There are a fair number of different kinds of headaches. First, many people recognize that it is not the brain that aches. It has no pain receptors in it. However, the head, outside of the brain can hurt, and this can be disabling.
Muscle tension headaches are among the easiest to treat without medication. Learning to tense and relax muscles is an important skill for people who have this variety of headache. Muscle tension headaches can also be relieved by progressive relaxation, by hypnosis, or by meditation.
Vasoconstrictive headaches are caused by increased blood flow to the vessels around the head. Roughly two thirds of these can be stopped by reversing that blood flow in a simple way without medication. The idea is to move blood away from the head. This is done by dilating (opening) the blood vessels in parts of the body that are away from the head. Taking a warm bath is a good idea. Running warm water over the hands is another. Make a cup of hot herbal tea (non-caffeine) and wrap your hands around it.
The psychologist was working at a secondary school in eastern North Carolina. The child stopped taking a test, complaining of a headache. He took a chance that it might be a vasoconstrictive headache (a good chance/guess because of the circumstances). The student and the psychologist went to the only nearby place with warm water, a sink in the teacher's lounge. The student held her hands under warm running water for a few minutes and her headache disappeared!!! She completed the testing without a complaint of head pain.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
How To Drop-Out of School
All of the United States have a law that defines the acceptable age for children to drop-out of school. It's easy for a child who reaches this magical age to go to school sign some papers and, >>>Booooom<<< their education is finished. Many never sign out. They just stop going to school. School systems almost never go after them to sign the paper work. What a shame.
Children who drop out have no liability for just walking away. They can get public assistance and put a burden on tax-payers who support them. They usually get menial jobs and end up having kids who don't do well either. I'm not just talking about drop-outs who have learning problems. I am not going to get into the extended argument about school contributions to drop-out such as multiple grade retentions that have been researched and repeatedly demonstrated to be a failed way to improve student performance (in the long run). The process that allows children to drop-out needs to change.
Rule 1. Never refuse a child the opportunity to make the choice.
Rule 2. Require the child to learn what the choice means.
Every child who wants to drop out must be required to complete an assignment as a part of the process. The completed assignment is signed by the child, and placed in the child's record. The school reviews the assignment to make certain that every aspect of it is complete, interviews the child to make certain that he or she actually wrote it by asking the questions that were answered in the report, returning it to the child if it has been determined that they did not complete it and having them "try again" until they actually do it, and, finally, a school administrator signs it.
The assignment:
Part 1.
1. Read the newspaper "Help Wanted" section and find a job that they could get without a high school diploma. The salary must be listed in the advertisement or they must get a written copy of the salary offer from the potential employer. This must be included with the report.
2. Using math skills that they have learned in school, they must calculate their monthly salary after taxes and social security are taken out.
3. Read the newspaper again. Go to the advertisements for places to live. Find a place to live that costs the least, leaving them enough money to pay for the extras such as electric, heat (oil or gas, for example), and cell phone service.
4. Add together the rent, and the extras. Subtract that amount from the monthly income from the job after taxes. How much is left? That is the amount needed to buy food.
5. Forget about cable television, eating out, going on dates, etc.
6. Go shopping for food but don't buy anything. Add up the prices of what you might eat in a week. Multiply it by 4 or 5 (the number of weeks in a month). Subtract that from the remains of your monthly wages.
7. Now, think about how you are going to get to work. Add up the cost of transportation. Do you have any money left after buying food?
Part II
Determine how much money you can get from public assistance (aka, Welfare, Food Stamps, etc.). Complete the above task using the total amount of money that this turns out to be.
Part III
Go to the newspaper, and find the salaries of jobs requiring a high school diploma, or more education. Determine everything from Part I above. Make a choice.
Final question: If everyone was receiving public assistance (welfare, food stamps, etc.), who would pay for it?
