Do What I Do

Have you ever heard of ‘monkey see, monkey do’? While you may not have monkeys in your house, you might have some children watching and hearing everything you do and say. Children tend to mimic their role models in many different ways so it is essential that we as adults, and role models, display behaviors that we wish to see in our children.

Watch What You Eat

Even the youngest of children know that a cookie tastes better than whatever is for dinner. But as role models, it is vital that we eat healthy alongside our children. It isn’t fair when children are told to eat fruits and veggies and we are snacking on chips and candy.

Plan meals and learn about new foods as a family, but don’t ban the sweets. This only increases the appeal for them for the entire family. Always remember that moderation is key. Make eating healthy fun and the norm in your home.

Stay Physically Active

Children are naturally wiggle worms. Most of the time they can’t sit still for long. It is important to burn off that extra energy in children so they sleep better at night and wake up well-rested.

Do things together to stay physically active. We shouldn’t just sit on the couch, watch television, or get hypnotized by an iPad---nor should our children..Now is a great time to make a New Year’s resolution to be a better play partner for our kids. Play games outside, go to the playground, set up an obstacle course in the house or just jump around like any young child does, but together! Your children will love that you are being silly with them and you will get everyone’s hearts pumping! Listen to a sample of this fun tune from Choosy Kids, Do What I Do, and make up your own moves together to the song. Get creative!

Brush Two Times a Day Together

Brushing teeth is something that is learned, especially from others doing it. Make it a point to brush your teeth together, for two minutes, two times a day. Most children younger than 8 will need help properly brushing their teeth, so make it a fun game so you can reach those molars and tight spaces in small mouths.

Get into a habit with children that after using the bathroom and washing hands, brushing their teeth should be next on their to-do list. Get creative when teaching children about brushing. You can listen to music while you brush to make it more fun. Choosy Kids has plenty of songs about brushing that are two minutes or more in length. There are also fun toothbrushes available that light up, play songs or have a favorite character on them so children like using it.

Model New Skills to Show that Learning is Fun

Children are always up for learning something new. Show children that learning is fun and you can never stop learning new things, even as an adult.

If you want to learn something new together, try learning about a different country or try making a recipe with a food new to your family. You can also explore new places as a family and learn about history while you do so. By doing things together, you can also get into more in-depth conversations since everyone is experiencing it together. You never know what you may learn from a child as well! Everyone thinks differently, but especially children as they have wide open minds.

So, let’s remember that children are always watching and listening. Let’s try to be healthy role models because they love to play “do what I do” all day long.

Helping your Child Thrive at the Pool: It’s a Year-Round Event!

By: Dora Gosselin, PT, DPT, PCS, C/NDT

We are now a few weeks into fall. The leaves are changing, the temperatures are cooling and our family activities may change as we spend less time outdoors and more time indoors. Many health professionals encourage us to remain equally as active during winter months as we were in summer. During the month of October the American Physical Therapy Association recognizes the impact that physical therapists and physical therapist assistants make in restoring and improving motion in people's lives.

With these two “events” happening, I have been reflecting on what we did outdoors as a family this summer. We typically spend as much time as possible at the pool. As parents, pool safety is critically important, but there is another very significant part of pool culture – the play and social interaction that happens between children when they are in the water.

Now you may be asking “why are we talking about the pool in October? It basically does not exist in our life until mid-to-late May.” Here’s the answer: in the spirit of physical therapy month and summer 2016, let’s use the “off-season” to develop our children’s movement skills so they can get to the next section of the pool with their friends next summer!

For children to fully participate in the pool environment they must have the movement skills that allow them to be safe while keeping up with their age-matched peers. For children with sensorimotor or other disabilities, the pool may not be a refuge for endless play but rather a scary and isolating experience.

Our pool, like many others, is divided into sections. There is a shallow section that is lined with parents ready to leap into the water to save their precocious toddler; a deeper part, about five feet deep, that hosts the most diverse group of swimmers from very new swimmers keeping their head above water just enough to prevent a lifeguard from jumping in for the save to very skilled swim team members flipping and diving about; and lastly there is the diving well – the home of the diving boards – a spot that is reserved for the most highly skilled swimmers.

Many of you can relate to this description of a community pool. You can likely recall the swimming (movement) skills of children in each section of the pool. What I would like to call your attention to is the play and social interactions that happen in each section of the pool. The shallow end is generally filled with toddlers and kindergarten-aged children doing what they do – playing with plastic toys and dunking their face under to show their parent for the umpteenth time. Interactions between children in the shallow end are less; many children are very fulfilled with experiencing their own movement and there is less peer play here. In the deeper sections of the pool the social interaction and play is more variable and is a much more significant component of the pool experience. Children interact with one another with swimming races, using goggles to retrieve dive toys thrown by one another and of course the jumping and diving activities. They also just carry on conversation as they tread water or wait in line to go down the slide or off of the diving board. If children live in an area that has seasons, the skills they learn and practice during three months of the year may not carryover between seasons. For children who have a disability and need more practice swimming, seasons and lack of access to an outdoor pool are exponentially troublesome for skill carryover.

The most obvious solution here is to find a pool that your family can utilize all year round so that your child can practice and continue to develop skills over the “off-season.” If this resource is not available in your community or is cost prohibitive, here is a list of suggestions to get your little fish ready to swim and play next year:

• Get in the water as early as you can in the spring. Even swimming just a few times before pool season 2016 will give your child an advantage and a level of comfort when your community pool does open.
• Demonstrate for your child some strategies for peer play they can do in the pool. For example, for a rising kindergartner, the “hot skill” may be jumping in the pool in tandem with a friend or doing a handstand. Take on these skills outside of the pool to help your children develop the movement and play skills they need  to participate with their peers.

