Shaken Baby Prevention

 There have been so many stories in the news lately about parents and caregivers shaking a baby or toddler out of frustration. It is very sad that there is not more training to prevent this tragedy from happening to an innocent defenseless child.

About 2000 babies and toddlers are shaken each year. That number is outrageous!

Do you have a plan to protect your child from Shaken Baby Syndrome?

If you’re a parent or caregiver,  you need one, because in as little as five seconds your child’s life can be changed forever.
Shaken Baby Syndrome occurs when a baby or young child is violently shaken. As little as five seconds of shaking can cause irreversible brain damage or death. Some of the permanent effects of Shaken Baby Syndrome include:

• impaired motor skills
• impaired cognitive skills
• blindness
• cerebral palsy
• hearing loss
• spinal cord injury
• paralysis
• seizures

When an infant or young child is shaken the brain bounces back and forth inside the skull, causing blood vessels to tear and causing damage to the brain. Imagine a covered plastic container filled with gelatin. Mild shaking will cause the gelatin to separate from the sides of the container, harder shaking will cause the gelatin to break up, and prolonged severe shaking will cause the gelatin to liquify until it can be poured out of the container.

Violent shaking causes immediate damage to the brain, so symptoms of Shaken Baby Syndrome will usually appear right away. Symptoms may vary, and often appear to be a minor illness. Some of these minor symptoms are:

• Trouble sucking or swallowing
• Decreased appetite
• Trouble sleeping
• Fussiness or irritability
• Vomiting

Severe shaking causes more brain damage and obvious symptoms:

• Difficulty breathing or turning blue
• Lethargy or unresponsiveness
• Convulsions
• Unconsciousness

If you suspect your child is a victim of Shaken Baby Syndrome call 911 or take your child to the emergency room right away! Immediate medical attention may save your child from permanent problems and may even save your baby’s life.

As serious as Shaken Baby Syndrome is, it CAN be prevented! No one wakes up in the morning and thinks “I think I’ll shake a baby today.” Most Shaken Baby Syndrome occurs when a parent, babysitter or other caregiver becomes frustrated and loses control. The most common trigger for Shaken Baby Syndrome is inconsolable crying, but toilet training and feeding problems are other major triggers.
Everyone knows that it’s normal for babies to cry, but that doesn’t make it easy. Babies cry for many reasons and what matters most is how you deal with the crying. Some of the reasons that babies cry are:

• Hunger
• Tired
• Bored
• Scared
• Overstimulated
• Understimulated
• Too hot
• Too cold
• Wet
• Dirty diaper
• Anxious
• Sick
• Uncomfortable
• Want Mom/Dad/Other caregiver
• Just want to

When a baby is crying our instinct is to try to comfort the baby. Many times the baby can be comforted, but sometimes the baby is going to cry no matter what you do. Here are some ideas you can try to help soothe a crying baby:

• Check for illness or pain
• Feed slowly, burp frequently
• Change baby’s diaper
• Take baby for a walk outside
• Swaddle or cuddle baby in a blanket
• Play quiet music
• Run a vacuum or hair dryer away from baby
• Gently rub baby’s tummy, back or bottom
• Pat baby’s bottom gently and rhythmically
• Snuggle baby against your chest
• Rock
• Sing, read a book, talk softly
• Put baby in a baby swing
• Give baby a warm bath
• Reduce light, noise and movement
• Put baby in a vibrating infant seat
• Encourage baby to suck a pacifier or your pinkie finger
• Put baby in a sling or other baby carrier
• Try TV to distract baby
• Nurse baby if you’re breastfeeding

Having a plan for dealing with frustration is the key in preventing Shaken Baby Syndrome. Sometimes babies cry and can’t be soothed, no matter what you do. When you feel yourself getting upset remember that it’s more important to stay calm than to stop the crying. Some ways to keep your cool are:

