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Showing posts from June, 2016

Not all children can learn in the same way: Kids with ADHD need movements

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Children with attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) are always being told to sit still and concentrate, but new research has revealed that they actually need to move in order to learn. Forcing them to stay still is counterproductive. In fact, small movements such as fidgeting, squirming, leg-swinging, foot-tapping and chair-scuffling may be vital to remembering information and working out complex tasks. The new research contradicts the long-term guidelines for how to deal with children with ADHD, and suggests that incorporating things such as activity balls or treadmill desks to the classroom could help certain students perform better. "The typical interventions target reducing hyperactivity, it's exactly the opposite of what we should be doing for a majority of children with ADHD," one of the researchers Mark Rapport, from the University of Central Florida, said in a press release. " The message isn't 'Let them run around the room', but you need

Tips To Help A Toddler With A Speech Delay

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For the purpose of this article, a toddler refers to children between the ages of 18 and 30 months (give or take a few months).  However, many of the following tips will work for other age groups as well. Before geting into the tips, we need to make sure you understand the difference between speech and language , as many people will say “my toddler has a speech delay” when they actually are referring to a language delay.  So here is a very brief overview to show you the differences between speech and language development: What is Speech Development? Speech development refers to the production of specific speech sounds .  Most children will learn the sounds /p/, /b/, /m/, /n/, /h/ and /w/ first, along with some basic vowel sounds. What is Language Development? Language development refers to both the use and understanding of language .  This encompasses:   learning and using new words   combining words into phrases and sentences   grammar   asking and answering questions following dir

Screaming, Grounding and Spanking: Does old-fashioned discipline work?

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The knee-jerk reaction when our kids misbehave is often to do exactly what we got as kids. The question is, do these old-school discipline tools stand the test of time? “Parenting can be trying and difficult at times, and moms and dads find themselves behaving or considering behavior they would not have resorted to in normal circumstances,” explains Adelle Cadieux, Psy.D., a pediatric psychologist at Spectrum Health’s Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, MI. Surprising findings on how moms manage their emotions from a new survey by Parenting  and HLN’s  Raising America  show: A full 60% of moms admitting to totally freaking out (yelling, throwing something, storming out of the room) on their kids a few times. One in five moms  said screaming at their kids was a regular occurrence. And a whopping 78% of moms today say they’ve spanked their kids, or at least given them a swat. In this article: Spanking   Losing privileges Time-outs   Grounding Yelling Forcing an apology Pu