Like the rest of the country, Practically Speaking will be taking a holiday break! Our blog will remain accessible, but we will not be posting any new articles until the 14th of January 2011. We will be sure to send a mail to everyone again in the New Year as our first article goes up.
In the four-and-a-half short months that this blog has been running, we've been so proud to have touched thousands of lives, and from the wonderful comments we've received, we are blessed to know that we are making a difference.
We wish all our readers out there a truly safe and joyous Festive Season - filled with family, laughter, learning, growth, thanks-giving, and most of all... Love.
See you next year!
Lizette and Loren
Maintaining a Sense of Routine in the Holidays
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| Image: Loren Stow http://www.lorenstow.co.za/ |
Whatever your plans this holiday, it is a given is that your normal routine will most likely be affected in some way. Children are home from school and creche, carers and nanny's are also away on their own vacations, there may be day-trips, weeks away, and a whole lot of busy-ness...
Just how important are routines and can you ensure that they are nurtured?
For young children, routines are incredibly important. They create feelings of safety and being grounded in an ever-changing world (even more relevant when holidays roll around and their day-to-day life changes completely for a few weeks). In addition, young children actually look forward to their routines and enjoy them immensely.
So, how can you ensure that your children don't feel lost or insecure at a time when routines may be difficult or just plain impossible to follow?
The good news is that routines are not as 'time-based' or 'location-based' as parents think - as adults we usually relate the word 'routine' to a time-table and a certain place. While being three hours late for lunch or expecting our children to eat their lunch in the car would be a bit of push... doing lunch 30 minutes early or late, at a Wimpy en route to your holiday at the sea doesn't have to stray too far from the routine at all...
You see, this is because children do not see routine as a time-table. They see routine as the sequence of activities before, during and after an event. If you wash hands and say grace before every meal, talk about your favourite part of the day during the meal, and then wait for everyone to be finished with the meal before you clear the table, then this is the sequence of events that need to be applied at closely as possible no matter where you are.
The idea is that simply because you are in another location, or you're not perfectly 'on-time', does not mean that you cannot still apply the sequence of events that creates a sense of routine for your child.
Another example is if you usually read the same bedtime story every night and then blow out a candle just before saying good night - when you pack for a holiday away remember to take the book and candle with you, so that you can continue with the routine no matter where you are and even if your little one stays up a little past bedtime.
If you have overnight guests or are entertaining, you may need to shorten the individual steps (read one book instead of three at bedtime). You can also involve other family members, like grandparents, who are willing to help and want to deepen their relationship with your little one. Give them what they need and a little run-down of what needs to be done. You never know, your little one might be thrilled by this! The important thing is to stick to the basic routine.
So, in order to ensure that you keep your little one's routines going strong, take the time to look at their day and note the special sequences around events such as waking time, eating time, play time, bath time and bedtime. What is the pattern that you follow and are there any special props (such as a special towel, a bowl and spoon, a candle or book)? Make sure you make space for these things in your child's day, no matter where you are and what you're doing.
On the topic of routines, we thought we would share some special routine ideas that we've come across, that perhaps you apply in your little one's life...
Bedtime
A Practica Parent shared how he sends his little one off to dreamland every night, simply using a plastic glass with a glitter detail. He switches off the light and puts a torch under the glass, illuminating all the wonderful glitter. His daughter takes a sip of the 'magic water' just before going to sleep to help her off to wonderland...
Early Morning
Why not have a 'rise and shine' song that you sing with your little one just before getting out of bed. This song signals the start of a wonderful new day. "Hi ho, hi ho, its off to work we go..."
Cleaning Up
Using the magic of song again, why not sing while you pack away toys? "This is the way we pack our toys, pack our toys, pack our toys... this is the way we pack our toys, every single night..."
Welcome Home
When transitioning from a day out back to being at home, why not have a routine where everyone gets a drink and sits down to relax and unwind for five minutes before getting busy with the next thing on the list?
Meal Time
Setting the table (whether alone or just assisting) is a great way to incorporate routine in mealtimes. Another routine, as mentioned above, is washing hands, saying grace and sharing stories during meal time.
