Children's physical and mental development.
41
votes
8answers
2k views
Should we circumcise our son?
My wife and I will be having a son in about a month and we are still deciding if we should have him circumcised.
There does not seem to be a strong medical opinion on the matter but we are ...
25
votes
9answers
684 views
Reasoning vs “because I say so”
Raising our two-year-old, my wife and I have slightly different views on how to get our child to obey instructions, such as "get in the car seat" and "put on your shirt."
One of us feels that it is ...
17
votes
4answers
1k views
How many toys are enough/ too much?
My husband and I have decided to minimize the number of toys for our daughter for a variety of reasons... we have a small house, I am unemployed also we see how greedy many children who have ...
16
votes
7answers
653 views
What are some milestones a child should reach before learning programming?
I am going to buy a PC for my kid as a birthday present, so I'm thinking how to use it educationally. Of course, an obvious choice is teaching him how to program.
I'm not asking what age should a kid ...
13
votes
4answers
814 views
In what ways can you help a child develop self-control and delayed or deferred gratification?
Children, especially young children, are creatures of opportunity. They see a lesser prize within their grasp and a much greater prize that they may have to work for, and they will take the lesser ...
13
votes
2answers
961 views
Does it hurt my baby (developmentally) if she watches while I'm on the computer?
I have a 6 month old who likes to stare at my glowing computer while I code or browse the internet. Most of what I view is text or static web pages, so it's not content I'm worried about her viewing, ...
12
votes
7answers
509 views
Can a toddler spend too much time with books?
Back when we were still expecting our son to be born, we were told all about how important it was to read to our son, even before he was born.
Being avid readers ourselves, my wife and I felt this ...
11
votes
4answers
3k views
At what age do kids start sleeping through the night?
My son is now almost 12 months old and he still doesn't sleep through the night regularly. Maybe one night a month he will sleep from 7pm->6.30am without waking, and that's only if he's utterly ...
11
votes
7answers
2k views
Nearly 2 and doesn't comprehend speech
I see a lot on this site and all over the Internet about toddlers that are late to talk. The general consensus seems to be as long as they can understand when you talk to them then don't worry, they ...
11
votes
3answers
415 views
At what age or developmental milestones is a child capable of critical thinking?
I am interested in pursuing a non-authoritarian approach to educating my son and I do not know at what age (or prerequisite milestones) the focus of education should switch from telling him facts to ...
10
votes
2answers
508 views
My Son thinks he is spiderman
My 3.5 year old son is obsessed with Spiderman comics, games and movies and he thinks he is spiderman, he even has a 'girlfriend' in school who he calls Mary Jane . Is this normal? Or should I be ...
10
votes
3answers
750 views
Are signs of early puberty in a primary-school aged child a cause for concern?
My son is less than 6 years old, and last week we discovered that he has grown a little bit of pubic hair. This seems way too soon for this to happen. My older son, who is 9 years old, only now ...
10
votes
2answers
6k views
How much noise does it take to negatively impact an infant's hearing?
In our apartment complex we have fire alarms that are outrageously loud. Last night, we woke at 4:30 am to the alarm going off all through the building. We got out as quickly as possible, but I'm ...
9
votes
6answers
2k views
Is TV harmful to my infant's development?
My wife and I use our TV to watch shows and streaming movies. Our 2 month old daughter is sometimes drawn to the TV and will turn her head towards it and will 'focus' on it. I know that their eye ...
9
votes
2answers
284 views
Language Developmental Milestones of Children at higher stages?
In the early stages of language development, children goes through milestones such as
Speech blurbs,
Single words,
double words,
Use of verbs
full sentence etc.
[I may be limited in my ...
8
votes
5answers
508 views
Do baby massages improve motor skills and emotional development?
I find a lot of parents take their baby to get baby massages. I have heard that babies who receive periodic baby massages (such as once a week) are showing rapid development in their motor skills and ...
8
votes
2answers
320 views
How can I increase the numeracy of a toddler?
My two year old is just starting to learn counting. A few weeks ago, if he saw two of an item, eg a clock, he would say "clock clock". In the last week, he started saying "two clock". Although he can ...
