Grow That Brain!

My kids were born at 35 weeks gestation and because of that they had an automatic reservation for three lovely isolates in the NICU.  We were pretty fortunate that they were born healthy and for the most part only needed some time in NICU to learn to eat and put some weight on “feeders and growers” the nurses called them.

When the doctors started to talk about a discharge date we were asked if we wanted to enroll in a program that would send a child-development specialist out to our house once a month or so to perform weight checks and developmental screenings … as terrified parents of three premature infants …this sounded like heaven.

Our specialist was great.  She came and weighed our peanuts praising us for every ounce they gained and questioned us on the kids’ developmental milestones assuring us that they were doing wonderful.  I loved her visits, they were so comforting.

Another thing our visitor would do is bring us great information and activity sheets on brain development.

Some of the activities seemed silly and to sleep deprived parents of triplets …darn right funny… but the point was it doesn’t take special toys or expensive classes to impact your child’s development.  Some of the games we laughed at turned out to be our babies’ favorite games.

The kids are almost four now and although none are being scouted by the ivy leagues yet... we think they are pretty darn smart.

The New Directions Institute for Infant Brain Development are bringing their Brain Time workshops to Thrive To Five…for FREE!

Check it out…  J -Amanda

The Brain Time for Children Workshops are parent-child programs that includes time for parent(s) and child to work and play together using Brain Boxes®.  Parents will learn facts about early brain development, early literacy and child development tips.

Workshops are based on the ABC’s of Early Learning®, Attention, Bonding and Communication.  Brain Time utilizes NDI’s patented Brain Box® learning system.  Certificates and incentives will be awarded to families who complete the 3 class series.

Brain Time! Birth- 18 months

Thursdays: Jan 27, Feb. 3, 10 @ 2:45-4:00pm

Kyrene Family Resource Center

1330 E Dava Dr. Tempe

RSVP: anosbisch@kyrene.org 480-783-4177

Brain Time! 18 months- 3 years old

Mondays: Feb. 14, 28 & March 7 @ 8:30-9:45

Hudson Elementary School

1325 E Malibu Dr. Tempe

RSVP: bdigioia@tempeschools.org  480-897-6608 x6122

Happy New Year!

Over at Barista Kids they are talking about New Year’s Parenting Resolutions.  Parents are resolving to spend more quality time with the kids, be a little more patient or just get silly and play with the kids!  

The New Year is a great time to set parenting and personal goals and in order to do that you might need to take a look at your family routines.

Routines are important to families for logistics sure, but routines and predictability are important to young children for a whole other reason…how about brain growth and development?  That’s right.  Reading Goodnight Moon for the one billionth time is actually doing more good than just appeasing your toddlers pleas.

Research continues to stress that early relationships and experiences are important factors in brain growth and development for babies and toddlers.  Routines allow children to begin to predict what will happen next, they can begin to see sequences and predict outcomes which can impact children’s learning in other areas such as math, music and science later in life.

Routines can be anything from regular naptimes, regular mealtimes, a bedtime routine (bath, bottle, book, bed), family dinner routines, and chores.   The more a child can predict what will happen in the day the less stress the brain will experience…less stress equals more time for development!

Learning about how the brain “wires-up” is exciting and powerful information.  We will be offering several trainings from the New Directions Institute in the coming months.  The Kinderprep and Brain Time classes bring information on brain development and hands on activities for parents to do with children to enhance development.  

I will soon post the dates available to take this class FREE of charge if you have a child under the age of five or if you care for a child/work with children under the age of five.  Classes are held in the Tempe/Chandler/Ahwatukee areas and offered in English and Spanish.

So what are your family routines?  Is it time to add some new ones?