Content by Audrey Rider
Let Them Play During Christmas Break
As we are quickly approaching Christmas break and kids will have time off and will be acquiring new toys and activities during this Christmas season, I want to encourage parents and providers to let children play.
Importance of Proper Nutrition and Physical Activity in Early Childhood
Childcare outside the home is relatively common in the United States, as a majority of children ages two-to-five attend some type of childcare and spend roughly 30 hours per week in others care. Due to this, both parents and early childhood educators are responsible to ensure children are receiving the nutrition they need for proper childhood development.
Helping Children Learn Responsibility
Teaching children responsibility should start at a young age but is something that you have to keep working on throughout childhood. I am working with my 10-and-5-year-old girls to become more responsible for their school work and daily tasks throughout the day so I don’t need to be a broken record each day.
Helping Kids Cope and Understand Disasters/Flooding
South Dakota and many of our neighboring states are experiencing flooding and natural disasters. How children experience traumatic events and how they express their lingering distress depends, in large part, on the children's age and level of development.
Getting Kids Into Healthy Sleep Habits
It is important for children to get their recommended hours of sleep each night, but good sleep quality is also essential.
Healthy After-School Snacks & Activities
As my girls need healthy after-school snacks, I am working on trying to have easy nutritious snacks to hold them over until dinnertime and have fun activities to keep them busy when they get home off the bus.
Spending More Time With Your Child When Life is Busy!
Children need high-quality and truly “connected time” with their parents to feel supported and help develop those social and emotional skills that come with interactions and modeling.
Choosing the Right Child Care
Finding a place/provider that will help be a “second parent” and have a major impact on raising your child can be frustrating and challenging at times. I want to give you a few steps to use when starting the search and offer resources to help find quality childcare for your child.
Make Reading Aloud Fun And Routine
Reading aloud is one of the most important things parents and teachers can do with children.
Cleaning Out Your Closets: Donate to kids to help build creativity
If you have things you are unsure what to do with and don’t want to just throw them away, think about contacting daycares, preschools, or churches to see if they could use some of the items for their play areas or to make toys/projects for their kids.