8
votes
1answer
123 views
Advantage to introducing things early?
There are a few things that I've been doing with my toddler daughter, that are obviously beyond her ability to understand at this point. For example, I've been identifying her feet/hands/etc as left ...
8
votes
1answer
173 views
Should I be concerned with a infant (preemie) that doesn't want to be held?
My son is 30.5 weeks old, 14.5 weeks adjusted (he was a 24-weeker) and has started to get real fussy until we set him down in his swing or crib. It's not happening all the time, but it is increasing ...
7
votes
5answers
153 views
How much direction does a preschooler need while doing crafts?
My son just turned 4 and I'm trying to figure out how much direction I should give while doing crafts. He really enjoys to doing crafts but if I give him a specific 'project' to do (e.g. something ...
7
votes
4answers
8k views
At what age should my baby be expected to support her own head?
I have a 4-month old daughter.
Each time she is awake she gets some "tummy-time" where we put her on her stomach on a play-mat, to build up her neck muscles. She doesn't like it that much and ...
7
votes
6answers
684 views
Why is my 10 yr old struggling with school?
I have a 10 year old daughter who has been struggling with school for the past 3 years. She struggles in reading and math and just seems to not get it. There was a time she would even cry when it was ...
7
votes
4answers
466 views
When and how should I teach my kids to touch-type?
My eldest is just getting to the age where she could start getting interested in typing things on her own.
I'm wondering whether to 'go the whole hog', and give her a keyboard with no letters on ...
7
votes
2answers
710 views
16 months old and no signs of communication. Should we be concerned?
Our son is now 16 months old and does not know any words yet. He doesn't seem to understand anything we say either.
He makes plenty of talking sounds, he looks at you and babbles but no words.
We ...
7
votes
2answers
238 views
Is there any consensus among researchers concerning the effects of watching television and the likes for a child's development?
I've tried to find out whether or not TV-watching is harmful or not for a child's development but haven't really found any good sources. Any tips on studies etc highly appreciated.
7
votes
4answers
478 views
When can children understand the concept of lying?
How old does a child have to be to be lying on purpose? How old are they before they can understand the concept of a lie vs the truth? What about not the truth vs the truth?
7
votes
3answers
527 views
Does daycare help to speed up the development of motor skills?
I have heard about studies that show second/third/etc children's motor skills develop quicker in an effort to keep up with their older sibling(s). Is this also true for eldest children in a daycare ...
7
votes
2answers
228 views
how young is too young to diagnose ADD
As a teacher I have always been under the impression or had the idea that ADD couldn't really be diagnosed until grade 2. (I am not dealing with ADHD in this question).
I was wondering if it can ...
7
votes
2answers
398 views
What should I expect regarding development of baby born severely underweight with Symmetrical IUGR?
My baby was born at week 38, weighting 4.5 lbs.
According to the ultrasounds, he stopped growing on week 34 and he was diagnosed at birth with Symmetrical IUGR. Before week 34, everything seemed ...
7
votes
1answer
90 views
Three year old with good speech, now sometimes making up own words, especially names.
I think he is just exploring rhythms and sounds but would like to learn more. My other theory is that it just gives great satisfaction to be able to appear authoritative when he doesn't have a full ...
6
votes
3answers
493 views
My pre-schooler does not listen to anything I say or do!
I have a five year old that is out of control.
If I ask him to sit down and relax (because we live in a one bedroom apartment), its very frustrating because I repeatedly have to say it to him.
If ...
6
votes
3answers
2k views
Should I be concerned that my two-year-old doesn't interact with kids his age?
I have a 22-month old boy who is currently an only child. He's a very smart, outgoing child who has never shown any sort of developmental issues. He enjoys books and music, has an amazing memory, and ...
6
votes
5answers
790 views
12 month old doesn't understand what we say
My LO will be 12 months old next week, he was born 6 weeks prematurely. My concern is that he doesn't seem to understand what anyone of us says. He does look when I say "look" and he does respond to ...
6
votes
3answers
315 views
Somewhat unemotional, destructive pre-schooler; shows no strong attachment to things. How can we help him?
