Monthly Archives: May 2012

Invasion of that sweet imagination {Guest Post}

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Mama OT is honored to welcome Annie Groves as its newest guest blogger. Annie is a mama to two (soon to be three!) precious girls and today she will be addressing the topic of childhood imagination — perplexing nicknames, what happens when imagination comes to life, and tips for helping you engage your child’s imagination. Enjoy!

. . . . .

My daughter, just shy of four years old, gave herself an imaginary name that stuck with us for well over two months. If you and I were to meet in the park as complete strangers and we went through the formalities of introductions, my daughter would have introduced herself as Kada (Kay-duh). It might go something like this:

You: Hi! What’s your name?
Me: My name is Annie, and this is Ellie and Claire.
Ellie: My name’s not Ellie! It’s Kada!
Me: (Somewhat nervous at her daughter’s insistence upon being called an imaginary name) She likes to be called Kada…
You: Ooooh… Nice to meet you!

Pretty soon, strangers in the park, her friends, and sometimes Yours Truly were calling this spunky three year old by a name she completely dreamed up on her own.

Enter the world of imagination.

We are trained as parents to look for signs of imagination. At our pediatrician’s office are flyers asking us to look for imaginative play by the age of 18 months. Does your child use pretend play? When both my daughters began interacting with dolls and animals beyond tight snuggles, I knew they were developing their sense of imagination and mentally checked off that milestone in my head. Imaginative play? Check!

Having not been formally trained in the world of psychology or child rearing (remember how they just hand you your baby in the hospital and shoo you out the door?), I figured we would encounter a more developed sense of imagination as my children grew, but I hadn’t thought much about parenting through imagination and creativity.

Quite honestly? I was bewildered at my daughter’s insistence of using a made up name with every single human being she encountered. My husband and I wondered at her imagination that seemed to explode at every hour of the day. One day, we were piling into the car and my daughter, who loves dinosaurs with every ounce of her being, exclaimed, “MOM! Wait! Don’t close the door!!!” When I asked why, she explained, “There are six dinosaurs and they’re not done getting in the car!” Cute, right? Oh wait. There’s more. “Mom! Only some of them can fit in the car so two of them are going to walk outside while we drive.”

I loved hearing about what was going on inside her head but couldn’t quite wrap my mind around how to protect her creativity while still maintaining reasonable social conduct. Many people told me it was a sign of intelligence. And this was nice, because parents like to hear that their kid is potentially smart, but I really wanted to engage my daughter, not just watch it happen.

Remember that part about not being an expert? About not knowing how to navigate this portion of parenthood? I tried several approaches with my daughter about this name deal. At first I went with it. And then it got frustrating and so I insisted that I call her by her given name because we are her parents and we gave her the name Ellie. Thankfully, my daughter is determined and was unphased by my discouragement. After a while, I gave in. We occasionally called her Kada, encouraged her to ask politely that others call her Kada, and after two months she was back to Ellie.

I’m so thankful for our raw introduction to a child’s mind. Our daughter gave us a gift of freedom as we watched her learn to express her thoughts and ideas in creative play. At the same time she was learning to assert her autonomy, we were learning how to install helpful parameters for her imagination.

Here are some tips my husband and I learned in the process:

1. Engage your child’s imagination. One of the easiest ways to engage your child’s imagination is to ask questions. She will be allowed freedom to explore her imagination while you, the parents, gain understanding into what interests your child and why she might take on peculiar behaviors. For instance, one of my favorite conversations occurred after I caught my daughter eating plants:

Me: El! What is in your mouth?!
El: opens mouth to reveal chewed up plants
Me: Why are you eating plants?! … (at this point a flip switched and I went from being annoyed at her eating plants to realizing her actions might expose imaginative play) Are you pretending to be a dinosaur?
El: smiles YES! I’m an Ankylosaurus!

Had I just addressed the plant eating issue (which, of course we talked about after understanding her herbivore practices), I would have missed out on her world and how she was putting into practice different concepts and ideas she was learning.

2. Set appropriate boundaries for your child’s use of imagination. Imagination is awesome, but small humans are certainly capable of pushing the boundaries when it comes to creative thought and play. When your child starts blaming poor behavior on his imagination or lying as a part of “imagining,” then it’s important to address poor behavior.