Hygiene
It's sometimes difficult for children to know how long to brush their teeth for, so you could use an egg timer or even sing a song, and your children know to brush their teeth for this whole time before rinsing. At bath time, my children choose which toys they want to play with in the bath - they have a basket filled with toys and throw their favourites in the running water with much 'hoopla' and joy!
Leaving Routine
It's often difficult for little ones to transition between activities, like shopping, visiting a friend, being on the beach or watching television. It helps immensely to have a routine where you ask your child to say goodbye and wave. In this way they understand that they are finishing with one thing and moving to the next.
Holiday Routine
Lizette describes how, as a preschooler, on family holidays to the beach, her father would always rinse her feet of all the sand under the tap and then carry her back to their cottage - to this day she remembers how that felt and that she looked forward to that little routine almost as much as playing in the sand and sea. Why not create a little everyday routine that is especially for your holiday?
Back to School
For older children, it may help them to feel excited about returning to school if you try to remember all their classmate's names and think of one positive sentence about each one. This shows that you care about their world at school and that they have something to look forward to after every holiday.
We hope that your family's holiday is safe and filled with love and that you find a way to maintain (or even introduce new) routines in your little one's life. These routines cannot be underestimated for their value in creating security, fostering excitement and building long-lasting memories.
Words: Loren Stow
when we know better... we do better
Comment or a special routine you'd like to share? Email lizette@practicaprogram.co.za
If you would like to be notified of all new posts via email, please send an email to lizette@practicaprogram.co.za
Choosing the best toys this Festive Season!
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| Image: Loren Stow http://www.lorenstow.co.za/ |
I remember last Christmas, when my mother asked what she should buy for my son, and I wasn't really even sure. In fact, I would often buy toys that I
liked that wouldn't even win more than a casual glance from my little boy...
What I learned quickly was that I needed to understand what my son would be interested in, based on his developmental level - otherwise I was just wasting my hard-earned money!
So, I believe that if I've been confused at times, then there must be other parents out there who don't have the foggiest clue as to what to buy for the little people in their lives. So they opt for something flashy, maybe with batteries, some lights and tune or two... a kind of stab in the dark... only to be disappointed with their little ones hardly pay the toy any attention.
In addition to choosing the right toy for the right age, we can sometimes become sidetracked by the sheer magnitude of the Festive Season and forget the real meaning of toys when it comes to children. Play is one of the most important areas of development, shaping the way in which our little ones explore, pretend and share, to name but a few of the skills they acquire from the toys which they are given.
Santa's Toy List:
0-9 months
* Wind chimes make beautiful sounds to listen to.
* Mobiles to look at, especially those with bright high contrasting.
* Cuddly toys – woolly, furry, cloth, plastic, even a combination of different textures.
* Music boxes and CD’s of simple nursery rhymes, classical music, and children’s songs (check music boxes to make sure they’re not off key).
* Rattles, shakers and teethers to pick up, grasp and shake.
* A non-glass mirror.
* An activity gym with dangling objects.
* Plastic squeeze toys.
* Vinyl or cloth books.
* Roly-poly toys (round-bottomed figures that can be pushed over, but bounce back up).
9-12 months
* A door swing.
* Nesting blocks, stacking toys, and stacking rings.
* Push-me-pull-me toys.
* Toys with large popping beads / toys with pop-up parts that are easily activated by pushing a button (Children at this stage like to make things happen – they like to push a button and hear a song, or have a bird pop out of the window etc.)
* Bath toys, including toys that float and bubbles to pop.
* Board books.
* Balls (they now prefer neon colours).
* Musical instruments (drums, shakers, tambourines, xylophones).
* Take-apart toys with large pieces.
* A rag doll with embroidered eyes.
12-18 months
* Walking toys like a walker with a handle for pushing, shopping carts, baby carriages etc.
* Toys large enough to sit on like scooters or animal hoppers, and toys to sit in like a play tent.
* Soft dolls and stuffed animals.
* Balls of all sizes, including a soccer-sized ball and a larger inflatable beach ball.
