With the heat wave we have had in the U.K it can be tough to cope with, with our little ones, and so I wanted to share my tips with how I help my son cope with the heat.
Tip#1: Keep them cool at all times
When it is really hot with no breeze this can be tricky, but keeping your children cool as much as possible, and find where it is the coolest in your home or garden, have windows and doors open to let the cool air breeze through.
Invest in a fan.
Wipe them down with a damp flannel if they get too hot and only put on one layer of clothing.
Tip#2: Play outdoors, as it isn’t good for children to be stuck in doors all the time.
I find that my son copes better when he has some time indoors, away from the heat in a cool room with intervals of being outdoors. When he stays indoors a lot I find he can fall ill. Of course I clean my home and keep it clean, but heat when hot indoors can cause illnesses and bacteria to increase, so do allow some play time outdoors, but use sunscreen to protect their skin.
Tip#3: Cool warm baths always help my son cool down or have a paddling pool outside
My son has always been a hot child and so can get hot quite quickly, so it is important that I protect him from the heat as much as possible, so a warm cool bath does the trick, then just allow him to play indoors in his nappy or pull ’em up, or purchase a paddling pool, a great way to have fun in the sun as a family, making sure sunscreen is applied throughout the day.
Tip#4: Have plenty of liquids available to keep your children hydrated
So important, as children can become too hot and can become dehydrated so quickly so I make sure that I have plenty of liquids available, avoiding fruit juices and fizzy drinks as they can cause dehydration.
Tip#5: Keep cups and drinks in the fridge
Keeps them nice and cool, and have some water already chilled in their cup, so it will be nice and cold to drink, keeping them cool and hydrated.
So those are my tips for coping with the heat, please share your tips with me too be good to know how you cope with heatwaves and in the summer.
I didn’t expect this would be easy, but you do have to take a chunk of your schedule to go through this new transition, I discovered. I have to accept that Henry will have accidents and it may take several times for my son to get used to the fact that he won’t be toileting in the nappy anymore.
We have had some success, 3 times so far, but now it as if he is avoiding going in the potty, but is understanding that if he needs to go, it has to be in the nappy, and so it is teaching him to communicate to us too, that he needs to go. Get used to not having a nappy on. I did introduce pants, but they lasted on him about 2 minutes, so need to continue with this one.
So on Sunday I am going try different techniques and see if we have success.
It is going to take time, but I know I just have to be persistent and start teaching him that soon there will be no nappy and will have to use the potty or toilet.
Here is a brilliant video about Potty Training I came this across today as we’re my husband and I are Potty training our son. It’s good to get tips from other parents so wanted share this video.
We have finally changed from Henry having separate meal time to us, to us all eating together at the table. We chose to do this for dinner time to begin with as he didn’t like eating from his high chair anymore. So we had to make some changes.
This was so important to me that we had one meal time where we all eat as a family together. So dinner to me was the perfect time, because this was what we did my brother and I, did when our parents were together.
One meal of the day and it’s lovely time for us as a family to all have that time.
It has made dinner time easier as Henry will a lot of the time, eat what we eat. This also has helped save money.
The first time we decided to do this was on boat race bank holiday weekend. It didn’t workout well. He lasted two seconds but come next day, monday, breakfast time he was happily eating his breakfast at the table and then his dinner, which as a family we ate together.
Again you do have to be persistent and now come breakfast and dinner he will eat at the table no problems.
If they don’t last for long give them a time frame so allow them 2 minutes breathing space if they are really kicking off then sit them back down but don’t entertain their tantrum. It is okay for your child as a toddler to miss a meal as if hungry enough they will eat whatever is in front of them.
One top tip I have learned as a parent.
Second tip: Be flexible, don’t be fixated on feeding on exact times all the time. Of course it depends on the child but helps to be flexible if you have a late medical appointment or club/class as children will get used to eating as usual times.
So I will post more as we continue with eating at the table and please I would love to hear your tips too on this subject, as well
Yes we are potty training at the moment, and yesterday Henry used his potty for the first time and actually had a pea.
Why am I sharing this?
