Do you like to dabble in writing but your no expert?  Well here is your opportunity.  What else could be better to write about than your child?  Whenever my husband and I found out we were pregnant with our first child Bailey, I couldn’t wait to tell her all of the things about her dad and I, her grandparents, and so on.  I started searching for baby books that marked their mile stones and talked about our pregnancy.  The only thing was, I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for.  That’s what gave me the idea to journal our baby’s life.  It was great!  I could write what I wanted, when I wanted and not have to worry about those blank lines all throughout the book. 

Buying the Book

This was a very fun part for me because I like to shop.  But even if you don’t, it gives you an opportunity to express yourself for many years or generations to come.  Remember all of those old photo albums that your parents drag out?  This can be one of those books.  Not to mention one that your child can show her friends and family saying, “this is what my mom or dad wrote to me.”  Wow, I wish I had one of these books!  When you are picking it out, I would recommend something with a sturdy binder and a quality gage of paper.  You don’t want something that will be ripping as you turn the pages.  Take your time and look all of the books over.  Pick something that looks like you or tells a story about you.  One time I almost picked a book with The Chronicles of Narnia on the cover because that was the movie my husband and I got to see on our first “date” after having our baby.

When to Write

I would start writing right away.  This for us was right before we had our ultrasound.  I was able to write about the experience and all of the feelings running through my body and the way my husband squeezed my hand.  Once I realized we were having a girl, I felt more compelled to write about our pregnancy.  I told her about how much weight I gained when I went to the doctor and my complications with breast feeding.  It is a great opportunity for her to relate to another woman in her family if she ever decides to have a child.  You could also add your family medical history.  These are things you wouldn’t have room to talk about in a traditional book.  Whenever you decide to write, it’s not too late.  So go ahead and get your ideas down while your memory is fresh.  We all know, life happens and it’s hard to hold on to the small stuff.

What to Write About

Don’t fret about what to write.  You will be surprised at how your mind will start to wonder and all of the memories you will want to cherish on paper.  My father died when Bailey was 1.5 years old and all I could think about was how I didn’t want her to forget him.  Writing was an extra special way to let her know the emotions I was going through and share moments I had with my dad as a child.  On one occasion my mom, my dad, Bailey and I went out to eat breakfast.  Well as children do, Bailey wanted to get up and down in her high chair.  I kept trying to persuade her to sit still but it just wasn’t happening.  Real short and stern my father said, “Bailey, sit!”  She froze in shock and slowly grabbed some food with her little hand.  She didn’t eat it, she just sat.  My dad looked at me with a little smirking smile as if to say “that’s how you get it done!”  I will never forget that moment.  I remember that tone and I KNOW how Bailey felt.

Summary

Remember, journaling is a fun, expressive way to talk to your child.  Whatever you say it will be from the heart and special.  So relax and enjoy silent time with your thoughts, a pen, and a little book.  Who knows what tool you might create:  rekindle a relationship, bridge a gap between different communication styles, or tell a story for generations to come.  I hope I have inspired you to put your book in motion.

by Jamie Burchfield, January 12, 2008

The Importance of Early Childhood Cognitive Development

Early childhood generally refers to the period from birth through age 5. A child’s cognitive development during early childhood, which includes building skills such as pre-reading, language, vocabulary, and numeracy, begins from the moment a child is born. Developmental scientists have found that the brain acquires a tremendous amount of information about language in the first year of life even before infants can speak. By the time babies utter or understand their first words, they know which particular sounds their language uses, what sounds can be combined to create words, and the tempo and rhythm of words and phrases.

There is a strong connection between the development a child undergoes early in life and the level of success that the child will experience later in life. For example, infants who are better at distinguishing the building blocks of speech at 6 months are better at other more complex language skills at 2 and 3 years of age and better at acquiring the skills for learning to read at 4 and 5 years of age. Not surprisingly, a child’s knowledge of the alphabet in kindergarten is one of the most significant predictors of what that child’s tenth grade reading ability will be. 

When young children are provided an environment rich in language and literacy interactions and full of opportunities to listen to and use language constantly, they can begin to acquire the essential building blocks for learning how to read. A child who enters school without these skills runs a significant risk of starting behind and staying behind.

Early Childhood Care and Education

Young children are cared for in a wide variety of settings. According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 38 percent of children age 5 or younger receive care on a regular basis from parents only. The remaining 62 percent of children are in one or more arrangements, including care by other relatives (24 percent), non-relatives (17 percent), or center-based programs (34 percent), including Head Start (6 percent). Children between the ages of 3 and 5 are more likely than children younger than 3 to be cared for in a center-based program, such as child care and Head Start. Children under the age of 3 are more likely to be in the care of a parent than are children older than 3.

Parents are a child’s first and most important teachers. It is significant that nearly 40 percent of young children are cared for primarily by a parent. The Bush Administration believes it is important to support parents and families in their most important task in life raising their children through several means, including providing them information about early childhood development.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/earlychildhood/sect2.html