GPP: Healthy Eating Habits

Start Healthy Eating Habits from the Start

TWP_5066By introducing new and healthy foods to your child at an early age, you help them develop good eating habits that will benefit them a lifetime. Once your child can eat solids, each meal should contain a variety of foods from each of the five food groups:

  1.   1. Grains
  2.   2. Vegetables
  3.   3. Fruits
  4.   4. Dairy
  5.   5. Proteins

It’s normal (and expected) for young children to request the same food every day or reject foods they have never tried before. But what can you do to make it less of a strain?

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    • Introduce one new food at a time
    • Be patient and try the food again later
    • Keep healthy food within reach
    • Let them see you eat healthy too
    • Let your child help pick out food
    • Allow them to help prepare food with you

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Keep trying! Research indicates it can take 12 to 13 tries of a food for them to accept it.  If they do not like the food the first time around, don’t give up! Wait a few days and try again and again.

Birth to 1 Between four to six months of age, many babies are ready for solids. They should be able to sit and hold their head up by themselves. Blend up some strawberries in the blender. The bright red will surely catch your baby's attention! Or puree some peaches for their sweetness and potassium. Steam kale or spinach and then puree it. Add some banana for sweetness. Smashed squash is an excellent choice. A little seasoning goes a long way too! Add some basil, garlic, cilantro, or onions for a little flavoring. When your baby is ready to start solid foods, introduce them to soft raw foods like avocado, banana and ripe pears.
1 to 2 Introduce only one new food to your baby every three to four days in case it does not agree with them or they have a reaction. Serve similar foods together. Cantaloupe and honeydew, broccoli and cauliflower, or steamed carrots and zucchini Arrange a lunch date with their pals. Eating healthy with friends is more fun. Play with names: If your baby loves grapes and you are introducing them to blackberries, call them bumpy grapes. Call cauliflower, white broccoli. Make drinks less sugary by adding water.
2 to 3 While your two year old may not eat a lot, they may show more interest in food if they share meals with the family and their food is cut bite-sized. Play with names: If your baby loves grapes and you are introducing them to blackberries, call them bumpy grapes. Call cauliflower, white broccoli. Make it entertaining my cutting sandwiches with cookie cutters. Take your baby to the farmer's market and enroll their help in picking out the fruits and veggies. Scale back on the snack. Allow them to work up an appetite for a healthy dinner.
3 to 4 Enlist your child to help with a small garden. Growing their own food may make them more willing to eat it! Make drinks less sugary by adding water. Make it entertaining my cutting sandwiches with cookie cutters. Play with names: If your baby loves grapes and you are introducing them to blackberries, call them bumpy grapes. Call cauliflower, white broccoli. Serve similar foods together. Cantaloupe and honeydew, broccoli and cauliflower, or steamed carrots and zucchini
4 to 5 If you are planning to serve a new food, let your child help with the preparation. They might be more willing to try it afterwards. Make drinks less sugary by adding water. Make it entertaining my cutting sandwiches with cookie cutters. Many little ones love dipping their food. Add some condiments to the mix: carrots and ranch, fruit and yogurt, or baked chicken and ketchup. Take your baby to the farmer's market and enroll their help in picking out the fruits and veggies.

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GPP: Our Children Need To Play!

Rain, Rain, Go Away…Our Children Need to Play!

rain kid croppedYour child should get some outdoor time every day, even when the weather is less than ideal. It is recommended that infants receive at least one-hour outdoors each day while toddlers and older children have a minimum of 90 minutes outside. The time spent outside can include active free play, outdoor center time like gardening or nature walks with family.

Physical activity outside releases endorphins which make children happy, it also helps to support:

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  • physical development
  • weight management
  • gross and fine motor skills
  • creativity

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Do You Know If Your Child Receives Daily Outdoor Time in Child Care? Ask Your Child Care Professional… [su_list icon="icon: angle-right"]

  • Does your child care provider provide daily outdoor time? If so, how much?
  • What is the policy on going outside when it is rainy or cold?
  • If your child is an infant, how is their outdoor time spent?
  • Visit the outdoor area to ensure that all of the play equipment is well maintained and safe.

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Need Some Indoor Play Ideas?

There are times when the weather is too dangerous for outdoor time. You can still arrange indoor active play.

Birth to 1 Splash Time! Grab a baking tray, thick towels, and regular bath toys. Allow them to play in the water during some tummy time. Throw down a blanket and enjoy the moment together. Your baby will love the closeness!
1 to 2 Give your child a paper towel roll to talk through. Model quiet, loud, squeaky and laughing sounds. Take turns leading the noises. Play circle games such as Duck, Duck Goose, Simon Says, or Follow the Leader.
2 to 3 Put on some music and let's dance together. Grab the laundry basket and some soft balls or socks for a game of toss.
3 to 4 Grab the laundry basket and some soft balls or socks for a game of toss. How about games of indoor Twister, build an obstacle course, or follow along with a kid’s yoga video?
4 to 5 Host your own yoga class. Use a free app or video. Create an obstacle course indoors with your chairs, tables, blankets, pillows, or hula hoops!

