Baby Calendar Month 23
|23, May 2011Baby Development
Toddlers are exhibiting more independence in eating, dressing, playing and in making their preferences known. One unmistakable way toddlers convey emotion frequently is through the word, "NO!" While it is frustrating, and at times loud, consider this a sign that your little person is growing.
To curb excessive negativity, try to limit modeling your own. Instead of always yelling, "No, don't lick the cat!" "No more raisins until after dinner," or "No banging on the walls!" try using a positive form such as "You can have more raisins after you eat your dinner," or "You can play your drum in your room."
Your child may be learning to throw a ball overhand now. To help with this skill and to make it fun, play games by holding a basket for your child to aim the ball into. Count aloud how many baskets she makes. Do the same with kicking a ball into a laundry basket lying on its side.
Another big deal to your toddler is knowing his name. Encourage him to say it and build some fun into this by painting his name in big letters and letting him paint and decorate the letters then hang it on his door.
Toddler Health
Your bright and busy toddler can get into all kinds of things in record time; And tomorrow she may figure out a way to do things that last week would have seemed impossible. Some of the biggest dangers to toddlers include poison hazards. Make certain you have the number for poison control written and displayed in a convenient place. Keep all medications, chemicals and alcohol up and out of reach. For very adventuresome children having things out of sight or reach may not be enough. Child proofing and locking cabinets are a good idea.
Another main hazard to toddlers is water. Never leave a toddler alone in the bathroom and especially not with a bathtub of water. Keep the bathroom locked if possible and make sure the toilet lid stays down. Never leave buckets of liquid around as top-heavy toddlers can fall headfirst and become trapped and drown. Make sure if you have a pool you have multiple ways to stop a child from getting in. Locked gates, removing ladders and no furniture to climb on and over are important steps.
Toddler Nutrition
Choking hazards should be avoiding in feeding toddlers. Foods that are likely culprits include
- grapes,
- hotdogs,
- marshmallows,
- nuts,
- whole raw carrots,
- cherries,
- hard candies,
- gum
- and spoonfuls of peanut butter
Learn the proper technique for first aid for choking toddlers. Encourage children to slow down while eating and to sit while eating. Don't let children wander around while eating. Actually, at this age it's a good time to encourage family meal times with the toddler.
Tips for Mom and Dad
In addition to reading to your child, have some learning activities every week as well. One thing you can do with children is to teach them to recognize and match things. For instance, outline some simple pictures of things like an apple, a car or a ball. Then let your child match the outline to the picture.
Another sorting activity would to be for your child to unload and put away silverware. Sorting forks from spoons is a great beginning chore and sorting activity. Children can also be taught to sort laundry or match socks. Get a bucket of plastic letters or blocks and let children sort them into piles by color. Kids love to sort and match so any games where they get to sort items and drop them into containers is especially enjoyable.
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