Children who drop out have no liability for just walking away. They can get public assistance and put a burden on tax-payers who support them. They usually get menial jobs and end up having kids who don't do well either. I'm not just talking about drop-outs who have learning problems. I am not going to get into the extended argument about school contributions to drop-out such as multiple grade retentions that have been researched and repeatedly demonstrated to be a failed way to improve student performance (in the long run). The process that allows children to drop-out needs to change.
Rule 1. Never refuse a child the opportunity to make the choice.
Rule 2. Require the child to learn what the choice means.
Every child who wants to drop out must be required to complete an assignment as a part of the process. The completed assignment is signed by the child, and placed in the child's record. The school reviews the assignment to make certain that every aspect of it is complete, interviews the child to make certain that he or she actually wrote it by asking the questions that were answered in the report, returning it to the child if it has been determined that they did not complete it and having them "try again" until they actually do it, and, finally, a school administrator signs it.
The assignment:
Part 1.
1. Read the newspaper "Help Wanted" section and find a job that they could get without a high school diploma. The salary must be listed in the advertisement or they must get a written copy of the salary offer from the potential employer. This must be included with the report.
2. Using math skills that they have learned in school, they must calculate their monthly salary after taxes and social security are taken out.
3. Read the newspaper again. Go to the advertisements for places to live. Find a place to live that costs the least, leaving them enough money to pay for the extras such as electric, heat (oil or gas, for example), and cell phone service.
4. Add together the rent, and the extras. Subtract that amount from the monthly income from the job after taxes. How much is left? That is the amount needed to buy food.
5. Forget about cable television, eating out, going on dates, etc.
6. Go shopping for food but don't buy anything. Add up the prices of what you might eat in a week. Multiply it by 4 or 5 (the number of weeks in a month). Subtract that from the remains of your monthly wages.
7. Now, think about how you are going to get to work. Add up the cost of transportation. Do you have any money left after buying food?
Part II
Determine how much money you can get from public assistance (aka, Welfare, Food Stamps, etc.). Complete the above task using the total amount of money that this turns out to be.
Part III
Go to the newspaper, and find the salaries of jobs requiring a high school diploma, or more education. Determine everything from Part I above. Make a choice.
Final question: If everyone was receiving public assistance (welfare, food stamps, etc.), who would pay for it?
How much is it costing to PAY Attention?
Back in August 2000 or 2001 Dr. Adrian Angold and others at Duke University published an epidemiological study of the rate of diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in the western part of North Carolina in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. That study discovered that thousands of school aged children had been misdiagnosed and NEVER should have been medicated at all. Few people reference that article.
I have four important true stories about real children to tell you.
More recently than the next post, I saw a 7 year old from another county. This boy was clearly terrorizing his class and his teacher. He would never sit still. He grabbed a scissors whenever he could and would cut his own clothes, hair, and the hair of other students. The referral was for an evaluation of ADHD and other behavior, as you could well imagine. One of my favorite developmental questions is frequently left out of routine interviews concerning child development. It needs to be included. I always ask when a child first began to sleep through the night. This case was one of only a few where a child had never slept through the night. His nightly sleep was always interrupted, and not for using the bathroom. The simplest way to treat sleep problems is to establish a nightly sleep routine. This child had one. I strongly recommended that the parents try giving him Melatonin. He slept the night through for the first time. The next day he brought home his first "A" for behavior. The teacher thought that he had certainly been given a stimulant like Ritalin. The problem with any stimulant medication is that it would have bypassed the sleep deprivation/interruption and delayed correct treatment. Follow-up reports have indicated continued good behavior as the result of a complete night of rest.
