Parenting Articles

My Friend is Sick: Helping Your Child Cope with the Critical Illness of a Friend

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By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed., C.H.C We expect and hope that childhood will be a time of life that is carefree and uninhibited by very adult-like cares, such as handling a major illness. However, for some children, the time comes when they must face a major illness of their own, or try to understand the illness of a playmate. If your child has a friend who has become very ill, some support may be needed in learning how to cope and re-relate to their friend. These tips can help.   1. Talk to the parents of the child: This one is …

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Someone I Love is Sick: Helping a Child Cope With The Illness of a Family Member

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By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed., C.H.C   When a loved one is critically ill, your child may have a lot of questions, or need some extra support around understanding what is going on. Be it a parent, sibling, grandparent, or extended family member, chances are high that your child is going to have some worries and fears that may need to be addressed. How you discuss the illness of a family member with your child depends a great deal on how old the child is and what they are ready to handle from a developmental or maturity standpoint. There are a …

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Helping Children Embrace Change: First Time At School

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By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed., C.HC. For some of you, the first day of school is just around the corner! Whether it be pre-school, or kindergarten, that big transition can leave both parent and child a little uncertain. Here are some tips to ease the transition on the big day! 1. Create a story Tell the story of what will happen on the first day of school, keep it simple and concrete, such as: “You will wake up and get dressed and have breakfast. Then I will drive you to school. We will hang up your backpack, I will give you …

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Who is Colleen Brunetti?

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Colleen Brunetti is an amazing woman, wife, mother, and more. In April 2010, we first met Colleen when she joined the Signing Time Academy and certified as a Master Instructor. At the same time, she started her business Little Hands, Big Ideas, which entails both sign language and holistic health coaching. In Fall of 2010 Colleen collaborated on the Homeschool Guide and the Down Syndrome Guide. In October of 2011, Colleen became our Potty Time Specialist, writing and overseeing the Potty Time blog as well as the Potty Time Facebook and Twitter accounts. In 2012, Colleen started writing for the …

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The Power of the Spoken Word: Why Talking With Your Baby Sets the Stage for Language Success

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By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed., C.H.C. As your baby grows, their receptive language (what they can understand) will develop more quickly than their expressive language (what they can express with words or signs). It is in these early months that you really want to start capitalizing on the engagement that comes with receptive language. Words communicated to baby are crucial to language development. Studies have shown that it is vitally important that babies hear a vast array of spoken language, even from day one.  In fact, breakthrough work in one study, resulted in a book entitled Meaningful Differences: Children of the …

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Media and Children Under Age 2

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By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed., C.H.C   Between videos that promise little geniuses, to toys that light up and engage babies with electronic stimulation, to strong recommendations from leading experts on the “best” way to raise your baby, it can be a little overwhelming for parents to discern what the best choices are for your family.   In particular, there has been a lot of concern about media viewing for infants, with the American Academy of Pediatrics going so far as to say there should be no television for children under the age of two. This is a pretty strong-handed guideline, …

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How to Make Smart Media Choices for Your Child

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By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed., C.H.C. Media is pervasive and prevalent in our society. Our job as parents and caregivers is to not only steer children away from topics and content that may not be age appropriate, but to also actively teach our children to be wise consumers of media. What your child can and should watch, and where they watch, depends a great deal on their age and maturity level, but there are some good guidelines you can follow at just about any age. WHAT TO AVOID No media in a child’s bedroom – keep media use to open family …

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Encouraging Interactive Play for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Tips for Parents

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by Loretta Gallo-Lopez, MA, LMHC The American Academy of Pediatrics has indicated that “… play is healthy and in fact essential for helping children reach important social, emotional, and cognitive developmental milestones as well as helping them manage stress and become resilient.” Interactive play has been shown to enhance social communication and connection. Many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have difficulties spontaneously engaging in interactive or social play. The following tips will help to encourage and support this type of play for children with ASD. Make every effort to play with your child several times each day for 15 …

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Spoiled or Secure? Meeting baby’s needs, without going overboard

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Spoiled or Secure?  How to meet your baby’s needs – without going overboard By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed. C.H.C. From the very first moment a baby is placed in the arms of a parent, the opening steps to establishing a sense of safety and security begins. As with all things parenting, there are many schools of thought on how you should best respond to your infant. However, as Susan Spieker, the director of the Center on Infant and Mental Health Development notes, “This is a dance back and forth. Every family works it out different…The key is to give babies a secure enough base …

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Talking to Children About Traumatic Events

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By Colleen Brunetti, M.Ed. The events in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15th began to feel too familiar. A few posts about “something” on Facebook, a few minutes later the picture beginning to become clear. Knowing within such a short time that real horror had happened. Spending the rest of the day purposely shielding my six year old son from all available live media even while I scrolled frantically on my phone for updates, and to check in with loved ones who might be in harms way. Everyone in our nation has had to grapple with …

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