Could speech delays be related to TV watching?

One of my children experienced speech delay and was treated for it since he was 2.5 years, due to an auditory processing disorder.  And, now my toddler girl is not speaking either or let's put this way, she does not have the vocabulary she's supposed to at 21 months. 

Since lately, I hear about so many cases of children with speech delay, I thought this article was interesting to read.  Although my first child did watch TV on regular basis, not hours and hours, but scheduled and timed, my daughter, she's my third child, started watching TV at 20 months, and she is not, as I mentioned above, speaking yet.  She does talk but her own lingo, you know. So, I was curious to know how TV watching relates to speech delays.  

I find the article very interesting since it differentiates between language development in general and speech delays. Read on...

As they say in the article, "enjoy your media and use them wisely,"

- The Moms Buzz

How to Set iPhone's Parental Controls

I love my iPhone and guess who else?  My kids too!  However, iPhones or iTouchs are like little computers, and if you have parental controls in your home computer, you may want to do the same with your iPhone.  Here is how to set iPhone's parental controls:

Healthy Snacking Tips

There has been a rise in overweight children, which means that parents need to be proactive and take an active role in providing healthy snacks for their children.  Below are some healthy snacking tips that I have found to be useful, easy to implement and effective:

10 Questions to Ask Your Child About His School Day

Most kids are excited to get home after school, but often time they do not feel like telling you everything about their day at school. On the other hand, moms are eager to find out how they did on school, and love to hear the details. To break the ice and engage smoothly into a conversation, here are 10 questions to ask your child about his day at school that I find extremely helpful. Not only that, these 10 questions can be used as guidelines; you can make up yours, modify according to your child's age, or even apply them to any of your child's after-school activities:

Reprimanding Other People's Children

Last week, Etiquette Daily posted a poll about, "Is It Ok to Reprimand Other People's Children? and Do you Feel Comfortable Doing it?"  The result did not surprise me because often times we feel a bit awkward reprimanding other people's children, especially more so when the parents are around. Here are the results:

Reinforcing Homework Basics

As you know parenting requires many judgment calls, including numerous decisions related to schoolwork. Teachers are always stressing how important it is for parents to be involved in the education of their children, but how much is too much? Here is are basic homework tips for parents on how to effectively reinforce those skills at home:

Bridging the Digital Gap Between Parents and Teenagers

The importance of family internet safety education and etiquette is often overlooked by both kids and teenagers today. While most teens are more ahead of the curve than most parents when it comes to the internet, they may not have the knowledge to help keep them safe from online dangers and its potentially negative effects.

The Moms Buzz would love to introduce you to a new initiative by Girl Scouts called LMK (text-speak for “Let Me Know") which provides parents and girls with resources catering to both generations, and whose goal is to bridge the digital gap between parents and teenagers.

Kids Won’t Listen? Try This!

 Often times, you feel you are talking to your kitchen wall when talking to your kids.  "[My] kids won't listen" is a typical thought moms have every day. Here is a nice advice to try by Dr. Thomas W. Phelan, author of the "1-2-3 Magic" discipline book series: 

A Two-Minute Pep Talk for the Expectant Mom of Multiples!

The Moms Buzz is happy to present our expert on parenting of multiples, Melissa Stanton, author of The Stay-at-Home Survival Guide: "Field-tested strategies for staying smart, sane, and connected while caring for your kids," who will give us today a pep talk for the expectant moms of multiples. If you have are one of those moms or know of one, send her this way because she will certainly need it! 

What is Sexting and Advice for Parents

The first time I heard the term sexting, I thought they had made a mistake, "you mean texting?"  Well, yes it is partly texting, but it is mostly of sexually revealing images, and it goes into far more serious implications than just plain text. Here is what sexting means:

Tips for High School kids on Cyberbullying

Last week, there were 2 posts on cyberbullying. The first one was about what cyberbullying is and the second on parent tips for children in elementary school.  This week The Moms Buzz had a post on parent tips for middle school children on cybebullying and today is for parents whose children are in high school. 