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GPP: Social-Emotional Development

4 Things You Can Do To Support Your Child’s Social – Emotional Development

girls playing_child_girl_groupWhat is social and emotional growth? Social and emotional development emphasizes skills that increase self-awareness and self-control. It is the root for fostering:

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  • Self-confidence
  • Empathy
  • Compassion
  • Awareness of one’s own feelings
  • A sense of right and wrong
  • Meaningful friendships
  • Trust

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How can you support their healthy social-emotional development? Young children learn how to treat others based on the care they receive. By providing your child with a positive and nurturing environment which includes lots of physical and emotional closeness, you will help them understand how they feel about themselves and aid them in creating relationships with others.

See below for age-appropriate ways on how you can support your child’s development:

Birth to 1 Place a child-proof mirror where your infant can see it and play Peek-a-Boo together using a cloth. Recite the rhyme, "Here are your fingers, here are your toes. Here is your chin and here is your nose." As you sing, point to each of the body parts. Place blocks, soft books, rattles, and stuffed animals within reach. As they choose and play say, "You chose the block, Carlie" While cuddling sing, "You Are My Sunshine." Smile and emphasize the word "happy" as you sing.
1 to 2 Teach your little one how to meditate. Lie down and place a stuffed animal on their chest. Show them how to breathe deeply and watch the animal move up and down. During outdoor time, have your child whisper their name. Then work your way up to an "inside voice" and lastly, have them shout their names out loud. Take some Selfies! Display a range of emotions such as happy, sad and shocked. Throughout the week help your child learn to label their emotions. Demonstrate how to manage feelings. For example say, "I'm upset. I'm going to close my eyes and count to five."
2 to 3 Show your child how to give a high five. Explain this is good for letting someone know they did a good job.  High Five your child when they do a great job. Teach your child the "okay" gesture. Throughout the day use it with them and see them do it back to let you know "everything is okay." Teach your little one how to meditate. Lie down and place a stuffed animal on their chest. Show them how to breathe deeply and watch the animal move up and down. As you read, have your child mirror the faces seen in the book and talk about those feelings.
3 to 4 Give your child a bubble wand that is easy to use. Take turns being the designated blower and a popper. Make a feelings meter and label the sections: happy, sad, mad, sleepy, or worried. Have them indicate how they are feeling throughout the day. Discuss table manners at meal time. Talk about how to take turns being served food and how to engage in conversations with others. Create a small space where your child can go calm down. Make this space calm and peaceful using pillows, glitter bottles and stress balls. Guide them to find resolutions to their problems.
4 to 5 Discuss table manners at meal time. Talk about how to take turns being served food and how to engage in conversations with others. Become pen pals with a family member or friend. Include photos, drawings and life experience stories. Have your child draw a self-portrait and have them name characteristics about themselves. Write down what they say. Look at photos of your child and have them compare how they are the same and how they are different.

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GPP: We Need Multiple Story Times!

child reading book with adult_child_adult_book

We Need Multiple Story Times!

You know that it is important to read to child for at least 15 minutes every day beginning at birth. Times should be increased as the child grows older and their attention span lengthens. Research shows the more exposure a child gets to the printed word, the better for their language and literacy development.

Be sure that your child care provider supports early literacy not only for learning but for fun!

What should you look for in the classroom?

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  • Make sure that books are easily accessible
  • Look for a diverse range of books– bright colors, sharp contrasts, rhythmic writing, lift the flap books and simple phrase books
  • If there are centers in your child care, are they labeled?
  • Are there paper, pens, pencils, crayons and other items to write and draw?
  • After reading, do teachers encourage discussion of the book and characters?
  • Is reading part of the child care program’s daily routine, such as at the close of circle time?

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Birth to 1 1 to 2 2 to 3 3 to 4 4 to 5
Ask your provider which nursery rhymes are sung at school so that you can repeat them at home. Ask your provider about the books they are reading. Check them out at your local library and cuddle while reading their favorites at home. Ask your provider about the animal noises they are reading about.  Read about those animals at home and watch your little ones face light up as you make various animal sounds. Ask your provider for the list of words they are learning. Help your child learn them by using them frequently at home. Ask your provider about the additional languages they are learning. Practice Spanish or sign language at home together.
Around six months, your child can begin pointing out familiar objects. Ask, "Where's mommy? Where's your nose?" Sit with your child and sing the nursery rhymes they are learning in school. "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" with hand motions is a classic. Click Here for more. Ask your child to recite the nursery rhymes they sing with their provider. Then ask questions such as, "Where did Jack and Jill go?" Have your child use a magnifying glass to look for words they can read in newspapers or magazines. Make a reading corner at home similar to your child care provider's with comfy pillows, a basket of books, and a blanket.

