How to Teach Listening Skills Many kids seem to talk nonstop. Listening, however, tends to be more of a challenge for kids, many of whom are “selective listeners,” according to website Baby Center. Because good listening skills are an important life skill and a key aspect of effective communication, it’s best to foster good listening […]
Children learn through play. That’s why I love referencing the book Playwiseby Denise Chapman Weston and Mark S. Weston. The book includes 365 fun-filled activities for building character, conscience, and emotional intelligence in children. Here are just a few of their activities that improve listening skills: Listening Cap: “Put your listening cap on.” Turn this […]
What Not to Do When I heard one of my charges needs to work on listening to his teacher in school, I realized he doesn’t listen to me well at home. I have to repeat myself often before he does what is asked of him. Should I really need to remind him “upteen times” to […]
Weekly Trip to the Library for Nannies and Au Pairs This week on the Be the Best Nanny Newsletter blog we discussed colic. If the infant you care for seems to never stop crying we highly recommend reading Colic Solved by Dr. Bryan Vartabedian. It’s estimated that about 1 of 5 babies cry inexplicably. Fifty-years […]
How to Cope with a Crying Baby There is nothing more frustrating then not being able to comfort a crying, or even a colicky, baby. I’ve been searching the Internet for ways to cope with a crying or colicky baby. Problem is that everything I have read recommends taking a break. As paid in-home childcare […]
For Colic, Probiotics Might Help About 20 percent of all babies suffer from colic. A 2009 study, found that colicky babies had gastrointestinal inflammation and traces of a bacterium in their guts that may have prompted it. Babies without colic had no inflammation and a greater diversity of beneficial bacteria. A 2010 study has similar […]
Tips for Comforting a Colicky BabyDifferent children are comforted by different measures. Some prefer to be swaddled in a warm blanket; others prefer to be free. Try many different things, and pay attention to what seems to help, even just a little bit. Holding the child is one of the most effective measures. The more […]
What Triggers Colic in Babies? Helping a child with colic is primarily a matter of experimentation and observation. If you can identify and eliminate a trigger for the colic, that is best. Even if you can’t, learn which measures most comfort the baby. Possible Triggers: Foods – If the baby is breast-fed the mother should […]
Is it Crying or Colic? Almost all babies go through a fussy period. When crying lasts for longer than about three hours a day and is not caused by a medical problem (such as a hernia or infection), it is called colic. About 20% of babies cry enough to meet the definition of colic. The […]
Products Nannies Love I just can’t seem to get an accurate reading from an auxiliary (ear) thermometer. I have always been frustrated with auxiliary thermometers as they give low readings, that are never the same. Pediatricians agree that a rectal thermometer is the most accurate to take a baby’s temperature. But studies have shown temporal […]
