Is your baby meeting developmental milestones?

Studies show that parents’ observations turn out to be very good predictors of developmental delays. In fact, the Journal of Child Neurology reported in 2005 that current research strongly supports the idea that parents—regardless of socioeconomic status, location, or well-being—give accurate information about their child’s development.

Understanding the importance of detecting developmental delays and behavioral problems early is crucial to provide better outcomes for children. Pediatric Associates of Dallas offers an Ages and Stages Questionnaire that allows parents to know what “normal” behaviors would look like at 4 months, 8 months, 14 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months and 60 months. Click here to view these documents and read more about the milestones expected at each age.

Screening young children is an effective, efficient way for professionals to catch problems and start treatment when it does the most good—during the crucial early years when the child’s brain and body are developing so rapidly, says F.P. Glascoe in Pediatrics in Review (2000).

Glascoe goes on to say, because delays can be subtle and can occur in children who appear to be developing typically, most children who would benefit from early intervention are not identified until after they start school. Even pediatricians, the child health specialists, fail to detect delays more than 70% of the time when they rely on clinical judgment alone.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that all infants and young children be screened for developmental delays as a regular part of their ongoing health care.

Teaching children to be active and healthy from birth

Rae Pica, a children’s physical activity specialist for 25 years and the author of 15 books wrote an article that reports: Recent evidence indicates infants are spending upwards of sixty waking hours a week in things; in high chairs and walkers, playpens and portable cribs, plastic seats, bouncy seats, and seats that swing. We push them in strollers until they’re four or five years old!

We unthinkingly teach a sedentary lifestyle from babyhood!Babies need to move for the sake of their motor and cognitive development. When they spend too much time containerized, they never strengthen their muscles – to lift and turn their heads, to push up on their arms, to develop optimal balance, stability, and motor skills. Early movement experiences are also considered essential to the neural stimulation (the use-it-or-lose-it principle involved in the keeping or pruning of brain cells) needed for healthy brain development. Touch and movement spark the neurons in a babies brain to grow and branch out encompass other neurons.

Adults assume that until an infant is at least able to creep, play and movement experiences are severely limited. But that’s just not so! There are many ways babies can move and play without the ability to transport themselves from place to place. Children learn to play just as they learn to walk and talk – by having it modeled and by experiencing it and practicing it.

Parents only want the best for their children. The simple truth is that babies don’t need fancy gadgets and gear. The best we have to offer them is what their brains were “hardwired” for before birth. It’s free and accessible to all. It is touch, movement and play!

Baby GYMTRIX is a new product that we love! It motivates kids to try new physical experiences and discover how it feels to succeed; it gives them a positive attitude about physical activity that can influence their whole lives. These great DVDs teach parents and caregivers how to help baby move, kick, balance, twist, roll and jump – a must-have for families that want to develop physical strength and a healthy lifestyle for exercise from birth.

De-stress your family to fight childhood obesity

A Swedish study of more than 7,000 families found that kids with a highly stressful family life are twice as likely to be obese when compared with children living in low-stress environments.

I know that when life gets crazy at my house, proper meals and bedtimes are usually the first place we make irrational decisions that lead to poor food choices and a lack of good sleep. So how much stress is there in your family’s environment?

Do you take time to communicate your feelings with each other? Do you reserve time on your daily schedule for exercise and relaxation? Do you have family discussions about good nutrition and healthy behaviors like exercise? Do you have an exercise plan for the family and is it a high priority or your things to do list?

Beanstalk Express offers resources for healthy nutrition, habits and ways to help end childhood obesity. Information from Beanstalk Express confirms the fact that childhood obesity is quickly becoming an epidemic.

From Beanstalk Express – Once upon a time, childhood obesity was not an epidemic among children. In fact, “once upon a time” was less than 30 years ago. From 1980 – 2004, the rate of obesity in preschool children has jumped from 5% to nearly 14%. Rates among elementary school children have increased from 6.5% to a whopping 18.8%. And, according to the Centers For Disease Control, these rates show no signs of slowing. Researchers at Yale University’s Psychological Bulletin estimate that by the year 2010, 50% of children in North America will be overweight.

What has changed in our society to explain that nearly 1 in every 3 children today is overweight? No one single thing – that would be too easy. Over the past 30 years, we have experienced a “global swarming” of cultural changes that have brought us to where we are today. Changes that include a computer and technology-dominated society that promotes sedentary behaviors and it’s now affecting our children with increased TV viewing, computer time and lack of free play. Much of the food we eat is fast, processed and easy – considered “necessary” in meeting the needs of our hurried and over-extended society. Even our mindset about how we eat, or even why we eat has changed with the effective marketing efforts of big food companies. Their efforts have changed the rules about eating and nutrition – no longer vital for life, food has become a source of recreation and instant gratification. No other demographic is more influenced by these marketing campaigns than our children.

We cannot point a finger at “who” or “what” to blame for the obesity epidemic because it is entrenched with influences. As a society, we are incapable of reversing the hands of time and returning to a culture that supported proper nutrition, encouraged physical activity and raised healthier children. But as parents, we are capable of creating a healthy environment within our homes that support healthy habits in our children. Childhood obesity can be prevented. And prevention begins at home.