Parents, families, and caregivers play a crucial role in promoting early learning and development. They ensure children are healthy and safe, equip them with skills and resources to succeed, and transmit basic cultural values. Recognizing the importance of early parent-child relationship quality for children’s socioemotional, cognitive, neurobiological, and health outcomes has led to a shift in early childhood education policies. To maximize the benefits of early childhood education, parents need to consider how they can support their children’s learning throughout the day.
Creating a nurturing and stimulating environment, encouraging open communication, encouraging curiosity and exploration, and setting consistent boundaries are some of the most important aspects of fostering independence. Consulting parents about children’s early experiences helps practitioners plan for effective learning at the setting and supports parents in continuing their children’s learning. Policies and services should support responsive relationships for children and adults, strengthen core skills for planning, adapting, and achieving goals, and reduce stress.
Parents can help reduce the effects of ACEs and chronic stress in their child’s life by forming trusting, loving relationships with their children and modeling positive coping skills. Here are five ways parents can support their child’s development at home:
- Offer plenty of love and support to help them adjust to their new environment.
- Foster independence by encouraging daily activities like dressing themselves, using the bathroom, or carrying their bag. This will boost their confidence and make them feel more capable in the nursery setting.
- Establish a shared language with parents and a joint understanding of how children develop and learn. Parent involvement helps extend teaching outside the classroom, creates a more positive experience for children, and helps them perform better when they are in childcare.
- Focus on self-compassion when feeling nervous or sad about sending your child to childcare. When settling into the new routine, stay calm at drop-off and give your child rest.
| Article | Description | Site |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Ways Parents Can Support Development | 1. Know your child’s social and emotional needs. · 2. Once you know, you can grow! · 3. Parents can remember the basics. · 4. Take time to listen. · 5. Parents can … | nhsa.org |
| How to Talk with Parents about their Child’s Development | Talk with parents regularly about their child’s milestones. Encourage them to monitor their child’s development at home by sharing the materials available … | cdc.gov |
| Preparing parents for childcare. | 7 parental self-care tips · Go easy on yourself – If you’re feeling nervous or a bit sad about sending your little one to childcare, focus on self-compassion. | uniting.org |
📹 Helping Parents and Therapists Cope with Autism Spectrum Disorder Susan Sherkow TEDxYouth@LFNY
Dr. Sherkow will talk today on helping parents and therapists understand and cope with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Dr. Susan P.
How Can Parents Support Children'S Brain Development?
Exploring and investigating their play space significantly supports infants' brain development. Various individuals, including families, caregivers, teachers, and doctors, can foster different aspects of child development. Key to this is ensuring safety and providing positive experiences, as these are integral for optimal brain growth. Parents aiming to enhance their babies' brain development should engage in positive interactions, as highlighted in resources like "Supporting Early Brain Development: Building the Brain." Effective support includes speaking, playing, and caring for children, emphasizing turn-taking in conversations and play that build on children's skills and interests.
Families, being closely involved in children's lives, often are the first to detect mental health issues, acting as essential advocates. Early interactions directly influence language, emotional, and social skills, countering adverse experiences through nurturing engagements. Child brain development unfolds in five critical stages: prenatal, sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages, each vital for cognitive growth.
Parents can promote healthy brain development by ensuring proper nutrition, routine, and emotional protection from stress or neglect. Engaging children through everyday activities like playing, reading, and maintaining a loving environment are crucial strategies for fostering strong brain connections and healthy development.
How Parents Help Children'S Moral Development?
Guidance for Parents emphasizes the importance of modeling moral behavior to foster empathy and compassion in children. By helping others, donating to charity, or assisting those in need, parents can instill values of kindness and social responsibility. A study from the University of Chicago highlights the significance of moral development, which shapes children's decision-making from an early age. Engaging children in meaningful discussions about morality helps them differentiate right from wrong on a deeper level.
According to Piaget's Theory, children perceive rules as fixed initially, but their understanding evolves over time. Parents and caregivers are crucial in addressing children's mental health, which also influences their moral reasoning. Creating an environment that encourages open dialogues about ethical dilemmas and modeling empathy can nurture moral growth. Kohlberg’s classification of moral reasoning identifies three levels: pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional, with five major stages of development.