* Music to listen to, participate in and move to.
* A shape sorter (the drop-in kind).
* Wooden blocks.
* A toy broom, dust pan and cloth.
* Medium sized toy truck and car.
* Nursery rhyme and picture books (go for a book with simple pictures and one sentence on a page).
18-24 months
* Dress-up and pretend items – hats, mom and dad’s old shoes, plastic houses and people, dolls, cars and trucks.
* Mallet and peg toys (pounding bench with large pegs in holes that are ‘hammered’ with a mallet made of wood or rubber).
* Wood, cloth and plastic animals of a good size.
* Toy phone.
* Indoor and outdoor swing.
* Sand box, sand toys, digging toys and a bucket.
* Balls and bean bags of all sizes.
* Simple puzzles (with 2-4 large sized pieces).
* Crayons and large sheets of paper.
* Music and children’s books with lots of rhyme and repetition.
2 years
* Housekeeping equipment (broom, toy dishes, tea-sets, cooking utensils, dolls and dolls equipment, washing and ironing toys, child-size table and chairs).
* Egg beater (held with one hand and turned with the other – not battery operated).
* Inflatable pool and water-play toys, and a sandpit and sand-play toys.
* Cars, large tipping truck and train (train with tracks from 2½ years).
* Low rocking horse or a tricycle (most use pedals from 2½ years).
* Play work bench with tools (kiddie’s screwdriver and wooden hammer).
* Small playground equipment for sliding and climbing.
* CD’s to listen to and simple musical toys like a drum, chimes or cymbal.
* Baby construction toys with large pieces to stack and or fit together / laces and beads to string / 6-8 piece inlay puzzles to put together.
* Children’s books with lots of rhyme and repetition.
3 years
All of the 2 year old favourites plus:
* Craft equipment (finger paint, beginner’s brush, paper, poster paints, glue, blunt scissors and construction paper; but no fill-in, tracing or paint-by-number art).
* Play dough with cookie cutters and rolling pin etc.
* Imaginary settings e.g. a town or castle with plastic figurines of humans and animals (not too small in size).
* A child’s CD player or an instrument to experiment with (e.g. a xylophone that is tuned).
* Push and pull vehicles (also maybe a sled on 2 small wheels).
* Dress-up dolls (with clothes that have buttons and zips) and dress-up clothes (mom and dad’s old clothes in a trunk).
* Beginner’s board games and picture Lotto’s (matching pictures).
* Full size playground equipment.
* Story books and fairy tales (to be read to).
* Simple number and letter toys.
4 years
All of the 3 year old favourites plus:
* Puppets and puppet theatre.
* Toys that involve eye-hand coordination, e.g. shooting a play arrow at a target, darts with rounded tips, shooting at a target with a water gun, tossing bean bags into containers or onto targets.
* Make believe kits for imaginary play, e.g. nurse and doctor kit; play-store equipment; hammer, carpet tacks and wooden board for setting up a play factory; typical office equipment to set up a ‘day at work’.
* Blackboard and chalk (buy a smooth masonite door from a hardware store and paint it with blackboard paint to create a huge blackboard – every child’s dream).
* Kiddie’s gardening tools and small plants that require little care.
* A see-saw.
* Equipment like a back-pack, ‘gogga’-box and magnifying glass for nature trips.
* Dominoes, board and card games like ‘snap’.
* Construction sets with smaller pieces / construction sets that work with magnets.
* CD’s of various kinds of music (children’s, classical, etc.) and lots of story books and fairy tales (to be read to).
Note: This is the age at which fads begin, so be sure to ask what they are collecting. If they are mad for dinosaurs they may be disappointed if the toy that you buy has another theme.)
5 years
All of the 3 and 4 year old favourites plus:
* Child-sized sports equipment that involve more skill, e.g. shooting a ball through a hoop / roller skates.
* Large doll’s pram and equipment / Barbie-style dolls with clothes and furniture.
* Craft equipment including stencils / adhesive tape and paper for three-dimensional construction.
* Regular screwdriver and large screws, nuts and bolts.