We encountered a bit of an attitude issue when El insisted on being called Kada. She grew disrespectful when others corrected her. My husband and I finally figured out an approach that honored her imagination while still allowing her to be kind to others. When we introduced ourselves to new friends, we trained Ellie to say, “I like to be called Kada.”

3. Have fun and play along! Pretend to be a dinosaur or a mommy shark or daddy hippo. Go on adventure walks with your kiddos, asking them to tell you about what they see and what they think about their discoveries. You might find yourself noticing every small flower along the sidewalk or even journeying on a hunt to find pirates. Find what she’s interested in and live in that world for just a half hour. Watch the bond that forms between you and your child.

In order to make the most of your toddlers’/preschoolers’ imaginative development, make sure you read lots of books with them and give time and space for their worlds to expand with art projects, make believe, and limited TV time.

Bonus for you – their imagination makes for great memories for mom and dad!

If you have a creative toddler/preschooler – enjoy! You are embarking on a journey bigger than yourself and it will prove to be helpful for your child’s brain development. Don’t freak out. Use it as an opportunity to be a kid again and make the most of those tender years!

. . . . .

Annie Groves is a fellow UCLA grad who became a mama two years after receiving her diploma. After five years of full time youth ministry in Hawaii, Annie is on an indefinite ‘mama sabbatical’ while her kids are pre-school aged. She currently lives in Keizer, OR with her husband JD (also a youth pastor), two sweet girls ages 2 & 4, and is expecting girl number three in less than two months!! Annie enjoys writing, photography, and coffee.

To read more of Annie’s writing, visit her blog at www.anniegroves.com.

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Tips for wiping baby’s snotty nose with less fuss

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Three things I know to be true:
1. Snotty noses are gross.
2. Snotty noses must be wiped.
3. Babies hate having their snotty noses wiped and will fight to the death to avoid having it done to them.

Right?

While I don’t know we will ever be able to eliminate the unpleasantness associated with wiping a baby’s sticky, snotty nose, there are a few things we can do to make it less of a battle.

1. No surprise attacks! You can slowly and calmly say something like, “We’re going to wipe on three: 1, 2, 3, wipe.” This predictability can be important and helpful for older babies and toddlers who are able to understand the sequence of events. It can even be helpful to show them a picture or icon of a little one getting their nose wiped, so they have a visual of what’s coming next. If they’re willing and able, you can even place the tissue in their own little hand and help them wipe it themselves so they remain in control (kids can usually assist pretty well with nose wiping close to their 2nd birthday). Predictability is key here, though in some cases a gentle warning may create anxiety, so test it out and make adjustments accordingly.

2. Provide some deep touch pressure on the child’s face when wiping, rather than lightly wiping. The body tends to be less defensive to deep touch than it is to light touch, so this can be helpful in providing input to the body that provides a calm and secure message to the brain rather than an alerting and startling one.

3. Make the tissue smaller. How would you feel if a giant cloth descended on your face every time you had a stuffy nose? You’d freak out, right? So do kids. Try folding the tissue to a smaller size so you have just the amount you need and you won’t needlessly scare the little snot monster in front of you. As a bonus, this now-thicker cloth will likely keep that nasty mucus from seeping through the thin tissue, so it’s a win-win!

To see a video demonstration of these tips in action, click here.

Take care of those runny noses, and happy wiping!

—

Photo credit for image.

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MamaOT’s Makeover!

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It’s only been one month since the official launch of MamaOT and, already, exciting changes are coming. To those of you who have read, shared, linked to, or subscribed to this blog: THANK YOU! from the bottom of my heart. Thanks also to those of you who have commented, called, emailed, or Facebook messaged me to tell me how much you love the posts on MamaOT (you know who you are). This blog is for all of you!

You may have noticed MamaOT has undergone a bit of a makeover in the past few days. Well, I have two big announcements to make. Are you ready?

(drum roll, please…)

ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER ONE:

MamaOT is now on Facebook and Twitter!

To get MamaOT in your Facebook news feed, click the “Like” button on the right-hand side of the Home screen, or go to www.facebook.com/MamaOTblog and click “Like”. This will give you additional access to helpful tips and tricks, as well as links to articles and other resources related to kid-life.

