Tag Archives: support

TIPS FOR TUMMY-TIME: GROUNDING THE AIRPLANE

Posted on February 13, 2014 by donna| Leave a comment

My baby is now six months old and has really got the hang of rolling from back to belly.  She does it a lot.  Once she is on her belly she has a tendency to go into airplane mode (legs in the air, arms out to the sides slightly behind her) and can get very frustrated.  She knows how to roll back, she just doesn’t want to, and resists my attempts to help her.  If she whinges (cries) a lot I pick her up, but she often reaches to go straight back down again, so he’s obviously trying to do something with it.  I think she’s trying to move forwards, but doesn’t know how to get going.  -From a mother in Scotland

DEVELOPMENTAL PLAY FOR BABY’S ARMS

In the airplane movement baby lifts both arms and legs off of the ground at the same time, with the arms straight out to the side.  This happens when baby is in tummy time.  To teach baby to keep her hands on the floor, and even learn to push up with them, you can try a few exercise with her.  Start with her on her back and try bending and extending one arm several times. Move her hand toward the ceiling to extend (straighten) it and bend the arm by bringing the elbow down toward the floor.  As you extend her hand toward the ceiling, gradually move her hand so it is more over the middle of her body (her breast bone).  She is familiar with the pattern of reaching her arms straight out to the sides as she does in the airplane action on her stomach.  This exercise is giving her the experience of moving her arms more toward her center, a less familiar place.  As she gets familiar with this place in space it will be easier for her to find it when she is on her stomach.

TRY TUMMY TIME WITH A NEW TOY

Try put her in tummy time and give her a toy that she will want to explore with both hands.  This will bring both hands more toward the midline as keep them there for awhile as she plays with the toy.  When she does have her hands on the floor you can lightly brush the tops of her hands with your fingers and gently press the palm of her hand down to cue her to push that part of her hand into the floor.  This is “grounding the airplane,” helping baby connect to the floor.  Baby will learn that the floor is helpful for her, for example, the more she leans on it the higher she can lift her head.

GO WITH HER PATTERN RATHER THAN AGAINST IT

How do we ground the legs?  When she is on her back try brushing the legs with your fingers from the top of the hip to the tips of her toes.  Make long brushing strokes with your fingers so she develops clear proprioception of the legs.  When she is on her tummy repeat this brushing of the legs so she becomes aware that she is lifting them off of the ground.  Then gently press her pelvis down into the floor so she feels the contact there.  Then try gently moving one leg further away from the floor a few times to go with the pattern she is activating.   Then bring her thigh a little closer to the floor and gently press it into the floor so she has the sensation of it leaning on the floor.  Repeat this a few times.  You are giving her the experience of feeling what it feels like to move the leg further away from the floor and to lean on the floor.  Her system will soon choose the more efficient pattern, which is leaning on the floor.

 A GAME FOR BABY TO AVOID

Take a moment and ask yourself if you occasionally hold baby up toward the sky like and airplane.  If so, observe how her arms go straight out to the sides and her legs go up.  This activity can trigger the startle reflex.  She may be learning this airplane pattern in this activity.  Take a break from this activity for awhile and try some other developmental games suggested in this post.

 


→ Leave a comment

Posted in TUMMY TIME

Tagged , ,

BABY GEAR: CAR SEAT

Posted on August 31, 2013 by donna| Leave a comment

cosco pink car seat

HOW TO CHOOSE A CAR SEAT FOR BABY

Safety is one of the top priorities of a parent when choosing a car seat.  With several models available on the market that is no easy choice to make.  Who do you listen to?  Your friends, your mother, the reviews online?  We recommend collecting as many pieces of information as possible.  A car seat is one of the most important investments to make for baby’s safety.  These photos show the Cosco car seat which was highly recommended by parent reviews on amazon.com as well as by the highly respected publication Consumer Reports.  It is also helpful to talk with parents who have used a product for awhile rather than to someone who just purchased the product.  Experience with a product over time may result in advice containing more pros and cons for your consideration.  You may also want to ask the parent how the product suited the baby as she grew.

closeup of the upper back portion of a car seat

CAR SEAT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A BABY

Please choose your car seat with the consideration of baby’s development of  bones and muscles.  Today many car seats are on the market with little if any padding behind baby’s back.  There may be padding under the hips and legs, but there may not be any padding under the back.  It is extremely important to keep baby comfortable and cushion her developing bones and muscles.  Try and purchase the product in a store or view one in person before ordering so you can take your hand and run it along the back of the seat.  You should be able to push down and have the fabric spring back.  If you push on it and you feel the hard plastic right under the thin layer of fabric then you know it is not soft enough for her to be comfortable.

Occasionally the padding may be asymmetrical from right to left side, which may lead to asymmetry in the skeleton if baby spends enough time in the car seat.  Once in a while a piece of one of the straps may get stuck under the padding and cause discomfort to baby.  Take a moment every so often, specially if she is crying in the car seat, and run your hand along the padding to see if anything is poking up which may cause pain.  The above photo shows a well-padded portable car seat.  Baby should be both comfortable and safe.

