When you think about communication skills, you probably think about words and pronunciation, but communication begins even before a baby starts babbling. Communication encompasses what we understand and body language as well as what we say. There are two kinds of communication - receptive and expressive - and it's important for children to develop both. Receptive communication has to do with how one processes and understands what's going on in he...

As someone that has had glasses since sixth grade, contacts since high school, and lasik later on, visiting the eye doctor was part of my regular life growing up. But when should children start  going to the eye doctor? According to the American Optometric Association  children should receive their first eye exam sometime between 6-12 months old. During this comprehensive eye exam, your optometrist will test for: ​ E...

  Thumb sucking and pacifiers can be a real worry to some parents. We've all heard the horror stories about children's teeth becoming deformed and needing orthodontic intervention. Sucking on a pacifier and/or thumb is a healthy, natural reflex that infants and toddlers use to soothe themselves. Sucking is very relaxing and may help children fall asleep. Sometimes infants and children will develop thumb sucking in response to the popular Cry...

Many parents do not realize that it is recommended to wean babies from the bottle by 18 months. Getting rid of the bottle can turn into a frustrating experience for both parent and baby! However, there are some things that you can do to make it easier. Here are some ideas on how to wean your baby off the bottle and using normal cups. When should I wean from the bottle? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends weaning befo...

A surprisingly common question we get here at Help Me Grow Utah is "Can I tell my friend about this program?" Our answer is always "Yes! Please do!" While we love that most parents feel like Help Me Grow Utah is just for them, we want all parents in Utah to know they can feel that way too! Help Me Grow Utah envisions a vibrant community in which all families have the desire, resources, and confidence to make the best decisions during pregnancy an...

We all know that tummy time is important! Tummy time helps your baby develop her neck, back, and shoulder muscles. Not only does tummy time help your child be ready to crawl and walk, it also helps her to be ready to drink from a cup and eat solid foods. The recommended time for tummy time varies upon who you talk to, but the goal is for baby to spend as much time as they can on their tummies. Do tummy time for as long as the child can tolerate, ...

"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, and possibly crime. Well, not necessarily. Before you start drawing conclusions and panicking, it's helpful to take a step back and to try to understand...

As a Parent Support Specialist, one of the most common concerns that I hear about are tantrums. Often irrational, unpredictable, and unpacifiable, it comes as no surprise to me that tantrums can be so concerning to parents that are simply trying their best to keep their child happy and breathing. What is a parent to do when it appears that their child is the only one crying on the floor in the grocery store, or when they seem to still throw a tan...

When I was pregnant with my first child I knew that I didn't want to have a bunch of big, loud, obnoxious toys filling my small apartment. It was important to me that we have toys that were developmentally appropriate, safe, and could fit into a small storage space. Lucky for us, one of the gifts we received included a rattle! This is a wonder toy - such a small and simple thing that is capable of teaching and doing so much. Now that I have anoth...

​ "Hand, hand, fingers, thumb. One thumb one thumb drumming on a drum. Dum ditty dum ditty dum dum dum" writes Al Perkins in the beloved children's book "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb." As a young girl, my mom taught me how to play the piano. Like many young kids, I would moan and groan for the full 20 minutes my mom asked me to practice each day: one thumb, two thumbs, pounding-the-same-eight-notes in a scale over and over and over was not nearly a...

Do you ever find yourself wondering what types of chores your child is capable of performing or how to help motivate them to do chores in the first place? Here are five helpful tips to consider. 1. Make the chore seem manageable to the child. Sometimes a task like "clean your room" can seem enormous and possibly even overwhelming in a child's eyes. Parents can help by breaking the chore into little pieces so the child knows exactly what is expect...