To follow MamaOT on Twitter, click the “Follow @mamaotblog” button on the right-hand side of your screen or click here.

You can still subscribe to MamaOT via email or Google Reader and follow on Pinterest, so what are you waiting for???

Okay, I know that was really exciting. Take a moment to collect yourself. Alright. Ready for MamaOT’s second big announcement? Here we go!

ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER TWO:

For those of you who aren’t into the whole social media frenzy (or who just want good information, plain and simple), I’ve added a brand new page to the blog just for you!

“Recommended resources“ is MamaOT’s newest page and is all about, well, resources I recommend. It’s an ever-growing list with alphabetized categories covering everything from pregnancy to activity ideas for little ones to autism to feeding/speech-language skills to…well, I guess you’ll just have to hop on over and check it out for yourself, won’t you? Don’t see what you’re looking for? Leave a comment on the new page or send an email to mamaotblog [at] gmail [dot] com to let me know and I’ll see what I can dig up.

I hope you enjoy these two new additions to MamaOT and, hey, if they make you love the blog more than you already did, would you mind doing me a favor and taking a moment to subscribe or share this blog with someone who you think would love it, too? The more the merrier.

Thanks for reading!

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Tips for early identification of autism

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English: Subject: Quinn, an ~18 month old boy ...

English: Subject: Quinn, an ~18 month old boy with autism, obsessively stacking cans. Date: Late 2002. Place: Walnut Creek, California. Photographer: Andwhatsnext. Scanned photograph. Credit: Copyright (c) 2003 by Nancy J Price (aka Mom). This is an edited version of Image:Autism-stacking-cans.jpg. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We’ve probably all heard of autism by now. It’s a word that frightens and confuses many. The latest statistics show 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with autism, with a 1 in 54 rate for boys.

In case you’re not well-versed, autism is a genetically-linked, brain-based, developmental disorder that manifests in the early years of a child’s life, prior to age 3. It involves difficulties with communication, social interaction, and repetitive or stereotyped behaviors (such as rocking back and forth or insisting on lining up objects). Many children with autism also experience difficulties with sensory processing. This means they may demonstrate either an over- or under-reactivity to certain kinds of sensory input (like touch, sound, or movement), or they may demonstrate sensory seeking behaviors. Many present with a mix of all 3.

The cause of autism is unknown, and theories abound. Treatment options vary, ranging from those backed by scientific evidence to others informed by individual experience or media hype.

Regardless of your opinion on the cause or course of autism, one thing is for sure: early identification is crucial. The earlier a child can be identified as “at risk” or diagnosed with autism, the sooner he or she can begin early intervention treatments such as ABA (applied behavior analysis…”behavioral therapy”), occupational, speech, or physical therapy. When begun early enough (by age 3 or earlier), these treatments are often effective in helping children learn skills necessary to enhance their development, improve independence in daily function and, sometimes, lose their diagnosis by the time they enter kindergarten.

Early identification and intervention are key.

As an occupational therapist working in an early intervention setting, this topic is near and dear to my heart. Although I am a professional who works with these precious kiddos on a daily basis, I want parents and caregivers to know you don’t have to be an expert in the field of child development to identify a child who may be at risk for autism.

Below are three things to keep in mind to assist with the early identification of autism:

1. Head lag at 6 months of age. This means that, when the baby is pulled up from a laying-down position on her back to a sitting position, her head dangles back and she has a very hard time bringing her head forward to line up with her body. Babies typically develop the ability to keep their head in line with their body during a pull-to-sit test by 4 months of age. A very recent study has shown head lag at 6 months of age to be a significant red flag for autism. In this study, 90% of the children who were diagnosed with autism exhibited head lag as 6-month-old babies. Let me be clear: this does NOT mean a baby will for sure develop autism if she demonstrates head lag at 6 months. But it does mean she is at a higher risk. Watch the clip below to see what head lag looks like and click here to see what typical head/neck motor control looks like in the pull-to-sit test.

