With so many questions to consider, parents are often stumped and stressed about what the right answers are for them.

Child care center versus home day care, an in-home caregiver versus a family member? Whichever direction a parent decides to move toward, it has to be the right one for them and their family.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the adult-child connection a child receives in the early years (from birth to age 5) plays a vital role to normal brain development. These interactions shape the way a child thinks, feels, acts and connects with others. They also play an important role in how children socialize, problem solve and, later on, how they do in school.

Most parents are unaware that 90% of a child’s brain develops by age 5, which makes quality of child care much more important in these early years. To help parents get informed and seek out key qualities in child care centers and caregivers, First 5 LA has launched “Quality Child Care Lasts a Lifetime,” a campaign aimed at informing parents about the benefits of quality early care and education. They have created checklists, provide tips and have made videos to help answer questions.

They’ve outlined “5 Steps to Choosing Quality Child Care,” which include:

1.         Assess needs and research

2.         Check credentials

3.         The site visit

4.         Make a commitment

5.         You have chosen; now the real work begins

You can get more information at ReadySetGrowLA.org/QualityChildCare/index.html

Watch the latest video created by First 5 LA:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=m2ByZJSNJI0&list=PLuDEUjGJN74Wg0KVHYdI0mrB05O3VsV3d#!

We all know the drill, no pun intended.

Your child hands you his toothbrush and bares his teeth. He giggles and grins as each tooth is expertly polished. Then he gives you a hug, climbs into bed and sleeps until morning.

Oh wait, that’s not it. It’s more like we carry him screaming into the bathroom, he squirms mightily while we try to get the toothbrush past his locked lips, then he deliberately dumps the glass of rinse water onto our laps.

Tooth brushing. It’s a chore many of us dread as parents. And for some parents, it’s a chore they’ve simply decided to skip.

We were chatting with a friend of ours recently, a woman who has a son about the same age as ours. The conversation eventually settled on how to get Louie to let us brush his tiny teeth. Teeth which sometimes have a sort of orange film on the front.

Our friend said she doesn’t brush her son’s teeth. Ever. She explained that since they’re just baby teeth, what’s the point?

And I thought “Great! We don’t have to brush our son’s teeth then?”

Ummmmm, no. We do have to brush his baby teeth even if they are all going to fall out anyway, and here’s why.

According to an article on the University of Washington’s site, toddlers are susceptible to something called dental “caries,” or rot that leaves small holes in their teeth. It’s a disease that can affect their whole body and can easily be prevented by brushing. If left untreated, caries can lead to infection and tooth loss.

I had never heard of dental caries, but the best way to identify if your child has tooth decay is to take him or her to the dentist. It’s difficult to diagnose on your own. Nowadays, dental pros are recommending a child have their first dental examination and risk assessment by the time they turn 1.

At home, it’s best to brush your toddler’s teeth at least twice a day, if not more. And it’s especially important to brush before bedtime, so that bacteria don’t linger on teeth overnight.

So, the battle continues. We are trying to make a game of brushing his teeth, showing him how mommy and daddy brush, and making up silly songs about his incisors. But if none of that does the trick, I hold Louie on my lap, dip his head back over my arm until his mouth falls open and scrub away. He’ll thank us later. I’m sure of it.

For more information about children’s oral health, including tips, a dental dictionary and a list of free and low-cost dental care facilities, visit our Oral Health Campaign Hub.

Who’s Brushing Baby’s Teeth?

http://www.washington.edu/earlychildhood/articles/brushing-babys-teeth

Optimizing Infant and Toddler Oral Health: The Importance of Early Intervention

http://www.dentistrytoday.com/pediatric-dentistry/1580

I recently read an alarming statistic in January ‘s issue of Parents magazine: “52: The percentage of kids ages 2 to 4 who had one dental visit within the past year, according to a recent government report.” The paragraph continued, “Most children this age should see a dentist twice annually.” Not only was I alarmed because the United States already has enough childhood health problems, but I was embarrassed because I was among the 48 percent who failed to be vigilant about oral health.

