9 Principles for Playing Learning Games

9 Principles for Playing Learning Games

​Learning games are a great way to teach your child a well-rounded set of skills and to lay a foundation for all the learning she will do in life. You'll find lots of examples and activities on our blog and website. Here we've collected some principles that will help your experience of playing learning games go smoothly.

Keep it fun and lighthearted. As soon as learning feels like work instead of play, your kids will resist.

Don't force anything. Invite, make it appealing, demonstrate how much fun the activity is, but don't make your child do something he isn't interested in. He may not be developmentally ready, or his development may be centered around a different skill this week. Appeal to his interests rather than what you think he ought to be doing.

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How to Help Your Children Wait

How to Help Your Children Wait

​Would you like to raise a patient child? (Wait…is that an oxymoron?) They say that patience is a virtue, but it's a virtue that is hard for adults, let alone preschoolers. But waiting is a part of life, so we need to help our children learn to cope with it.

An important first step is to set realistic expectations. It is easier for children to wait if they are expecting to wait. Set a timer where they can see it, and tell them, "We'll go to Katie's house/ have dinner/ play together in 10 minutes, when the timer beeps."

Let them know what's coming next. Children get much more antsy when they don't know what is going to happen. One important note: make sure you tell them in the order it will be happening. (Say, "First we'll have a nap, then we'll go to the park," instead of "We'll go to the park after nap.") Kids' brains understand sequence in the order they hear it—it's difficult for them to process verbal cues like "before this" or "after that."

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How to Address Screeching

How to Address Screeching

"My nine-month-old has found his voice…in the form of an ear-piercing shriek! Do I just try to wait it out until he learns words, or are there ways I can teach him more mom-friendly sounds?"

There are three main reasons for children loudly screeching in their communication, and the reason your child is screeching will determine the best course of action.

He may be experimenting with his voice. Babies are just learning how to control what comes out of their mouths. They learn by experimentation with mouth shape, throat constriction, air flow, and vocal cords. And, yep, some of that experimentation will be loud!

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How to Have a Happy Grocery Shopping Trip With Your Preschooler

How to Have a Happy Grocery Shopping Trip With Your Preschooler

Is grocery shopping a nightmare for you? Fussy kids, grumpy mom, whining for Lucky Charms, strangers staring, coming home with the wrong items because you couldn't concentrate. Sound familiar?

We used three simple rules that made grocery trips a whole lot smoother. We recited both the rules and the consequences together in the car before every shopping trip, because little ones can't always remember the rules from week to week. Kids also need to say the rules themselves, not just hear them.

Rule 1: Don't touch. For the safety of the children and the merchandise, kids are only allowed to touch what mom hands them. Let them help with anything they can't damage. They can put items in a child-sized basket or in the big basket.

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Teach Your Child to Follow Directions the Fun and Easy Way

Have you ever wondered how to teach your child to follow directions without it turning into a power struggle? The key is to focus on following directions as a skill that children can learn gradually in the same fun ways that they can learn their colors or to tie their shoes.

Here's the Following Directions Game:

The best age to introduce this game is around one year, but you can introduce it any time, adjusting to their age and skill level. Keep in mind your child's attention span—keep the game short, and stop before the kids are tired of it.
Tell your child, "I have a game. It's called the Following Directions Game. I'll tell you something to do, and you see if you can do it."
 
Start off with one instruction. Demonstrate while saying, "Touch your nose."

When they do that, give them a second instruction, "Touch your head."
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The Magic Formula for Happy Kids

The Magic Formula for Happy Kids

Did you know that the secret to a happy marriage is the same as the secret to happy kids? It's a simple ratio. John Gottman, a marriage researcher, found that a ratio of 5 positive interactions to each one negative interaction tipped the balance from a troubled relationship to a happy, healthy relationship. He called this the Magic Ratio.

You can apply this principle today with your child. Start by noticing your positive and negative interactions. Keep a chart on the fridge and make tally marks to help you keep track. Andrew Armstrong researched this ratio between parents and small children and found that his control group generally had a 1:1 ratio of positive to negative interactions with their young children.

Good parents often are more negative with their kids than they realize. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, right? So the behaviors that need to be "fixed" are the ones that get the attention from us. It comes much less naturally to continually notice the good.

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Welcome to Growth and Giggles! I'm guessing you're here because you want to make the most of the few precious years you have with your preschoolers, and to keep your head above water while doing it.This blog is here to give you ideas, encouragement, and wisdom. Our posts will answer common questions, help you understand what's going on behind that ...
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