Little Tyke

Here’s A Quick Way To Calm Your Child

A while ago I have started to hold and if necessary actively restrain my older dd (almost 6) whenever she hurts someone (by action or words) or bothers her sibs after she’s been told to stop (when I see that it upsets them since this will lead to them crying) until her body language tells me that she she changed gears.

These time-ins usually make her mad a hell but I can see that they really help her to snap out of her hurting mode and creates a much calmer child within a few minutes. I am coming to view these as me helping her regulate herself since she is unable to do it herself. My 16 mo old has a range on when she will nap and fall asleep at night but I’ve noticed that sometimes this is because she’ll get a second wind, but is actually tired. A few days ago I totally missed a window to put her down for the night and later on she was wired. I thought I might apply the time-in method to help her transition and took her in my arms.

She immediately started to struggle and cry an angry cry, but I kept holding her tightly (but not locking, just tight so she could wiggle out while giving her room to move), looking at her and saying “I know you are tired, I saw you yawn before. It’s time to go to bed” and
rocked her. She cried and struggled for about two minutes and then asked to nurse. She was out cold within minutes.

I did the same today for nap after I saw her yawn. Her angry screams where much shorter and she again fell asleep on my boob within minutes. I admit that in my mind I also thought about 2:15 this afternoon when I have to get my dd1 - it was shortly before twelve when this happened and it was an ideal time for her to be tired, since she will get a good nap without me having to take her out of bed before she’ll naturally wake up.

It’s a different approach for me though since I’ve always let my babies dictate their sleep time. Am I wrong to assume that a toddler needs help winding down to be able to sleep if they are not naturally doing it? This is not about forcing dd2 to sleep at set hours, more so to help her when I see that she is tired (rubbing eyes, yawning) but won’t easily lay down, nurse and go to sleep.

Recommendations for Children With Special Needs

Toys ‘R’ Us today in the news -

Getting in on the growth in China- Toys R Us is opening its first store on the Chinese mainland in November. As consumer demographics change in China as personal wealth builds for more Chinese, there is a growing demand for educational toys

Toys ‘R’ Us Offers Annual Guide of Toy Recommendations for Children With Special Needs-

There are approximately 6 million special needs children in the U.S. today. “The right toy can have a dynamic impact for a differently-abled child,” explained Diana Nielander, Executive Director of Lekotek, “because play provides these kids with essential confidence-building and learning opportunities
more info :
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060925/nymfns1.html?.v=26

IBM KidSmart Early Learning Centre

Little Tykes have always been keen innovators in the world of eduction with nearly every local nursery’s having a lot of Little Tikes toys in the playground.

But this piece of news takes Little Tikes once step further!

he National Center for Technical Education (NCTE) is working with IBM to create the “IBM KidSmart Early Learning Center” This learning center will contain high powered IBM PC’s housed in highly attractive and interactive Little Tikes workstations.

One of the main beneifts of this Little Tikes education centre will be the help it can offer special needs children. The Centre will help in the assesement of dyspraxia which is a a behavioral immaturity disorder in children. The software will actually provide Maths programmes that can motivate and help these children. Other software offered will help children with autism, dyslexia and certain other disorders.

I think that such a center will help to improve motivational factor for children and give them a chance to excel and be rewarded.

Super Glow Light Desk

Large light table with bright, evenly lit surface provides maximum tracing area for children. Includes 3 templates with large-size letters, numbers, vehicles and nature designs. Hinged, scratch-resistant plastic cover holds template or drawing in place while tracing. Storage wells with lift-off lids hold supplies (not included). Drawing surface holds 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper. Convenient tabletop size. Uses 4 “D” alkaline batteries (not included).
Product size: 19.75″ l x 15 d x 6.50″ h
Ages 3 years and up.

Giant Picnic Table (New Colors)

Molded-in tabletop storage holds cups and cans, paint bottles and other supplies. Extra wide table provides lots of space for paper, paints, markers and materials. Designed for messy projects. surface is easy to clean and storage is recessed to help prevent spills. Seats up to 6 kids.

How to Homeschool during a medical crisis

Keep educational things and opportunities available and limit the 'brain-numbing' activities. Ideas: -Educational T.V., videos, DVDs -www.starfall.com for your delayed reader -online educational (free) games -leappad learning products (my youngest taught HIMSELF to read with starfall.com & a leappad! …& they have a complete phonics program.) -Have you considered educational laptops for their Christmas? (some companies that make them include Vtech, Oregon Scientific, Fisher Price, Smart Kids, & little Tikes... I even saw a generic one at Walmart in the section where the toys are labelled $5, $10, $15, & $20) -Keep the house full of books that are educational and in there interests (even if that means your dh stops each weekend or on the library's late night). -Its o.k. if this is a time for review for them!… printing review worksheets off free sites is better than nothing. -Educational Computer games like Scrabble, Boggle, Pharoah, Reader Rabbit, etc. -Educational Board & card games -Other educational "toys" (try looking at thrift stores for these) *play money (most Dollar Stores have this) *Leapfrog flashMagic Flash Cards *Leapster *Twist & Shout educational toys (Math & Spelling tools) *Hot Dots (self grading flash cards) I realize buying all these things new while dealing with a medical issue isn't necessarily doable… but sometimes just a few help. Don't be afraid to mention educational toys if family asked what to get your kids either.. even if they don't support homeschooling! If they start their mouths just point out that if they were TRULY concerned they'd HELP. On the cheaper end of things… Use those free online resources!!! There are LOTS out there. I have lots of links here: Falers resource (divided by subject). Some are entirely online Some are printables… including printable paper models they can build (from Canon).. that include a globe, historical monuments, and more. Oh course, if your dh can make time to help too that would be great! .. Ideal! Even if he just focused on one subject with thema day… it would lead to some progress. .. Or if he would focus on the two core subjects of Math and reading (once a child can read, afterall, they can seek information out independently). I hope you can find at least one or two of these resources helpful.

Little Tykes and special needs

Children of all shapes and sizes love to play. We at Little Tykes know that through play, children with disabilities can develop new skills, enjoy social interaction and have fun! A few years ago, we designed a toy to be used with our doll house Little Tykes Place. It features a boy figure in a wheelchair and also comes with a ramp to make the doll house accessible. We're happy to say that the Wheelchair, Ramp and Friend is one of our more popular accessories. * Since 1987, Little Tikes has included children with disabilities in our catalogs and advertisements. We were the first U.S. toy manufacturer to do so. In fact, we've won some awards because of our efforts. * In 1991, the National Down Syndrome Congress honored us with their National Media Award for print ads that included children with disabilities. * In 1994, Allied Services, sponsor of National Rehabilitation Week, awarded Little Tykes with a Special Achievement Award. In addition to designing toys for children with special needs, we were selected for our efforts to feature children with disabilities in our promotional materials and for our work with hearing-impaired people here at Little Tykes. * Our second honor in 1994 came from the National Easter Seals Society for designing the Wheelchair, Ramp and Friend. We also received a national award from Childhelp USA, one of the nation's leading organizations in the area of child abuse prevention, for our efforts on behalf of children everywhere. * Back in 1990, we were the first toy manufacturer to offer a toll-free line for hearing-impaired consumers. That's in addition to our regular toll-free line that we've operated since 1980. We really practice what we preach….Here at Little Tykes in the manufacturing area, we employ several hearing-impaired people. We've trained many of our hearing associates in sign language, so they are able to communicate with this special group.