak (sing) Spanish so well in such a short amount of time.

Chicco’s “Talking Garden Activity Table” has been a huge success in my house both with my one-year-old and my four-year-old. Playing with numbers, letters and words in two languages helps children develop language skills that they will build on their entire life. And being entertained while learning these skills is priceless. Reviewed by Cari

Surgeons Use Ping-Pong Ball to Save Toddler’s Life

Lisa — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:05:09 +0000

In a world first, an Australian surgeon has used a simple ping-pong ball to keep liver transplant patient Mackenzie Argaet alive.

Dr. Albert Shun, from The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, used the unusual approach when confronted with a medical problem while operating on the 2-year-old girl.

Born with a rare gastrointestinal disorder known as biliary atresia, Mackenzie needed the life-saving operation earlier this year.

But after inserting a portion of an adult-size liver in the little girl, Shun discovered it was too big and was placing pressure on her blood vessels which could have been fatal.

Having heard about the use of ping-pong balls in operations overseas, he decided to test their suitability in transplant surgery.

“I was using a sponge as a back-up purpose but there was no way I could close her up the way it was,” he said. “She is the first (transplant patient) in the world that the ping-pongs have been used for these purposes.”

In Mackenzie’s case, the ball keeps the liver off the arteries. Since her operation, Shun and his team have performed the procedure several times.

SOURCE

More Parents Vaccinating Their Toddlers

Lisa — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 19:43:13 +0000

Federal health officials recently announced that U.S. toddlers got the recommended vaccinations against childhood diseases at record levels in 2007.

The findings based on data from 17,017 children:

A record 77.4% of children in this age group received the full recommended series of vaccinations
99% of children got all but one of the six individual vaccines in the series (the one exception was the four doses of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis or whooping cough vaccine, received by 84.5 percent of toddlers)
fewer than 1 percent got no vaccines

The immunization program’s success hinges on parents’ trust in vaccine safety, CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding said.

Public health officials have expressed concern in recent years that some parents fearful about vaccine safety were declining to get their children vaccinated, making them more apt to catch and spread preventable diseases.

“We really recognize that ultimately our program is dependent on trust — trust of moms and dads, trust of caretakers and trust of the clinicians, pediatricians (and) family practice professionals who take care of our children,” Gerberding told reporters in a conference call.

CDC officials have blamed this year’s largest U.S. outbreak of measles since 1997, with 135 people sickened, on lack of vaccination often due to “personal or parental beliefs.”

SOURCE

Disposable Diaper Breaks Baby’s Fall And Saves His Life

Lisa — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:36:15 +0000

An 18-month-old Brazilian Toddler can thank his disposable diaper for saving his life after he fell from a third-floor apartment window.

Caua Felipe Massaneiro survived a 30-foot fall because his diaper snagged on a security spike embedded in the concrete wall around his apartment building in the northeastern Brazilian city of Recife.

The boy dangled from the spike for a moment, then “the diaper opened and the baby fell to the ground, but at a much slower speed,” a police officer said. “The diaper obviously lessened the impact of the fall and saved the baby’s life.”

“It was a miracle,” said the officer who declined to be identified because she was not authorized to speak to the press. “He could also have been killed by one of the spikes.”

The toddler was treated for minor fractures at an nearby hospital, where spokesman Gilberto Tenorio said he was in stable condition.

A local newspaper quoted Caua’s father, 23-year-old Alexandre Cesar Massaneiro as saying that his son climbed onto a sofa underneath the window he fell from -

“something he had never done before.”

“It wasn’t the diaper that saved him,” Massaneiro told the newspaper. “It was God.”

SOURCE

Police Shut Down Kindergarten Dance Party After Noise Complaint

Lisa — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:50:06 +0000

A kindergarten dance party in Auckland was shut down by police after neighbours complained of excessive noise.

Kids were dancing to raucous classics like Bob The Builder and the Chicken Dance when officials in Auckland responded to a complaint from a neighbour to pull the plug on the bash.

Head teacher at One Tree Hill Kindergarten, Lisa Gordon, told The Dominion Post how a noise control officer turned up at their annual party at 6.30pm looking a bit sheepish.

“I think he must have been pretty embarrassed,” she said. “It just strikes me as pretty absurd. It was only 6.30pm.”

A spokesman for Auckland City Council said: “The noise was deemed by our noise control officer to be excessive. The music could be heard two doors down the road.”

Some people really have nothing better to do! Who complains about noise at 6:30? SOURCE

Robeez New Tredz

Lisa — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 04:01:16 +0000

Robeez, the company known for their adorable soft shoes, has created a line of shoes for toddlers and the active child called Tredz.

These fun shoes offer indoor comfort with outdoor protection. Parents will love the thick sole for stability and Robeez signature stay-on elastic ankle.

My favorite thing about these shoes are the style choices. Girls can choose from flowers, butterflies or snowflakes, while boys get trucks, graphiti or a sophisticated suede. My son has the monster pair, which is very fitting for a 2-year old. I like the strong velcro for my busy guy. It does up quickly and stays on tight!

The facts:

Approved by the American Podiatric Medical Association
Non-slip, water-resistant TPR soles perfect for outdoor wear
Lightweight, flex soles support healthy foot development
Adjustable fasteners and elastic ankles keep them on
Cushioned insoles
Breathable to keep feet cool and comfortable

Available in three sizes: 12-16 months, 16-20 months, and 20-24 months
19 designs available
Shoes $42 USD, Boots $50 USD