He looked at me!

May 29th, 2009

hana-2006Christopher was easily upset when another child looked at him or stared at him. He’d push or hit, justifying it by saying, “He looked at me.” To him, it seemed as if that other child did more than look — that child intruded his space.

Children who don’t have a clear sense of their own body space may have a strong reaction to another child moving into their space…or even looking at them. TO READ MORE OF THIS ARTICLE FROM FAMILY COMMUNICATIONS ”What do you do with the mad that you  feel?” newsletter, FOLLOW THIS LINK:
 http://www.fci.org/madfeelings/readnews.asp?ID=226&newsletterid=73

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Early Exposure to Toxic Substances & Your Baby’s Brain

February 18th, 2009

Early Exposure to Toxic Substances Damages Brain Architecture.  By the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child.  Working Paper.  No. 4.  (The Council, Heller School, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts) 2006.  20 p.   

“New science shows that exposure to toxins prenatally or early in life can have a devastating and lifelong effect on the developing architecture of the brain. Exposures to many chemicals have much more severe consequences for embryos, fetuses, and young children, whose brains are still developing, than for adults. Substances that can have a truly poisonous effect on the brain – known as neurotoxins – can be found in environmental chemicals such as lead and mercury, in recreational drugs such as alcohol, nicotine, and cocaine, and in prescription medications, such as some acne treatments. Most neurotoxin exposure is preventable. This report summarizes the complex scientific research on which toxins present the greatest risk at various stages of brain development, addresses popular misconceptions about the relative risk and safety of some common

substances, and suggests policies that can help reduce the enormous human and economic costs of exposure to toxins during development.”]

 

Full text at: www.developingchild.net/pubs/wp/Early_Exposure_Toxic_Substances_Brain_Architecture.pdf

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Rosa Sat…

February 12th, 2009

“Rosa sat, so Martin could walk. Martin walked so Barack could run… ”  Follow this link to hear this beautiful song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-0NvkuPHZI

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Family Literacy Training/Adrian MI

January 29th, 2009

BCW Mascot Anna Sophia OnlyHearts with City of Adrian Head Start staff , Community Partners and BCW Linda Kimura. Keeping warm by working hard on Follow the CAR and SPARC Follow Up for the National Head Start Family Literacy Center in frigid Adrian, MI – January 23, 2009 - This program is so great! 

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Free Infant/Toddler Early Literacy in Somali, English and Spanish languages

January 28th, 2009

 

 

 

A great, free resource developed by wonderful experts!

 

 

 

Materials in Somali, English and Spanish languages include home and community activities for adults and children birth to three that encourage early language and literacy development. Appropriate for children with disabilities as well as children who are developing typically.  Developed by Angela Notari-Syverson, Ph.D, and Judy Challoner, M.S. Illustrations: Don Syverson.  

 Each of the twenty activities includes an activity description, and hints for making the activity fun and developmentally appropriate. In addition to the activities, you can download an activity checklist that helps parents and caregivers notice their children’s skills, and also cues adults to examine and grow their own interactions with children.   

 The materials are specifically designed to address the three key skills of 1) language development, 2) sounds and rhythms, and 3) general book and print awareness. The files are in PDF format to allow easy and secure downloading.

 

 

 The materials are made available by Angela Notari-Syverson and colleagues, and may be copied and distributed as long as they are not sold.

 

 To download materials go to http://www.walearning.com and click on the purple button that says “Free Parent Education Handouts” on the home page.

 

 The development of these materials was supported in part by Grant H324M020084 from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs

 

 

For questions please contact:
Mary Maddox
Washington Learning Systems
2212 Queen Anne Ave. No. Ste. 726
Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 310-7401 FAX (206) 283-9243
mmaddox@walearning.com

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Home Visitor Trainings

January 6th, 2009

hana-running-on-grass-march-2004

TRAINING OPPORTUNITY:

RELATIONSHIP-BASED TRAINING FOR EARLY HEAD START HOME VISITORS:

 

Babies Can’t Wait supports a strength-based approach to services. Linda Kimura teaches family-centered, child-focused practices and emphasizes the importance of the relationship in all aspects of the program. This emphasis comes from a strong belief in the philosophy and practice of the Program for Infant Toddler Caregivers at WestEd and Zero to Three.  Linda’s philosophy is also rooted in a shared approach to learning – she emphasizes helping and being helped and supporting the values and cultures of families and programs.

 

This intensive training provides a comprehensive view of the highest quality home visit practices  through three days of bridging theory into practice.  Emphasis is placed upon providing a nurturing, supportive environment for workers to encourage them to think creatively about ways to begin or enhance practice, based on adult learning theory and current research.   Training is practical and concrete, designed to reduce fears and increase support and excitement about program philosophy and practice.  Participants leave the training excited about home visiting and eager to try new techniques learned during the training.

