Young Children Resolving Conflict

 

Children get angry once in a while and usually it's over a toy or space they don't want to share.  How do they deal with their conflict?  Most of the time they scream, hit or throw a temper tantrum.  Even though this is a normal way for children to react to conflict it's not the right way.  So what should they do?

• Children can learn to use their words to express their feelings instead of hitting or biting.  If children listen to each other instead of shouting they will understand how the other feels. 

• It's important for children to calm down and avoid mean words that will make the situation worse.

• Once the children involved in the conflict discuss the problem they can come up with a solution together.

Parents get angry too, so they can model appropriate ways for their children to deal with conflicts.

Hungry, Hungry Children!

 

Does your little one eat a lot?  Does it seem like your child is asking for food every five minutes?  What could be the cause?  

Sometimes children eat because they're bored.  If you don't think your child is genuinely hungry, suggest an activity they can do.  They will start to realize there are other ways to deal with that feeling to eat.  It's possible your child can be thirsty instead of hungry.  Try giving them a drink of milk or water to see if they're really hungry.  Your child could be going through a growth spurt.  All of a sudden your little one is growing out of their clothes.  Make sure your little one eats three good meals a day.  Older children usually eat bigger portions and younger children tend to eat smaller portions more often.  Our five year old eats very well.  She eats breakfast, lunch and dinner, but she eats a lot of snacks in between.  She also drinks a lot of milk so I think she's really hungry.  My husband and I think she must be going through a growth spurt.  Our three year old is totally different.  She eats a small breakfast, and lots of small meals throughout the day.  She eats a lot of Cheerios, crackers and fruit but she rarely eats her dinner.  I hope this is just a phase :(

Keep in mind that children are more active than adults and burn more calories.  Encourage your child to eat until they are satisfied, but not to overeat.

March Break Ideas for Children

 

It's March Break and your children are home all week.  If you're a stay at home mother or you took the week off work you're probably wondering what you're going to do to keep your little ones busy.  Here are some ideas:

• You can enroll your children in a camp, such as a dance camp or a gymnastics camp.  Your children will have fun and stay active.   

• You can bring your little ones to a play group or a drop-in program.  It gets you out of the house for a little while and your children will have the opportunity to play with other children.

• Plan a play date with friends and their children.

• Check your local newspaper or online for any events happening in the city for children during the March Break.  Dora and Diego will be at Burlington Mall during the March Break (March 14th to March 16th).  There's also going to be free crafts and games so I will be taking my little ones.

• If you don't feel like going out you can find things you and your children can do at home together.  Maybe bake some cupcakes or watch a good animated movie.

Have a great March Break!

Children Having Potty Accidents

 

Sometimes our three year old has potty accidents.  If she's playing and doesn't want to stop what she's doing she'll accidentally go potty in her pants.  Our five year old used to have a lot of potty accidents when she was three years old.

Our three year old potty trained very well.  She rarely had accidents in her clothes during the day and at night.  At bed time we started putting a night time pull-up over her underwear and she usually woke up dry.  We started putting her to bed without a pull-up and she still woke up dry.  Then, all of a sudden she started having potty accidents more frequently.  There's times I have to do laundry two or three days in a row because I have to wash her wet bedding.  This happens in spurts and when it does we put her to bed with a pull-up over her underwear.  Then she'll go a long time without having an accident.  Weird huh?  

I'm not sure what can be causing her to wet the bed.  Maybe a bad dream?  When she has an accident I remind her what the potty is for and encourage her to use it more often.  I advise her to try and use the potty before bed and not to wait too long to go while she's playing.  

Punishing your child because they had a potty accident isn't a good idea as it will make the potty accidents worse.  Your child will feel embarrassed and stressed.  Try not getting frustrated with your child and reassure them that sometimes accidents happen.  You and your little one will get through this rough patch together.