Essential components of moral development include social orientation, self-control, compliance, and self-esteem. By being role models and practicing honesty and fairness, parents influence their children's moral compass significantly. Encouraging parents to share their moral decision-making experiences helps children grasp concepts of morality effectively, leading to the development of responsible, empathetic adults.
How Can You Support The Needs Of A Child During Transition?
To support your child through transitions, patience is essential; reassure them you are there. Engage in conversations about their day, allowing them space to express themselves. Encourage recognition of positive experiences, and listen to any concerns, helping to navigate issues together. Implementing routines for daily transitions can significantly benefit children, particularly those with ADHD, anxiety, autism, or sensory processing challenges.
Tailor the support to each child's individual needs and development stage. Building strong, respectful relationships between parents and practitioners fosters smoother transitions. Make transitions enjoyable through distraction and a playful demeanor. Successful transitions enhance key life skills like self-regulation and resilience. Strategies such as giving transition warnings, offering choices, creating a soothing environment, and utilizing lists or visual aids can aid in this process.
Provide tools to help manage transitions and emphasize the importance of caring relationships and consistent routines. Prepare your child for new settings by familiarizing them with daily routines and introducing them to the environment and significant people involved. Incorporate creative methods, such as songs and movement activities, to signal transitions, and practice special goodbye routines to help ease their adjustment.
How Can Parents Support Their Child'S Development?
Healthy development in children hinges on simple daily interactions, including facial expressions, gestures, and vocal sounds. Parents and caregivers are crucial in ensuring children's safety and teaching essential skills. Understanding developmental milestones allows families to cultivate a supportive environment. Engaged parents can foster their children's growth, learning, and overall well-being through informed practices. Responding predictably to children, utilizing the Powerful Interactions framework, and creating meaningful learning opportunities can enhance literacy and math skills.
Every day is a chance to support learning, as parents are a child's first teachers. Awareness of a child's social, emotional, and physical needs is essential for effective parenting. Listening, nurturing curiosity, promoting communication, and establishing routines contribute to a stimulating environment. Engaging in conversation, reading together, and using everyday experiences to teach are vital for language development.
Building healthy relationships and discussing feelings fosters emotional well-being. By staying curious about their children's experiences, parents can significantly influence their development, mental health, and ability to navigate life's challenges.
How Can Parents Encourage Development?
Practical Tips for Parents focus on fostering growth by building upon existing strengths and interests, such as a child's enjoyment of building bricks. Creating a stimulating environment encourages exploration and learning. Parents provide essential support, love, and guidance, nurturing children’s physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development. Understanding that this support is crucial from infancy through adulthood enables effective parenting.
Parents are their children's first teachers, and daily interactions present opportunities for learning. Gross motor skills development, such as crawling or walking, can be promoted through active engagement. The Powerful Interactions™ framework helps strengthen family bonds and encourages positive learning experiences. Parents should prioritize social interaction, engaging children with curiosity and playful exploration, while also ensuring they get enough sleep and proper nutrition.
Communication is vital; talking to babies, reading using different voices, and engaging them in conversations fosters language development. Establishing routines helps children feel secure, while modeling desired behaviors and encouraging emotional regulation is key. By embracing engaging activities—reading, playing, listening—parents aid in their child’s development, creating a strong, loving foundation that promotes a successful future. Simple, science-backed strategies can enrich every aspect of parenting, positively impacting children's growth and well-being.
What Are Three Responsibilities Of Parents To Their Children?
Parents or adoptive parents bear crucial responsibilities, ensuring the well-being of their children through the provision of food, clothing, clean water, and a safe living environment. Medical care is vital for maintaining their lives and health. These responsibilities extend to legal rights, prioritizing the child's best interests. Parents, families, and caregivers are tasked with the health and safety of children by equipping them with essential skills and resources while instilling fundamental cultural values.
Essential responsibilities include offering right guidance and creating a happy, secure home environment. While parents must strive for their children's happiness, it is unrealistic to expect constant joy. Parental responsibilities also encompass nurturing and supporting child development and making appropriate decisions regarding their upbringing. This includes safeguarding children's legal rights and ensuring their education. Underlying these duties is the unwavering support, nurturance, and guidance parents provide, as underscored by the concept of familial roles.
