• I Like Me by Nancy Carlson
  This wonderful, short book is about having yourself as a friend!
  Lisa Hine

• Quick as a Cricket by Don & Audrey Wood
  Wonderful illustrations! Children can ‘act out’ what they see the characters doing.
  Claudia Jensen

Do-It-Yourself Role Modeling

•  Take time to look back upon your own childhood.
  How did your parents’ example influence you? “Its worth taking time to reflect back on good role models you’ve had in your life,” says Patrice Sullivan, director of Hobson Cooperative Nursery School, in Naperville, Illinois. She advises parents to recall “who helped influence how you grew up and what their values and view of the world was.”
   

•  Look ahead.

“Thinking about how to be a role model helps you clarify what you want to pass on to your children and what your hopes and dreams are for your adult children,” adds Sullivan. DeCorte agrees. She gives the example of wanting her children to become adults who would believe in contributing to society. “When I volunteered,” she recalls, “I let them help me. They grew up feeling that giving back was part of being an adult.”
 

What he sees,
is what you’ll get.

YOU are your child’s number one role model.

• Try to be the kind of person you want your child to become.
  “It’s difficult to always live up to our ideal of the ‘perfect person, but I do believe most of us try to when raising our children,” says DeCorte. Indeed it’s worth the ongoing effort to be the kind of adult you hope your child will be. As Eda LeShan, author and educator, once wrote, “The only way to raise a decent human being is by being one.”
  If you want your child to grow up to be honest, she needs to see you returning that extra dollar when the clerk has miscalculated your change. If you want your child to be dependable, keeping your promises to him and others sends the strongest possible message. And, if you hope to raise an orderly person, it helps to be one yourself.
•  Accept and acknowledge your mistakes.
  Once you have children you quickly realize there’s no such thing as a perfect parent. No matter how hard any parent tries, it’s impossible to be 100% kind, dependable, honest, orderly, tolerant, and so on. Nobody is.
  Such imperfection is a good thing, however. It gives you yet another change to be a role model. By making those inevitable mistakes and acknowledging them, you let your child see that you keep on trying. You’re showing your children that even though you make mistakes, you still believe people can change and grow. And that may be the finest model of all.
  
  Source: The Well-Centered Child, Sept. 2005

GET OUT (of the House)...”My son always calmed down the instant I took him outside. We would study the wind chimes on the front porch, watch the trees sway in the breeze, and listen to the birds chirping away.--Janelle Southard, Wichita Falls, Tex.
USE YOUR HANDS...I give my son massages. First, I warm some lotion by rubbing it between my hands, then I start at his forehead and gently rub down the bridge of his nose, across his cheeks, and down his chin and neck. Nathan especially likes it when I “knead” his arms and legs.--Karla Bennetts, Arvada, Colo.
CREATE A WATER WORLD... Whenever my 10-month-old twins get particularly cranky, I put them in the bathtub. The change of scenery lightens their mood, and they really seem to relax when I lather them up with lavender body wash.--Kelly Jones, Winnemucca, Nev.
TAKE A LOOK...The one trick that worked like magic with all three of my kids was to hold them up in front of a mirror. Their fascination with the ‘other’ baby was usually enough to make them forget what was bothering them.--Jennifer Packard, Needham, Ma.
HIT THE FAN...Never underestimate the power of a ceiling fan! Whenever Aiden got really worked up and wouldn’t stop crying, I would turn the fan on low and stand underneath it. The moving blades just mesmerized him.--Vickie Bracken, Skippack, Pa.
 

• Put your baby in his infant car seat, set it on top of the washing machine--holding onto it at all times of course--and turn the machine on. The warmth and vibration are often enough to lull a baby to sleep.--Ari Brown, M.D., author of Baby 411.
   
•  Remember, in the womb, babies are never on their back--they are always curled up on their side. If your infant won’t stop crying, try swaddling him, then holding him on his side--curled up toward his tummy--in your arms.--Harvey Karp, M.D., author of The Happiest Baby on the Block.
   
•  Keep in mind that crying is actually good for babies because it helps them relieve stress. If you’ve met all your infant’s needs and she’s still fussing, the best thing you can do is hold her in your arms, tell her you love her and keep holding her until she either falls asleep or stops crying.--Aletha Solter, Ph.D., author of Tears and Tantrums: What to Do When Babies and Children Cry.
   

The Gas Connection

In many cases, a baby’s fussiness is caused by gas pain. Help burst the bubbles by laying her flat on her back and gently bicycling her legs, or by putting her over your shoulder and patting her back.

• Don’t forget these favorites! No single method calms every baby, but some techniques have stood the test of time. When in doubt, try one of these.
   