As part of my new year’s resolution, I decided to put my family on an oral health regime which includes brushing twice a day, nightly flossing, and semi-annual visits to the dentist. To engage my kids in the process, I let Adrian (age 4) and Daniel (age 2) pick out their own toothbrushes, toothpaste and dental floss. With the plethora of super heroes and popular television characters adorning the items in the oral hygiene aisle, they had a terrific time choosing their new tools. If these licensed products are too costly, let your child decorate less expensive products with stickers of his/her favorite characters.

Adrian is quite good at brushing his teeth, but I still have to do the “once over” to make sure he hasn’t missed a spot. Daniel is another story all together; he wants to be like his big brother and insists on brushing his own teeth. Although I allow this, I insist on brushing his teeth again when he’s done. This is when his jaw clamps shut and I spend the next 15 minutes fruitlessly arguing with him. On the Coast Dental website, Dr. Jeffery May suggests making up a silly song or using plaque-revealing mouthwash to help with fiercely independent kids.

Visiting the dentist was the last piece of the puzzle. I decided to set an example by scheduling myself for the first appointment. I brought both of my children with me so they could see the process.  First, the dental assistant took X-rays of my teeth. Next, the dentist reviewed the X-rays with me and examined my teeth. Although I did not have any new cavities, the fillings I had gotten many years ago needed replacing.  Together, we decided on a reasonable plan to achieve this while staying within my budget. She also urged me to floss every day because tooth decay and gum disease can lead to other health problems, including heart disease. Finally, the dental assistant scraped the tartar build-up off my teeth and used an electric toothbrush to clean them. The entire visit was surprisingly quick and painless. At the end of it, Daniel jumped off his chair yelling, “My turn; my turn! I’m next!” I call that the start of a much healthier year.

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. Find resources for good dental health HERE.

Last time my kid went outside, he fell in some mud, dribbled strawberry juice down his face and shirt, picked up a variety of dirty branches, leaves and sticks, and tried to grab a couple of pigeons by luring them closer with a piece of turkey. This is, if you think about it, feeding one bird to another bird – which just seems wrong. Otherwise, though, it was exactly the day I’d been hoping for.

Lately, my wife and I have started to worry about our son’s time spent outside of our home. Whole days go by when he doesn’t leave our loft in downtown Los Angeles. Some days he is merely paraded through the downtown streets, past hundreds of cars and buses with just a few cement-bound trees in sight, to a small pocket park that he can run through in under 60 seconds.

Sometimes my wife has work to do, sometimes it rains, or she may have 14 errands to accomplish in the space of an afternoon. On certain days, when you factor in lunch, a nap, reading time and getting out of downtown in traffic, it just doesn’t seem worth the effort to leave home.

But with a new year, we’ve made a resolution. The boy goes out every day, rain or shine, into nature. So today, it was to the Wednesday farmers’ market in Santa Monica, and then to a picnic at Palisades Park overlooking the ocean. Tuesday it was a walk in Pasadena’s arroyo. My wife took him to a playground at Griffith Park on Monday, and Sunday we all went for a long hike, with my son hauling himself up the mountain for a good part of the way.

But this may not even be enough. Kids need to not only spend 90 to 120 minutes in outdoor play EVERY day, but they need the chance to get dirty, climb things, chase squirrels, etc.

In other words, be a kid.

We may not make it happen every day. The trick is not to beat yourself up about it, but try your best to give them that outside play as soon as you can.

Whether you stay home with your child, have a caregiver, or take them to preschool or elementary, here are some tips for getting outdoor play under your child’s belt every day:

1. Make outdoor play a must-do errand, like going to the dry cleaner or getting the car washed.
2. Make a commitment to spend at least one hour outdoors with your child, and if you feel that cuts too much into your schedule, try bringing other things with you to do while your child is digging in the dirt. There’s nothing that says you can’t sit on a bench while paying your bills or making your grocery list.
3. Walk your child to school and home.
4. On the weekends, make sure you’re doing something outdoors both Saturday AND Sunday. You do this realizing it’s just as important for your child as all the other things you want to accomplish on your days off. And the bonus: It’s good for you, too.
5. Talk to your preschool about the amount of outdoor play your child is getting on a daily basis. If it isn’t 90 to 120 minutes, find a way to work with the preschool administrators and teachers to make it a priority.