2. Lack of pointing at people and objects by 1 year of age. When a child points to an object (say, the big garbage truck coming toward the house or the picture on the wall), he is engaging in something called “joint attention”. This is important for the development of communication skills, and kids with autism often struggle with it. Prior to being able to point at objects, babies develop the ability to look where someone else is pointing. You’ll see them start to practice this skill by looking at your finger and then following the imaginary line it makes over to the object you’re pointing at. This skill is often expected to emerge by 9 months of age. It is a precursor to pointing and is also a big contributor to the development of joint attention.

3. See a developmental pediatrician. Unlike regular kids’ doctors, developmental pediatricians are trained to identify, diagnose, and recommend therapy services for children with a variety of developmental and behavioral challenges, including autism. Those who hold the official title of “developmental-behavioral pediatrician” can be few and far between, but you can search based on zip code by clicking here. If you can’t find any in your area, you can search for a regular pediatrician who has clinical experience working with children and families with autism. Still no luck? If you live in the state of California (the state whose system I am currently a part of), you can contact your local Regional Center directly to request a FREE developmental evaluation. Click here for a directory of the 21 Regional Centers throughout California.

As you can see, this basic 3-point list is not exhaustive. That’s because my goal is to inform you, not overwhelm you. For a more extensive list of the early signs of autism, click here or here.

The earlier these kiddos are identified, the sooner they can receive services, and the better chance they have at developing the skills they need to reach their potential…and isn’t that what we want for every child? Let’s work together to make sure that happens!

For further reading about autism, please visit the following sites:
1. www.autismsciencefoundation.org
2. www.autismspeaks.org
3. www.firstsigns.org

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[Reblog] How to Miss a Childhood

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I came across a very moving post the other day on a blog called Hands Free Mama and I felt it was apropos, given the recent posts on parents developing attachment and learning how to attune to their children.

The post is called “How to Miss a Childhood” and, woah!, is it ever convicting. Read it here. Time to put down the cell phones, iPads, and laptops when we’re hanging with our little ones. Our kids are watching us as we pay attention to our technology more than them and, as Connor McClenahan mentioned in his guest post on attachment earlier this week, “There is no substitute for attachment with your child. Your child doesn’t understand your intention to be available – only your actions.”

Powerful stuff.

Hands Free Mama is a blog written by a mom who has committed to making memories and letting go of the distractions that pull her away from fully engaging with her children and other loved ones (like…blogging?). Her posts are extremely inspiring and encouraging, and couldn’t we all use a little more of that in our lives?

Let’s be parents who show our children how much they mean to us with our loving actions, rather than our (failed) good intentions.

Don’t let technology cause you to miss out on your kid’s childhood.

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Tips for helping you attune to your child {Guest Post}

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Yesterday, Mama OT welcomed its first guest writer, Connor McClenahan. In his initial post, Connor explained why parent-child attachment “is arguably the most important task of parenting”, and how you can facilitate this attachment by “attuning” to your child’s needs and emotions. If you have not yet read Connor’s first post, STOP what you’re doing and READ it. Right now. You’ll be glad you did. (Read here).

In this next post, Connor presents two simple activities you can practice with your child and explains the skills he or she will develop as a result. These “drills” are meant to help you develop your ability to attune to your child which, as mentioned yesterday, is an important contributor to the development of attachment. So without further ado…

. . . . .

1) The Dance of Engagement

With baby: You’ll notice when you’re engaging with your baby that there are moments when she turns away. Let her turn away and don’t try to grab her attention. Wait for her to turn back to you, then welcome her with a smile. She’ll do this often as a way to self-regulate (to not get too overwhelmed by excitement).

With toddler: The same thing applies when your child starts to crawl. When she crawls away, be ready for her to turn her head to see if you’re still there – then welcome her with a smile!

Relational skill developed: “I don’t have to pull away from relationships or constantly engage – others are not demanding, nor neglecting. They let me be who I am.”

Self-skill developed: “I can do things on my own! I can be by myself and I can enter relationships without being anxious about anyone’s agenda for me.”

2) Follow The Child’s Lead

With baby: When baby is engaged with you, simply copy all facial expressions and sounds he makes as he does them! [Editor's note: Imitating baby's expressions and sounds is helpful not only for facilitating attachment, but also for developing his language and communication skills. What a deal!]

