Happy Healthy Family Consultation

At around your child's 2nd birthday, their fine motor skills and pincer grip develop more, making it possible for them to develop more self help skills, such as brushing their teeth and hair, as well as feeding themselves (the more you work on it, the less messy it becomes...I promise). Drinking out of an open cup not only helps with their independence, but it actually works on the muscles in their mouth and tongue which actually helps with speech and language development. Your little one has to learn how to control how much water gets put in their mouth and the tongue has to work to move the water around in their mouth, something that wouldn't really be worked on if they were drinking out of a sippy cup. These are all the same muscles that help form words.

The Feelings Book by Todd Parr is another wonderful book to talk about emotions to your toddler/preschooler. Explore all the feelings and saying that it is okay to feel the way you feel

Happy St Patrick Day! This is a great activity to do for today or any other day. Weather permitting, take a walk around your neighbourhood and look for all the different green things you can find with your little one. You can switch it up by looking for different colours, shapes, sounds, and smells.

Self help skills are so important for our little one to learn as they promote independence and life long skills. These are just some of the many different self help skills that your child will develop between 1-2 years of age. Just like with all the other areas of development, some children will hit these milestones faster, and some, slower. Each child develops at their own pace.

The Color Monster written by Anna Llenas is a wonderful story about emotions and colour association. This is a great book for your older toddler or preschooler and to talk to them about emotions

We would like to hear from you! What topics would you like us to cover in April? Any burning questions? DM us or leave a comment below!

Taste safe/edible foam. These are great to do with your baby and toddler alike. all you need is the chickpea water from the can and you will have to whip that chickpea water until it gets to the foam consistency you are looking for (it will take awhile...last time I did this, I spent almost 10 minutes whipping it). If you want, you can add food coloring to it to spruce it up.

Wishing all female identifying people a wonderful International Women's Day. This year's theme is which promotes a “gender equal world”, that is “free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination”. “A world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive”, and where “difference is valued and celebrated”. You all are unique, courageous, smart and strong, even on the days when you don't feel it. We see your light. Happy

The Family Book by Todd Parr is an amazing read for your toddler/preschooler/school ager. Longer then the other 3 books, this book talks about the many different makeups that can make a family. From having 1 parent, parents that don't look like you and 2 moms/2 dads and every family in between, this is a great way to illustrate that no matter what, what is important is the love within the family.

211 Ontario connects people to resources and services in your area in order to strengthen our health and sense of belonging in the community. Image taken from their website.

We take a closer look on temperament and things to keep in mind. It can be a slight challenge if you find that your child and you have different temperaments. You might be more outgoing and your child might be more slow to warm up. Different temperaments are great yet frustrating at times because you might feel like you aren't understanding your child and vice versa. It is important to note that you as the parent should cater to your child's temperament and not the other way around. Do you and your child share the same temperament or have different temperaments? Share in the comments below.