•  Get your motor running. Take your baby for a ride in the car, or grab the stroller and walk around the block.
   
•  Make some noise. Well...white noise, that is. Static from the radio, a vacuum cleaner, or a white-noise machine all mimic the whooshing sound babies hear in the womb.
   
•  Get naked. Clothes can feel constricting and uncomfortable to a baby. Let her spend some time in her birthday suit instead.

Book Baskets

Encourage a love of books by keeping a basket of books for your child in every room of your home.
· If books are always handy, it’s easier to read to your child when you have a moment to spare.
· Stock the baskets with sturdy books so your toddler can enjoy paging through them independently when you are busy.


Scarf Trick

· Stuff some small scarves inside a cardboard tube.
· Twist the ends together as you put them in.
· Your baby will enjoy pulling them out one at a time.

Source: The Well-Centered Child,
Sept. 2005

Learning Activities for Toddlers

Wrapping paper
Here’s an activity to try outdoors. Use the results for a wrapping paper that grandparents will treasure:
 

•  Lay out large sheets of paper in a row.
   
•  Put a shallow pan of tempera paint at one end and a pan of soapy water and rags at the other end.
   
•  Have your toddler step in the paint and walk carefully across the paper.
   
•  When he is finished, he can wash his feet by stepping in the soapy water.

Pretending
When babies first begin pretending, they do better with realistic-looking objects. They’ll need a real cup when they’re pretending to drink.
 

• Sometime around the middle of their second year, they may start to pretend with objects that only resemble the real thing. A round block might do for a cup.
   
•  Eventually, a child who has had lots of experience with pretending won’t even need props; thin air and a strong imagination will do.

Nature Collage
Make an easy nature collage:
 

• Tape the corners of a sheet of Contact paper, sticky-side up to a table.
   
• Have your toddler arrange leaves, seeds, or flower petals on it.
   
•  Cover with another sheet of Contact paper.

Art Appreciation for Todders
Inexpensive reproductions of well-know works of art can be found in many places: calendars, magazines, postcards, and museum gift shops.
 

• Watch for your child’s special interests--dogs, cars, babies--and find artwork that represents them clearly and, if possible with bright colors.
   
•  Whenever you can, provide the real objects as well as the picture. It might be nice to take some reproductions of Georgia O’Keefe flower paintings outside and compare them to real flowers. Or, show your toddler apples when you look at Cezanne’s painting of a “Basket of Apples.”
   
•  Best of all, provide objects that can be played with -- horses, trains, etc. -- alongside pictures of them.
  Source: The Well-Centered Child
   

Babies don’t have to wear their first shoes until they’re spending most of their time either cruising or walking. Until then, they’re better off barefoot. “Babies need to exercise their toes and their arch muscles,” says Carol Frey, M.D. an orthopedic surgeon at the University of California at Los Angeles. “That helps them develop greater foot strength and better balance, and leads to fewer foot deformities.”
When it’s time to buy shoes, go to a store that specializes in children’s footwear and ask for a pair of first walkers. “These are soft, lightweight shoes with a flat rubber or crepe sole,” says Cathy Dubin, shoe manager at the Children’s Boutique, in Philadelphia. “They have some rigidity in the heel area but bend easily at the balls of the feet.”
First walkers come in a variety of styles, although most have a rounded toe box to allow a child a bit of wiggle room. Choose a pair that laces up or that closes with Velcro tabs--as opposed to slip-ons or styles with straps--so the shoes will stay on your baby’s feet securely. High-top shoes are also a good choice because they’re harder for a child to pull off. Contrary to popular belief, a child does not need ankle support at this stage. Nor does he need arch support, since he won’t have much of an arch until he’s about 3 years old.
Look for shoes with insoles made of an absorbent fiber and an upper part made of a soft natural material, such as leather or canvas. Avoid sneakers at first; their soles are typically made of a thick inflexible rubber, and the canvas or leather upper part tends to be thick as well, making them heavy. Also, babies should not wear boots, slippery soled party shoes, moccasins, and anything with a heel.

How can you encourage trust in your children?
® Keep your promises. To begin with, make only promises which you can keep. Suppose your son wants you to take him to the zoo on Saturday, but you know that you may be called to work that day. Explain the predicament. Reassure him that you do want to take him to the zoo, and set a definite date when you will go, regardless of what comes up.
® When the answer to a request is no, explain why. If your child asks for something you don’t want him to have, be honest with yourself and with him.
One child asked to go to a video arcade. His parent didn’t approve of video arcades but was tempted to soften her negative answer by saying, “Not today, dear.” If she had said that, her son would have reached the conclusion that on another day, she might allow him to go. Instead they discussed her reasons for the decision and planned some alternative activities which he might enjoy.
 

