Wide variation in milestones for babies, toddlers

By RASHA MADKOUR, Associated Press

MIAMI — I’ll come right out and say it: My son’s a late bloomer.

While my younger brother famously walked at 9 months, my own son hit that milestone at a ripe 16 months. I looked longingly at infants who waved on demand, and even blew kisses, until suddenly, unprompted, a few months short of his second birthday, my son flapped his pudgy hands and said brightly: “Bye-bye.”

Milestones like these can be a helpful way for parents and experts to gauge whether a child is developing normally — physically, verbally, socially. But for many parents in today’s hypercompetitive and hypervigilant parenting environment, having a baby who rolls over at 2 months affords coveted bragging rights, while...

Read more

Cultivating creativity in our children and ourselves starts with a willingness to dream

By Judy Hevrdejs, OrlandoSentinel.com/momsatwork

Remember the garage band you had in junior high, the gear you and your friends pulled together, the great sounds you created, bouncing ideas off one another?

Now go back further to your dreams of building structures bigger than your house with Legos or Lincoln Logs or Erector Sets and your big sister joining you in creating the tallest tower you ever made. Or remember having a mountain of crayons and a huge blank sheet — no lines! — of paper, and you swirled and zigzagged all of your tiny tot energy and creativity onto the paper in purples, greens, silvers, yellows and oranges.

Remember the fun you had.

“There is a euphoria to creating,” says David Edwards, an educator and author of...

Read more

New Peanuts movie: ‘Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown’

McClatchy-Tribune

Introduce your kids to Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts characters as they help their pal Linus break free from his attachment to his security blanket in “Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown,” the first new Peanuts special in five years.

The DVD, produced by Warner Premiere, is on sale March 29, for $19.98.

In this heartwarming new tale, Linus is pushed to his limits when he learns his grandmother is coming to visit and plans to rid him of his most cherished possession, his beloved security blanket. As grandma’s impending arrival looms closer, the Peanuts gang finds ways to try and help Linus lose his dependence on his fuzzy crutch.

“Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown”...

Read more

‘Glee’s’ Lauren Potter speaks out against bullying

By Genevieve Hinson, MotherOfConfusion.com

“Glee’s” Lauren Potter wants you to end the use of the “R” word. Recently Potter, who is known as Becky Jackson on the show Sue Sylvester’s (Jane Lynch) assistant cheerleader — stepped into a brighter spotlight as an ambassador to help those with special needs with the “Disable Bullying” campaign.

It’s no secret that bullying is an issue with today’s kids. What’s surprising is that no one’s talking about the largest demographic of children who experience abuse and hate speech by their peers — children with special needs. They’re two to three times more likely to be victims of teasing, name calling, physical abuse and online attacks....

Read more

Doctors warn about Facebook and teen depression

By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer

CHICAGO — Add “Facebook depression” to potential harms linked with social media, an influential doctors’ group warns, referring to a condition it says may affect troubled teens who obsess over the online site.

Researchers disagree on whether it’s simply an extension of depression some kids feel in other circumstances, or a distinct condition linked with using the online site.

But there are unique aspects of Facebook that can make it a particularly tough social landscape to navigate for kids already dealing with poor self-esteem, said Dr. Gwenn O’Keeffe, a Boston-area pediatrician and lead author of new American Academy of Pediatrics social media guidelines.

With in-your-face...

Read more

More people turning to folk remedies for colic, but do they work?

By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer

CHICAGO — That nonstop crying of a baby with colic has some parents turning to popular folk remedies. Unfortunately, there’s no good evidence they work, according to a review of 15 studies.

The results don’t surprise New York City mom Leni Calas, 32. She tried many treatments studied, including fennel extract, sugar drops and massage, and says nothing worked for baby Roxy, who cried almost nonstop for six months.

“Our daughter would wake up and cry literally morning to night without napping,” Calas said. “She would just literally scream herself purple, and then throw up because she had been screaming so much.”

Calas said she and her husband couldn’t accept what doctors...

Read more

Fox anchor Alisyn Camerota discusses her struggle to have children

By Jenny Schafer, McClatchy-Tribune

Fox anchor Alisyn Camerota is a happy and busy mother of three. But things haven’t always been easy for the New Jersey native. Alisyn and her husband struggled with fertility for three long years and tried the “whole gamut of procedures.” She didn’t even tell her best friends about her infertility during those “rough” years, but is now speaking out about her experiences and encouraging people not to give up hope. Alisyn opens up to Celebrity Baby Scoop about her journey toward motherhood.

Celebrity Baby Scoop: Tell us about your three kids. What are their names and ages? What are they into?

Alisyn Camerota: I have twin girls who are Alessandra and Francesa and they’re about to be...

Read more

Make supermarket shopping with children a fun event

By Priscilla J. Dunstan, McClatchy-Tribune

Supermarket shopping is a chore that has to be done, and most often it’s done with the kids tagging along. During such a common and repetitive activity, we have an opportunity to interact with our children no matter how busy and hectic the rest of our lives. You can make the most of a dreary chore and turn it into a fun learning experience, as well as positive family time.

Give the tactile child a job. Ask them to push the shopping cart, put items in the basket, or sort items on the counter for the cashier. As long as the tactile child is kept physically busy, they will stay out of mischief. Having your older tactile child get specific items for you, like a carton of milk or to Dad’s favorite cereal. Have your...

Read more

Chores give kids a dose of reality

By Aisha Sultan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

I felt sabotaged by a second-grader when I overheard my daughter tell her friend she had to clean her room before she could play.

“I’m too busy to clean my room,” her 7-year-old friend replied. “My mom does it for me.”

We’ve all done our share of cleaning up other people’s messes. But when did our children become too busy, too important and too special to pick up after themselves?

One short generation ago, household chores were expected — not rewarded or routinely outsourced. I learned to cook in front of a hot stove in grade school. I knew how to iron my dad’s business shirts. And all of us would blast the radio while we vacuumed, dusted and mopped. Household...

Read more

California principal selling 15 years of shoes to save school library

By Carlos Alcala, McClatchy Newspapers

Michele Miller hopes her shoes can foot the bill to keep libraries open in her school district.

With the help of parents and staff members, the principal of Jackson Elementary in El Dorado Hills, Calif., is offering up for sale 285 pairs of her own shoes, hoping they will help close a budget gap she says is estimated at a minimum of $1.4 million.

“It was a lot of doom and gloom,” Miller said, of a Rescue Union school board meeting, when the budget reality hit.

It may mean cutting 17 teachers, three vice principals, bus drivers, health staffers and library technicians in the seven-school district.

The final budget won’t be known for months.

Miller said she couldn’t bear to...

Read more