With toddler: When you are playing with him, follow his lead. Act as an assistant and promoter to his ideas and imagination, not yours! Do what he wants to do. Find enjoyment in his imagination!

Relational skill developed: “I am not eclipsed or neglected by others. Being intimate with another person is good and fun – life is better when shared with another.”

Self-skill developed: “My thoughts and my ideas are good and important! I am valuable, and the things I do are valuable”.

. . . . .

Connor McClenahan is a graduate student in clinical psychology at Fuller School of Psychology in Pasadena, CA. He lives in Montrose with his wife, Sherianne, and his 3-month-old son, Aidan. His favorite occupations include cycling, spending time outdoors, and helping with his wife’s awesome youth group.

For more information on attachment parenting, please visit http://attachmentparenting.org.

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Why parent-child attachment is like working with clay in a freezer {Guest Post}

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Mama OT extends a warm welcome to its very first guest writer, Connor McClenahan. Connor is a graduate student in clinical psychology and is also a new dad! His recent experiences as both a student and new parent have taught him all about attachment — how important and rewarding it is, how difficult it can be to facilitate in real life, and how to go about developing attachment between parent and child. Take it away, Connor!

. . . . .

This February I became a father to my first son, Aidan. He’s beautiful, and it is such a joy to see him grow every day.

In my first steps as a parent, I have been boggled by the wealth of information available to parents. Everyone is telling you what to do to make sure you don’t screw up your kids. From all this endless info, I got the impression that my major concern as a parent was to make sure he (1) sleeps through the night, (2) doesn’t cry, and (3) gets his shots. These things are great, and can contribute a lot to your sanity. However, shouldn’t parenting be about something else besides making your child less inconvenient?

Allow yourself to imagine this with me:

Twenty years have passed. Your child is now an adult. He or she has a mind, talents, friends, romance, and dreams. Twenty years from now, I am willing to bet you will not care whether he was toilet trained at 2 years versus 3 years old, whether she had a vibrating high chair, or whether _____________________ (fill in whatever thing you are now worrying about). Twenty years from now, when he is going off to college, or whatever he does, you will be concerned with other things. What would those things be for you?

Think about it. For me, I hope Aidan and I have a good relationship, he chooses a quality spouse, he knows how to be a good friend, he works hard at what he cares about and what’s right, and he is confident of who he is. I’m guessing your hopes are along the same lines.

What if you knew the quality of your relationship with your child now – right NOW – will determine the quality of her relationships for the rest of her life? Wouldn’t you do everything you could to do that well? Wouldn’t that change what you care about now?

Countless research studies have affirmed this very truth.

By five years old, a child has already formed his blueprint for what relationships are and how they work.

That’s it. It’s in stone. From then on, all of his future relationships will be based on that blueprint.

Crazy, right?

Here’s the thing: the human brain is ever solidifying. Parenting is like trying to make a vase out of a ball of clay…while in a freezer. Time is short. The clock starts ticking the moment your child is born, and those very first moves in the first years (moments of attention, delight, meeting their needs) are the most important in forming that vase. But let’s say you don’t “form that clay” through your loving attention within the first few years. It will get harder and colder until she’s a teenager and you’re threatening to kill her pet rabbit so she’ll take out the trash.

This relational phenomenon is what psychologists call “attachment”. Attachment is arguably the most important task of parenting. They say the BEST way to form good attachment (We all listening here? Remember, 20 years from now?) is to be completely available for your child on his terms. What that means is that you are to be tuned-in, like a radio, to his needs when he needs them (which is why psychologists call this “attunement”).

So, practically speaking, this means when your child wants to play – play. When she doesn’t want to play – don’t. When she wants to feed – feed her. When she wants to sleep – let her sleep. Be available on her terms. And be okay with her being and expressing herself however she is. Don’t make her smile when she’s crying, don’t make her play because you want to play. She’s the baby – her “state” should determine your “state”.

Doing this well will build the foundation for your child’s self-understanding and the quality of his future relationships.

Sounds simple, right?

No. Why?

Because if we’re really honest with ourselves, this idea is outrageous and difficult.

And why is that?