• Gently place baby in a safe place, like a crib, and leave the room for ten minutes
• Imagine yourself in a relaxing place, like a beach
• Listen to music
• Call a friend or relative
• Take a shower or bath
• Exercise
• Read a book or magazine
• Close your eyes and take deep breaths
• Ask friends or relatives for help
• Count to 100
• Write down 5 best things about yourself
• Write down 5 best things about your child
• Do housework, like vacuuming
• Use positive self-talk such as “I am a good parent” “I can stay calm” “Baby knows I love him”
• Do something that makes you laugh
• Rip up a telephone book or newspater
• Beat on pillows, cushions or a mattresses
• Join a parenting group for support and encouragement
• Yell in your head, into a pillow or in a room away from others
• Call the baby’s doctor or a nurse helpline
• Whatever else it takes to keep yourself calm and your baby safe

Babies cry, but if you have a plan to soothe baby, to keep yourself calm and where to get help you can keep your baby safe from Shaken Baby Syndrome. Remember that it’s more important to keep yourself calm than to stop the crying, and NEVER shake a baby or young child!

Please don't shake me! I am FRAGILE!

Lego creations!

My friend Julie over at Just Playin' Around posted an entry about a creation her son C built with Duplos. So I wanted to share Wyatt's most recent creations. He will spend hours just building with his Duplos. We have about 3 or 4 huge buckets of them, so I am sure the possibilities are endless!

 

It is so fun watching him build, and he occasionally asks me to help as well (usually when something falls off!) He is such a fun little man!

Montessori Method and Preschool

I have always home schooled through preschool, using a Montessori type (child-led) method, with some typical structure thrown in, for school readiness. Certain aspects of the Montessori Method can be scaled down to a homeschooling environment, which works best for preschoolers!

During the day I will take out the sorters, foam letters, coloring sheets, and other learning resources. Throughout the day, I let Wyatt lead me to what he wants to do, and we learn from there. If he wants to go outside and look at the flower, we do that

Or if he decides to play with some State cards...

He also loves to read his books and play with his LEap Frog learning toy.

Every moment can be a teaching moment! I love the Montessori Method because it gives the child a chance to leaen what they feel like learning that day!

Wordless Wednesday

Becka has a Bachelors in Early Childhood Education and Development, and has 18 years experience in the field. She is a Certified Parent Educator and Licensed Baby, Toddler, and Preschool Sign Language Instructor. You can visit her site, at www.learnandgrowtogether.com

Wyatt and his adventures with Flat Stanley Part 1

For those that don't know the story, Stanley is a boy who gets flattened, and proceeds to send himself around the world, enjoying all sorts of adventures. My friend over at Work of Childhood decided to get a bunch of kids involved in the project, and Wyatt was lucky to be one of them!

He sent his to New Jersey and he read about all the great adventures his Stanley is having!

He received 3 Stanleys from 2 brothers and a sister in Texas, and he has been having fun with them, while we wait to find out where to send him next! So far these 3 lucky guys have played cars, gone to McDonald's, helped drop off the older kids at school, visited a hotel where Wyatt's grandparents are staying for their visit, and gone for walks. They are having quite the time, and I am not sure if they will want to leave!!! :)

This book is at an older reading level, but the projuect itself can be for any age!! 

 

Becka has a Bachelors in Early Childhood Education and Development, and has 18 years experience in the field. She is a Certified Parent Educator and Licensed Baby, Toddler, and Preschool Sign Language Instructor. You can visit her site, at www.learnandgrowtogether.com

Only YOU can prevent forest fires!

And participate in an awesome contest, celebrating Smokey Bear's 65th birthday! 

The Smokey Bear Flickr group is holding a contest for kids celebrating Smokey Bear’s 65^th Birthday.  Smokey Bear’s message is important for kid’s of all ages to hear and getting this message out will raise awareness about wild fire safety as well as give kids a reason to get outdoors.

Winning photos submitted to the Flickr group will be featured in a "Get Your Smokey On" tribute video with photographers' names, city, and state featured on the photo.

You can check out the Flickr Group here
The Twitter feed here
And the Smokey Bear Website here
Don't forget to become a fan of Smokey on Facebook!




Becka has a Bachelors in Early Childhood Education and Development, and has 18 years experience in the field. She is a Certified Parent Educator and Licensed Baby, Toddler, and Preschool Sign Language Instructor. You can visit her site, at www.learnandgrowtogether.com

Wordless Wednesday ---the little things you might miss if not paying attention!