* Puzzles (most enjoy 20-25 pieces, many manage 50).
* Snakes and Ladders and other simple family games.
* Shadow puppets (playing with shadows against a wall) using hand puppets or hands alone see http://www.blifaloo.com/shadow-puppets/index.php .
* Rope tying games (learning to make special knots) and string games to strengthen little fingers (for example, watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u98yAVyYGrI&feature=related to see how to make a cup-and-saucer out of string).
* Lots of story books, fairy tales and books on certain themes and topics (to be read to).
* Age-appropriate computer games (limit to 1 hour per day OR 2 hours Friday afternoon and 2 hours on Saturday).
6 – 7 years
All of the 5 year old favourites plus:
* Bicycle (soon without balancing wheels) / skipping rope / hop scotch mat / hoola-hoop /ring toss / ten pin bowling set / swimming equipment / ball games with equipment and rules, e.g. croquet, cricket , etc.
* Craft equipment, including equipment for plain stitching, simple weaving and mosaics (but no pre-printed patterns for the mosaics).
* Pick-up sticks / marbles /spinning tops / kite flying.
* Tag games, blind-fold games, tree climbing and hide and seek games.
* Masks and costumes.
* Simple card games (also include some that are more advanced than snap).
* A simple camera.
* Activity books that involve writing skills and perceptual development.
* Lots of story books, fairy tales and books on certain themes and topics. Now include beginning science and history toys and books, as well as rhyme, riddle, and joke books.
* Age-appropriate computer games (limit to 1 hour per day OR 2 hours Friday afternoon and 2 hours on Saturday).
It can all become a bit overwhelming, keeping in mind the age, developmental level, the true meaning of the toy, and all without blowing our budgets right out of the water... Never fear! There are some hard and fast guidelines to choosing the perfect toys, ones that will excite and entice your kiddos over the Festive Season, while teaching them valuable skills beyond the carols and the candlelight.
Words: Loren Stow
when we know better... we do better
Comments? Please email lizette@practicallyspeaking.co.za
If you would like to be notified of all new posts via email, please send an email to lizette@practicaprogram.co.za
10 Easy-Peasy Everyday Reading Ideas
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| Image Source: http://www.thedailygreen.com/ |
Our last post was about the importance of early reading (if you missed it, go here), and today we’re sharing some simple and inspiring tips that can make practicing reading simple, as long as you recognise the opportunities!
1. Set the scene for Dreamland: Help your child to wind down at bedtime by switching on a dim nightlight and lighting a candle. Read the last story for the day in a quiet tone of voice and end it off with a calming hug and a kiss. Whisper 'goodnight' as you let your child blow out the candle as part of the ritual (only once!)
2. Pack a snack and a book: When you're going someplace that you suspect you'll be waiting for a while (like the doctor’s office), don't only pack a snack, include one or two favourite books to read while you wait! This demonstrates to your child that reading is something worth planning for.
3. Read while you shop: The next time you go shopping with your children, don't forget to look out for and read notices, signs and labels to them. When possible, point to whatever you’re reading to focus your child’s attention on the written word. And while you're in the car, why not make it a fun game to read number plates, road signs, street names and other interesting billboards?
4. Add words to real-life pictures. Print out extra copies of your digital pictures; stick pieces of paper on them and write on it, e.g. “Daddy gives Mommy a hug.” “Stephen brushes his teeth. He gets ready for bed.” “Milo is a happy dog. He wags his tail when he sees us.” Put these pictures in an appropriately sized photo-album or laminate them and ask any printing shop in a shopping mall to ring-bind it into a book for you.
5. Far and Away: The next time you take a long business trip, photocopy one or two of your child’s favourite books ahead of time. Read to your child over the speaker phone at bed time, while your spouse helps your little one to turn the pages of the original book at the right times.
From 3 years onwards:
6. Sit back and relax: Record your (or a grandparent’s) voice as you read a story. If needed, use a video recorder and cover the screen so that you record only the sound. Using a teaspoon, ding on a glass to indicate page turns. On nights when you’re too tired to function you can sit with your child and turn the pages together. These recordings of loved ones sharing of themselves can become priceless family heirlooms.