My 5 year old pre-schooler exhibits some behaviors that have my wife & I a little concerned, but we're unsure whether there's a real problem or not.
I'll try to summarize some of his behaviors ...
6
votes
2answers
170 views
my daughter “forgets” her numbers even though she knows how to count
My daughter is 4 1/2 or so. She knows how to count to at least 10, possibly higher, and will do so unprompted.
However, we've recently tried to start playing some board and card games with her. In ...
6
votes
1answer
318 views
How widespread is attachment parenting?
Ever since bumping on Dr. Sears' "Baby Book" I've become interested in attachement parenting and found a lot of resources on the internet. But I'm wondering how widespread this kind of parenting ...
6
votes
2answers
189 views
Putting a one year old in the crib and shutting door
Will it hurt a one year olds development if the crib is used as a place to play with toys, turn cartoons on and shut the door as a way to keep them from under foot several times a day? My grandbaby's ...
5
votes
4answers
337 views
How can we make parents more attractive than TV, video games, etc.?
Maybe I'm too early to ask about this, since my status changed to be a father since 25 September ago.. But I'm very curious about this.
I learned from my surroundings (my friends family, my ...
5
votes
3answers
297 views
What are some techniques for toddlers to develop and practice good listening skills?
Like most toddlers, my 3 year old has to be told to do this or not do that over and over again. Rather than hoping she learns over time through the inevitable trouble she gets in for not listening, I ...
5
votes
2answers
141 views
Does the baby in the womb get effected by the mental state of the mother?
Yesterday for some reason I was quite depressed and frightened at night. For the first time I felt the baby kicking all night in my womb (6th month).
Well, that can be a coincidence.
Anyways, ...
5
votes
2answers
125 views
Mathematics concepts for older children and teens
I have previously asked the question teaching mathematics to young children about reliance on aids, but now I face this issue with the students I tutor. Seeing as many parents I know have also ...
5
votes
1answer
301 views
How does a child develop “handed-ness”?
I've noticed that my son generally experiments fine motor skills initially using his left-hand (stacking, eating with utensils, coloring) and then shifts to using his right more often. I'm honestly ...
5
votes
1answer
70 views
Learning to propel oneself in a swing
At what age do children generally learn to propel themselves in a swing? Is this something that they generally figure out on their own, or do parents/older siblings teach the skill? How do you teach ...
5
votes
2answers
408 views
When is the age to start addressing/diagnosing speech impedements?
Both my nephews seem to have speech issues. The 8 year old has major trouble with Rs and is often not understandable. The 3 year old has problems in general so much so that my 3 and 4 year olds ...
5
votes
1answer
109 views
Balancing toy interest and value with noise
We got the Poppin' Park Elefun Busy Ball Poppers toy. Our daughter loves the toy and it is really encouraging her to crawl and even to work on getting from her tummy to sitting to put the balls back ...
4
votes
2answers
175 views
My toddler seems unable to pay attention for longer than 15 minutes; should I worry?
My son is 16 months old now. He is a very energetic boy.
When he hears music, he automatically will shake both of his hands as if he is dancing. There is no TV in our house, but sometimes, we watch ...
4
votes
5answers
243 views
5yr Old Has Trouble With Letters & Reading
My daughter is 5 years old (will be 6 at the end of February) and lately has wanted to learn to read. However, I've become a bit concerned because it seems as though she has absolutely no memory for ...
4
votes
2answers
127 views
7 month old will no longer play on her stomach
My 7 month old is capable of rolling both front-to-back and back-to-front. She can also sit fairly well when place in the sitting position, although she cannot get to that position on her own. ...
4
votes
3answers
40 views
How do I determine developmentally-appropriate projects for my toddler?
I'd like to start planning out projects that my son and I can work on together. My goal is to create learning opportunities through interactive play, within 20-60 minute time periods.
I'm pretty ...
4
votes
3answers
1k views
How important is stability / change / lack of change for children?
I frequently see people around the web supporting various arguments with the statement "children need stability." Is there any evidence for this, and more importantly can there be such a thing as too ...