Fathers are to protect and provide, while mothers primarily nurture. Importantly, parents must create an environment of respect, love, and learning. Their role is critical in shaping happy, healthy, and well-adjusted individuals, emphasizing the legal, emotional, and educational dimensions of parental responsibility. Understanding these obligations is essential for fulfilling the role effectively.
How Can Parents Help Their Children Develop Responsibility?
Teaching children responsibility involves encouraging them to care for their belongings, work hard, and complete age-appropriate chores. Children learn through observation, so it's vital for parents and caregivers to model these behaviors. Praising efforts, providing constructive criticism, and setting clear limits helps avoid over-indulgence while promoting self-esteem. By embracing their executive role, parents can help children thrive and foster independence for lifelong success. Effective communication and establishing expectations are crucial for nurturing responsible behavior.
Parents must enforce accountability and demonstrate respect and care towards their children, as all children deserve to feel valued regardless of challenges. Specific strategies for raising responsible kids include encouraging them to clean up their messes and assigning chores that build a solid work ethic. Engaging children in household tasks helps them learn accountability and respect from an early age. Studies reveal that completing assigned chores fosters self-reliance and vital life skills.
Collaborative efforts between parents and teachers can enhance lessons in social responsibility. Guidance from caregivers and a nurturing environment are essential for children to develop the confidence and skills needed for independence. Implementing everyday strategies, such as allowing children to manage small tasks, reinforces a sense of capability and enhances their responsibility quotient.
How Can We Best Support A Child'S Development?
Adults play a crucial role in nurturing a child's executive function skills by establishing routines, modeling social behaviors, and fostering reliable relationships. Understanding child development from infancy to childhood is essential for supporting growth, and resources are available for parents. Effective technology use should be active and empowering, allowing children to progress at their own pace. High-quality early learning programs are vital for the well-being of families and communities.
Development is interactive and influenced by the environment, especially before and after birth, underscoring the importance of positive family relationships. Parenting, often seen as challenging without formal guidance, benefits from acknowledging the complex relational systems affecting children. Healthy sleep and diet are fundamental for cognitive development, while stable environments encourage exploration. Engaging with children through speech and play enhances skill acquisition.
Suggestions for promoting development include cultivating curiosity, creating exploratory spaces, and sharing experiences. Prioritizing routines and teaching resilience can help children navigate emotional challenges. Essential strategies involve stimulating language development through conversation, reading, and leveraging everyday learning opportunities. Warm relationships with knowledgeable caregivers greatly enhance learning. Parents should consult childcare providers about facilitating ongoing educational activities at home, recognizing achievements, and providing encouragement when needed to foster independence and physical development.
How Can Parents Be Involved In Their Child'S Development?
Parents play a crucial role in their children's education, both at school and home. They can assist by participating in school functions and communicating with teachers. At home, they support learning by guiding homework management and discussing educational values. Families are often the first to identify mental health issues in children, making caregivers vital advocates for their well-being. However, research indicates that excessive parental involvement during focused activities may hinder behavioral development.
To effectively support children's growth, parents should combine love, patience, and knowledge of how to engage in their child’s developmental process. This includes fostering active involvement in education to ensure children thrive both academically and emotionally. For instance, engaged parents understand the local education system, allowing them to advocate successfully for their children.
Studies highlight that when parents are involved in schooling, students typically achieve better outcomes. Effective involvement includes establishing routines, setting educational priorities at home, and maintaining open communication about children's milestones and needs. Recognizing a child's social and emotional requirements is essential for supportive parenting.
Creating an environment that encourages discussions on effective learning can extend teaching beyond the classroom, contributing to a positive educational experience. Parent involvement is shown to enhance student performance, with certain approaches being more beneficial. Regular contact between parents and educators about a child’s progress can reinforce development. With appropriate guidance, parents can embrace their roles as their child’s first teachers and strongest advocates, thereby forming effective partnerships in education.
How To Mentally Prepare For Daycare?
