Dummies. The Pros and Cons

The use of a dummy is a very personal one. For some parents they would prefer to avoid it all together to ensure they don’t become dependent on it and for other parents it is viewed as a life saver as it help babies to settle when going to sleep.

Other advantages include relieving baby and parents distress in the early months and useful when establishing a routine. Where the disadvantages include hazards such as tooth decay, possibly causes changes to the growth of the teeth and there is some evidence that states the use of dummies can increase the incidence of ear infections and respiratory infections.

At Tresillian they recommend that children start to be weaned off the dummy after the age of 12 months. They believe that the longer a baby uses the dummy the higher, the chance that it may cause a change in the way their teeth grow. This may be something you may notice if your child uses a dummy past the age of 2 or 3 years old.

Here at Spunky Monkeys as part of our dental Care policy we believe that the use of a dummy is not necessary or appropriate for a child 3 years or older. Educators will work with the parents in order to wean the child off its use.

If you would like any further information on dummies or tips for letting go of the dummy you could visit your local dentist or the following sources.

References

www.tresillian.org.au

www.raisingchildren.net.au

 

Apart from children getting dirty and being in touch with the land as they garden and plant vegetables, they learn valuable lessons along the way…. patience, caring, nurturing life and even loss as the plants cycle finishes. The importance of introducing gardening to young children will nurture their respect for the natural environment whilst teaching them about healthy food.  As they grow their own food they learn about what sustains life on earth.

The Early Years Learning Framework provide Early Childhood educators with tools to support children to become socially responsible and show respect for the environment.  Educators role model respect and constantly embed sustainable practices throughout the children’s daily routines.  They share information with the children whilst allowing them to explore, care and learn from the land.

At Spunky Monkeys, the educator’s and the children are actively working towards a respect and greater understanding of caring for our natural environment.  We also work alongside our local council’s bushcare program who visits monthly, teaching the children about our indigenous flora and fauna.

Recent articles by Nimali Fernando and Melanie Potock,  noted that for many young children exploring in the garden, it is the processes involved, such as digging, planting and watering that will benefit more than the result itself.  Additionally, an important component of young children being engaged with gardening is that they learn and gain an understanding of where food comes from and can assimilate to the produce they see at the supermarket.  This may promote children to ask questions and even try new foods.

Further benefits can be extended to sustainable practices such as composting and Worm farms.  The children can witness and observe changes to organic material, paper and food waste whilst recycling and reducing waste which can be turned into nutrients for the soil. The children at Spunky Monkeys reuse our food scraps which are sorted and placed in our compost bin or worm farm which can then be used as a fertiliser for our edible garden. 

References:

Fernando MD, MPH. N, & MA, CCC-SLP. Gardening with Kids: How it affects your child’s brain, body and soul. Retrived from: http://www.pbs.org/parents/expert-tips-advice/2016/03/gardening-kids-affects-childs-brain-body-soul/

DEEWR, 2009. Being, Belonging & Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework. Commonwealth of Australia. Barton, ACT.

For the Month of April, we here at Spunky Monkeys celebrated Autism Awareness. The children went blue for this month. What is Autism I here you asking yourself, well according to Autism Speaks organisation “Autism spectrum disorder and autism are both general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterised, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and non – verbal communication and repetitive behaviours”

Autism affects both boys and girls; however it seems to go more undetected in girls. Boys are five times more like to be diagnosed with Autism than girls. Many girls go undiagnosed till later in life. Research into why this is the case has just started to become available and shows girls have developed better coping mechanism than their male counter parts, that’s why it is more challenging to have a girl diagnosed with autism.

Children with Autism learn best by seeing. These children find it challenging to listen and follow instruction, however if you show or use visual cards these children will be able to have success at following the instruction shown. Children with Autism find it hard to look people in the eyes and sometimes even though they are not looking at you they may still be listening to you and know that you are near them. Autistic children often didn’t like sensory play and are very sensitive to loud noises.

At Spunky Monkeys Early Learning Centre and Preschool, we provide an inclusive early learning centre where we help and support children with Autism, by using visuals and other sensory products to help them feel supported and accepted in our environment. As stated in the definition children suffer with autism to varying degrees and due to this, every child needs to be treated as an individual. Sue Larkey a well-known Autism specialist sums it when she writes “each and every child with Autism has their own personality interests and obsessions, fears and dislikes no two are the same.” Here at Spunky Monkeys Early Learning Centre and Preschool we pride ourselves on catering for all children’s individual differences be they big or small.

For more information or help and support about Autism please have a look at Sue Larkey’s website; www.suelarkey.com

 

How do you know when your child needs to see a speech pathologist and what do they do?

It is not uncommon for children to experience difficulties with speech during their growth and development. Over 350,000 children in Australia are currently experiences some form of difficulty with their speech, and over 570,000 school-age children have difficulty with language.

Using assessment tools, speech pathologists are able to diagnose each person’s specific problem and devise a treatment plan that best suits their needs.

 The main areas of assistance are:

• Speech – pronunciation
• Language – understanding words and forming sentences
• Stuttering
• Literacy – reading and writing
• Swallowing
• Voice
• Social skills
• Listening and auditory processing

Speech pathologists are university trained Allied Health professionals who work with people across?their entire lifespan.