I recently saw a 6 year old boy who had significant behavior problems in school that included biting one teacher, hitting another teacher, kicking a child, and punching another child. This boy was often out of his seat to the point where one note described him as doing cartwheels in class. One of my more recent concerns about small children displaying behavior and attention problems has been sleep. This boy was going to sleep at 11 PM and waking up at 6 AM to go to school. His teacher also reported that he would fall asleep at school. We know from research that 6 year old children need 11 hours of sleep per night. We also know that sleep deprived children are inattentive, active, and aggressive. I recommended that he get more sleep, and provided suggestions. His mom called back recently (12-4-08) and told me that he had two consecutive days of on task, appropriate behavior after going to sleep at 8:30 PM rather than 11 PM. It is likely that most psychiatrists would have put him on medication that kept him up, rather than working on the sleep problem
One child, a boy, attended a Christian school. His physician thought that he had ADHD, so he prescribed Cylert (Pemoline Magnesium), a very dangerous drug, despite published articles warning that it was harmful, in addition to an FDA warning. The boy also had Celiac Sprue, a digestive disorder in the same category as a cluster of irritable bowel disorders. He was not permitted to consume wheat products. The school psychologist that saw him three years earlier had warned his parents that Cylert was dangerous and gave them literature about its harmful effects on the liver. The physician did not change the medication despite the parents conveying the concerns to him. I was told, when I got to the school, that the teachers wanted him to take more medication. I saw a boy with yellow tinged skin. The "whites" of his eyes were yellow. I gave the parents a computer print out of an article that listed the dangers of Cylert, with the parts describing liver damage and potentially fatal results highlighted. I told them what I saw, without diagnosing anything else ("Your child has yellow skin and yellow eye whites"). I told them that it was critical to give the boy's physician the information. I tested the boy.
I went back to the school three months later. The parents of the boy saw me. They ran over to give me a hug. They exclaimed that I had saved their child's life. They also told me that their son's teachers congratulated them on increasing his medication after it had, in fact, been stopped, because he was paying attention and working harder at school than ever before.
A young girl's grandmother called me and begged me to test the child. The school in Texas had claimed that she had ADHD. The parents gave permission for the assessment. The principal at the school had called them once too often. They told of how often their child got out of her seat without permission. Her mother described how her daughter began to tap her feet while standing outside of the principal's office, with principal saying something like, "Will you look at that! I told you she has ADHD!" I accepted the case. The grandmother paid for her granddaughter's airfare. I saw an active, busy nine-year old. She had to use the bathroom twice while I tested her for about an hour and a half. My interview also revealed that this child's hand hurt after writing for a short time. I advised the mother to obtain a complete physical, being certain to give the physician a copy of my report (which explained the physical problems that I - a psychologist, not a physician - observed). The child had an arterio-venous (blood vessel) jumble that was causing her significant kidney problems - resulting in a frequent need to use the bathroom. The teacher, who limited bathroom breaks for students, was very concerned about how fidgety she was, and thought that this child had ADHD. It also turned out that the child had a bone malformation in her writing hand that caused pain. The symptoms of ADHD magically disappeared after the appropriate medical treatment of both problems. Ask yourself this: How many psychiatrists request a complete physical before they prescribe medication for ADHD? Think about it. See if you can obtain a copy of a book written by a psychiatrist about the usual failure to check for medical explanations of active behavior. The Hyperactivity Hoax is the book written by Dr. Sydney Walker, III. I hope that you find it and read it.
There are many drug-free programs to treat attention problems. The drug companies (they like to be called pharmaceutical manufacturers) have much more money to publicize their products than authors of drug-free treatment programs.
You could also check out something that I've written as a suggested program for all children:
http://alpha.fdu.edu/psychology/steven_edelman.htm
I have four important true stories about real children to tell you.
More recently than the next post, I saw a 7 year old from another county. This boy was clearly terrorizing his class and his teacher. He would never sit still. He grabbed a scissors whenever he could and would cut his own clothes, hair, and the hair of other students. The referral was for an evaluation of ADHD and other behavior, as you could well imagine. One of my favorite developmental questions is frequently left out of routine interviews concerning child development. It needs to be included. I always ask when a child first began to sleep through the night. This case was one of only a few where a child had never slept through the night. His nightly sleep was always interrupted, and not for using the bathroom. The simplest way to treat sleep problems is to establish a nightly sleep routine. This child had one. I strongly recommended that the parents try giving him Melatonin. He slept the night through for the first time. The next day he brought home his first "A" for behavior. The teacher thought that he had certainly been given a stimulant like Ritalin. The problem with any stimulant medication is that it would have bypassed the sleep deprivation/interruption and delayed correct treatment. Follow-up reports have indicated continued good behavior as the result of a complete night of rest.
