Monthly Archives: November 2007
Locusts
As most people know, locusts swarm. According to my English dictionary they also consume vegetation of ‘districts’ (whole areas I suppose). Another definition is “…person of devouring or destructive propensitiesâ€. And it is the people who act like locusts of whom I was thinking a few weeks ago. We all know those people. They seem to […]
A Few Quotes Worth Mentioning
“A woman is like a teabag. It’s only when she’s in hot water that you realize how strong she is†— Nancy Reagan “You must do the thing you think you cannot do” — Eleanor Roosevelt “Ancoro imparo” (“I am still learning”) — Michelangelo at 87 The mind is a muscle, you have to exercise it […]
Sign language and flash cards
These may both have a purpose but I think many modern parents are losing sight of their purpose when raising their children. I understand that parents get frustrated when their children can’t talk and communicate. If they teach sign language the child can sign to them when she’s hungry, thirsty etc. I recently found my […]
Random Happenings
Grandfather #1: Comfortably picks you up at 15 months and burbles to you in Spanish Grandfather #2: Never visits you, his grandchild Which grandfather would you rather have? Caregiver #1: Invents games, takes you for walks, sits on the floor with you, laughs with you. Caregiver #2: Never talks to you or plays with you. Which caregiver […]
Where did neighbourhoods go?
The best part about buying our first house 26 years ago was discovering that we now lived in a real neighbourhood. We were the first family with young children to move into our road in some years. Our neighbours were such a mixed bunch age wise, gay and straight, with or without children. My two […]
What’s the difference?
I was thinking about the perception of the world from the point of view of two different populations. What does a child with developmental delays understand about the world? They are often anxious and jittery and their speech is usually delayed. Sometimes they are initially thought to be deaf. But the world to them is, […]
Thinking about TV and Speech Delays
Several articles published this year have suggested a relationship between TV and autism. I don’t pretend to be an expert on autism but I have cared for numerous children younger than 3 years. My first rule in caregiving is “no TVâ€. In households where the parents use TV as a babysitter or as part of their […]
52 Ways To Bludgeon Your Child’s Physical, Mental, Social and Emotional Development Part 2
The next 26: 27. Never be aware of noises that startle your infant/toddler/child. 28. Never do anything about noises that startle. 29. Be impulsive for your own needs, never your child’s. 30. Always satisfy your needs and guilt before your child’s needs. 31. Spend as much time away from your child as possible; be it for […]
52 Ways To Bludgeon Your Child’s Physical, Mental, Social and Emotional Development Part 1
The first of a two-part blog today. This list is in no particular order of importance. The first 26: 1. Don’t talk to your infant or toddler in more than grunts, if possible don’t talk to them at all, for as long as you can. 2. When and if they do start to talk repeat their incorrect […]
Horrors That Really Happened!
A tiny baby is left to cry for an hour each evening because “you aren’t supposed to feed babies more often than every 4 hoursâ€. Toddlers are locked in their bedrooms by their parents. Children are shut in dark closets to discipline them. Children are never allowed to get ‘messy’, be it jumping in puddles, getting […]