Well because I know how tricky of a transition it is. One minute they are in nappies next they are having to use this plastic thing and it is a different ball game altogether.
We did have a little accident the day before, I won’t say anymore, but I had to stick Henry straight in the bath, but least it happened in the right place, the bathroom, just not in the potty itself, well some of it was but I hadn’t realised until I trod straight into it.
My fault!
As said before you can prepare yourself but you can never really plan, when it comes to children.
Sorry for the TMI. Henry will probably be totally embarrased if he reads this when he is 18 years old. However it is out of good reason to help and give support to other mums, who may also be potty training now too.
If your child is potty training at the moment too, then my advice is to persist and be patient. If they aren’t ready then do not fear, you will soon know when they are. Henry was even asking for the potty and tells us when he needs his nappy changed. So children do pick up new skills quicker than what we think they do.
So true when it comes to children, every day is different, and you don’t know what to expect, so you just have to continue on, the best you can.
Anyway I will keep you updated on more news and what I am learning as a parent.
Getting out of repetition can be so easy as you can get bored doing the same thing, evening after evening, but the one thing I have learned, is that it is important for children, to continue repetition.
It helps with keeping the routine.
Settling down time for children, really does help, when it comes to the bedtime routine, it is so they know bedtime is coming up and will be soon, and helps them to wind down beforehand.
So no playing ball after 5pm and we will have TV on but not too bright and have the lights dimmed down quite a bit. When it gets lighter late evening it can be tricky to stick with the routine but keep with it the best you can, but make bedtime later or allow them to listen to soft music coming up to bed time.
I wrote about rituals, you do whatever it takes, some time ago, when it comes to bed time. That is why making settling down into a ritual, at night time will help bed time a lot less stressful, I say with a sigh.
It can be hard when they are screaming at night because they want to be up but they have to learn that they need sleep and it is coming up to that time.
We don’t do bath every evening but you can add this to the evening ritual if this will help and making nap times earlier making sure this is before a certain time (ours is before 2pm) if we can help it.
Our is:
5pm all toys away and we will get or ask Henry to choose a book or sit with one of us on the sofa
Get Henry ready for bed, so put on his night gear
Put on pepper pig for a bit, but come an hour or so to bedtime, all devices are turned off and we will have TV on, but winding him down, watching challenge
6:30pm to 7pm take henry upstairs to bed and read, sometimes I will play lullabies too, but I put it in a place where he can hear the music but not see the screen.
So what do you do to settle down your baby or toddler I would love to hear.
As a mum of a three year old many transitions such potty training and then from nursery to school is a big change for everybody. We are about to start potty training.
So in the mornings when it comes to his change in the morning, I have been trying to sit him on it. This morning on the 2nd March 2017 not success but we (my hubby and I) will keep on trying.
Speaking to other mums really helps when it comes to transitions, and the one tip given to me by a nanny of many years, is not to stress over these transitions, such as potty training. If they aren’t ready for that next stage then stop but keep trying.
I always follow that motto of introducing for example solid foods to keep trying and make gradual steps . At first Henry wouldn’t drink from a cup so we continued on trying introducing different types of toddler cups until he was ready and then it was all of a sudden he began to drink from a cup.
They will make the choice, which is part of them using their own mind to make decisions.
You can buy a first training cup from boots for about £1.45 and the potty we have ready was £2.00, from Boots (see link below).
This is the same with diffrerent baby and toddler toys like bikes. Try them with ones that they use their legs to move the toy bike then as help push them along until they have built up their confidence to move the bike with their legs themselves.
The next stage is using a bike with pedals.
It is all about growth and learning for us as much as it is for them, our children so not stressing but being patient, moving towards the new skill (transition) gradual is the key to helping your child grow.
I would love to hear your tips on what you have done to help your child with transitions. All information shared is welcomed. Knowing that other parents are going through the transitions too, does help and chatting about it, fears and worries helps to address them. Speak to your health visitors, I am going to chat with the doctors on Henry next visit this month and don’t forget if your child is 3 years and 4 months or near to book the next immunisations.