Resources:

Playtime for preschoolers is essential, study says. (via CNN.com)

All Work and No Play: Why Your Kids Are More Anxious, Depressed (via The Atlantic)

Share your family’s new year’s resolution in the comments below.

“HOW I LEARNED TO READ” STORIES:

The very first book that I read to my child is Guess How Much I Love You, a British children’s book written by Sam McBratney and illustrated by Anita Jeram.

I initially gave an identical Guess How Much I Love You cardboard book to my husband when we were still dating and when I gave birth to my daughter at 6 months, she had to stay at the NICU until she reaches 37 weeks. I felt that the book says how great love we feel for her so we got her own cardboard book of her own of Guess How Much I Love You. Everyday from early morning until past midnight I would stay and be with her and just keep on praying and reading the book hoping she would feel and hear how much we love her and for her to hold on and fight. She is 5 now and up to this day she loves reading and having the story be read to her.

I hope and look forward (wishing) to WIN 50 wonderful children’s books for my daughter, she loves books so much that we never leave any library or bookstore without reading a bunch. We will be very happy to share it to my friends, neighbor’s kids, and her classmates.

- Givenchy Areola

I learned how to read when I was 5 1/2 years old. My Grandmother thought me to sound the word out and to spell it out to her when I got tired or frustrated. She made me read chapter books and the Bible out loud when I had Winter or Summer vacations from school, so I wouldn’t miss a beat. When we went out to restaurants, she made me read what I wanted off the menu and it contents out loud as well. She’s 86 yrs. old now and she now has severe Alzheimer’s disease but I will forget those moments we had and I’m truly Grateful.

- Honeylore Mendez

We have been reading to our daughter since the day she was born. The first children’s book we read to her was Where’s My Cow? By British author Terry Pratchett. It involves a lot of animal noises and now almost 3 years later she loves it still and can almost read it by herself as she knows the story so well.
Another favorite is Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell. I remember this was one of the first books I read as a child once I could read by myself and I know my daughter will enjoy it too.

- Sarah Adamson

What was the first book that I read to my child? One Hundred Years of Solitude. My daughter was still in my womb and my husband would read aloud for her. After she was born, she would stop crying, lay still and enjoy listening to her dad reading. This book tells the story of the rise and fall, birth and death of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendía family. Inventive, amusing, magnetic, sad, and alive with unforgettable men and women — brimming with truth, compassion, and a lyrical magic that strikes the soul — this novel is a masterpiece in the art of fiction by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Now my daughter is 28 months and books are her most favorite things in the whole world!!!

- Alma A. Rodriguez

As the seventh of nine children, my folks had pretty much gotten tired of kids by the time I came along.  They left me in the care of my older siblings until I was old enough for Kindergarten, then handed me over to the overcrowded and understaffed school system. Fortunately for me, I had an inquisitive mind.  By the time I was four, I’d figured out what letters were and somehow put it together that they told stories.  By five, I’d devoured all the children’s books in the house and was thrilled to discover more books in Kindergarten. Since I was quiet and unassuming, the teacher left me to myself as she coped with those who clamored for attention. I gloried in reading as it carried me away from my dreary, lonely existence into a vast universe of knowledge and interesting stories. The second fortunate thing that happened to me was the school librarian.  She noticed right away that I could read and, whenever I visited, she’d help me choose skill-appropriate reading material. By the end of Kindergarten, she and I had a secret – I was reading on the 4th Grade level. Through out my elementary school years, she was my real teacher, opening doors far beyond what I could have reached without reading. I’m forever grateful to Mrs. Pollard for her gift of knowledge through reading.

- Daa Mahowald

I am a mother of 3 year old active, beautiful and exquisite child. His name is Jeremy and he is 43 months old and will be entering preschool next year. The way that I am teaching Jeremy to read is a little different in a creative way. Ever since he was in my womb, I will read to him aloud. I am a Director at an inclusive preschool and I began to read to him so early on order for him to love the process of reading. Now that he is a toddler, I read to Jeremy when he using the restroom. As he sits in the toilet seat, he opens the book and begins to name the pictures he sees and then hands me the book to read it for him. I think my son enjoys being read while using the restroom as it is a quiet place to be in. Therefore, in our bathroom I have a basket full of books where daily he uses. Jeremy is beginning to blend phonemes and loves to grab books from the library. He will see the first letter if the word and make the sound of it. I hope this story helps, as reading could occurred even in the weirdest place ever, the toilet seat.