I recently saw a 6 year old boy who had significant behavior problems in school that included biting one teacher, hitting another teacher, kicking a child, and punching another child. This boy was often out of his seat to the point where one note described him as doing cartwheels in class. One of my more recent concerns about small children displaying behavior and attention problems has been sleep. This boy was going to sleep at 11 PM and waking up at 6 AM to go to school. His teacher also reported that he would fall asleep at school. We know from research that 6 year old children need 11 hours of sleep per night. We also know that sleep deprived children are inattentive, active, and aggressive. I recommended that he get more sleep, and provided suggestions. His mom called back recently (12-4-08) and told me that he had two consecutive days of on task, appropriate behavior after going to sleep at 8:30 PM rather than 11 PM. It is likely that most psychiatrists would have put him on medication that kept him up, rather than working on the sleep problem
One child, a boy, attended a Christian school. His physician thought that he had ADHD, so he prescribed Cylert (Pemoline Magnesium), a very dangerous drug, despite published articles warning that it was harmful, in addition to an FDA warning. The boy also had Celiac Sprue, a digestive disorder in the same category as a cluster of irritable bowel disorders. He was not permitted to consume wheat products. The school psychologist that saw him three years earlier had warned his parents that Cylert was dangerous and gave them literature about its harmful effects on the liver. The physician did not change the medication despite the parents conveying the concerns to him. I was told, when I got to the school, that the teachers wanted him to take more medication. I saw a boy with yellow tinged skin. The "whites" of his eyes were yellow. I gave the parents a computer print out of an article that listed the dangers of Cylert, with the parts describing liver damage and potentially fatal results highlighted. I told them what I saw, without diagnosing anything else ("Your child has yellow skin and yellow eye whites"). I told them that it was critical to give the boy's physician the information. I tested the boy.
I went back to the school three months later. The parents of the boy saw me. They ran over to give me a hug. They exclaimed that I had saved their child's life. They also told me that their son's teachers congratulated them on increasing his medication after it had, in fact, been stopped, because he was paying attention and working harder at school than ever before.
A young girl's grandmother called me and begged me to test the child. The school in Texas had claimed that she had ADHD. The parents gave permission for the assessment. The principal at the school had called them once too often. They told of how often their child got out of her seat without permission. Her mother described how her daughter began to tap her feet while standing outside of the principal's office, with principal saying something like, "Will you look at that! I told you she has ADHD!" I accepted the case. The grandmother paid for her granddaughter's airfare. I saw an active, busy nine-year old. She had to use the bathroom twice while I tested her for about an hour and a half. My interview also revealed that this child's hand hurt after writing for a short time. I advised the mother to obtain a complete physical, being certain to give the physician a copy of my report (which explained the physical problems that I - a psychologist, not a physician - observed). The child had an arterio-venous (blood vessel) jumble that was causing her significant kidney problems - resulting in a frequent need to use the bathroom. The teacher, who limited bathroom breaks for students, was very concerned about how fidgety she was, and thought that this child had ADHD. It also turned out that the child had a bone malformation in her writing hand that caused pain. The symptoms of ADHD magically disappeared after the appropriate medical treatment of both problems. Ask yourself this: How many psychiatrists request a complete physical before they prescribe medication for ADHD? Think about it. See if you can obtain a copy of a book written by a psychiatrist about the usual failure to check for medical explanations of active behavior. The Hyperactivity Hoax is the book written by Dr. Sydney Walker, III. I hope that you find it and read it.
There are many drug-free programs to treat attention problems. The drug companies (they like to be called pharmaceutical manufacturers) have much more money to publicize their products than authors of drug-free treatment programs.
