Curious Neuron

Boundaries (also called limits or rules) are more important than we might think. They give children a sense of security, even if might think so given that they love to push boundaries! In today’s episode, I chat with Jess, a therapist and founder of Our Mama Village. She provides examples of boundaries, how to set them, reinforce them and how to control our own emotions when boundaries are pushed. Boundaries are linked to the parenting style called Authoritative parenting. I provide the details of a study that describes 4 different parenting styles (See resources below) and how authoritative parenting leads to a child feeling more confident during academic challenges.

Is your child about to start Kindergarten? Have you ever wondered if they are ready to begin school? Which skills do they need to succeed not only in Kindergarten, but throughout their academic life? This week’s guest is Rebecca Weiner. She is an educational consultant and specializes in play-based learning. Rebecca and I discuss important brain skills that have been suggested, according to research, to be pivotal to a child’s academic success. Executive functions, self-regulation, resilience, problem solving skills, emotional and social skills and more. What is the best way to develop these skills? Through play!

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Resources for this episode can be found on our website here:

https://www.curiousneuron.com/podcast/2020/5/28/episode-13-school-readiness-is-not-about-abcs-and-123s

Get a free 9 page handout to help you teach your child how to play independently here:

https://mailchi.mp/186208c5732d/independent-play

In today’s episode, we are talking about motor milestones in babies! Why is tummy time important? Why is it important for a baby not to skip crawling? What are some head-shape abnormalities? When should a baby start turning, crawling, or walking? What is W-sitting?

Visit us at curiousneuron.com for more info about child development and learning! Join us on Instagram @curious_neuron to quizzes about brain development, Live interviews with experts in pediatrics, summaries of research studies, play ideas, and more!

In today’s episode, we talk about play! There are so many opportunities for play with items around our home and Emma from @play_at_home_mummy has an Instagram account that beautifully illustrates this. We chat about setting up a playroom, different types of play, what to do when siblings argue, sensory bins, risky play, development, and more!

In today’s episode, I chat with Jenny and Carrie about their advice to new parents. We talk about the importance of a stimulating environment, which doesn’t mean having a lot around your baby, but rather being present, getting down on the floor with them during tummy time, and having zero screen time. We might not realize the importance of tummy time, skin-to-skin and the environment. We talk about why these are so important. Did you know that babies should not skip crawling? We discuss the brain in terms of developing and eliminating connections.

In this episode, we discuss childhood anxiety. How do we differentiate between worry and symptoms of anxiety in a child? Symptoms of childhood anxiety can often manifest as challenging behavior or tantrums in young children. Dr. Yee explains the importance of providing children with a safe space to talk and express their emotions. Given that most of us are experiencing some level of stress giving the current COVID-19 pandemic, she also discusses stress in adults and children during a crisis.

When we hear the term “positive reinforcement” we might get an image of giving a child candy or chocolate to get them to do what we want them to. However, in this episode, Courtney, a behavior analyst, explains that there is a lot more to it.

She explains that praise and positive reinforcement are not the same. She describes how we need to assess our child’s behavior and determine why this behavior is happening. This will help us provide our children with an alternative and help them modify their behavior.

When and how can a parent use positive reinforcement? All these questions and more are answered in this episode!

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In episode 5, we focused on understanding when it might be the right time to have your child evaluated for ADHD. In this episode, we focus on "after the diagnosis". How can a child better manage their symptoms in the classroom, at home during homework and with friends? Also, we discuss various treatments and hoe ADHD symptoms can be similar to learning disorders and anxiety.

Part 1: Please note that this episode on ADHD has 2 parts. In today's episode, I discuss ADHD with my guest, Dr. Audrey Benoit. Is your child showing signs of ADHD or do they simply struggle with inattention? What are some signs that you should get evaluated? Can children with ADHD be misdiagnosed? What are some aids provided in the classroom? Lastly, we discuss medications for ADHD, how they work and when it might be the right time for a child to start taking medication. For more info visit www.curiousneuron.com and follow us on Instagram!

If your child struggles with playing on their own, this episode will guide you on how to teach them this skill. Thank you to Jacinth, a parenting coach from Singapore and the founder of https://ourlittleplaynest.com/ and @ourlittleplaynest on Instagram for chatting with me!