When you do finally get into the water for the first time in the spring, follow these tips to get your children acquainted with the water again:

• Swimming requires integration of the right and left sides of the body. This requires coordination as well as strength and endurance. Putting this all together is difficult. A great tool for lessening the task demands on your children is to use a simple kickboard. With the kickboard, children can practice using their legs symmetrically or they can hold the kickboard with one arm and practice coordinating three extremities. 
• Practice, practice, practice! Motor learning theory tells us that internal feedback is the most valuable tool for learning a skill. If your children are frustrated and scared as they practice swimming, it is impossible for them to learn from their own bodies what movements they need to do to attain and sustain swimming skills. You will be most helpful by identifying the components of movement your children do well by proposing something that they should practice. For example, “I love the way that you are kicking your feet fast. This time can you also try to keep your bottom up while you kick?” 

Growth in one area of pool proficiency (movement or social) may spur growth in the other. If your child continues to be resistant to practice or is having difficulty attaining better skills, you can always focus on the social opportunities. Many pools have rules banning most flotation devices; however, some pool managers may be amendable to your child using a U.S. Coast Guard approved flotation device. Having the safety of a flotation device may provide your children with the confidence that they need to cross the lane line and explore the games and interactions that happen in the deep end.

In conclusion, the challenge of swimming demands integration of both sides of the brain and body in a coordinated and sustained way.. Hopefully this blog has reminded you that swimming has two parts – movement and social – and that both of these parts need to be practiced so that your children can thrive and participate safely at the pool. I also hope that it has allowed you to consider what your strategy will be for ensuring a positive 2016 pool season. Start thinking about your game plan now, not on May 1st!

About the Author: Dora Gosselin, PT, DPT, PCS, C/NDT enjoys her combined clinical and academic roles at Duke University. She is board certified in pediatrics and certified in Pediatric Neurodevelopmental Treatment. She has also completed her Advanced Baby training through the Neurodevelopmental Treatment Association. Dora's most meaningful professional accomplishments always occur when a family and child share joy when a new skill is acquired and when physical therapy students, in the clinic or the classroom, grow their passion and skills. Outside of physical therapy, Dora (and her husband, Ben) can usually be found watching their seven-year-old do some sort of performance in the living room.

Ready…Set…Wait…Still Wait…

By: Al Stewart

“On your mark, get set, ready…, wait!..., wait!..., wait!” How long do you think a preschooler can wait for you to say “Go”? How long could your child wait? The anticipation and excitement that build up while a child is waiting to hear that two-letter word sometimes causes the child to just “go” without the cue. Why do you think that happens? It may be due to their level of “self-regulation” or “self-control”, two terms referring to the same thing but each preferred by different experts. There may be a number of reasons for low “self-regulation/self-control” in young children. Two reasons are not enough practice and the “demand” for immediate gratification. In other words, children are, typically not waiting for anything. Everything is rush, rush, rush, and/or let’s do it now.

It is believed, by some experts, that there are certain skills everyone needs to be successful in their life journey. Here are a few of them – communication, critical thinking, self-direction, initiation, relating to others, cooperation, confidence, and, of course, self-regulation/self-control. Let’s focus on the last pair in this list. What can we do to help young children acquire these important character trait?

Playing games that require turn-taking, such as “Mother, May I?”, “Red Light, Green Light”, “Hide-and-Seek”, and many age-appropriate board games, is a way to enhance this skill.  It is somewhat of a challenge for young children to have to take turns, or wait until it is their turn, while playing games. Since playing games with rules is the highest stage of play for young children, it is important to be sure the games chosen are age-appropriate. The games mentioned earlier are based on movement, which is good for many reasons. Taking giant steps, bunny jumps, leaps, or hops is great for increasing heart rate. Be sure to vary the wait times prior to allowing them to run, jump, twirl, slide, or hop. That is one of the fun aspects of “Mother, May I?” Focus is an underlying skill needed in this game also. Remembering to say “Mother, may I?” AND to receive permission, before moving is essential. It is no fun to have to go back to the starting line. “Simon Says”, “Statue”, and songs such as Choosy Kids “Freeze” also allow opportunities for self-regulation/self-control to be enhanced. There are a number of children’s musicians who have songs that ask children to “be still” for various lengths of time.

Meal times provide another opportunity to support self-regulation/self-control in young children. It may also reinforce this character trait in some adults, which could be a benefit for the entire family. Allowing children to help prepare meals and snacks teaches responsibility and helps build self-confidence. Not only is waiting for everyone to be seated and served before each person begins to eat considered good manners, it also increases self-regulation. Mealtime provides an opportunity for conversation to take place and is another chance for young children to wait their turn, before speaking. Another positive by-product of this process is giving everyone some “down time” to sit, wait, and converse.

These are just a couple of specific situations that would allow young children to develop the skill, or trait, of self-regulation/self-control. Think of other opportunities throughout the day when adults may be able to help children practice this important behavior, such as sharing story time, waiting in line at the grocery store, getting ready for bed, and maybe even preparing to go to the park or another special event. Build the excitement, but be sure to add a little wait time in the formula. “On your mark, get set, ready…, wait…, wait..., wait…, GO!

About the Author: Al Stewart has work in the early childhood field for 42 plus years including the public school sector in Texas for 34 years as a teacher, early childhood special/general education specialist and consultant as well as Head Start. After he retired, he started his own consulting business, A. Stewart Consulting, and continued his passion for teaching by conducting training sessions for teachers in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade and administration throughout the country.