Parent Fact Sheets

THUMB-SUCKING FACTS

Babies are born with the natural desire to suck. In fact, many babies suck their thumbs while in the womb. This sucking reflex allows the baby to take in food, in the form of breast milk or baby formula. That’s why a baby when they are not hungry will become calm when sucking on a pacifier.

TEACHING YOUR CHILD THROUGH EVERYDAY EXPERIENCES

Often working parents are concerned with the quality of time they spend with their child. Spending “quality time” with your child does not have to be a formal learning experience. Most of the everyday activities you do with your child can be an important learning experience.

To identify some of the learning activities you are doing with your child, let’s look at a few of the learning domains.

TEACHING MY CHILD TO BE INDEPENDENT

Independence is an important skill for young children to develop. Often the first time a parent needs to deal with independent issues is when the child first goes to childcare. Teaching children independence is a natural part of a child’s separation process and is needed for autonomy.

Before your child enters childcare, the child may have expected you to do most things for him. Often you are in a hurry and find it hard to facilitate your child’s independence.

WHY SHOULD WE TEACH OUR CHILDREN RESPECT?

Learning to respect peers, authority, parents, and themselves is a necessary skill for children to learn in order to be successful. When a child learns to respect their parents, they listen and follow direction because they know you are looking out for their best interest.

We need to teach children respect so they can learn:

     • responsibility to respect and take care of objects that belong to others.

As a parent, you are in the position to know your baby best. You are with your baby everyday and are one of the most important person your child interacts with. Many new parents have the tendency to compare your baby’s development with other babies.

It is very important to understand that each child develops at their own pace. However, there are certain milestones that babies should reach during their first year. (Parent Fact Sheet –“Infant Developmental Milestones”.

Babies cry, they cry loudly, and often. Fussy babies can cry for extended periods of time. On occasion, a parent or caregiver can become very frustrated or even angry when the baby will not stop crying. When a person severely shakes the baby or toddler it can cause Shaken Baby Syndrome. (SBS)

AGE APPROPRIATE LIMITS

Age Appropriate limits are the limits we set for our children based on the child’s developmental age as opposed to their chronological age. Your child’s developmental age is the age at which they can understand and act on certain behaviors.

For example, you would not expect an 18 month old child to share and gladly hand over their toy to another child because you told them it was the right thing to do.

Selecting a family childcare provider for your child, can be a very intimidating process. Of course, you want the best fit for your child and meeting the provider, examining the environment and looking at the curriculum are essential. There is another important aspect that should be taken into consideration. You should expect to be given a written comprehensive policy and procedure document.

SELECTING A CHILD CARE PROVIDER -CONTRACT

When you have selected a family childcare provider for your child, before your child starts care you should expect to be given a comprehensive written list of the provider’s policies and procedures and a contract. It is important that you carefully go over the contract and the policies before your child starts Go over each page with your provider and make sure you understand what is expected of you and what you expect from them. Ask questions and make sure you get a satisfactory answer for any questions you may have.