Let me begin by introducing my new page I created called “Recommended links”where I have recommended links to websites and videos with useful tips and information, on helping with the development of your child and other subjects too.
I wrote a post last year back in September/October about Henry starting Occupational Therapy to help him with his speech and language. (see link below to read this blog)
Now he has begun his second lot of sessions to help him with his speech and language.
It really is an insight on how different children are, and how each child responds.
There was one child who when it came to sitting down at the table to do tasks, got really stressed out and began to really cry. Henry kicked off during this part too. One thing that we have been working on. He finds it hard to concentrate at the table, when there so many things to do, and in a room where he doesn’t spend time in that much, of course he wants to be nosy and look around.
Tips#1 The one thing I would suggest is to keep bringing your child back to the chair and encourage him/her to sit down. When they do sit down without wanting to get up and they join in the activity, I would always recommend a reward by praise.
Tell them that they have done something good. We used the words “Well done” from very early on when he was a baby, so he knows now what these words mean “Good”.
In a different environment, it is always going to be tricky.
If he saw other children playing at the table, then the chances are he would then follow.
Henry first session this week was all about outer space and parts of the body. They sang a song which encouraged them to touch their head, knees, shoulders and toes, then sang the song “10 Little Men in a flying saucer” and each child got to take a man off stuck to a piece of paper and then put it down.
Once all children took a man off the paper, they then got to each take turns in sticking the men back on.
The table activities were, finding stickers in a bucket full of rice, another with lentils, which had cups and a ladle in and the another one had sand, to encourage the children to draw lines, and use their motor skills.
This is to encourage the children to concentrate. Part of the occupational therapy is to help with that too, and to help children focus. One skill they will need for when they start school.
Tip#2 The one tip I was given by one of the therapists, because Henry doesn’t like touching sand or even stepping onto it much, was to massage his hands and feet, as it helps warm them up and help them get used to the sand texture.
Tip#3 What I would advise to do, is to put a bath toy that they like to play with into a bucket of sand see how much they can fill it up before it over flows and wet it a bit, and show them how to make a sand castle.
It is good unstructured play and gets in touch with their creative side, and speak to them as you are making the sand castle, keep repeating the word, as I have learned that the more you repeat a word, the more they will say it too.
I found this useful site called Pathways.org, which talks more about Sand Play:
Please see my Recommended Tips page, which also has links to helpful ideas on how to help your child with speech and language.
Try not to fret over the fact your child has speech problems. It won’t help you or them.
The Occupational Therapists are there to help and so if you are unsure as to what you can do at home or any activities you could try that would help them, ask the Occupational Therapists. They are there to give you support as much as your child.
They give you home work type activities at the end, to help continue their learning at home.
Children will catch up and they will learn how to communicate once they see it and do it often enough.
Tip#4 So one tip I would give is to put them into social situations as much as possible, example, take them to a zoo, a play cafe, a museum or a park where there are other children there too.
No child is the same that is why they are so unique.
Getting ready for the festive season can be so exciting for children. They may not be too aware of what it is all about, but they sense that the home they live in, is twinkling like stars, there’s a funny looking spiky green thing, which their mummy calls a Christmas Tree, covered in colourful balls and sparkles, and their keeps being a man mentioned, someone call Santa Claus.
They sense something is on the horizon. They are given a new toy, and if they are anything like my child, will throw it as soon as it is put into their hand.
We then say “No Henry, don’t chuck those toys, only balls we throw”, but then at Occupational Therapy he is given an activity where he is to throw little bean bags, so I can understand the confusion. However we have to be weary in case it is something heavier like a brick, as if it hits someone (such as another child) it could hurt them, so we are teaching him that we throw a plastic ball for example but not other items. Not only that, it also teaches him, when we tell him off for chucking his toys, that a toy is to be respected not thrown, and the toy must be played this way and we will then demonstrate.
He will then often have a tantrum, because we have taken the toy from his hand he was chucking. We do give him a warning first, before doing so, so he knows it is wrong and by carrying on his behaviour there is a consequence.