7. Love those Labels: Label common objects in your home by writing words like ‘door’, ‘bed’, ‘chair’, and ‘bath’ etc. on pieces of paper and attaching the labels to the real objects. Hand-write your labels so that you can make sure the letters look similar to how your child’s Grade One teacher will one day teach him to form his letters. Also, leave the capitals and use only small letters.
8. SOUND it - don’t SPELL it: Children love to discover which sounds are represented by various letters, for example ‘s’ represents the s–sound as in ssssnake. However, keep in mind, when your child asks you to sound a word out for him, you’ll be helping him make the link between the letter and the sound better if you simply break the word up into separate sounds. Steer clear of using the names of the letters of the alphabet to spell the word for your child. For example, instead of spelling the word 'b', 'a', 't', 'h', rather say, 'buh-aa-th'.
9. Stick it in your pocket: Create a 'reading pocket' in your jacket where you collect all the interesting things you've read in the day, a cartoon from your daily newspaper, a fortune cookie message, a greeting card etc. When you get home you can share your wonderfully special 'finds' with your little one!
10. Give them a cooking-clue: The next time you bake cookies or cook with your children, let them see how you read the recipe step-by-step. Then line up all the ingredients before you start, and show your child how he can point to the ingredients from left to right, while naming each one out loud, for example flour, eggs, butter, milk, baking powder, and vanilla. This prepares him for reading words from left to right one day!
We hope this post has inspired in you ideas on how to make reading an everyday (simple) opportunity. It can be fun, it can be silly, and most of all it can be a wonderful opportunity to learn and share.
Just a quick note - our next post on Friday will be all about choosing the right gift for the right age this Christmas. So, if you're planning on doing your Christmas shopping this or next weekend, this post will come in really handy!
Words: Loren Stow
Comments or reading tips? Email lizette@practicaprogram.co.za
If you would like to be notified of all new posts via email, please send an email to lizette@practicaprogram.co.za when we know better... we do better
The 3 Secrets of Early Reading
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| Image Source: http://www.scusd.edu/ |
I remember as a little girl that I loved to read - I would even pretend to read my mother stories that I had learned to memorise. When I learned to write, my love of words was further extended, and I would re-write by hand poems and songs that I loved to listen to.
However, as we get older, we are bombarded wherever we go by the written word whether it be through advertising, logos, memos, emails, sms's, or monthly post... The 'magic' of reading is lost and we can begin to think that reading is just one of many ways to interact with our children.
The benefits of reading are obvious for most parents - increased language, better grades at school, exercising memory and understanding skills etc. - the list goes on and on. However, there are certain benefits of reading that are unique to sitting down and opening a book... irreplaceable with any other experience...
We know that most parents understand the more obvious benefits of reading, so today we want to look at three priceless benefits that you wouldn't necessarily think about when choosing to sit down with your child and a book and open that first page....
It's about Love
Reading to a child communicates love and acceptance to a child primarily in two ways - firstly, through physical touch, and secondly through sharing an experience that fosters emotional closeness.
We've written before on the blog about just how important Love is to learning - it is the 'thing' that makes all learning stick. And the beauty of reading with your child is that it is about more than just pictures and words on a page - it is about Love.
Imagine a scene where a dad is reading to his son. The son is sitting on his father's lap, enveloped in his arms, and both of them are fixated on the book in front of them. Dad is reading each word with emphasis, his tone and inflection changing, and his facial expressions mimicking what he's reading. He suddenly roars (like a lion...) and his son laughs and curls even closer to his dad... Can you see it? Can you see what we're trying to describe?
As parents, we can sometimes see reading a chore... But for a child, reading is about Love. It is a time when his mom or dad physically and emotionally 'comes down' to his level and there is a closeness. He comes to anticipate the funny monkey sounds or the knock-knock-knocking that are coming on the next page... his excitement and joy are barely contained...
Reading fosters Love - it is about sharing, one-on-one with your child. It is about opening up a world of fairy tales, or dinosaurs, or farm animals or whatever it is... It is about taking your child's hand and guiding them through a door into a world where they will be given anything their heart desires...