Becka has a Bachelors in Early Childhood Education and Development, and has 18 years experience in the field. She is a Certified Parent Educator and Licensed Baby, Toddler, and Preschool Sign Language Instructor. You can visit her site, at www.learnandgrowtogether.com

Attention-seeking Toddlers

Does your child often demand your attention? Here’s how to cope with those constant interruptions.

by: Elizabeth Pantley

Attention Seeking

• Teach your children how to tell if something is important enough to warrant an interruption.
• Don’t answer your toddler’s question when she interrupts–this only reinforces the habit.
• Teach your child to gently squeeze your arm if she wants your attention when you’re talking to someone else.
• Put together a box of activities or games specifically for when you’re busy and can’t be interrupted.
• Praise your toddler for using good manners, such as saying “excuse me” when she wants your attention.

Read the full article here





Becka has a Bachelors in Early Childhood Education and Development, and has 18 years experience in the field. She is a Certified Parent Educator and Licensed Baby, Toddler, and Preschool Sign Language Instructor. You can visit her site, at www.learnandgrowtogether.com

September Giveaway!

This month we start a giveaway! We will not be doing this every month, so be on the lookout!!! 

This month we are giving away a cute bib with the ASL sign for I Love You and a First Words ASL book for babies and toddlers!

(The bib will say I Love You, and not grandpa)


All you have to do is tell us a story about your child signing!! I will have one of my kids randomly pic a winner on September 30! You have 30 days to enter and please, only enter once!





Becka has a Bachelors in Early Childhood Education and Development, and has 18 years experience in the field. She is a Certified Parent Educator and Licensed Baby, Toddler, and Preschool Sign Language Instructor. You can visit her site, at www.learnandgrowtogether.com

Practice makes perfect: How you can learn and remember a new sign quickly

As busy parents, many times our brains are overloaded with the tasks and responsibilities of our daily grind. Whether it be work, play, child rearing or all three, learning and executing a sign does take some work, but it doesn't have to be as overwhelming as you think. There are many things we can do to help increase our chances of remembering a sign learned in a book, DVD or class. When learning new sign language vocabulary, consider these important tips to help you remember them:

1. Will a short note or picture help you to remember how to execute the sign? Have pen/paper ready so you can write down memory reinforcers. Sentences don't have to be complete, little notes will do. Better yet, if you don't have a handout of the sign vocabulary, draw little pictures of the sign to help jog your memory.

2. Is the sign iconic? Does it look like what it represents? An example of this would be the sign for "banana". It looks exactly like what it is... peeling a banana.

3. Is there another sign that looks similar to the sign that you know? Sometimes distinguishing one sign from another can help you to recall the signs quicker. When you forget the sign, another word comes to mind to help you remember what you learned. An example of this would be the sign for candy and apple. They are both done at the cheek and with the pointer finger. The only difference is apple uses a bent index finger and candy uses a straight index finger. If you tell yourself that the sign for "apple" is very similar to the sign for "candy" and vice versa, your chances of recalling the sign increases.

4. Is it an initialized sign? Meaning, does the sign begin with the first letter of English word? An example of this would be the sign for "yellow" where the sign is made using a "Y" hand shape. A short mental note of this will help you to recall the sign quicker.

5. Does the sign show a movement that the object makes? For example, the sign for "monkey" is done very similar to how a monkey moves. Again, a short mental note of this will help you to recall the sign quicker.

The best advice I can give you to increase your potential in remembering a sign is something my father taught me long ago, "practice makes perfect"! Sign the vocabulary over and over and over again in as many appropriate contexts as possible. The more you practice using the sign, the easier it will be to recall it.  

Becka has a Bachelors in Early Childhood Education and Development, and has 18 years experience in the field. She is a Certified Parent Educator and Licensed Baby, Toddler, and Preschool Sign Language Instructor. You can visit her site, at www.learnandgrowtogether.com

Sign the Petition: Fix No Child Left Behind!

