Brush, Book, Bed - A New American Academy Pediatrics (AAP) Oral Health Program

Brush, Book, Bed - A New American Academy Pediatrics (AAP) Oral Health Program
We have probably all heard the saying: "Children thrive in structure." The Centers for Disease Control states:"Consistency, predictability, and follow-through are important for creating structure in the home". The AAP has developed a wonderful program to help parents create new bedtime structure with oral health care routines. This program includes information for families to establish a structured night time routine for their children which incl...
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Public Tantrum Survival Guide

Public Tantrum Survival Guide
It's 5:10 pm. You were supposed to be at the park to meet the babysitter 10 minutes ago. But you're stuck at the grocery store waiting in line after rushing in to grab "just a few things"... with the 3-year old. Shockingly, Susie kept asking for candy after you specifically told her NO MORE CANDY. You're feeling defeated because you caved and gave Susie your cell phone to distract her. You're fumbling through your purse looking for your wallet. Y...
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Guest Blogger: 3 Skills Every Child Needs to Become a Successful Learner

Guest Blogger: 3 Skills Every Child Needs to Become a Successful Learner
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 and learning in general. I believe that much of that struggle is the result of parents who were not taught the skills needed to be successful with learn...
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5 Ways to Build Attachment with Your Baby

5 Ways to Build Attachment with Your Baby
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. Attachment is when parents are able to interpret their baby's behavior and respond with compassion and care to ...
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Top 10 Tips for Improving Sleep in Children with Autism

Top 10 Tips for Improving Sleep in Children with Autism
If you are the parent of a child with Autism, you likely have many days when you just feel tired. Parenting is exhausting as is, but parenting a child with special needs can be next-level difficult, and that difficulty is only increased if our child is also struggling to sleep at night. At least half of all children with Autism struggle with some sort of chronic sleep problem due to things such as sensory sensitivities, less natural melatonin pro...
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3 Ways to Practice Self-Compassion as Parents

3 Ways to Practice Self-Compassion as Parents
Parents often feel as though they do not have any time to practice any kind of self-care. Although parents know that self-care is important , they may often feel that they aren't being a good parent if they take any time for themselves. They also may feel that with all of their parenting responsibilities, they simply do not have the time to practice any kind of self-care. The demands of raising children can keep parents thinking it difficult to i...
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Teaching Kids To Handle Embarrassment

Teaching Kids To Handle Embarrassment
I remember when I was 12 my family went to a restaurant and the waiter asked me the classic question, "Do you want soup, or salad?". I had just graduated from the kids menu and wasn't used to that question, so misunderstanding what he said I responded very confused with, "yeah I'll have the super-salad…". Thinking he was going to bring me a ginormous salad. My answer obviously confused him, so he responded with, "so you want the salad then?", whi...
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Managing My Mom Guilt

Managing My Mom Guilt
My two-year old son is crawling in my lap and my three-year old daughter is at pre-school. Frozen 2 is on the TV because it's my son's favorite movie and his older sister rarely lets him watch it, because siblings. This is relatively straightforward, but in one sentence I can point several things that hit that Mom Guilt Button. Screen time. Listen, I lie on the pediatrician questionnaire. I don't know how much screen time they get. It's not out o...
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5 Tips for Improving Family Mealtime

5 Tips for Improving Family Mealtime
Children in today's hurried, high-tech world need structured, routine times when they can connect with their parents and siblings. One of the best ways to do that is family mealtimes. Many of us are so busy that we may feel if we are not multi-tasking all the time, we are not productive enough. We often multitask feeding our children by putting a meal down in front of them and then turning around to do dishes, move over a load of laundry, or take...
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Working towards the ideal: Affection in the Home