Our minds, too, are like clay — clay that has already hardened whether we received love or not. At that period when we were still soft, our imperfect parents did not mold us. They did not know how to attach to us well, to show us that our thoughts, feelings, and self are good, wonderful, and worth delighting in and joining. This happened to all of us, and we then had to fill the holes in our own parents’ hearts…at the cost of being loved as we are. Now, we are left hard and imperfect, yet still in need of the love we did not receive at that critical time. The easiest place to get that love is from our own children, who will do anything (at the cost of their selves) to get our love and attention.

I had an experience recently when this was made real for me. Upon returning home after a long day these were the words that came out of my mouth: “Hey Aidan! Did you miss me? Do you remember your Daddy?” Woah. Those were not the words of a parent, but those of a child needing attunement. I asked HIM to attune to me instead of ME attuning to him. If I had attuned to him, I could have said, “Hey Aidan! I missed you so much! I remember you – you’re my beautiful son!” I would have placed him rightly as the receiver of love. This interaction has made me ask myself often: “Am I being the parent or the child?”

It’s hard work to do this. It takes sacrifice. It might mean taking a big step and going through your own therapy to fill up some of those holes from your childhood. Or it might simply mean turning off the TV or getting off the computer (or phone or iPad or whatever technology serves as a barrier to your relationships) to be more available for your child. Wouldn’t you rather make that sacrifice than ask your child to sacrifice his future self and relationships?

It’s worth it.

So, with every moment you have with your child, show her how to be in relationship, to be connected and intimate with someone.

Seize the opportunity to work with the warm clay – to shape a young child who can fully love and be loved because of your attunement to him. You’ll thank yourself later!

. . . . .

 Q: I work during the day – I can’t imagine being constantly available for my child, as much as I’d like to. What can I do?
A: The first thing you need to do is realize what you are sacrificing by working. There is no substitute for attachment with your child. Your child doesn’t understand your intention to be available – only your actions. Also, no one else can do it for you. Sure, giving them to another adult during the day who is able to provide attention will be much better for the child than your inattention. However, that bond with you is the foundation of your future relationship. By attending to other things, you are teaching your child that relationships are not important. Not the message you want to send, right? But you are. Why? For what gain?

Q: Are you saying I should devote all of my time to being with my child?
A: No. It is unrealistic to assume you can spend your entire day with no other agenda besides being with your child. However, it does mean being available when you are with your child and she wants to engage with you. Besides, your child doesn’t want to play with you all the time. She needs her own time, just like you do. When she wants to look at the ceiling and drool all over herself (what a life!), do what you need to do on your own, too. When she wants to play, engage with her and have fun! Remember that attuning to your child means being aware of her needs, including the need for her own time.

Be sure to come back tomorrow, when Connor shares tips for helping you develop the ability to attune and attach with your child!

. . . . .

Connor McClenahan is a graduate student in clinical psychology at Fuller School of Psychology in Pasadena, CA. He lives in Montrose with his wife, Sherianne, and his 3-month-old son, Aidan. His favorite occupations include cycling, spending time outdoors, and helping with his wife’s awesome youth group.

For more information on attachment parenting, please visit http://attachmentparenting.org.

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[Product Review] Hyland’s Baby Teething Tablets

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Teething can be a nightmare. Though some babies cruise through the teething stage with no problems at all, many experience intense symptoms (screaming ALL. NIGHT. LONG.) that force caregivers to shout in desperation, “Where is the magic pill to make it all go away?!”

Enter Hyland’s Baby Teething Tablets.

I first discovered these tiny wonders through the recommendation of a friend and, although skeptical at first, I have been won over by their effectiveness and efficiency in helping our baby (now nine months old) make it through his first several teeth.

Here are a few things I like about Hyland’s Baby Teething Tablets:

They are homeopathic and 100% natural. This is what made me skeptical at first but, hey, they work. For me, their homeopathic nature makes them a good go-to product if I’m not totally sure whether my baby’s fussiness is due to teething. Babies scream about so many different things when they’re little that sometimes it’s hard to tell exactly what the cause is. After ruling out other causes (like hunger, fatigue, gas pain, or reflux), I go for these teething tablets to see if they will help in that particular instance. If they do, then great, I identified the cause and now he feels better. If not, at least I didn’t give him an unnecessary dose of liquid pain reliever.