This in turn teaches them what is right and wrong. The important thing I have learned is the reaction you give. I have learned from Henry is that, sometimes he is throwing a toy for a certain reaction; Or having a tantrum, to get a reaction.
We will then give him a warning, to say “Stop or you will go to your room to cool down”. If he does continue we will follow our warning through, which is highly important, and we take him to his room to calm down. This does work.
The worst thing I have found to do, is to rant and rave yourself, as all it looks like is that you have now become the child having a tantrum too
With children I have found that the anger they show, through their tantrums is more to do with frustration rather than to be naughty. It is important to talk to them to encourage them to speak, even if they are like my son, have development delay in speaking. Our son usually gets angry because like with hitting and biting, he is usually trying to tell us something but we aren’t picking it up, so encouraging them to show you and tell you, is a good place to prevent tantrums and encourage their communication to you. The best thing to do is to:
Step back
Observe
Step in
Today when we were queuing to see Santa at Henry’s nursery, a little boy in front, got really frightened at seeing Santa Claus, and he wouldn’t go in to see him.
I can see why young babies and toddlers would be scared. They have no idea who this big fella with a red suit and white beard is, so some children will be weary.
What I have learned, is if they do get panicky and start to scream, is to encourage them to calm down, and tell them everything will be okay and Santa is a nice man who delivers the presents for them on Christmas Day.
Another idea to help a child who may be a bit frightened of Santa is to get another child to go in with them, aswell as yourself (the parent or grandparent), because if they see that their big sister for example is okay with Santa, it may help them more to see that there isn’t anything to be frightened about.
If they are completely hysterical, having a meltdown and it looks like nothing will console or convince them to see Santa, then I would take them out of the situation, but don’t fear about trying next year.
Many children aren’t aware of Christmas and what it really is all about until they are much older, at which they may be fine when they get older and they know more of who Santa Claus is.
If a child starts to get upset over a toy they want, but it isn’t in store, it’s sold out or it is beyond budget then I would again take then out of the situation. Take then back in once they have calmed down and get down to their level, and say “We will go to the toy shop, mummy or daddy isn’t able to buy you that present you saw today, but if you are good then we can choose something else”.
As Henry (my son) is not a fan of shopping and always makes a fuss when I look around the shops, I will find a good time like when he is at nursery or daddy is with me, to go and have a look.
Sometimes it is best to buy a toy when your children aren’t with you. They are not able to see all the choice and I would, if you are buying for similar aged children to try and buy them the same things if possible. It will save arguments later.
Children will often want what another child has, so if you buy them all the same thing, then they are less likely to have a tantrum.
Or as I have spoken in my Children’s Christmas Gift guide this year (see video below), is buy them a joint present like a game or puzzle that they can both do. This can help save money on the Christmas budget and encourage children to play together and share.
I would also encourage them to choose a gift for nanny or daddy for example, this will then teach them that Christmas isn’t just about receiving gifts but about giving too.
Make Christmas decorating or shopping into a game. Have your children see how many baubles they can put on the tree and time them. Or see how many toy cars they can spot, and give them a selection of 2 or 3 they can choose from. Never more than 2 or 3 as they can become overwhelmed.
Example you are in a toy shop and they have some Christmas money given to them and so you ask them to choose a toy.
A place to start is to say “here we are, you can choose one of these toys” and show them the toys by picking them up from the shelves to show them. If they fuss and want more than one, then explain make it into a story, that Santa sent the money and that on his instructions mummy is to offer you one of these toys, if you want another one then you will need to be good boy or girl again and perhaps Santa will send or let me buy it for you next year.
Get them to right a Wish List, and say “You may not be able to have all these on the list, but I will pass the list to Santa Claus and see what he can do”.
Never make promises that can’t be kept, if you do make promises always follow through with them, it is surprising what children remember, when you don’t.
We have had some success, 3 times so far, but now it as if he is avoiding going in the potty, but is understanding that if he needs to go, it has to be in the nappy, and so it is teaching him to communicate to us too, that he needs to go. Get used to not having a nappy on. I did introduce pants, but they lasted on him about 2 minutes, so need to continue with this one.