Working towards the ideal: Affection in the Home
Memories and physical pictures remind me of my relationship with my dad. From sitting in the pew next to him in church or on the couch for a movie, dad wanted to squeeze my ears, arms and fingers.  As I grew up and became more aware of my dad's way of loving, I grew to hate physical touch. I shrunk from it. I claimed he made my ear lobes bigger. I resisted his effort to care in this manner. This took a toll on our relationship, which began t...
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How to Break the Cycle of Gender Stereotyping

How to Break the Cycle of Gender Stereotyping
  Have you ever heard the saying "boys will be boys"? Or "girls are so emotional"? These may seem like harmless phrases that explain our parenting experiences, but they may actually be limiting our children's potential. Gender Differences We are always hearing about another new finding on the "many" differences between boys and girls - whether that's in how they learn, who's better at math, who's more aggressive, etc. Researcher Christia Spe...
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Early Childhood: Sexual Behavior Part 2

Early Childhood: Sexual Behavior Part 2
  If you have already read Part 1 of Early Childhood: Sexual Behavior, you know that two very big topics were left to Part 2: How to promote healthy boundaries and communication with trusted adults, and What you (the parent) should do when something is troubling regarding your child's sexual behaviors. Since these topics can be quite broad and lengthy, we will go over them superficially and generally. For more in-depth information, plea...
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Early Childhood: Sexual Behavior: Part 1

Early Childhood: Sexual Behavior: Part 1
  We all know it's part of human nature and development, but many questions are associated with self-touch and sexual behavior in young children. It's a sensitive topic for parents for many reasons: religious beliefs and personal values, inexperience in explaining body development and appropriate behaviors with children, uncertainty around what is typical at this young age range, and others.  Though we cannot expound on all reasons list...
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Book Conversations: How to Get the Most Out of Your Time Reading Together

Book Conversations: How to Get the Most Out of Your Time Reading Together
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. Those practices boil down to things parents do with their kids all the time, like talking, singing, reading, writing, and playing! The best thing...
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Simple Ways to Help Your Child's Intrinsic Motivation Flourish

Simple Ways to Help Your Child's Intrinsic Motivation Flourish
I was reading an article the other day that talked about studies in favor of toddlers sincerely enjoying and wanting opportunities to help those around them. After finishing the article, I wondered, "where does all that 'helping spirit' go when they get older?" And why is it that some older children are more willing to help than others-- why do some children have more intrinsic motivation? The Deets on Motivation Motivation is generally categoriz...
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Thumb Sucking and Pacifiers

Thumb Sucking and Pacifiers
  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...
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Setting an Example: The most important tool in your parenting toolkit

Setting an Example: The most important tool in your parenting toolkit
  While my husband was away visiting with his elderly parents, he sent me a bouquet of flowers with this note: "My dad was telling me how he got some flowers for my mom the other day because she was depressed and feeling down. It struck me that after all these years of marriage [60+years] he still wants to be that guy who brightens her day. I decided I also want to be that guy". It was amazing to me that even now, after so many years, my hus...
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Guest Post: Weaning from the Bottle & Cup Introduction

Guest Post: Weaning from the Bottle & Cup Introduction
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...
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Things to Consider when Choosing Between Cloth and Disposable Diapers

Things to Consider when Choosing Between Cloth and Disposable Diapers
Pee-yew! To scoop the poop or toss the loss? - that is the question. Regardless of whether or not you decide to use cloth or disposable diapers on your little one's backside, remember, they both serve the same purpose. Ultimately, you will need to use the type of diaper that best works with your family and lifestyle. Here are some tips, tricks and fun things to keep in mind when deciding what diaper to don your baby's behind. ​ Cost: Although clo...
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The Power of Emotion Coaching

The Power of Emotion Coaching
One of the most inspiring ideas I learned about in college was the idea of "emotional coaching." I remember feeling overwhelmed with this practice and asking myself "how am I supposed to emotionally coach a child when I struggle to understand and navigate through my own emotions?" Perhaps, you may feel similar thoughts and fears about emotional coaching, I want to look more into why emotional coaching is important and simple steps that can help m...
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