They are easy to administer when baby is fussing and screaming. Hyland’s Teething Tablets are tiny and dissolve instantly in baby’s mouth (under the tongue, in the side of the cheek, or wherever you can get it in there), which makes them super easy to administer. We are currently in the process of cutting two teeth in our household and, let me tell you, it is practically impossible to squirt liquid pain reliever into the mouth of a screaming, thrashing, arching baby who is suffering from teething pain. If you’ve ever tried it, you know what I mean. Plus, if you do get it in his mouth, he ends up either choking on it or letting it fall out of his mouth as he continues to scream, leaving you, your clothes, and your furniture with a hard-to-remove sticky residue. I much prefer the dissolving tablets.

They begin to work in less than 60 seconds. Again, I was skeptical about how effective these natural tablets would be. But when you see your screaming baby calm down less than a minute after dissolving them in his mouth, your skepticism begins to fade. We experienced this very event last night around 3am and it was incredible to see how, after 45 minutes of him fussing and us trying to get him back to sleep, our baby was finally able to relax and fall asleep almost instantly after taking the tablets. Works every time (if their pain is actually caused by teething, that is).

They aren’t sticky or messy. As mentioned previously, these tablets make pain relief hassle-free due to the lack of sticky mess involved, unlike liquid pain relievers. That’s a huge selling point for me.

They are widely available and can be found in most drug stores. I picked up my bottle of Hyland’s Teething Tablets at my local CVS Pharmacy. I suggest calling your drug store of choice or using the store locator on Hyland’s website to find out where they are available near you. These teething tablets have been around for over 85 years and, although Hyland’s did pull their product off the shelves during a voluntary recall back in 2010 (read here under “The Return of Hyland’s Baby Teething Tablets”), they are now back on the market with changes such as a child-resistant cap and an improved formula to ensure safety. This means these tablets are expected to be sold in even more stores throughout the country by the fall of 2012.

As with any product, do your research and make an informed decision before purchasing and administering to your baby. Read and follow the instructions on the bottle. Learn more about Hyland’s Baby Teething Tablets by visiting their website: www.hylandsteething.com. Read the product labels and, if your baby is allergic to any ingredient in this product, don’t give it to him or her (duh).

I highly encourage caregivers of teething infants to give Hyland’s Baby Teething Tablets a try! I have recommended them to parents of teething kiddos I work with and they have yet to let us down. It won’t hurt to try them and, if you don’t like them, you can always pass them along to someone who swears by them (trust me, we’re out there!).

Best of luck with those tough teething days and nights ahead!

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[2nd edition] One tip for introducing scissors: Use playdough!

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This post was originally published here on Mama OT on April 28th as an introductory resource for caregivers. Yesterday, however, I had the honor of writing as a guest columnist for PediaStaff’s OT Corner blog, a website serving as a resource for pediatric therapists across the country. Below is the new and improved second edition. It contains even more ideas and resources than the original post, so I wanted to share it here so you all could benefit, too. Enjoy!

Have you ever tried to teach little ones how to use scissors? It’s really hard! They have to figure out how to orient their hand, divide up their fingers, open and close the crazy things, and hold the material they are supposed to cut. Talk about a challenge for fine motor skills and bilateral coordination!

Beginner scissor skills typically involve learning how to perform one short snip at a time (around 2 years old) and how to make several short snips in a row along a line (around 2 1/2 to 3 years old). Then, as children enter preschool, it gets more advanced.

So how can you possibly teach a toddler to use something as complicated as scissors?

Use play dough!

Play dough is an ideal medium for introducing scissors because many toddlers are already familiar and comfortable with it, you can control the size and shape of the piece to be cut, and you can easily make it yourself (click here for traditional recipe and here for gluten-free, which is critical for kiddos with Celiac disease). Using play dough to teach snipping also causes less mess because you don’t have to worry about tiny pieces of paper flying everywhere. Kids can just smash the play dough pellets all together or make a new creation once they’re done! And as an added bonus, play dough does not discriminate between right- or left-handed snippers (unlike paper), so it can be easily used by everyone.

Play dough is also great because it provides a good deal of feedback to children’s hands, telling them how much resistance there is and, subsequently, how much pressure to use as they snip away. This feedback is an important contributor to the development of fine motor strength and overall skilled use of the hands.