® Answer honestly. Try to answer all questions honestly. Choose words to suit the child’s level of understanding.
For example, when a 4-year-old asks what the moon is made of, it’s not necessary to launch into geological terms and explanations. A simple answer about rock and sand will be easy for her to understand. If she needs more information, she’ll ask.
® Don’t evade. Sometimes we’re tempted to give our children evasive answers because we’re afraid they won’t grasp our meaning or they may be upset by the answer. Death and sex, for example, are both topics that make parents uneasy. Both death and sex are realities, however, about which all children must learn eventually.
Protecting a child from learning about the experience of death may hinder his ability to cope with the experience in the future.
® Admit shortcomings. When you don’t know the answer to a question, admit it, and offer to find out. The reality is that no one has all the right answers.

Bubble Recipe

This mixture works best when allowed to sit overnight. Mix together:
 

• One cup of dishawshing liquid (The more expensive brands work best.)
   
•  Two cups of water.
   
•  Four tablespoons of glycerin. (Available at drug stores.)
   
•  One tablespoon of sugar.
  Avoid allowing the mixture to foam when you stir it. Try all kinds of bubble wands: plastic rings from six-packs, a fly-swatter, coffee-can lids with holes cut in the center.
  
  
  Banana Split
  (A Nutritious Variety)
   Set out the ingredients, and let your child concoct his own banana split.
   
•  a banana split lengthwise
   
•  vanilla yogurt
   
•  berries or pieces of your child’s favorite fruit
   
•  Cheerios

Source: The Well-Centered Child

Wordless picture books can help young children develop confidence and imagination as they look through the pages and tell the stories themselves. Because the pictures must be looked at in order, your child will also be developing the valuable literacy skill of sequencing.

Here are a few titles to look for on your next visit to the library.
 Tabby by Aliki
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
 Truck by Donald Crews
 Follow Carl by Alexandra Day
 Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomi de Paola
 The Red Book by Barbara Lehman
Have You Seen My Duckling? by Nancy Tafuri

 Infant Massage
Day & Evening series

Infant Massage classes are offered regularly for P.A.T. parents & their infants from 3 weeks to 8 months.

•  Three-session daytime class: October 11, 18, 25 -- 10 to 11 AM
   
•  Two-session evening class: October 18 & 25 -- 6 to 7:30 PM
   
•  Two-session daytime class Nov. 1 & 8 -- 10:00 to 11:30 AM
   
•  Please bring lotion and a blanket or pillow for your baby.
   
•  The guide, Nurturing Touch, ($5.50) is available for purchase at the first session.
   
•  Call 214-3955 to register. Minimum of 5 registrations are needed to hold the class. Maximum number is 10 families for day classes, 12 for evening. Thank you.

Parent to Parent

Cherish reports that her infant son falls asleep more quickly if swaddled in one of her pillowcases. Mom’s fragrance lingers in the fabric and he seems to think he’s still be held and cuddled.

To coax early risers into sleeping just a bit longer, curtain their window with a dark sheet or room-darkening shade. Consider a ‘background noise’ machine available in discount stores for about $12. Parent educator Lisa Hine reports this has worked well for some of her families.

Thank you for your support of Parents As Teachers

© Joseph & Maria Trumbo
© Beth Fancher, Vandiver Bldg. receptionist, preschool screening appointment secretary, and graphic desiger for the PAT group meeting booklets.

• Jenny Lind style solid wood cherry crib that converts to day bed/toddler bed with new mattress, exc. cond $150. Corinne, 449-7574.
• Breastpump, Medela Pump-in-style traveler backpack, gently used, pd. $200, asking $100. Maternity clothes, size M-L, most $2 each. Molly, 446-2988.
• High chair, $10, baby bouncy seat $5, Kitchen set, $7. Baby gate $5. Vidia, 445-7337.
• Medela Pump-n-Style double breast pump. $75. Karin, 442-0397.
• Jeep brand double stroller. Purchased for $200; asking $80. Dacia, 817-9315.
• Nature 3 breast pump, $50. Swing, $10. Baby bath seat, bath tub $5 ea. Cloth diaper covers, Maternity clothes, S-M-L. Charissa, 442-6504.
• Graco duo-glide double stroller, like new $75. Graco Travel system $40. Erin, 289-8852.

Wanted to Buy:
• Toddler bed set, dresser. Nikia, 445-0707.
• Little Tykes or Step II kitchen (pretend sink, refrigerator, oven, etc.) Jenny, 442-7757.
• F-P open top swing. Swingset, wood preferred. Charissa, 442-6504.
• Double stroller, Candy, 234-2907 or 356-8517.
 

PAT Activity Hot Line

 214-3959

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