Most parents instinctively know if their child is having difficulties with speech or language. Some may notice their child is falling behind their peers in a playgroup or social setting. Liberty Speech Pathology has a checklist to help parents work out if their child needs to see a speech pathologist.

• You or other people are having difficulty understanding your child
• People think your child is younger then they are because of the way he speaks
• Your child is being teased or showing frustration because o f the way he talks
• Your child is using fewer words than other children his age
• Your child stutters
• Your child’s interactions or play seems unusual or inappropriate
• Your child is struggling with reading or writing
• There is a diagnosis that could affect speech or language such as hearing loss, auditory processing disorder, autism spectrum disorder or developmental delay.

If in doubt speak with your local General Practitioner or health care provider.

References:

http://www.kidspot.com.au/parenting/child/child-development/does-my-child-need-speech-therapy

http://www.flourishspeechpath.com.au/does-my-child-need-speech-therapy/

www.libertyspeech.com.au

www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

 

At Spunky Monkeys Early Learning Centre and Preschools we follow a program called Munch and Move. This program is funded by NSW Health, and is available to NSW early childhood education and care services.

The Munch part of this program is based around encouraging children to eat healthier snacks and consume more water. As busy parents it can be hard to come up with interesting ways for your children to have a healthy snack that they would want to consume.

Some healthy snack ideas would be:

• Fruit skewers – these can be made with pretty much any kind of fruit. For smaller children we would recommend cutting the pointed end off after they have been made. Your children would be able to help make these, which could lead to them wanting to try them.
• Toasted Sandwiches with baked beans
• Scones or pikelets (plain, fruit or savoury)
• Reduced fat custard with fruit
• Vegetable sticks

Another important message that is a part of the Munch is encouraging children to drink water. At Spunky Monkeys Early Learning Centre and Preschool the children have access to their water bottles all day, and are offered milk during morning tea time.

Some ideas on encouraging children to drink water at home:

• Try using straws and decorated cups, as this will make it more interesting for the children consume water.
• Add fruit ice cubes, or pieces of fruit to their drinks

The most effective way for encouraging children to consume more water and eat healthy snacks is by role modelling these behaviours. Make this time a special time for both yourself and your child, by sitting and making some fruit skewers, or making some fruit ice cubes to add to water during dinner time. Talk to your children about all the different colours in the fruit and vegetables, and how nice they all look together.

If you would like some information on the Munch and Move program then please speak to one of the educators at your centre.

What is Harmony Day and how does Spunky Monkeys Early Learning and Preschool get involved?

Firstly Harmony Day is a national day celebrated all over Australia, on March 21^st, and symbolises the diversity that we have here in Australia. The day’s message is that everyone belongs, with aim to help people understand cultural and religious diversity, and be able to help others develop a sense of belonging to their community.

Some facts about Australia:

• around 45 per cent of Australians were born overseas or have at least one parent who was
• we identify with about 300 ancestries
• since 1945, more than 7.5 million people have migrated to Australia
• apart from English, the most common languages spoken in Australia are Mandarin, Italian, Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Vietnamese, Tagalog/Filipino, Spanish and Hindi
• More than 60 Indigenous languages are spoken in Australia.

Resource: http://www.harmony.gov.au/about/

What does the colour orange mean to Harmony Day?

Traditionally orange can represent communication socially and conversations that have a meaningful significants. To show support for diversity within Australia people are encouraged to wear orange on the 21^st March.

How does Spunky Monkeys Early Learning Centre and Preschool get involved?

At our centres we encourage children to wear orange for the day. During the daily program we may listen culturally diverse music and speak about the different cultures that we have within our service. We may speak about our families, who make up our families, and how all our families are different. Some activities we may do at the centre is painting of self-portraits, sing songs in different languages, and research where the children’s names from and place them on a world map. We may do cooking experiences like making an orange cake. In some of our rooms we sing a morning song, which now the children will be learning in another language.

The importance of play

Early childhood educators understand the importance of play and its impact on the development of our younger generation. As a sector we have 2 frameworks which govern us, The Early Years Learning Framework (used for Early Childhood settings), and My Time, Our Place (used in before and after school care settings). They both play an important role in guiding the educators and our curriculum.

When children play they choose to do it. They choose with what to play with and how to engage in the activity. There are many contributing aspects to how children play. They can be the child’s mood at the time, their interest, and other children around them or their environment. As adults we can scaffold play for children, but how they interact is on their own terms.

As early childhood educators we put such importance on the environment, what materials we have on offer for the children and what activities we have set up for the children. We also have to consider how we involve ourselves into the child’s play. If we were to start asking questions the imaginary world the children have created can be easily lost.

“The ability to play is critical not only to be happy, but also to sustaining social relationships and being a creative, innovative person. Play is intensely pleasurable. It energises us and enlivens us. It eases our burdens, it renews out natural sense of optimism and opens us up to new possibilities.” Brown,S. (2010) Play, how it shapes the brain, opens the imagination and invigorates the soul.

Parallel, independent and cooperative play are just some examples of the type of play that children engage in. All forms of play are important and should be encouraged at all times. Unoccupied play may not seem like play, children demonstrate random movements, but this allows children to gain the understanding ready for play exploration in the future.