- Sandra Flores

I believe reading to my 3 year old has created a big impact in her life. I first began reading books to her when she was 4 months old and she loved it, by age one she spoke about 15 to 20 words. Right after that her vocabulary expanded tremendously. At age 1 1/2 I began taking her to the library for reading and art activities with other children. It was impressive how well she would comprehend with the older children and would understand what was going on. Ever since then she comes to me with books for me to read to her. She can’t fall asleep at night until we have read a few books to each other. I am now in the process of starting my own day care facility and would like to implement this same impact on other children in my community. I believe early childhood education plays a big role in a child’s life and it makes me happy to know that I will be a part of this for them.

- Brenda Husman

I will never forget the book. It was only a few pages…may be 5 or 6. It had pictures of a boy and a girl playing with their dog Spot. That was the first book I remember reading and attribute to learning how to read. I realized that the pictures in the book gave you a clue to the words, and I thought that was very observant of me.
I didn’t become a fan of reading until the third grade when my teacher read us Charlotte’s Web. The visions created by the author made it so magical. She would only read a chapter at a time and I didn’t want it to end. It was like watching the best movie ever.
On a trip to the library, I saw the book and picked it up. I checked the book out and decided to read it on my own. There were so many words I still did not know, but it didn’t matter to me. That was the day I discovered that reading was fun and loved going to the library to find new books to read.
I volunteer and sit on the Board of an organization called Kids Reading to Succeed (KRS) in hopes of teaching low income kids a love of reading.

- Rosiris Paniagua

The first book that I read to my boy was Barney’s Color Surprise. Since Joshua was one year, we went to the library. He loves to go to the library, specially Tuesday and Wednesday, because someone read books to the children and [they make] fun activities and crafts. Right now, he is three years old and began to go to the preschool.

- Ana Molestina

Learning to read English was difficult coming from another country where Spanish is the dominant language. I learned to read by getting help from wonderful teacher assistants that help children that struggle with a second language. I was in 2^nd grade when I started learning new words and joining them together to form sentences. I still struggled in 5^th grade when I couldn’t pronounce the word “once.” I was terribly embarrassed in class that day because the teacher chose me to read a paragraph and I wasn’t able to pronounce “once.” By 6^th grade I was comfortable reading and speaking in English because I practiced reading at home. Now, I am a mother of 3 beautiful girls and I remind and encourage them to read. I’m happy to share that they like reading and that’s a wonderful feeling as a mother.

- Wendy Montanez

When I was a young child, my grandfather, who was a former teacher, made me my own “Scrabble” letter tiles. My parents had just finished putting vinyl-type flooring in our kitchen, and we had leftover flooring. My grandfather cut the flooring into little squares and wrote a letter on each one. He used them to teach me the letters of the alphabet. From that, I learned to sound them out and eventually to piece them together to make words.

Since then, I have always loved reading and word play. Now my 3 year old is an avid reader and loves Dr. Seuss and the Berenstain Bears in particular.

- Marie Rillorta

]]> http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/2013/01/how-i-learned-to-read-sweepstakes-entries/feed/ 0 http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/2012/12/three-wise-men/ http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/2012/12/three-wise-men/#comments Thu, 27 Dec 2012 20:09:44 +0000 Downtown Dad http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/?p=2924

It’s the holiday season again, and once more my wife and I have found ourselves swept up in the wave of  Christmas shopping; getting together with family; more Christmas shopping; planning our annual trip up north to see relatives; more Christmas shopping; completing year-end tasks at work and at home; and finally, more Christmas shopping.

What gets lost in all this craziness  is remembering the true meaning of Christmas. Recently, my  wife asked me if we should tell our 2-year-old son that Santa Claus is real so that he can enjoy that fun and wonderful tradition in the innocence of his childhood.  I really had to stop and ask  what Christmas means to me and my family, and what tradition do I  pass on to our son.  And while he’s not really talking yet, he’s already starting to get curious, and we feel the great responsibility of determining now what his Christmas tradition will be for years to come.