 

This training is based on Linda’s book “Babies Can’t Wait: Relationship based home visiting”.  It provides a concrete, practical base for beginning and enhancing Early Head Start Home Base and Combination Models, incorporating Early Head Start Performance Standards, Information Memos and best practices as developed by the Program for Infant Toddler Caregivers at WestEd.

 

Participants gain an understanding of the steps involved in building trusting relationships and the power of supporting positive parent-child attachments.  The training includes time for discussion and group work for participants to reflect on their learning and make connections with other home visitors.

Email Babies Can’t Wait for more information – Training@babiescantwait.com

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Baby Walkers are Dangerous!

January 4th, 2009

Baby walkers are dangerous – here is what the State of California has to say:

 

§ 1596.846. Baby walkers

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) The American Academy of Pediatrics, after reviewing the data from all the studies, concluded that baby walkers are dangerous and should be banned from all manufacturing, sale, and distribution in the United States.

(2) A jury in San Mateo County, California has determined that baby walkers are inherently unsafe and are not capable of design changes in order to prevent accidents.

(3) Citing numerous ways in which babies can be injured, Consumer Reports found that, “With a capacity to move as fast as five feet per second, a baby walker can propel your baby faster than you can rescue him.”

(4) During the past 15 years, one particular product, a baby walker, has been shown to be associated with increasing numbers of injuries to infants, with the most recent reporting year, 1991, indicating that 27,800 children under the age of two years had to be admitted to an emergency room in the United States for injuries associated with a baby walker.

(b) A baby walker shall not be kept or used on the premises of a child day care facility.

(c) A “baby walker” means any article described in paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 1500.86 of Part 1500 of Title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (d) Section 1596.890 shall not apply to this section.

———–

Help spread the word- tired parents need a break, but dumping a child in a baby walker is not the answer. 

Warmly, Linda

The Babies Can’t Wait Lady

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Culture and raising babies

December 28th, 2008

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Several times, teachers and home visitors have brought concerns to me that mothers are still breast-feeding when the children are older toddlers.  This is an example of a Euro-American/USA dominant culture assumption of a problem.

 

The truth is, worldwide, the median age for weaning is 4.2 years. While this may seem odd in the USA and other Western cultures, it demonstrates other cultures have different ideas about how long babies and toddlers need to nurse.

 

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding “for one year or until mutually desirable” and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends two years of breastfeeding.

 

When we consider positive parent-child attachment, we have to take culture into account.  If we don’t, we risk making assumptions based on our own upbringing and our own culture.  In many cases, what  we see might be different from our personal culture – not bad, just different.

 

Examples of cultural issues to consider when meeting a new child and family include:

  1. Mealtime – who sits where, who cooks, what is the role of the children, what is the attitude toward breast-feeding?
  2. Bedtime – who sleeps where, are naps encouraged, what happens when a child wakes during the night?
  3. Decision-making – who makes the decisions, what happens if there is not agreement?
  4. Discipline – who determines it, who administers it, what are the boundaries?

There are many more areas in which child care workers and home visitors must be careful to observe fairly and honestly, always remembering that children have grown up successfully in many cultures over thousands of years.

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Sudden Infant Death Update

December 26th, 2008

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the greatest source of death in babies over one month old in developed nations.  Recently, some chance observations may shed light on the causes.

According to The Economist (July 5, 2008), post mortem data from SIDS victims found nerve cells which regulate basic bodily functions, including breathing and body temperature, are more numerous and less mature  than in other babies. The  cells communicate using a messenger molecule called serotonin.  Italian researchers investigating serotonin’s role in aggression found changes in serotonin levels frequently resulted in death from abnormally low heart rate and hypothermia. 

This suggests genetics may explain some cases of SIDS.  Other explanations concentrated on environmental factors such as smoking habits of parents and babies’ sleeping positions.  These conditions definitely are involved in SIDS deaths.  However, this research on possible genetic factors may make it possible for babies to be screened for risk, giving parents a chance to take suitable precautions.

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Hello out there!

December 26th, 2008

I had to delete my other blog (blog.babiescantwait.com) and start a new blog, effective December 26, 2008.   Due to a software problem on a Federal Review (those of you who do HS reviews will know exactly what I mean!), I had to completely re-set my Internet Explorer.  Unfotunately I had not saved my wordpress password because I  had it bookmarked.  What a boo-boo!   Could not  get WordPress to send me a new one – tried numerous times.  So the easiest thing to do ended up being deleting the old blog and starting fresh.    A lesson in what not to do – my new password is SAVED separate from my bookmarks!

Warmly, Linda
The Babies Can’t Wait Lady

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