You could also check out something that I've written as a suggested program for all children:
http://alpha.fdu.edu/psychology/steven_edelman.htm
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Join the association
A Russian discovered something interesting about 110 years ago. He was studying the salivary (spit) glands of dogs. Pavlov noticed that his dogs would start producing saliva way before they saw or smelled food. This happened because the dogs heard the very distinct (to them) boot sounds of the lab assistant that brought them their food. This somehow became distorted in the pages of history to the ringing of a bell. The same boot sounds at other times would also produce the saliva. The dogs learned that boot sounds meant food and made a connection. That connection stayed even when there was no food forthcoming. How could this ever be useful to people?
A professional journal article described a developmentally challenged person would only eat for one particular staff member. This became a problem when the staff member took off for the weekend, a holiday, or a vacation. A clever psychologist paired a succession of staff members with the preferred staff person, and the developmentally challenged person soon accepted a bunch of staff persons to provide food.
Certain levels of spinal cord injuries cause paraplegia and a loss of bladder control. Someone discovered that these paraplegics could empty their own bladders before they had accidents by applying a mild electric shock on the area outside the body that was above the bladder. These folks carried a small device that applied the shock. Before long, many paraplegics discovered that all they had to do was move their hand to area of their body above the bladder, and they would urinate without using the electric shock. There was an association between the movement and emptying of the bladder. Now, think about association learning and education.
One problem with learning to read is learning the sounds that go with letters. Some letters have multiple sounds that change depending on the other letters nearby. Thinking about the rules for word sounds might make an educated person become tongue-tied. Few of us think about the rules after a solid reading education. Some folks find it difficult or impossible to learn the rules involved in the sounds that letters make. Whole word reading may be a way to overcome it, even though some phonological dictators (nice double entendre there) would disagree.
Many less able children at the appropriate age can identify a picture of a dog, and say dog. Learning to read the word dog is an altogether different story. Suppose you repeatedly pair the printed word with the picture? What happens if you fade the picture (progressively make it less and less clearly visible)? It can be done by copying it, then copying the copy until it becomes almost unrecognizable, while maintaining the visible "strength" of the printed word beneath it. You can even use action pictures to teach action words. Sure the technique has its limitations. It also has the potential for teaching something that might have otherwise been "unteachable."
Another important skill that can be taught by association is multiplication facts. A bunch of teachers do not approve of this. You can do it at home and they will never know. Produce pages that contain basic math facts from multiplication tables. Mix up the calculations so that the children do not learn them in order. Now, give them a calculator. That is correct, a calculator. Few things equal a calculator for teaching math facts. Have them use the calculator to solve the problems. Do it over and over again with different pages and problems in different order. Give them a break every 30 to 45 minutes to stand-up and walk around. Set a timer for about five minutes, and then get them back to work. Work on it all weekend. They use the calculator on the first weekend day (Saturday). On Sunday start them with the pages and without the calculator. Check their work. Note the ones that they got wrong, and use them on new pages of problems to work with the calculator. Do it again next weekend. Be certain to provide some fun activities like a trip to the movies on the second weekend. You child has a great chance of learning the multiplication tables (multiplication facts) without stress this way and it is all because you joined the association.
A professional journal article described a developmentally challenged person would only eat for one particular staff member. This became a problem when the staff member took off for the weekend, a holiday, or a vacation. A clever psychologist paired a succession of staff members with the preferred staff person, and the developmentally challenged person soon accepted a bunch of staff persons to provide food.
Certain levels of spinal cord injuries cause paraplegia and a loss of bladder control. Someone discovered that these paraplegics could empty their own bladders before they had accidents by applying a mild electric shock on the area outside the body that was above the bladder. These folks carried a small device that applied the shock. Before long, many paraplegics discovered that all they had to do was move their hand to area of their body above the bladder, and they would urinate without using the electric shock. There was an association between the movement and emptying of the bladder. Now, think about association learning and education.