To prepare your child for daycare, start by visiting the daycare facility together, allowing them to familiarize themselves with the new environment. Open discussions about daycare can help ease their fears, making them feel more comfortable. Begin transitioning with shorter sessions, allowing your child to adjust gradually. Establish a goodbye routine to create a predictable parting experience. Packing familiar items, like a favorite toy or blanket, can provide comfort in the new setting. Be ready for possible separation anxiety; this is normal for many children.
Additionally, ensure your baby is accustomed to taking a bottle ahead of time. Maintain a consistent schedule for feeding and sleeping to help your child feel secure. Involve your child in preparations, such as creating artwork about daycare, which promotes excitement and familiarity. It’s vital to communicate openly about any feelings of unease, using simple phrases for self-expression. Lastly, share detailed information about your child’s routine, allergies, and preferences with the caregiver to ensure a smooth transition. Follow these expert tips to support your child emotionally and physically as they embark on this new journey.
📹 STOP SAYING “GOOD JOB”: How Montessori Parents Praise their Kids Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset
Stop saying GOOD JOB to your child and Praise WISELY! The problem with praise For over a decade Carol Dweck, professor of …
I am a 42 autistic man and going to give the best advice for parents, friends, loved ones about autism. Don’t ever let a person with autism be around to many people who are evil or stupid. From Dr.s, schools, most age groups to jobs, do not allow it. Always seek smart people, family-oriented parents, and more caring people from all walks of life.
I work in childcare and I never caught the signs of autism in my now turning 7 year old son, but my colleagues at work did. The diagnosis shook me but it answered so many questions to his behaviour. Delayed language, some difficulty in emotional regulation and processing some social situations and fixation in spinning things. But on the other side, he loves connecting with people, loves hugs and cuddles, loves his Pokémon, Anna and Elsa, his soft toys and his trains and marble mazes and processes new things quite quickly. He’s considered on the lower end of the spectrum but the support of his OT and SP during his Telehealth sessions really really help and having understanding teachers also help. I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.
I lashed out at my now teen daughter because I felt she never knew what to do, even though I had explained so many times already. She seemed normal. I never suspected she had an issue. No one at school thought she had a terrible issue, they just said she was being a child. Things didn’t make sense to her. I am now working on repairing our relationship. She is still very angry at me. All the love I didn’t give because I wanted her to stop pretending not to understand. If I had known then….
The one thing I wish I that I could see my male 18 year old Autistic actions, emotions, interactions from my mom’s, my 2 best friends, my friends parents, who absolutely love me, perspectives. That’s all I want. And I try with my own mom but it feels impossible. I can’t tell you how many arguments we’ve had and it’s always ended with her saying, “You’re acting Autistic again.” And I tell ya, being an Autistic kid who’s just trying, and failing, to help you see his point of view, I guarantee you that I will never feel as angry as I did in those moments. Being reminded you’re different is not the right thing to say in even the best situations. I feel so lost.
My 28 year old son is reading, Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s by John Elder Robison, and getting his first assessment for this. He is super smart, developed normally, liked snuggles, was an A+ student and not until high school did we see his difficulty looking with social interactions. Through some self reflection on my part and his part, he is on a better track now to get some coping tools for social interactions.
This may describe SOME presentations of autism, but definitely not the full range of possibilities. Not all autistic kids are aversive toward physical connection and affection. They are super loving, sweet, clingy, and have very close bonds with their mothers. These are the ones who have difficulty separating for going to school, have difficulty making friends bc they expect the same physical and emotional affection from kids that they get from their mothers. They think peers don’t like them if they don’t receive the attention and affection from peers that they get from their mother. So they live in a constant perceived state of rejection by peers, when it’s not actually peer rejection, it’s the autistic child’s inflexibility and errent social expectations. A psychiatrist would naturally have this bias, as these are the ones who are “problematic” at home and come to her office for help.
