Ready, Set, Go!
Early Childhood Newsletter
Feeding Myths
Myth: Children only need to eat 3 times a day
False
In order to meet their daily calorie requirements, chil-
dren would have to eat adult sized meals if they only
eat 3 times a day. Given their small stomachs and atten-
tion spans, it takes most children 5-6 meals a day to get
in enough calories for proper
growth and development.
Information from: http://
www.sosapproach-conferences.com/
Psychology
Playing with your child:
Child-Directed Play
Choose a time where you can devote your undivided
attention to your child and enjoy some one-on-one play
time together. Set up your play area with a variety of
toys and activities for your child to choose from, and
invite your child to play with you. As you are playing
together, describe out loud what your child is doing
(e.g., you have decided to build a tower, you are driving
the cars), and identify out loud your child’s feelings
(e.g., you are happy to play with the doll, the dog is very
sad, etc.). Wait for your child’s invitation to play with
what they want to play, and try NOT to ask questions,
“teach” new games or correct your child’s play (e.g., no,
that’s not the right way). For Child-Directed play, follow
your child’s lead, and
try not to direct the
play in anyway.
(Kathy Eugster, MA,
RCC, CPT-S, Parent-Child
Connections 2014)
March 2022
Resources for Children with Anxiety
Anxiety Canada https://www.anxietycanada.com/learn-about-
anxiety/anxiety-in-children/. This website has information
and ideas for coping with a wide variety of childhood
worries such as sleeping alone and going to school.
Occupational Therapy
Accidents Happen
Excitement, fear, focused on play, or illness are some
examples of times when your child may have an acci-
dent. Here are some tips to try when accidents happen:
• Remain calm.
• Don’t punish your child
• Try using language such as, “Don’t feel sad. I know
you wanted to go in the potty.”
• Encourage your child to sit on the potty after an ac-
cident to see if they have to finish.
• Teach siblings not to tease when an accident hap-
pens
Body Awareness
Body awareness is our understanding of our body parts
and how they move in space as we use them. This skill is
important for gross motor activities (running, jumping,
climbing), and fine motor activities (printing, fastening
buttons, and opening containers). The following activi-
ties can help promote the development of body aware-
ness:
· Head and Shoulders song
· Question and Answer Body Game (e.g. “What part of
the body wears socks?”)
· Yoga
· Simon Says
· Hokey Pokey
· Trace their body on large pa-
per and have them fill it in and
identify parts
 Speech & Language Positive Parenting

Language Set clear limits on your child’s behaviour. Sit down and
Draw attention to the fact that language can be broken have a family discussion on the rules in the home. Let
your child know what the consequences will be if they
down into different parts: words, syllables and sounds.
break the rules.
Encourage play that breaks words down into syllables
and listen to different words comparing and contrasting
beginning and ending sounds. The ability to hear similari-
ties and differences is called “phonological awareness” Storytime
and is an important building block for reading.
“Down by the Bay” is a great song
Lefebve, P., Trudeau, N., & Sutton, A. (2011). Enhancing vocab-
and story for playing with rhyming
ulary, print awareness and phonological awareness through
words.
shared storybook reading with low-income preschoolers. Jour-
nal of Early Childhood Literacy, 11(4), 453-479. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Yt1czlnCUCg
Literacy
Reading aloud a book or a song to your child can draw Technology
your child’s attention to words that rhyme. Listening to
rhyming e-Books with voice-over narration is also useful.
Electronics Linked to Developmental Delays
Describe how word endings sound the same. For example New research in the field of speech and language by The
in the song Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Family
stream andOriented Planning
Hospital for Sick Children has deemed that children who
use handheld devices are more likely to have an expres-
dream. While reading show them visually the differences
Wednesday September 24th :
sive speech delay. Expressive speech refers to how a
between both words for example chair and bear. ““Ch” child communicates
Raising Confident, Competent Children their wants and needs, where as
and /b/ are different sounds at receptive language refers to how a child comprehends
5:50-7:30pm @ Crystal Park School
the beginning but the endings,
Literacy what is being said. They studied children who were 6
Friday September 26:
air and ear sound the same even months to 2 years of age. “Each 30-minute increase in
Help 10-11:30am @ PARDS
handheld screen time translated into a 40 percent in-
though they are spelt different-
12:30-1:30pm @ Gymniks creased risk of expressive speech delay.” Furthermore,
ly.” You can have your child
(Hanen, 2011). For Home and About or Your Child in the
pause when they hear two Community FOP sessions, research please
by the
book
Paediatric Academic Societies Meeting
your indi- who are subject to screen
in 2017 showed that children
words that rhyme, and try to vidualized session with your child's therapist or
teacher. time before they begin to talk may be at a higher risk to
find all the words that rhyme on
have a speech delay.
the page, or choose a word and
ask your child help you think of Handheld Screen Time Linked to
Delayed Speech Development. The
other words that rhyme with it. ASHA Leader. August 2017, 16.
(Hanen, 2012)

Play

When playing with toys, talk about the sound at the be-
ginning of each item. For example, “Bear starts with /b/
(not buh) sound.” Draw your child attention to the sound
by repeating it “/b/-/b/-/b/-bear.” Describe how your lips
are together for that sound. Remember to talk about the
sound letter makes and not the letter.
(Hanen, 2012)