One problem with learning to read is learning the sounds that go with letters. Some letters have multiple sounds that change depending on the other letters nearby. Thinking about the rules for word sounds might make an educated person become tongue-tied. Few of us think about the rules after a solid reading education. Some folks find it difficult or impossible to learn the rules involved in the sounds that letters make. Whole word reading may be a way to overcome it, even though some phonological dictators (nice double entendre there) would disagree.
Many less able children at the appropriate age can identify a picture of a dog, and say dog. Learning to read the word dog is an altogether different story. Suppose you repeatedly pair the printed word with the picture? What happens if you fade the picture (progressively make it less and less clearly visible)? It can be done by copying it, then copying the copy until it becomes almost unrecognizable, while maintaining the visible "strength" of the printed word beneath it. You can even use action pictures to teach action words. Sure the technique has its limitations. It also has the potential for teaching something that might have otherwise been "unteachable."
Another important skill that can be taught by association is multiplication facts. A bunch of teachers do not approve of this. You can do it at home and they will never know. Produce pages that contain basic math facts from multiplication tables. Mix up the calculations so that the children do not learn them in order. Now, give them a calculator. That is correct, a calculator. Few things equal a calculator for teaching math facts. Have them use the calculator to solve the problems. Do it over and over again with different pages and problems in different order. Give them a break every 30 to 45 minutes to stand-up and walk around. Set a timer for about five minutes, and then get them back to work. Work on it all weekend. They use the calculator on the first weekend day (Saturday). On Sunday start them with the pages and without the calculator. Check their work. Note the ones that they got wrong, and use them on new pages of problems to work with the calculator. Do it again next weekend. Be certain to provide some fun activities like a trip to the movies on the second weekend. You child has a great chance of learning the multiplication tables (multiplication facts) without stress this way and it is all because you joined the association.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Silent Arguing
Some folks allow loud arguments to get in the way of having a functioning marriage. A therapist who does not do family therapy suggested to a patient that she and her husband might argue silently in the following way:
Get a notebook for arguing. Go to the bedroom when you want to have a disagreement. Sit on the floor, on the opposite sides of the bed with your back against the bed. Bring the notebook. Each side has a pen or pencil. The person carrying the notebook into the room goes first. That person writes their first comment, question, diatribe, whatever concerning the issue at hand and passes the notebook across the bed to the person on the other side. Never throw the notebook. pass the notebook so that the other person can reach it. The other person sits with back against the bed until the first person has turned around with their back against the bed. The receiving person gets the note book, reads the first statement, skips a line, and responds in writing. No talking is allowed. The second person passes the notebook back after writing, and the process continues until a peaceful agreement is reached.
The first time the therapist's patient tried this, the total silence made the children curious. They timidly knocked on the door to find out what their mother and father were doing. The only thing that they were allowed to do is tell them that they were having an argument. The puzzled children left the room.
Another therapist told the therapist that this technique was also used by the well known psychologist, Dr. Stella Chess.
Get a notebook for arguing. Go to the bedroom when you want to have a disagreement. Sit on the floor, on the opposite sides of the bed with your back against the bed. Bring the notebook. Each side has a pen or pencil. The person carrying the notebook into the room goes first. That person writes their first comment, question, diatribe, whatever concerning the issue at hand and passes the notebook across the bed to the person on the other side. Never throw the notebook. pass the notebook so that the other person can reach it. The other person sits with back against the bed until the first person has turned around with their back against the bed. The receiving person gets the note book, reads the first statement, skips a line, and responds in writing. No talking is allowed. The second person passes the notebook back after writing, and the process continues until a peaceful agreement is reached.
The first time the therapist's patient tried this, the total silence made the children curious. They timidly knocked on the door to find out what their mother and father were doing. The only thing that they were allowed to do is tell them that they were having an argument. The puzzled children left the room.
