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Helping Your Child with Hypersensitive Gagging

The gag reflex is designed to be a normal response of the mouth and throat, to prevent your baby from swallowing foreign objects or getting food trapped in the airway. When a child gags, the reflex pushes the food off the back of the tongue and forward out of the mouth. Infants usually have an automatic gag response when the back of the tongue is touched, as part of this natural protection nature provides. Yet ideally, as the child progresses from liquids to strained foods to solids, the gagging reflex diminishes. For some children with disabilities, however, the gagging continues … Continue reading →

Will a Special Diet Help Your Child?

Parents of children with special needs often get recommendations from other parents about putting their kid on a specialized diet. “I took my son off all artificial colors and additives and his hyperactivity went away,” or, “When my daughter stopped eating processed foods, her ADHD improved,” or “No more sugar for my son. It makes him lose focus,” etc. Some people swear that hyperactivity is caused by food allergies. It can be confusing for parents of newly-diagnosed children to know whether or not to pursue some of these dietary suggestions, and if so, which ones. The Brain Thrives on Good … Continue reading →

Adjustment at Home

“I cannot believe how beautifully she’s adjusted,” my mother said. Most people echoed her feelings. My daughter, who arrived home two weeks before her first birthday, seemed beautifully adjusted during the day. Although she at first cried if my husband or I were not in the room, when we were in the room she would sit and play and interact with adoring friends and relatives. They marveled when she crawled or babbled. Even though eleven month-olds are supposed to crawl and babble, it still seemed like a miracle—both because we were witnessing it for the first time, and because it … Continue reading →

Does Television Influence Children’s Nutrition?

In an effort to prevent childhood obesity, the American Heart Association recommends limiting video and television viewing for children to no more than a couple of hours daily. They do not recommend putting a television set in children’s rooms. And, they also suggest urging children to play or to engage in some other physical activity for an hour each day. Did you know that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends not letting children view television until the age of 2? They suggest limiting viewing time to 2 hours daily after age 2. During a study, Harvard researchers found that long … Continue reading →

The One-Bite Rule For Picky Eaters

If you have a child who is a picky eater you probably have spent time worrying that their nutritional needs aren’t being met. I know I have. If you have a child who is a picky eater, you may want to try what’s called the “One- Bite Rule”. Tyler’s father has used it to try and get Tyler to try new things and low and behold, I found out this morning that it’s actually a method suggested by dieticians, nurses and pediatricians. As I was reading my morning email, the current issue of the newsletter, Family Education offered a few … Continue reading →

8 Difficult Autistic Behaviors (And Why They Happen)

Children with autism have numerous challenging behaviors for parents to deal with. Sometimes the behaviors seem to make no sense whatsoever. The child might seem unreachable, temperamental, and impossible to deal with. However, when we take a look at the underlying deficits that contribute to the problems, we can gain a better understanding. And with a little understanding, we are better equipped to find ways to help. The following is a list of eight typical behaviors of an autistic child, and their likely causes. This is not an exhaustive list of all autism symptoms, and some autistic children will only … Continue reading →

FUN with FOODS for Sensory Integration Dysfunction

Is your child a picky eater? Creative food play might help. In San Antonio, Texas, a group of families who have children with Sensory Integration Dysfunction (DSI)–and other eating disorders– get their kids together for a special kind of play group once a month. They appropriately named their program “FED UP.” Each “Fed Up” meeting not only provides a social opportunity for the preschoolers and toddlers involved, but it’s based around a theme. On one gathering, the theme was “balls and circles.” The children began their socializing in a ball pit in a tent to warm them up to the … Continue reading →

How Do I know if a Child is Being Abused?

Every parent’s fear is that their child will be abused. There are four different types of abuse: Neglect, Emotional, Physical and Sexual. There are common physical and behavioral signs that may indicate any of these types of abuse. The presence of one of these signs does not necessarily mean abuse or neglect. When I am assessing for likelihood of abuse, I look for clusters of the signs. If I see many of the signs together, I begin to suspect abuse and I report to a Government body (Police or Welfare) who can investigate and protect the child. Although every family’s … Continue reading →

The Five Steps to Group Development.

This is the follow-on article from How to Grow a Families Leader: The Eight Characteristics of Leadership. Using the example of Families.com as our group, how can we each develop the stated eight characteristics in ourselves? While Lisa Pietsch may be seen as the leader of Families.com (she’s the community manager), group dynamics would suggest that we each have a role to play in ensuring our group’s survival through a systematic understanding of group stages. Bruce Tuckman (educational psychologist) is honored with establishing the five stages of group development. How do these five stages fit Families.com? We have undergone two … Continue reading →

Weekend Snack Options

Weekends are hard on a diet. We’re home. We’re hanging out. We’re playing with the kids. The following snack options are usually good for most diets and provide you with energy while also satisfying your cravings. Snack Options: Pretzels with a little honey mustard dip Natural or Plain microwave popcorn Baked Tortilla Chips Apple or Orange Slices Strawberries Raw veggies (like carrots) with light or fat free ranch dip Light Yogurt Low Fat Chocolate Milk Cottage Cheese with Pineapple Low Fat Yogurt Smoothie (You can make it with some yogurt, low fat or skim milk, fresh fruit and ice in … Continue reading →