I have PTSD, a son with ASD and ADHD. And on top of that I have a thyroid condition that affects my emotions in random ways. Stress makes my health worse, my health affects my ability to regulate my mood, my mood affects my ability to manage my son’s autism. I feel so alone in my situation with no support, no one to notice that I need help too. I feel so lost as a mother and a person 😩
i have mild autism and im so weeiirrdd! everyone at school says it and i just wanna be a lil’ more normal. im also very sensitive, if someone points out something i did wrong i burst into tears for some reason. also it’s very hard to focus in the classroom, so i get bad grades and all my friends have good grades. i used to have a friend who was super weird like me and we got along very well. sadly i moved schools. oh, now im just ranting about my life haha. also i come off as rude to people and i dont know why :(. i try to be nice but it ends up sounding mean so i dont make a lot of friends. i also dont think she knows what se is talking about because autistic people arent always angry i had an autistic friend and he was siz at the time i knew him. he was very sweet and he always liked giving hugs and greeting everyone.
What is it always parents and therapist talking to other parents and therapists about how to deal with us. I’ve been asking this question since I first started to research autism and what it meant about me in the 5th grade and now I’m 22. Not much has changed. I realize this article is 6 years old, but still…
Dr. Sherkow’s presentation offers an embarrassingly outdated able-ist perspective on how to think about and interact with autistic children and their families. She offers no coherent neuro-developmental explanation for why autistics and neurotypicals have difficulty sharing each other’s worlds and, as a result, puts all the blame on the mother who we are to assume has frozen the child’s emotional expressiveness–no doubt by dint of her refrigerator behavior. No mention is made of the particular sensory-motor differences that contribute to the child’s play-style (which btw Dr. Sherkow derisively dismisses as “an excuse for play”) and no clinical responsibility is assumed by Dr. Sherkow for supporting the mother with pragmatic, actionable ideas for engaging her child at the level of his special interests–e.g. what is the name of his favorite show that he is perusal—she assumes—for mere “comfort”? How might the therapist or caretaker find a way to engage starting with his interest in the show instead of dismissing it and dragging the child into a kind of parody of a psychoanalytic session. Does anybody still believe that the only acceptable framework for treatment is to see autistic children as failed versions of typical children who may only be included in typical settings by demonstrating typical symbolic play so they can go onto live typical lives and leave their autism behind? The case Dr Sherkow recounts is almost comically contrived: As soon as the child accepts the analyst’s–let’s face it, facile–interpretation for his ostensible aggression, the refrigerator mother is wheeled back onto the set for a contrived hug and we are made to assume that this little psychodrama is the very picture of a successful treatment intervention.
To people who like to vent about how much your autistic children, students, or patients drive you insane and make you miserable: You have NO idea how much anxiety, frustration, self-loathing, loneliness, and sadness many of us have to go through nearly every single day, partially because of how you talk about us when we aren’t around. Believe it or not, most of us on the spectrum are fully aware of how much of a “handful” we can be for you, and we feel deeply ashamed and guilty as a result. We care about your hardship and suffering as much as you care about ours (the people who claim we are generally incapable of empathy or feeling the pain of others are full of s%;t). If we could stop doing the things that stress you out so much, we absolutely would. But just like a man with severe paralysis can’t simply get off his wheelchair to lessen the burden of those taking care of him, we simply cannot “stop being autistic” as much as we would love to make things much easier for you. If it’s wrong to complain about having to look after someone with physical disabilities, then it’s also wrong to complain about caring for people with developmental disabilities as if you are the true victim. Yes you are dealing with A LOT, you are being pushed to your limits, your patience and resilience is being out to the test; but if you truly and genuinely care about us and not want us to feel like worthless parasites, then stop talking about us as if we are a constant source of pain and stress and headaches.
It is not, as the speaker says, “Everyday is like a surprise party and everything is new for the autistic child” It is a bit more nuanced. The question is not the child holding the memory of mommy in mind but at a subcortical and autonomic nervous system level, whether or not everything feels (at an affective level) safe and secure as to not compromise internal affective regulation resulting in ALL or Nothing (limbic, LHPA) based reactions.
“Seemingless behaviour”? Just because you dont understand it doesnt mean to say its meaning less. If someone is talking a different language, that you dont understand, Doesnt mean what they saying is useless. It just means that you have to learn their language to communicate effectively. Also some of the description about everything being always new, like we dont have a memory, I take issue with. Its not a good way of thinking about it. Its more like there is probably just too much stuff to take in and we become overwhelmed by all the input. Imagine being on a very scarily fast roller-coaster and then someone trying to get you to do maths? how good would you be?
