Allergies in Babies and Toddlers can be very intimidating. What do you do for such cute little ones when they seem to be suffering? How do you know that it is only allergies and not something worse? Well I’d love to say that there is a magic cure all, but if your little ones are anything like our little one, even the allergist will be left guessing.

First: Allergies are caused by their bodies immune systems believing that they need to fight something off. As their bodies create extra antibodies, a variety of things can occur.

Second: Note that allergies can present in various ways. They can show as overly dry skin almost anywhere on the body or a personality change. They can also be chronic cold symptoms, red eyes, acne, itching, or the usual rash (which also presents in a variety of ways).

Third: If you are concerned, call your medical provider. In all cases of allergies, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Anaphylaxis is a rare condition, but it rapidly causes allergic swelling blocking the airways.

Fourth: Our son changed allergies as he grew, so just because your baby is allergic to an item, it does not mean they always will be. Take caution and talk to a medical provider about reintroducing foods or environmentally items after your child has been off of them a while.

Fifth: Allergies can be linked to genetics. The specific allergies however vary. In our family that means, what causes anaphylaxis in me is not the same thing that causes it in my son. Also too much dairy bugs me, but my son is super sensitive to sugars. So although the auto immune over activity seems prevalent in certain family line, the things that trigger it seem to be different.

Sixth: It is important that you talk to your medical provider. They will be able to sort out the virus from allergies. They also can help you deal with both so that your child gets feeling better soon.

 

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So this is a little late in my plans on posting, but here is an interesting quick find way to examine how your state stacks up in early childhood development. It looks at specific age groups, but ranks states based on the zero to 18 age bracket.

It looks at things like the population in this age group like: childcare, unemployed families, low income levels, screenings, size of babies at birth, immunizations, loss of jobs, reading with children, intervention, and federal care. It also ranks the states with the top 9 being:

1. Massachusetts
2. Vermont
3. Iowa
4. New Hampshire
5. Minnesota
6. North Dakota
7. Connecticut
8. New Jersey
9. Virginia

The Last 5 in well-being for children 0-18 are:

46. Arizona
47. Louisianan
48. Nevada
49. New Mexico
50. Mississippi

As you can see, there is also national  numbers on these data. So although Mississippi has a lower population than Massachusetts, it still falls behind in lots of the ares. Some important things to note from looking at these child development fact sheets. Poverty matters. Programs matter. Reading with your children matters. So although some of the information applies directly to the state, it also can be changed by the parent. This means we not only need to elect government officials that fight for this next generation. We also need to help steer the population ourselves.

If you are interested, go check out your states date. There are four pages worth of information, so it’s not only ranking child well-being by state. It is also showing you what these ranks are based on and what we can do better to improve the lives of our children.

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I recently came across the cutest quote and one that I can definitely relate to as a mother. We all only want the best for our children and part of that is our children being able to be themselves while being accepted.

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Fine motor skills are an important part of child development. They prepare children not only for writing, an everyday skill, but also for eating, dressing, and other important self-help skills. Here are some skills your child 0-2 years old should be exhibiting:

Birth to 3 months

• Hand to Mouth
• Reflexive grasp (Place a finger in your child’s palm. Child should automatically hold your finger)
• Visually Tracking High contrast toys (Red, black, and white have been shown to be the most intriguing to this group). Tracking center (midline) to side (both left and right)

3-6 months

• Swipes at dangling objects
• Follows moving objects with eyes (3-5 seconds is a typical attention span)
• Recognizes bottle
• Grasp and shakes rattle

6-9 months

• Raking small objects
• Clapping
• Poking finger in hole
• Transfer object from one hand to another
• Explores toys with hands and mouth

9-12 months

• Pincer grasp (a three finger approach to picking up things like cheerios)
• Removes socks
• Removes 2-3 pegs from peg board
• Puts objects in and takes them out of containers
• 30 second visual and auditory attention span

12-24 months

• Opens book, turns single page
• Tapping spoon
• Helps with dressing
• Plays quietly 5-10 minutes
• 5 minute plus attention span with a single toy
• Stacks 2-6 blocks
• Dumps objects out of a container
• Scribbles in imitation of vertical stroke
• Inserts three shapes into shape sorter

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Speech and language milestones are important little snippets that give us insight into how a child is developing. If your child is falling behind, they might just need a little help to achieve more. It might be a sign of some larger problem, but there is also a great chance that if you address their language now they will be ready to learn in school. Here are some great speech and language milestones to look for:

9 months- Produces long chains of consonant-vowel combinations

12 to 18 months- Identifies up to 6 body parts; Asks for “more”; Says 8-15 words; Follows one step commands; Uses the t, d, n, and h sounds

18 to 24 months- Imitates environmental noises; Uses 50 words; Uses me, my, mine; Uses 2 word phrases; Understands action words

2 to 3 years- Responds to WH questions, Responds to greeting, Expresses physical states (like tired, thirsty); Identifies 4 object by function (like, What do you eat with?)

3 to 5 years- Follows two step unrelated commands (like, put away the book and close the door); Uses the consonants: m, p,b,k,g,v,sh,ch; speaks intelligibility 90-100% with unfamiliar listener; answers yes/no correctly

 

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