Dear Congress:
We, the undersigned, urge you to make revamping No Child Left Behind your top priority in education reform this year. It’s two years overdue for reauthorization, and the time to act is now.

The one-size-fits-all approach to the law doesn’t reflect or support the incredibly varied needs and strengths of the schools across our nation.

Instead, in many towns and cities, NCLB has fostered an environment where teachers are forced to drill only basic skills that can be measured by a multiple-choice exam instead of helping children acquire a true depth of knowledge. As a result, 44 percent of districts nationwide have made significant cuts in untested subjects, including history, science, and the arts for the sole purpose of making more time for reading and math. Our children—and the future of our country—deserve better. As you begin your work, we urge you to ensure the new law:

1.	Receives FULL funding. Since 2002, you’ve put $85 billion less into education than the law called for. And while the infusion from the stimulus package was much needed, it’s only a start.
2.	Sets realistic standards. The notion that nearly 100 percent of students—including those with learning disabilities and those new to this country—will achieve a certain level of proficiency by 2014 is ludicrous. Children are not robots. They each learn differently and at different rates.
3.	Provides for well-rounded student assessment. We don’t expect standardized testing to go away, nor should it. But we do expect you to help states design better tests—ones that can demonstrate that children can actually work out a problem, make connections and describe their knowledge.
4.	Measures individual progress. The current system looks no deeper than groups of students. While that’s beneficial to a point—schools are no longer allowed to hide behind broad averages—adopting growth models would allow teachers and schools to know how much each student actually gains from year to year.
5.	Gives schools and teachers the support they need. Of course, there need to be consequences for schools that fail their kids. But those that are struggling need the flexibility to choose programs that actually fit their needs—instead of being forced to use cookie-cutter curriculums. And teachers need more money for training so they can become the best they can be.

Together, we can help every child reach his or her potential, which as parents, is exactly what we’re supposed to do.
Thank you.

Click here to sign the petition!






Becka has a Bachelors in Early Childhood Education and Development, and has 18 years experience in the field. She is a Certified Parent Educator and Licensed Baby, Toddler, and Preschool Sign Language Instructor. You can visit her site, at www.learnandgrowtogether.com

No Child Left Behind: The Good And The Bad

Krista Sokolsky teaches third grade in San Lorenzo, CA, a lower-middle-class area near Oakland. Every morning she greets 24 little faces at Hillside Elementary, and they kick off each day with a grammar game. But lately she's wondered whether her ten years of experience in the classroom even matters. Because her school has failed to meet California's reading targets for the past four years, Sokolsky must follow a state-mandated, cookie-cutter curriculum intended to do one thing and one thing only -- raise test scores.

continue reading.





Becka has a Bachelors in Early Childhood Education and Development, and has 18 years experience in the field. She is a Certified Parent Educator and Licensed Baby, Toddler, and Preschool Sign Language Instructor. You can visit her site, at www.learnandgrowtogether.com

Wordless Wednesday

Becka has a Bachelors in Early Childhood Education and Development, and has 18 years experience in the field. She is a Certified Parent Educator and Licensed Baby, Toddler, and Preschool Sign Language Instructor. You can visit her site, at www.learnandgrowtogether.com

Tueday MEME

Ok so today is about not cracking open a bottle of wine! My daughter woke up with a 104 fever. My husband took her to the ER. It went down, and she came home. They did send her home with a script for antibiotics...but we have NO money to get them until Thursday. So she woke up from a nap crying...her fever went up to 105.6! I have been giving her Motrin (which we ran out of and, of course, can't get more of!) and Tylenol.

My baby (2 months) got shots yesterday and has a 100 fever from it. He is doing ok, but screaming a lot.

My 2 yr old has a temp, but not a high one...99.5.

I am getting over being sick as well, and totally exhausted.

Wonder if my 9 yr old will be next?!

Oh, and did I mention that my 2 yr old got out of the house while everyone was sleeping the other day and got into the (thankfully mpty) pool?!

And I have managed to kep my sanity....so that is my MEME lol. I have not killed anyone or checked into the mental hospital! 

Anyone have a margarita?





