You Did What?
My two year old daughter and I were having a lovely morning playing in her playroom. We were reading books, laughing, and just having a great time!
Then all of sudden, it happened. I noticed my daughter was hunched over in a funny way and I asked her if she needed to go potty. It kind of looked looked she needed to go…
She said, “No!” And then I said, “Are you alright?” She said, “Yes.” I said, “Well what are you doing then?” She said very matter of factly, “I ate a booger.”
I just lost it. I laughed and laughed. I never thought I’d see the day when my princess daughter picked her nose and ate it! But she did. I just howled. I called her daddy in the room and I repeated the question and she repeated the gross little answer.
We both laughed. So, what’s the speech and language tip in all of this? I’m not sure…I just thought it was a funny story!
The Importance of Playing with Same-Age Peers
Starting next week, my daughter will start attending a Parents-Morning-Out program in our community for one morning a week. I was very excited as we met her teacher this morning and had a tour of the ‘classroom’. It was beautifully filled with play-doh, toys, books, and most of all, love! I almost cried when I saw a little cubby with Grace’s name already on it! My baby!
As many of you know and some of you first-time readers don’t, my daughter is now two and half years old and I have had the honor and hard work of staying home with her full-time. I felt in my heart it was time for her to start getting some consistent same-age peer interaction in her life.
Don’t Worry,Be Happy!
Remember that song: Don’t worry, be happy….it would just drone on and on and on? And forgive me if it is now stuck in your head the rest of the day! I was just thinking about that song right now because I was fighting off that all too familiar habit of worrying.
I was in my bathroom right now recoloring the grout (such fun!) and I found myself worrying over the fact that my daughter is not sleeping during her nap times lately and is she getting enough sleep and am I doing enough to help her and blah, blah, blah!
You know, once you add a child to your life, worrying really tries to take over. Don’t let it! View it as an enemy and fight it. Worrying does nothing to solve anything. It is truly one of the biggest wastes of energy there is…and if there’s one thing a mommy needs that is energy.
I don’t know who needs to hear this out there today, but please stop worrying about your little one. I’m sure you’re doing the best you can to provide her with everything she needs. You can only do the best you can. I’m here to tell you you are doing a great job! Keep it up, mommies of the world!
Don’t worry, be happy!
Recommended Reading
Now and then, I would like to share some books or products with you that I think are beneficial to you and your little one.
They may or may not be directly related to speech and language development. But I promise you, I willl recommend something that will help you and your child.
One of my favorite books in the world is called Magic Trees of the Mind: How to Nurture Your Child’s Intelligence, Creativity, and Healthy Emotions from Through Adolescence. It’s written by Marian Diamond, PhD. and Janet Hopson.
Dr. Diamond reveals how a child’s brain physically responds to factors in their environment. She also relates how we as parents can provide our little ones with a nurturing and stimulating environment in which they can develop and thrive!
Can you guess what the biggest ‘environmental factor’ in a child’s environment is? You got it: YOU!!! You are the architect of your child’s developing brain. Isn’t that an amazing responsibility?
This book is serious science and I recommend it to any parent who is serious about raising their child to his or her fullest potential!
Check it out!
How Do I Keep Track Of All That Talking?
Good question?
How do you know if you’ve hit your target word count for the day? Keep a daily log and place a check on a piece of paper for every word you utter…not quite!
I would love to direct your attention to some new wonderful technology on the market that helps you track each and every precious brain-boosting word you speak.
For more information, go to lenababy.com
It’s Really 30,000?
Yes, that is the number of words you should ideally speak to your baby or toddler every day. Are you jaws tired just thinking about it?
Well, the benefits that come from talking to and with your baby should far outweigh those fatigued jaw muscles.
Better vocabularies, higher IQ’s….I think it’s worth it!
Get talking!
And The Number Is….
O.K…..are you ready for the magic number?
How many words per day should parents speak to their developing baby or toddler in order to provide the best chance of OPTIMAL language development?
Are you ready?
Are you sitting down?
Here it is: 30,000!!
Yes, that’s right! 30,000 words per day!
So, what do you think I’m going to say to you know?
Get talking!
How Many Words Per Day?
Did you know that there is a certain number of words per day a parent or parents should speak to their developing baby or toddler that will provide optimal impact?
Stay tuned for the number!
Limit the TV!
There has been a lot in the news lately regarding baby DVD’s and their effect on language development.
The following excerpt is from Advance magazine : “Researchers at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute, in Seattle, WA, found that for every hour per day spent watching baby DVDs and videos, infants understood an average of six to eight fewer words than infants who did not watch them. Baby DVDs and videos had no positive or negative effect on the vocabularies of toddlers ages 17-24 months.”
The bottom line is this parents: The best tool for your baby’s language development is you!
Nothing can take the place of an interested, loving, and engaged parent! Get talking!
Talk, Talk, and Talk!
I met a lovely lady and her beautiful daughter, Savannah, while at the park today with my daughter. She kindly commented that my daughter’s vocabulary seemed very good. I told her that my daughter, Grace, is highly verbal and that I’m also a speech-language pathologist and know a few tricks to help move things along!
She asked me if I had any quick tips to share with her and I gladly responded. I told her to talk to her daughter. I said talk to her about everything, provide a running commentary! It seems obvious, but it’s really one of the best gifts you can give your child.
Studies have shown the more a parent actually talks with a child during the early years (0 -3 years to be exact), the better the vocabulary and IQ scores are later in life.
So, if the lovely lady I spoke with this morning happens to read this blog post, good luck to you and your beautiful daughter and the one on the way!