Additionally, play dough snipping is a nice introduction to bilateral coordination, teaching kids how to use one hand to perform a skill (snipping with scissors) while the other hand acts as a “helper” (holding the play dough). Can you think of another task like this which kids must perform as they get older? Handwriting, of course!

One way to make play dough snipping fun is if kids pretend they’re making food for their animals or dolls. As you know, two- to three-year-olds are great at pretend play and, for some reason, I find they love to feed their toy animals and dolls. This is especially true if you — the mature adult — join in by snipping along and making outrageous “eating” noises. You know what I’m talking about: Num num num! Mmmmm! Yummm! Chomp! Seriously, kids get a huge kick out of grown-ups making eating sounds.

As far as scissors go, you can spend money on buying “play dough” scissors, or you can head to your store of choice (I like my local dollar store) and pick up some toddler safety scissors. It really depends on the child and your budget, so it’s up to you.

A few additional tips for introducing scissor snipping:

  • Try introducing tongs, tweezers, hole punchers, chip clips, or kid-friendly chopsticks prior to asking kids to use scissors. This is a nice introduction to tool use and requires a similar skill set to scissor snipping. Learn how to make kid-friendly chopsticks by clicking here, and find ideas related to developing pre-scissor skills with tongs, tweezers, and more by clicking here.
  • Some kids respond well to being told to give the scissors a “hand shake” in order to properly orient their snipping hand with the thumb up and pinky down.
  • You can place a sticker on top of the scissor thumb loop to provide a visual cue for which side goes up and/or you can place a sticker on kids’ thumbnails to indicate which way to orient their hand (so they can see the sticker on their nail).
  • Opening scissors is more difficult than closing them. Thus, if you help kids get their scissors into the open position over the play dough, they can then close the scissors independently and gain a sense of accomplishment by cutting the play dough “all by themselves”. How exciting for them!
  • Try starting out with “spring scissors”, which not only makes it easier for kids to open the scissors but also provides increased feedback when closing them. I actually found some great ones at my local Dollar Tree (click here to view and order), but you can also find similar ones on Amazon for a few extra dollars by clicking here. I like these better than other models of adaptive “squeeze” scissors out there because they open wide like regular scissors while providing a little bit of assistance for the child who has weak hands or is simply new to using scissors.

Get creative with your play dough snipping and, before you know it, those little ones will be well on their way to developing scissor skills as they prepare a grand feast for their toy dolls and animals.

Happy snipping!

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Free nursing cover!

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For all you nursing moms out there (or those who know nursing moms), check out this special Mother’s Day deal from uddercovers.com…yes, the company is called “Udder Covers”. Moving on.

They are offering a promo code in honor of Mother’s Day for a free nursing cover. Their nursing covers are high quality and are normally pretty expensive ($34.95), so getting one for free is great news! Though you do have to pay shipping (because nothing in life is actually free), the price basically evens out to what you’d pay in a store, except this one will be delivered right to your door and you have a greater selection from which to choose…six, to be exact.

Here’s what you do:

1. Go to uddercovers.com.
2. Select your nursing cover. You’ll be automatically directed to the shopping bag.
3. Enter the code CCMOTHER and click “apply code”.

That’s it! The rest should be self-explanatory. You can even use the code multiple times if you want to order more than one cover. Just open up a new browser tab and repeat steps 1-3.

While I can’t guarantee you’ll look as smokin’ hot as these nursing models – Seriously??? No way there’s a baby under there! And who actually looks that graceful and put together while nursing a little baby? – I will say nursing covers are, in my opinion, a MUST HAVE for those who want to sustain their nursing relationship with their baby as they learn how to breastfeed in public, especially in the early months.

Share this promo code with your friends, or use it for a friend who’s expecting a new little one in the next nine months.

Not sure how to use a nursing cover? Nervous about breastfeeding in public? No worries, MamaOT has got you covered. Blog post coming soon on learning how to nurse in public while using a nursing cover. It is a skill — nay, an art — requiring practice, patience, a dose of humility, and a good sense of humor.

Happy (early) Mother’s Day!

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Photo credit for both photos.

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