Let’s say a child goes to stack blocks into a tower but struggles to balance them. Frustrated, he may cry out, “I just can’t do it. I’m not good at building towers.” Despite encouragement from a caregiver, the child insists on giving up, convinced that building a tower is beyond his abilities. This is just …
Fostering Growth: The Power of a Child’s Mindset Read More »
Before working at Help Me Grow Utah, I spent ten years as a children’s librarian and fell in love with early literacy. No, I was not teaching toddlers and preschoolers to read, but I was instead teaching parents to put into practice the underlying skills kids need to be good readers when they are ready. …
Book Conversations: How to Get the Most Out of Your Time Reading Together Read More »
I remember babysitting my young niece not too long ago. All evening she asked, “Cars?” This was code for, “Could we watch the movie Cars?” Soon I turned on the TV and sat with my niece as she watched intently. I became intrigued as I started to notice she did not take her eyes off …
Have you ever heard the terms “language delay” and “speech delay” being thrown around almost interchangeably? Perhaps you’ve heard that children who learn two languages are more prone to speech delays? These terms and possibilities can be very overwhelming, especially when we want the best possible speech outcomes for our children. Hopefully, this article will …
Is it a Speech Delay, Language Delay or Bilingualism? Read More »
I have had the opportunity to teach struggling readers in grades 1 – 3 for the last 8 years in a public school setting. We are a Title 1 school and have a fairly large percentage of students that come from poverty and generational poverty. Because of that, I see students who struggle with reading …
Guest Blogger: 3 Skills Every Child Needs to Become a Successful Learner Read More »
Fostering creativity helps children grow mentally by providing new opportunities for self-expression, problem solving, and trying out new ideas. Parents can have a vital role in creating an open environment where children can be free to explore and self-express. There are some simple yet rewarding ways you can promote creativity in your child. Here are …
New parents have a million things to worry about. From finding childcare to making sure their new baby is receiving the healthcare they need, new parents can sometimes be overwhelmed by all the new responsibilities they now have to juggle. Building attachment is just one of these new responsibilities that parents face with their babies. …
With the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve all been using screens more, and overall, that’s OK. Screen time is less about the hours than the content. Screens can connect and educate, and keep us all safe indoors. However, research shows that for our youngest children, under age three, we need to be more careful and deliberate with …
Guest Post: Screen time and toddlers: What is transfer deficit? Read More »
“Johnny, did you just take a cookie after I told you not to?” “…No…” When you find out that your child has lied to you, it can be pretty distressing. Your sweet, innocent child chose to deceive you, which could only mean that they are now headed down a road full of deceitfulness, bad choices, …
Lying and the Theory of Mind: A Newfound Ability in Preschoolers Read More »
When we contemplate of the grieving process, we tend to think of the five stages of grief (Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance) first proposed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book On Death and Dying. Many people’s general understanding of these stages is that you move from one to another at a steady pace. …
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