Another therapist told the therapist that this technique was also used by the well known psychologist, Dr. Stella Chess.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Run Away Tots in Stores
So many parents have experienced the horror of a small child leaving their side and getting lost in a very big store. There are parents who purchase a harness and a sort of leash for their child to prevent the problem. Then there are those who think, "I'm not going to treat my child like a dog." Still others have clever children who figure out how to remove the harness or leash and get away. This last one is one that I've seen.
I love Google because you can search for answers quickly and easily. I did a search and read a number of the answers. I found a parent who taught her child the old fashioned game of "Red Light, Green Light." I mentioned this to the mom of the child who was always running away, and she liked the idea. She taught the game to her very clever little girl. The idea, is to practice the game in several settings, starting at home, then working in a park, moving on to small stores, and working up to the larger ones. After the child learns to stop on mom saying "Red Light" you can make the game more entertaining by throwing in a different color with something else to do. For example, "Blue Light" could mean "jump up and down" or "dance." Be aware or beware of stores that have "Blue Light Specials" though. Some food stores might resort to an overhead page, "Child jumping/dancing in Aisle 5" when you yell "Blue Light. You will be able to find your child that way.
Another parent that I know professionally, has stopped her child with another solution. They have a fish tank/bowl in their home that has a high turnover in residents. Every time the little girl goes to a big department store, they make the first stop to buy a fish (for a very low price) in a plastic bag. The child has to hold the bag without running or she might drop it. This mom has never lost her child while she was holding a fish in a bag.
I love Google because you can search for answers quickly and easily. I did a search and read a number of the answers. I found a parent who taught her child the old fashioned game of "Red Light, Green Light." I mentioned this to the mom of the child who was always running away, and she liked the idea. She taught the game to her very clever little girl. The idea, is to practice the game in several settings, starting at home, then working in a park, moving on to small stores, and working up to the larger ones. After the child learns to stop on mom saying "Red Light" you can make the game more entertaining by throwing in a different color with something else to do. For example, "Blue Light" could mean "jump up and down" or "dance." Be aware or beware of stores that have "Blue Light Specials" though. Some food stores might resort to an overhead page, "Child jumping/dancing in Aisle 5" when you yell "Blue Light. You will be able to find your child that way.
Another parent that I know professionally, has stopped her child with another solution. They have a fish tank/bowl in their home that has a high turnover in residents. Every time the little girl goes to a big department store, they make the first stop to buy a fish (for a very low price) in a plastic bag. The child has to hold the bag without running or she might drop it. This mom has never lost her child while she was holding a fish in a bag.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Cheap Thrills - Low cost fun to have with toddlers
Television and electronic games have all but stopped parents from engaging in some of the older types of activities with their children. One of my greatest joys occurs when I draw a smiling face on my thumb and show it to a toddler. I have not met one who does not want me to draw a face on his thumb. Then, my thumb "looks" at his/her thumb and starts having a conversation. What a great way to teach social interaction! You could even draw them on his/her other fingers so that they can have a play group. One possible secondary benefit to this thumb person is the possible resistance to thumb sucking, because he/she would not want to "eat" the thumb person. Be certain to use nontoxic markers when you draw them.
Drinking straws make really cool musical instruments. You flatten one end. You really have to work at flattening one of those plastic straws, unless the plastic is really thin. Then, cut off the corners to leave a near point (leave a little bit of a straight edge at the front). Continue to work on flattening that tip. Insert the cut end in your mouth so that you lips are on the round part. You may have to work a bit to get the flat part just right. Blow. The shorter the straw, the higher pitch sound you'll produce.
Paper airplanes are a lot of fun. You can have distance contests with them.
Drinking straws make really cool musical instruments. You flatten one end. You really have to work at flattening one of those plastic straws, unless the plastic is really thin. Then, cut off the corners to leave a near point (leave a little bit of a straight edge at the front). Continue to work on flattening that tip. Insert the cut end in your mouth so that you lips are on the round part. You may have to work a bit to get the flat part just right. Blow. The shorter the straw, the higher pitch sound you'll produce.
Paper airplanes are a lot of fun. You can have distance contests with them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