Thomas Nast's most famous drawing, "Merry Old Santa Claus", from the January 1, 1881 edition of Harper's Weekly.

Having been brought up in a Catholic household, we did not grow up with a Christmas tree in our home.   Instead, Christmas  always meant setting up an elaborate nativity scene in the living room.  There would be a manger and figurines of the holy family, shepherds in the fields, lambs, donkeys, a little town of Bethlehem, angels, and the requisite star shining above it all.  My siblings and I loved to add things to the rural scene, including whatever our latest toys were.  All kinds of strange little plastic animals, army figures, superheroes, and Smurfs would find their way into the little town of Bethlehem.  It must have been a strange and amusing site for visitors to our home.

Key to this whole scene was the arrival of the three wise men.  Also known as the three kings from the east, or the three magi, they represent the biblical figures who came from far off lands to bring gifts to the baby Jesus at his birth.  Their gifts were gold, frankincense and myrrh.  In many parts of Latin America, the three kings are called “Los Tres Reyes Magos,” and they are depicted as travelling on camels from the Far East bringing gifts to children on January 6, the Epiphany, which is the twelfth day of Christmas.

In contrast, my wife grew up in a less religious and more mainstream American Catholic household.  There was always a Christmas tree, and Santa Claus, usually played by an overweight uncle dressed in red, was convincing enough to keep her and her brother believing in old Saint Nick into their pre-teen years.  Okay, maybe not fully believing, but at least fully enjoying.

So, now comes decision time.  Should our son put out cookies and milk for Santa Claus and his reindeer on Christmas Eve as he anxiously awaits the arrival of his gifts?  Or should he leave sweet bread and chocolate for the three wise kings and their hungry camels on January 5?

Well, we haven’t made a final decision yet, but this year he’s still too young to really understand the details of it all.  We’ll have a Christmas tree and a small nativity scene as a happy compromise.  But next year, we tell ourselves, we’ll figure it out for sure.

In the meantime, we are agreed that we want Christmas to mean more to our son than simply shopping and gifts.  It should also symbolize a sense of family and cultural tradition, a tradition that we as parents have the profound privilege and responsibility to pass on to the next generation.

 

]]> http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/2012/12/three-wise-men/feed/ 0 http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/2012/10/sugar-solution/ http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/2012/10/sugar-solution/#comments Tue, 02 Oct 2012 16:42:45 +0000 HappyMamax2 http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/?p=2900

By HappyMamaX2

Despite having a terrible weakness for sugary drinks, my family last summer accepted Potter the Otter’s challenge to choose more water as part of First 5 LA’s Rethink Your Drink campaign. To be honest, I was worried about restricting my sons’ consumption of sugary drinks. When they are thirsty, juice is the first request! Like most parents, I dreaded the meltdowns that often occur with changes in our children’s lives. I decided to take a proactive approach by educating my young boys about why we were cutting down on sugary drinks.

I began by educating myself first. From Kaiser Permanente, I learned that the average person consumes nearly 175 pounds of sugar a year. The biggest source of our sugar intake comes from sugary drinks like soda, juice and sports drinks. Drinking 20 ounces of soda a day for one year can cause a 25-pound weight gain! Even though I don’t allow my kids to drink soda, I drink them almost every day. For the past year, I’ve noticed my boys asking me more and more often for sips of my sodas. It’s made me realize how much they want to mimic me: Because I consume sugary drinks, my children think it’s okay to drink them. I have not been providing a good example.

I introduced the idea of cutting down on sugary drinks to my children by talking about it for a few days. In simple words (so as not to overwhelm them), I explained how too much sugar can hurt our bodies by causing unhealthy weight gain, diarrhea and tooth decay. I also shared that it could cause a sickness called diabetes that requires medication every day. I told them that soda is one of the worst drinks because it has no healthy ingredients, and I promised them that I would drink less cola so I could be a better mom for them. The boys then agreed to drink less juice so their bodies could grow better and stronger.