Suggested Resources:

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GPP: Let’s Talk

Let’s Talk

Hand to Ear_child_boy_croppedThere’s an old idiom that says “talk is cheap,” meaning there’s a lot of talk but no results. However, in this instance talk is priceless.  You should be doing a lot of it starting the day your child is born. Communicating early and often through smiles, talking, cooing, singing all count and set the stage for future success in language and interpersonal development.

Your baby’s vocabulary grows exponentially in their first few years. Research has shown the more words they are exposed to the better. Be a talkative family!

Birth to 1 Repeat their sounds back to them: "ba ba" or "da da" Model adult conversation by responding in a back-in-forth manner Make eye contact when speaking and facial expressions Plan for quiet time. Babies need time to babble and play quietly without TV or radio or other noises Talk baby talk! The more words the better.
1 to 2 "Show me you nose" then point at yours. Help them learn body parts Introduce short words like "cup" and "ball" Read colorful books to your baby Build on what your child says. If he says “ball,” you can say, “That’s your big, red ball.” Hide a toy while she is watching. Help her find it and share in her delight.
2 to 3 Ask for help. Ask them to put their cup on the table or bring you their shoes Teach your child to say their first and last name. Have your child tell you the story of one of their favorite books Give them multi-step directions Keep naming new objects as you encounter them
3 to 4 Introduce them to children's picture dictionaries and letter books Talk about emotional words such as, "sad, happy, angry, afraid" The car ride home is the perfect time to talk about their day. Ask them to tell you about their favorite part of their day. Talk baby talk! The more words the better. Little ones love to hear a repeated story. Repeat the story or let them tell it to you with more details.
4 to 5 Keep playing rhyming games, naming objects, and new categories (i.e time words: today, tomorrow, yesterday) Encourage them to talk with older peers and adults. Initiate more conversation. Let them order their next meal. Talk about cause and effects. They understand simple explanations such as "If you eat healthy foods, you will grow big and strong" Offer limited choices to help them gain a sense of control. Ask: Do you want to get dressed before or after breakfast today?" Create safe opportunites for your child to express their BIG feelings. For example, if they are angry, instead of "Stop yelling." Try "Go to the bathroon and take some deep breaths."

The important take away here is to just talk with your child as frequently as you can, sharing rich vocabulary.

You’ll also want to check in with your child care providers to see how they support language development. For instance, do they talk with the young children and give them time to share? Do they have multiple reading times throughout the day and how does music play into their day?

GPP: Soothing Your Child

If You Are Not There, Who Is Soothing Your Child When He Needs It? Rest assured that child care professionals know how to calm upset infants and children. However, you would not be the first to wonder how long your child cried after you left, who wiped his tears or gave him a hug to soothe him.

The simplest answer is to ask your child care provider how they handle a child that needs a little extra attention due to separation anxiety or a rough day. Most likely the program will have several methods they employ to help children through these stages, as well as suggestions on how you can help.

Common Methods

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  • Picture Time - Create a picture collage of important people in your child’s lives; let him help you pick the photos!
  • Lovey Items - Make sure your child has a special “lovey,” such as a blanket, items of your clothes or stuffed animal that provides comfort and makes him feel safe.
  • Go Slow - Plan to spend 10 – 15 minutes easing your child into the morning once you arrive at child care. Perhaps you can read a quick book while snuggling or do some drawing together.
  • Have a Plan - Work with your care giver to set up a morning routine or to help distract your child with play during drop off each day. However, don’t sneak away – always say good-bye and assure them that you will be back.

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Together you and your child care professional can create a plan that makes you and your child child both feel at ease, and even soothes your fears while you are away!

Birth to 1 1 to 2 2 to 3 3 to 4 4 to 5
Most babies are upset when first separated from mom/dad. Your baby's teacher will have suggestions, such as taking in a favorite toy. It's normal for your child to miss you while away. Try giving them a piece of your clothing with your scent to keep in their cubby. How does your child care program soothe kids who are upset? A comfort item or laminated photo to keep during the day works well. Even at 3 years old, saying goodbye can be hard. Does your child's teacher help by giving special 1-on-1 time during your departure? When your child becomes upset at child care, how does your teacher handle it? Distraction, cuddling or reading are all good ideas.

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