Teaching your child to associate love and closeness with reading is possibly the best foundation you could ever lay for your child in terms of academics, social skills, and increasing language and therefore intellectual development. This is because the pleasant memories create in a child a hunger for more... But more than that, reading gives you an opportunity to be close, to share a moment, to laugh together and Love together.
Its about finding a familiar place in the world
As parents, we assume that children get bored of reading the same book over and over again, but contrary to this popular belief, children actually thrive on this predictability. To a child, being able to predict what is going to happen on the next page is equal to being able to predict his world and understand his place in it, making him feel safe and secure. Predictability is one of the most fundamental emotional and intellectual needs of a child, and reading is the easiest way for a parent to almost exactly recreate an entire 20 minute experience over and over again, day after day.
Repetition is of course also a strong foundation of learning - because children learn through seeing, hearing and experiencing the same thing over and over again.
It's about doing what works
Another common misconception is that books are often seen as 'old fashioned' and parents are tempted to replace them with seemingly more modern stimulation, such as television, dvd's, video games, computers, and battery-operated toys with moving parts and flashing lights...
The difference between these 'new and improved' types of stimulation and reading, is that reading (and story-telling) will always be the number one activity that requires of a child to actively use his brain to make it fun. In order for reading to 'make sense' and be enjoyable, your child needs to use various parts of his brain to process the activity. As opposed to other more 'modern' stimulation, where a lot less is asked of his brain...
Finally it is important to understand that reading is a really high-functioning skill and nothing else, definitely not television, not educational games, not flash cards, not even something as precious as talking to your child or singing songs till the cows come home... nothing stimulates phonetic and phonological awareness (which is absolutely crucial for reading readiness) quite as much as reading age-appropriate children's books with loads of rhyme and repetition, over and over again. Therefore, reading to a child not only fosters a love for reading, it actually wires a child's brain to be able to learn to read later on...
With this said, we hope that the next time you buy your child a book, or the next time you reorganise their book-shelf, you stop for a second and see a book for what it is... It is not only the best foundation for future reading abilities with all the good things that go along with that, but it is also a magical key to demonstrating your love for your child, and creating a safe and predictable place for him in our fast-paced world that can at times be so scary for little souls...
A book really is more than just the sum total of it's pages and colourful pictures - it is a gift; for you, for your child, for the future.
Words: Loren Stow
when we know better... we do better
Comments? Please email lizette@practicaprogam.co.za
If you would like to be notified of all new posts via email, please send an email to lizette@practicaprogram.co.za
Middle Ear Infection Emergeny Kit
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| Image Source: http://www.buzzle.com/ |
Today, we're looking at a communication 'Emergency Kit' - ways in which you can communicate with your child while they have this kind of infection, to ensure that you are maximising their ability to understand you. Please remember that fluid can remain on the ear for up to six weeks after the cold or allergy has been treated.
Sourced from an article written by Shannan H. Vines and Jo Rosenthal-Tanzer, both speech therapists, entitled Otitis Media and Speech and Language Development:
Structure the environment to help your child listen and learn by doing the following things:
- Get your child's attention before you begin talking. Call your child's name, tap your child's shoulder, or say "Look at me".
- Use gestures and facial expressions to help convey your meaning.
- Get down to your child's eye level.
- Emphasize word endings that may be difficult for your child to hear.
- Reduce background noise. Turn off the television and radio. Quiet other children playing in the room.
- Reduce physical activities during the communication process.
By doing these things, you are creating the ideal environment for your child to understand you and you will be minimising the possible negative effects that this kind of infection will have on your child's language development.
Words: Loren Stow
when we know better... we do better
Comments? Please email lizette@practicaprogram.co.za
If you would like to be notified of all new posts via email, please send an email to lizette@practicaprogram.co.za
How Hearing Impacts Learning
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50% of children under the age of 12 months will experience at least one episode of middle ear infection (otitis media), and between the ages of one and three, 35% of children will have repeated episodes.