Becka has a Bachelors in Early Childhood Education and Development, and has 18 years experience in the field. She is a Certified Parent Educator and Licensed Baby, Toddler, and Preschool Sign Language Instructor. You can visit her site, at www.learnandgrowtogether.com

The benefits of extended nursing

I have 4 children, each with their own  breastfeeding history. My oldest, now 9, nursed sporadically for about 2 months. I was a young mom, in the middle of no where with no family, in a new town. I had a lot of trouble, and he seemed to flat out refuse to nurse. So I promptly gave up. Even though he had an exceptional vocabulary by the age of 15 months and currently tested with an IQ of 140, he suffers from ADHD and other behavior problems.

My daughter, now 6, nursed like a champ for the first 4 months of her life. I contracted a kidney infection, and ended up in the hospital for a weekend, on meds. The nurse told me I had to stop breastfeeding...instead of looking for a lactation consultant to talk to me! I am quite sure she  would have nursed for quite some time. She had bottle mouth so bad by the age of 2, that she had to have mouth surgery. We are still not sure why this happened, as we always brushed her teeth, and took care of her mouth. She also has some behavior problems, uncluding Autism. On the bright side, she is 2 grade levels ahead of her class in reading and math.

I wish I knew about Le Leche League for my older 2 kids. I would have been able to nurse them a lot longer then I did, and they would have been a lot better off for it! To this day, I still feel guilty for quitting on them!

My little man, now 2, nursed for 23 months. I would have gone longer, but he decided to stop, even though mama tried to encourage him to continue! He never had a drop of formula! He is exceptionally bright and, even though he can be a handful, seems to have no other behavior problems I saw in the other two by this age!

The baby seemed to have a hard time adjusting to the outside. He is nursing like a champ, but we did end up giving him a couple bottles of formula a week, maybe 3 a week, for the first 4 weeks of his life. He is now 2 months old and exclusively on breastmilk. I plan to keep it that way for as long as he wants to go! Maybe he will be my kid to go past the 23 month mark. He is also my last baby...so it may take mama a while to wean him!

I see a lot of people wondering when they should wean their baby off the breast. Many think that they have to by a certain age (3 months, 6 months, 1 year, etc...) because they either heard it from a friend or relative, or a doctor. The good news is, there IS no age you HAVE to wean.

First and foremost, doctors have little to no factual knowledge in the area of breastfeeding. They only know what they may have read in a book, or learned in a 5 minute blurb in a class in medical school. If you want the real facts on breastfeeding, contact a lactation consultant, or the local Le Leche League.

Many will tell you that, after a year, there is no nutritional value to breastmilk. That is about as true as saying that after one, there is no nutritional value to food itself. It is just not true. In fact, unlike formula, breastmilk changes and grows WITH your child, to meet their current nutritional needs. The milk that your baby had as a newborn, is not the same as it was/is going to be at 12 months, 24 months, and beyond.

The longer you breastfeed, the better the benefits to both you and your child!

Breastfeeding benefits toddlers and young children...nutritionally, immunilogically and psychologically.
    * Nursing toddlers benefit NUTRITIONALLY

    * Nursing toddlers are SICK LESS OFTEN

    * Nursing toddlers have FEWER ALLERGIES

    * Nursing toddlers are SMART

    * Nursing toddlers are WELL ADJUSTED SOCIALLY

    * Nursing a toddler is NORMAL

    * MOTHERS also benefit from nursing past infancy

    You can read more on the above on the Kellymom site.

There are also some other great resources out there,  including Dr. Sears and LLL.

Some great books I reccommend are:

The Breastfeeding Book 

Mothering Your Nursing Toddler

The Breastfeeding Answer Book 

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding

The Nursing Mother's Companion

These are all great resources to arm yourself with information, the next time you are confronted on your personal choice to breastfeed, and the most important thing you can do for your baby and toddler!

Happy nursing!






Becka has a Bachelors in Early Childhood Education and Development, and has 18 years experience in the field. She is a Certified Parent Educator and Licensed Baby, Toddler, and Preschool Sign Language Instructor. You can visit her site, at www.learnandgrowtogether.com