TIPS FOR CHOOSING A CAR SEAT:

  • Read parent reviews on sites such as amazon.com
  • Ask the opinions of other parents experienced with the product
  • Research Consumer Reports studies on the product
  • Consult teachers of infant classes
  • See the car seat in person before purchasing
  • Feel the padding with your hands to ensure baby’s comfort

→ Leave a comment

Posted in PRODUCTS & GEAR

Tagged ,

BABY EXPERIMENTS: THE VISUAL CLIFF

Posted on April 27, 2013 by donna| Leave a comment

YouTube Preview Image

WHAT IS “SOCIAL REFERENCING?”

As a baby develops motor skills of crawling and walking that allow her to move around and explore,  she soon begins to look back at mom to see if it is OK to play with unfamiliar objects or to go around new corners.  In child development this behavior of looking back to a parent to see if something new or unfamiliar is OK is called “social referencing.”  Babies and children look to the adults they trust to provide them with clues to safely guide their explorations.  The clues often come from the parent’s non-verbal behavior, in particular the facial expression.

THE VISUAL CLIFF EXPERIMENT

Joseph Campos of the University of California at Berkeley conducted the now classic baby experiment that investigated the role of facial expressions in providing infants with the clues of whether or not to proceed when faced with the unfamiliar.      Using an experimental strategy developed in the 1950s called the Visual Cliff, he created a situation that was unfamiliar and somewhat frightening for the babies.  Infants between 9 and 12 months are placed one at a time on a plexiglass table with a checkered pattern.  In the middle of the table is a visual drop off which is created by replacing the checkered pattern table top with a strip of clear plexiglass.  This created the appearance of a sudden drop in the table although the surface is completely uninterrupted.  The baby is placed on one side of the table while the mother stands on the other side while holding an appealing toy.  When the baby crawls to the center strip where the drop off appears, they sense they change and the potential danger.  They look to their mother to see what to do.

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND INFANT DEVELOPMENT

In the visual cliff experiment, the mother makes either a fear face or a smile/encouraging face as directed by the experimenter.  In most cases the baby responded to the fear face by choosing not to cross the visual cliff.  The mothers were trained to make the fear face by raising their eyebrows, widening their eyes, and opening their mouth.  When the mother posed a smile or encouraging face the baby confidently crossed the visual cliff to reach the toy.  Watch the above video from vooktv’s youtube channel to see the experiment in action.

PARENTING TIPS:  BABY CONFIDENCE

Parenting tips learned from this experiment include being clear to make an encouraging face when you child is trying something new that is positive and safe and making a fear face when the child is considering an action not desired or dangerous.    Spend some time looking in the mirror and exaggerating these facial expressions so they become very obvious.  Observe your baby to see when she looks to you as if to ask, “Is this OK?”  Provide clear clues for your baby as she explores the world around her.  This gives baby confidence to explore, play with a new object, by held by an unfamiliar relative visiting from out of town, and more.


→ Leave a comment

Posted in BABY RESEARCH

Tagged , ,

BABY GEAR: THE SLEEPSUIT

Posted on April 25, 2013 by donna| Leave a comment

baby sleepsuit

WHEN TO STOP SWADDLING BABY

Newborn babies sleep very well when swaddled.  The pressure of the fabric against their muscles and bones help them sense their bodies more clearly and they feel more secure as a result.  This physical sensation created by the cloth fabric replicates the experience of being in the womb where baby feels pressure from the water.  Parents learn to swaddle baby in order to quiet baby for naps and for sleeping through the night.  Soon, they ask “When do I stop swaddling baby?” Many parents stop swaddling baby by the age of two to three months.  As babies begin to learn to feel their limbs stretch and learn the early motor skill of rolling onto their tummy, the swaddling can be restrictive and potentially dangerous.

HOW TO STOP SWADDLING BABY

Transitioning baby from swaddling to no swaddling is not so easy sometimes.  The key is to create a similar physical sensation for them of the pressure on their body which makes them feel secure without the restriction of the fabric wound around them.  This concept is the idea behind a “sleepsuit.”  The thickness of the fabric and the snug fit help baby feel secure so she can sleep through the night.  A favorite sleepsuit is Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit.  Designed to create a “cozy, calming, and safe sleep environment,” the Magic Sleepsuit is an excellent transition out of the swaddling.  Developed by a pediatric physical therapist who is also a mother of four, the idea behind the magic sleepsuit was how to prolong the duration and quality of a baby’s sleep.  One of the most important events in the development of a baby is sleep.  With a good night of sleep on a daily basis they have more energy for their motor skill development.  Next, we would like Magic Merlin to create a sleepsuit for tired mommies.