Tips for Middle School Children on Cyberbullying

Last week, there were 2 posts on cyberbullying. The first one was about what cyberbullying is and the second on parent tips for their elemetary school chidren.  This week will be concentrate on parent tips for middle and high school children, starting with those on middle school children:

Tips for Elementary School kids on Cyberbullying

Yesterday, we talked about what cyberbullying is, why it mattters and a couple of parent tips for all kids.  Today, as part of our series of posts on cyberbullying this week, The Moms Buzz brings you parent tips for elementary school kids to protect them from cyberbullying:

What is Cyberbullying?

We hear it all the time, in the news, read it in magazines and online, and although we think we know what it is because it sounds be like "bullying" when it is offline, it is important, we are all on the same sheet of music when it comes to defining cyberbullying and how it happens:

How to Discourage Materialism in Children

In this day and age we are living in, definitely a materialistic world, it is important to teach children the value of money and discourage the "having more for the sake of having more" because as we grown-ups know, materialism does not contribute to our inner growth, values or character.  However, children are easily influenced at most ages, and it is quite natural that they want things simply because other kids have them or because they saw the ad on TV.  

The following tips come from Mary VanClay, a freelance writer in Northern California for BabyCenter.com, and the mother of two girls, on what you can you as a parent to discourage materialism in your children:

The Little Things You Do for the Ones You Love

Parenthood is one of the greatest gift a human being can have.  Parenthood is a source of inspiration and transformation because we want to be the best parents we can be for our children.  However, parenthood has taught us that despite our effort to do our best, it seems it is never enough because our own parenting standards seem always so high up. But, it is not so much our biggest efforts that make the most impact on our children who live the present moment, but the little things you do for them that count the most, and go a long way.

It is those unexpected hugs of appreciation, the tic-tac-toe game we play with our kids, the silly tricks we play on them on April's Fool day, like today, a little surprise love note, the nightly rounds by each room to make sure they are properly tucked in their sheets, our blessing, a yummy little snack, a one-on-one celebration in acknowledgment to good behavior, and many more of those little things that make a big difference in their day is what matters to them the most when it comes to bonding with parents. 

The Moms Buzz feels the happiest when being silly and get her children to laugh to their heart's content.  Children love when you are one of them, even if it is 5 minutes.  The other day, my younger son was so excited that the I was typing up his favorite family meal to share in class the next morning.  Was that a big effort? Of course, not! It is just a little thing I did that went a long way in my child's mind, heart and spirit.

The little things you do for the ones you love transcend into bigger things beyond your imagination. Celebrate them!

- The Moms Buzz

 

Top Table Manners Every Kid Should Have

Yesterday's post was about table manner tips, and today is about what those table manners are that our children should know about.  Here are the top table manners every kid should have:

Table Manners Tips - Maybe You Need a Police at the Table?

Do you feel like a broken record at the table during dinner time because kids forget their manners? Here is a couple table manners tips that has worked wonders for the Moms Buzz.  First, it is better to work one or a couple of manners at a time. 

Five Ideal Goals for Raising a Balanced, Well-Rounded Child

As busy parents, we know that being a parents is one of the most enriching and joyful experiences we can ever have in our lives.  But, we also know that parenting is challenging in many ways. One of the challenges we will focus on this post is that of setting your parenting priorities.  For this we found his wonderful article about The Priorities of Parenting by Michael J. Bradley EdD.

In this article, Michael J. Bradley indicates that we make 2 big parenting mistakes:

One on One Fun: Real Magic for Quality Time with Children

With are busy lives, do you still consider yourself a fun parent or do you sound like a broken record like so:

“Time to get up.”
 “Here’s your breakfast. No TV till you’re done.”
 “Got your book bag?”
 “You don’t have time to play with the dog.”
“Come on now, we’re in a hurry!”
“Don’t forget your coat.”

When was the last time you actually played with your child and had fun?  If you have older children, when was the last time you had a "date" with your daughter or son? Yep, we know.  Well, here is an article about how one on one fun is what makes a real difference in having a healthy, loving and trustworthy relationship with your child or children, especially as they grow up.