I teach Pre-K ESE and have a 4 year old boy whose autistic His mom cannot leave his sight at home such as go to the bathroom shower etc otherwise he’ll have a huge meltdown In my classroom, I cannot leave the classroom otherwise he will have a huge meltdown and become extremely aggressive and hurt anyone in the room. If I sneak out the room and if he notices that I’ve left the room he’ll still have a huge meltdown. Nobody can figure out why the child reacts like that towards the mom and teacher. Anyone have an idea why this child behaves that way?
It’s simply not true that children with autism have ‘no problem with things motoric’. Maybe for text book people with autism but not in reality!! I have a child who regressed who lost many motor abilities when he lost the skills associated with this diagnosis.I know and have encountered hundreds of families who have also experienced this. Having said this I haven’t encountered a child who can’t pick things up. Also want to point out that not all children on the spectrum are good with IT/ computers. It’s not universal – and it’s annoying that you make those assumptions and generalisations. Sorry!
Neurotypical people be like: “Autism doesn’t allow people to develop.” me: and who made you the expert on people you no nothing about?! Let me guess another neurotypical person who agrees with the “I am autism” article that autism speaks made? In the words of “ASD to ASD” “the real experts on autism ARE autistic”
I think Max, is it? the autistic boy was very reachable and very easy to look after. His mother would have given up if he was like my son!! How about when they are severely autistic with challenging behaviour. After listening to this lady I think I was an amazing mother and still am although I had to let go of my boy as he got older, bigger and very dangers. He almost killed me and has left me disabled!! I gave my son all of myself and looked after him on my own so beautifully and gave him wings but sadly I’m not there to watch him fly. This is very painful as suddenly most of my life is gone and I’m on my own, disabled and haven’t got anything to show for all the hard work. How about in cases like my son who grow up and aren’t little boys any more?! Why there is no help for them ?! The only thing is to take them and put then in special homes far far away and leaving a massive hole in my life. This is brutal and it always comes down to money :((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( So what does this woman wants from giving this talk?! Oh, you were amazing and you did very well!! Show me what you can do with the very challenging severely autistic children!! I remember as a mother I used to find people like her very annoying. We the mothers and fathers know how to deal with our autistic children but we need help. If we are given the right amount of money we can show you and teach you how to look after these beautiful and special kids and then adults.
Mother at the door for someone with autism doesn’t mean food is on the way. What nonsense is this? It’s so ludicrous and far from reality, I don’t know where to begin with it. IT’S NOT ALL NEW ALL THE TIME. I CAN’T EVEN BEGIN TO TELL YOU HOW FAR OFF THE MARK THIS IS. I have to stop listening now – this sounded promising at first. It’s total rubbish
Okay, you are clearly talking about autistic males because that seems to be your experience. I’m sorry it was painful. Autism in women doesn’t present this way most of the time. It would be great if you would make clear you’re talking about males. And I really am sorry. It’s impossibly hard to be the parent of an autistic child. You want to help them and just don’t know how. I can’t imagine what that’s like.
My daughter age is 2year 8 months .she is not giving much attention to us and delayed activity .and also she can only tell five words .done eeg test and identified epilepsy .now she is takeing medicine . But still her improvement is not enough when comparing same age one . My question is how to identify autism correctly ? Is there any good treatment ? What are the reasons for this situation ?
This may be a rather outdated talk as the terminology the presenter uses is perhaps not assertive. However, it may be helpful for some parents. Some valuable messages to take from this: be aware of your child’s needs regardless of how ‘unusual’ they may be. Be open as a parent to connect in different ways. Importantly, do not change your child to be ‘normal’ help your child to develop strengths. This in turn will help you to develop too. Sometimes it is best to accept certain behaviours, despite of their unusual quality, when innocuous and harmless. Other times is best to guide them. We are in a stage where as researchers, academics, and practitioners, we are prompting people to move from awareness into acceptance of autism. Let us help to encourage patience and tolerance towards people with autism and towards neurotypical people.