→ Leave a comment

Posted in PRODUCTS & GEAR

Tagged , , ,

BOOK REVIEW: “RAISING AN EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT CHILD”

Posted on March 14, 2013 by donna| Leave a comment

BABIES AND EMOTIONS

Motor skill development and emotional development occur in babies during their first year.  Although we focus primarily on the development of motor milestones, it is important to discuss emotional development from time to time.  We have habits of how we respond emotionally just like we have movement habits that exercise teachers try and change.  Through a bit of education we can become aware of our habits and then improve them, whether it is our physical movement or expression of emotions.  Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child:  The Heart of Parenting, by John Gottman, Ph.D., is a book for parents, teachers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and anyone else interested in nurturing the capacity of young children to feel and express their true feelings.  He introduces the concept of “emotion coaching” as he guides parents to the understanding that it is important to help a baby or child feel their true feeling in the moment rather than bury it.

MOTOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND EMOTION COACHING

Emotions go hand in hand with learning movement.  From the joy of learning to execute a new movement to the pain of falling down, babies and children move through a range of experiences on a daily basis in both emotions and motor skills.  Parents can learn to react to these moments with baby through the simple steps outlined in Gottman’s easy-to-read book.  By learning to see the disappointment on a child’s face when her favorite toy just fell apart in front of her, a parent can first identify the emotion first and then provide a solution.  He also recommends a unique game for babies that allows parents to share the emotions of their day and invites baby to share her emotions in return.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS FOR BABIES AND CHILDREN

One of the most valuable sections of this book is the list of books for babies and children that focus on emotions.  Selected books from this list makes a wonderful baby shower gift.  Adding books to baby’s first library that teach emotions makes a nice addition to a collection of books on colors, counting, and ABC’s.  After all, aren’t emotions also the colors of our life?

Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child:  The Heart of Parenting:  by John Gottman, Ph. D. (New York:  Simon & Schuster, 1997).


→ Leave a comment

Posted in BOOKS FOR PARENTS

Tagged , ,

MOTOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND INDIVIDUALS

Posted on February 28, 2013 by donna| Leave a comment

QUESTION FROM A MOTHER IN A CLASS:

Why do some babies learn motor skills faster than others?

STELLAR CATERPILLAR’S ANSWER:

This week in class a very mother asked the question “Why do some babies learn motor skills faster than others?”  I thought it was such an important question I would share the answer here.  There are several factors involved in the learning of motor skills.  Some factors are nature (we are born with) and some factors are nurture (a result of environmental factors).

PERSONALITY INFLUENCES MOTOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT

Factors that a baby is born with (nature) which influence his ability to learn movement include his personality, body size, and muscle tone.  Lets look at some examples of personality traits and motor skill development.  An active baby may learn the motor skill of rolling sooner than a quiet baby.  A fussy baby may cry when put on the floor for tummy time and then her parents pick her up.  If this occurs often she will have difficulty learning her motor skills.  A determined baby may crawl a bit sooner than others because he is motivated to get to objects just out of his reach.

BABY’S SIZE IMPACTS MOTOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT

Babies range drastically in their size.  A larger sized baby often will have more difficulty learning motor skills than a smaller baby.  The larger baby’s body parts weigh more and thus require more strength to move.  Learning the skill of lifting the head is more difficult for a large baby than a small one.  A smaller baby may learn skills more quickly and may learn to crawl very early.  I recently worked with a small and determined baby who learned to crawl at 4 1/2 months.  She spent time in each of her motor skills and developed her motor milestones early but skillfully.

MUSCLE TONE AND MOTOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT

Babies are born with muscle tone that varies from low to hight tone.  The tone referes to the tension level in the muscles.  A premature baby  will usually have more of a challenge learning motor skills due to the lower muscle tone that is common among preemies.  This means it may take longer for the preemie to learn to roll over since he needs more time to strengthen his leg muscles first.  A baby that has too tight of muscles tone may also need more guidance to help the muscles relax. The level of tone in the muscle is a significant factor influencing the motor skill development.

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES AND  MOTOR SKILLS 

Much of our ability for skilled movement is learned and this is where the nurture part of development is important.  The term “developmental play” evolved because research proved that certain activities improved motor skill development, coordination, balance, and strength.  These attributes of movement are learned as infants and become part of our nervous system.  As a child grows his ability to learn movement skill for dance, for example, depend on how the hip joint developed during the learning of skills such as crawling.

Environmental factors influencing development include the baby toys she plays with and how much time is spent on the floor.  Some toys, such as bells on a stick, invite movement of the arm which creates important development.  Learning developmemtal play, such as in a Stellar Caterpillar class, teaches hands-on movements to do with baby at home to teach skill and coordination in the earliest movements we learn–the motor milestones of infancy.  These activities are part of the “nurture” group of factors influencing the learning of motor skills.  A baby who experiences these lessons will learn improved coordination and balance which provide an advantage for life.

 


→ Leave a comment

Posted in OTHER

Tagged