When we consider how important hearing is to language development and learning, it is staggering to imagine that many children will spend months of their formative years in a murky silence... not understanding clearly what is being said to them...
What is Middle Ear Infection?
Middle ear infection is caused by fluid build up on the middle ear, which affects the ear's ability to process sound properly. It's one thing to know this and another to understand what this actually means for your child.
To get an idea of how a child with middle ear-infection hears, put your hands over your ears tightly and ask another adult to read to you. It is really difficult to hear that person, especially if they aren't facing you and even more when there are background noises or other distractions occurring.
Middle ear infection can be caused by a common cold, allergies or irritants such as cigarette smoke - and it can happen to any child.
How Middle Ear Infection Impacts Language Development
Middle ear infections affect your child's ability to hear high-frequency sounds such as consonants, and especially those consonants at the end of words. So, for example, you might say 'bat' but your child hears 'back'. He or she will also struggle to hear short words such as 'to', 'but' or 'and'.
Living in this murky and muffled world is obviously frustrating for children, and they can often become tired or just plain bored with trying to understand what on earth you're trying to say. It just becomes too difficult, or even impossible, to focus on the finer details and nuances that makes language what it is. And of course, these finer details are so important because they can change the whole meaning of a sentence.
This has obvious and serious affects on language development, resulting in speech delays, problems with focusing attention, poor self-esteem, social problems, reading problems, and inability to follow instructions.
The real life implications of these delays is a child who is often 'left behind' in social settings. Older children (over the age of three years) who have experienced frequent episodes of these infections when they were younger often don't add the detail at the end of words, such as final consonants, past tense or plurals.
These infections often go 'unheard'
What often happens with middle ear infections is that sometimes it doesn't present with pain, so your child will not even indicate that there is something wrong. Your child cannot hear properly, but they don't have a big enough frame of reference to understand that they're not hearing properly...
Another misconception is that once it a cold or allergy is treated, the infection goes away. The truth of the matter is that the fluid can remain in the ear, affecting hearing, for up to six weeks after an infection or cold clears.
Because of this, it is important to know and look out for the signs that your child may have middle ear infection or still has fluid on the ear.
Symptoms of Middle Ear Infection
- Ear aches or draining of the ears
- Fever
- Partial loss of hearing
- Different responses to speech and everyday sounds
- Changes in sleeping or eating habits
- Irritability
- Rubbing or pulling on ears
- Having difficulty with balance
- Turning the TV or radio up louder than usual
- Frequent need to have directions and information repeated
- Talking less than usual
- Unclear speech
- Using gestures rather than talking
- Delayed speech and language development
- Avoid irritants such as cigarette smoke and allergens
- Consider a day care solution with fewer than six children
- Always wash hands and keep toys (especially those that are put in a child's mouth) clean
- Breastfeeding, even if only for a few weeks, makes a baby less prone to these infections
- Don't overuse antibiotics, since this can breed ever-resistant bacteria
- Allow plenty of fresh air in the home to avoid air-borne germs
- Consult a nurse or doctor about available vaccines
- Don't put your child to bed with a bottle because the liquid can leak out and go into the small tube leading to the middle ear
The reason we believe this post is so important is because middle ear infection can often go unoticed - or when it is noticed, it is considered to be 'just one of those things'. It really important to ensure that your child is treated, and that as a parent, you know that recurrent infections can have a major impact on your child's ability to hear for long periods of time.
In our next post, we will be looking at an 'emergency kit' should your child have middle ear infection. What you can do maximise his ability to hear and ensure that he's not left behind in a 'murky' and silent world.
Words: Loren Stow
when we know better... we do better
Comments? Please email lizette@practicaprogram.co.za
*Practica Parents: We learn a great deal about typical development from those children who do not develop typically... Creating an ideal environment for development entails a 'recipe' with certain key ingredients - and we know which ingredients play which role when we look at what happens when one of them is missing. We hope that this post motivates our Practica Parents to have a new appreciation for the Group 4 Activities in the Parents' Guide, which are focused on developing listening skills in children.
If you would like to be notified of all new posts via email, please send an email to lizette@practicaprogram.co.za
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