Since then, I have limited my sons’ intake of juice to 4-6 ounces a day, which I dilute with water. I have stopped offering juice as an option at meal times; I only give them milk or water. I didn’t eliminate juice all together because I wanted to teach the boys a lesson in moderation: We can have treats as long as we don’t over-do it! I also leave cups of filtered water at eye-level so that they stay hydrated throughout the day. When I treat them to chocolate milk, I add white milk to cut the sweetness. Instead of juice boxes for picnics and school lunch bags, I’ve been buying single servings of milk or small water bottles.

Both boys have readily accepted Potter the Otter’s challenge with only a few meltdowns along the way. Surprisingly, Adrian, 4, has become very interested in which foods and drinks are the best for him. My father-in-law recently told me that Adrian chose water over a chocolate shake because the shake had “too much sugar and that’s not good for me.” Little brains are so amazing!

*  *  *

Related Posts:

• New Report: Young Children Shouldn’t Drink Sports or Energy Drinks

• No More Tummy Troubles: One Benefit to Rethinking Your Drink

 Related Articles:

• Kids gain less if they skip sugary drinks (vitals.nbcnews.com)

• Kids Get 7 Trillion Calories of Sugar from Cancer-Causing Beverages Each Year (naturalsociety.com)

 

]]> http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/2012/10/sugar-solution/feed/ 0 http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/2012/09/participate-in-the-first-annual-caines-arcade-global-cardboard-challenge/ http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/2012/09/participate-in-the-first-annual-caines-arcade-global-cardboard-challenge/#comments Thu, 20 Sep 2012 18:13:34 +0000 Ready. Set. Grow! http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/?p=2884

By Ready. Set. Grow!

The following information is adapted from the Imagination Foundation

Have you heard of Caine’s Arcade? If you haven’t yet seen the inspirational short film about a 9-year-old boy from Los Angeles and his cardboard arcade, watch it here:

So, on Saturday, Oct. 6, the Imagination Foundation will launch by hosting the first annual Global Cardboard Challenge. The Challenge will bring together the young and the young at heart from all over the world to build, play and celebrate creativity and community as thousands, together, use cardboard to build whatever they can imagine. Basically, during the first week of October (or on Oct. 6), kids across the globe will use cardboard and other recycled materials to build a cardboard creation — an arcade, a robot, a plane … whatever they want — and share them with each other.

Check out the new “Caine’s Arcade 2″ follow-up video, capturing some of the magic of the global phenomenon, here:

Help us spread the word, organize an event, attend an event in your area or build a cardboard creation yourself! Visit www.cardboardchallenge.com for more information on how to participate and join the thousands of others all over the world in a day of play!

Please share with us photos or stories from your cardboard creations on our Facebook page at ReadySetGrowLA!

Related articles

• Caine’s Arcade To Launch ‘Global Cardboard Challenge’ (losangeles.cbslocal.com)
• Cardboard Revolution: ‘Caine’s Arcade’ Inspires Global Imagination Challenge (news.good.is)

]]> http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/2012/09/participate-in-the-first-annual-caines-arcade-global-cardboard-challenge/feed/ 0 http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/2012/09/downtown-daycare/ http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/2012/09/downtown-daycare/#comments Wed, 05 Sep 2012 22:56:28 +0000 Downtown Dad http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/?p=2861

By Downtown Dad

Summer is over, kids are back to school and looking for day care for our toddler in downtown Los Angeles has been quite an education for me and my wife. We’ve come to learn that high prices, long wait lists and seemingly low standards are apparently the norm.

Look, our son is only 2. We understand he won’t be learning physics — at least not until we find that dreamy boarding school in the English countryside, the one that’s perpetually damp and the kids joke around in Latin. But we did kind of hope for at least a story hour, especially for the going rate of $1,000 a month.

So during one of our tours, when we asked the teacher who would be leading our son through his first formal learning experience if they read to the kids, she said not so much — but the kids were welcome to look at books anytime they wanted to. Problem is, genius that I believe him to be, my son can’t actually read — so we were expecting that they would read to him.

Our search has been frustrating to say the least.

