The Secret Diary of The Beautiful Mind

  Emotional/Social Changes, Children in this age group might: Show more concern about body image, looks, and clothes. Focus on themselves; going back and forth between high expectations and lack of confidence. Experience more moodiness. Show more interest in and influence by peer group. Express less affection toward parents; sometimes might seem rude or short-tempered. Feel stress from more challenging school work. Develop eating problems. Feel a lot of sadness or depression, which can lead to poor grades at school, alcohol or drug use, unsafe sexual exploration, and other problems. Thinking and Learning, Children in this age group might: Have more ability for complex thought. Be better able to express feelings through talking. Develop a stronger sense of right and wrong Following are some things you, as a parent, can do to help your child during this time: Be honest and direct with your teen when talking about sensitive subjects such as drugs, drinking, smoking, and sexuality. M

  Emotional/Social Changes Children in this age group might:  Start to form stronger, more complex friendships and peer relationships. It becomes more emotionally important to have friends, especially of the same sex.  Experience more peer pressure.  Become more aware of his or her body as puberty approaches. Body image & eating problems start around this time. Thinking and Learning Children in this age group might:   Face more academic challenges at school. Become more independent from the family .  Begin to see the point of view of others more clearly. Have an increased attention span. Positive Parenting Tips: following are some things you, as a parent, can do to help your child during this time:   Encourage your child to join school and community groups, such as a sports team, or to be a volunteer for a charity. Help your child develop his own sense of right and wrong. Talk with him about risky things friends might pressure him to do, like smoking or dangerous physical dares.  H

  Emotional/Social Changes:   Children in this age group might           Show more independence from parents and family.          Start to think about the future.          Understand more about his or her place in the world.          Pay more attention to friendships and teamwork.          Want to be liked and accepted by friends.   Thinking and Learning: Children in this age group might: Show rapid development of mental skills. Learn better ways to describe experiences and talk about thoughts and feelings. Have less focus on one’s self and more concern for others.   Positive Parenting Tips: Following are some things you, as a parent, can do to help your child during this time: Show affection for your child.  Recognize her accomplishments. Help your child develop a sense of responsibility - ask him to help with household tasks. Talk with your child about school, friends, and things she looks forward to in the future. Talk with your child about respecting others. Encourage

  As children grow into early childhood, their world will begin to open up. They will become more independent and begin to focus more on adults and children outside of the family. They will want to explore and ask about the things around them even more. Their interactions with family and those around them will help to shape their personality and their own ways of thinking and moving. During this stage, children should be able to ride a tricycle, use safety scissors, notice a difference between girls and boys, help to dress and undress themselves, play with other children, recall part of a story, and sing a song. Positive Parenting Tips Following are some of the things you, as a parent, can do to help your preschooler  during this time: Continue to read to your child. Nurture her/his love for books by taking her/his to the library or bookstore. Let your child help with simple chores. Encourage your child to play with other children. This helps him to learn the value of sharing and fri

  Toddlers (2-3 yrs old) Because of children’s growing desire to be independent, this stage is often called the “terrible twos.” However, this can be an exciting time for parents and toddlers. Toddlers will experience huge thinking, learning, social, and emotional changes that will help them to explore their new world, and make sense of it. During this stage, toddlers should be able to follow two- or three-step directions, sort objects by shape and color, imitate the actions of adults and playmates, and express a wide range of emotions. Positive Parenting Tips Following are some of the things you, as a parent, can do to help your toddler during this time:          Set up a special time to read books with your toddler.         Encourage your child to take part in pretend play.          Help your child to explore things around her by taking her on a walk.          Encourage your child to tell you his name and age.          Teach your child simple songs like Itsy Bitsy Spider, or ot

  During the second year, toddlers are moving around more, and are aware of themselves and their surroundings. Their desire to explore new objects and people is also increasing. During this stage, toddlers will show greater independence; begin to show defiant behavior ; recognize themselves in pictures or a mirror; and imitate the behavior  of others, especially adults and older children. Toddlers also should be able to recognize the names of familiar people and objects, form simple phrases and sentences, and follow simple instructions and directions. Positive Parenting Tips Following are some of the things you, as a parent, can do to help your toddler during this time: Read to your toddler daily. Ask her to find objects for you or name body parts and objects. Play matching games with your toddler, like shape sorting and simple puzzles. Encourage him to explore and try new things. Help to develop your toddler’s language by talking with her and adding to words she starts. Encourage your

  Infants - (0 - 1 yr) Developmental Milestones Skills such as taking a first step, smiling for the first time, and waving “bye-bye” are called developmental milestones. Developmental milestones are things most children can do by a certain age. Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, behave, and move (like crawling, walking, or jumping). In the first year, babies learn to focus their vision, reach out, explore, and learn about the things that are around them. Cognitive, or brain development means the learning process of memory, language, thinking, and reasoning. Learning language is more than making sounds (“babble”), or saying “ma-ma” and “da-da”. Listening, understanding, and knowing the names of people and things are all a part of language development. During this stage, babies also are developing bonds of love and trust with their parents and others as part of social and emotional development. The way parents cuddle, hold, and play with their baby will set the bas