Early Motherhood

“At 18 months most children have the ability to understand that with a time-out you’re removing them from a particular situation,” says Howard Reinstein, a pediatrician in Encino, California and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). But that doesn’t mean it’s an effective discipline technique. Reinstein worries that the original concept of “time out” has been lost, and that parents and caregivers overuse it, especially for children under 3. “Originally a time-out simply meant not responding to a child’s negative behavior,” says Reinstein. Now it usually involves making the child sit alone in his room or a certain chair for a prescribed amount of time (often one minute for each year of age). But, says Reinstein, “there’s no evidence that using the one-minute per year marker works, or that time-outs themselves work, so I would caution parents to use this method of discipline sparingly.”

Teething, the emergence of the first baby teeth through a baby’s gums, can be a frustrating time for many babies - and their parents. It helps to know what to expect when your child is teething, and what you can do to make the process a little less painful for you and your child.

The Teething Process
Teething can begin as early as 3 months and continue until a child’s third birthday.

Regular well-child examinations by your child’s doctor are essential to keep your child healthy and up-to-date with immunizations against many dangerous childhood diseases. A checkup also gives your child’s doctor an opportunity to talk to you about developmental and safety issues and gives you an opportunity to ask any questions you might have about your child’s overall health.

Every step a child takes toward learning to read leads to another. Bit by bit, the child builds the knowledge that is necessary for being a reader. Over their first 6 years, most children

Kids toys are an important part of a toddler’s life. They teach a little boy or girl about colors, sounds, letters, motion, and friction. They can also inspire a child’s creativity. Yet, it’s also important that toys be safe so that children do not get hurt while playing.

The Risks

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that more than 191,000 children were treated in hospital emergency rooms for toy-related injuries in the year 2000 alone. The figure includes some 70,000 toy-related injuries to pre-schoolers. As a result, fire and safety experts have put together some tips for keeping children safe at play.