First, as any parent out there with a toddler knows, many of the daycare centers have no openings for the foreseeable future. It seems there aren’t enough day care centers in this city and no one is doing much about it. You sign up on the wait list, and then just cross your fingers that something will become available in the next year or two. This might be acceptable to a family with at least one parent who can stay home from work, but if both have to work? Good luck figuring out what to do.

In downtown L.A., there are about a dozen or so day care centers. They range from publicly subsidized centers for very low income parents in the Skid Row area all the way to upscale places that cater to the privileged children of wealthy bankers and lawyers on Bunker Hill. Prices range from free to $1,500 per month for a toddler. The older the child is, the lower the monthly cost.

In our search, we checked out a few of the in-between centers, as well as an upscale place. The differences in the quality of the facilities were expected, with the upscale places having much nicer furnishings and surroundings. What we didn’t expect was that the in-between places charging $1,000 per month had very low standards for developmental exercises. At one place, when we asked what the development strategy included, we were told that potty training was the main focus.

This would all be fine, except that several of my coworkers with small children have told me about day care centers in the suburban neighborhoods where they live that cost half the price.

How do you say “downtown needs more affordable quality daycare centers” in Latin?

*  *  *

To locate a child care center in your area and get helpful information, go to HealthyCity.org or call 211.

Not sure what to look for when searching for a high-quality preschool? Check out these guidelines. Learn more about the importance of good early care and education in the latest Ready. Set. Grow! Family Guide Back-to-School Issue, available online by clicking here.

]]> http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/2012/09/downtown-daycare/feed/ 0 http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/2012/08/pacifiers-the-great-debate/ http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/2012/08/pacifiers-the-great-debate/#comments Wed, 29 Aug 2012 18:15:57 +0000 HappyMamax2 http://readysetgrowla.org/blog/?p=2853

By HappyMamaX2

One day when my son Adrian was not yet 1, I took him grocery shopping. As usual, Adrian was using his pacifier to distract him from the discomfort of being strapped into the cart as we did this boring errand. While waiting to purchase our groceries, I noticed the elderly woman in front of us staring at Adrian. I caught her eye and smiled, to which she replied, “Take that thing out of his mouth. He’s never going to start speaking if you plug him up all the time.”

I was startled. How do you respond to someone criticizing your parenting choices? As a new mom, I constantly worried that I was ruining my child. And pacifiers were a particularly sensitive topic for me.

When I was still pregnant with Adrian, I had heard all the terrible things about pacifiers from veteran moms. I swore I’d never use them. But on the first night home from the hospital, when Adrian wouldn’t stop crying, I caved. As he slipped quietly into sleep sucking blissfully on his new binky, I felt guilty. Was I encouraging a bad habit?

As it turns out, most experts agree that the decision is up to the parents because there are both advantages and disadvantages to pacifier use. The Mayo Clinic’s website lists some of the drawbacks of using a binky: it may interfere with breastfeeding, your baby may not learn to soothe himself and it may increase the risk of ear infections or dental problems. However, the same website also lists the benefits of pacifier use: it may protect against SIDS, it provides a source of comfort or distraction for a fussy baby, it satisfies a baby’s strong suck reflex and it eases discomfort on airplanes. In addition, WebMD suggests it is easier to wean a child off a pacifier than his thumb.

On Parents.com, Marguerite Lamb’s article discusses a few expert-backed options for when and how to wean children off pacifiers. My husband and I decided to wait until Adrian was 2so that he could understand what was happening and communicate his feelings. We chose to follow Lamb’s “Three Day Plan” because it best fit our parenting style. For a few days, we talked to Adrian about giving up his binky. Then, Adrian helped us find all the pacifiers and placed them in a special box. My husband had Adrian say “thank you” and “goodbye” to his beloved friends, and then I quietly disposed of the box while Adrian was distracted. Adrian was tremendously proud of himself and told everyone that he was a “big boy now.” He struggled with sleep for a few nights, but overall it was a smooth process.

The lady in the grocery store had a very valid opinion: there are drawbacks to using pacifiers. But experts also argue that there are tremendous benefits, and that it is a personal decision all parents must make. Adrian’s binky brought him comfort when he needed it, and that is what was important to me in the end.

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