Language Development

Definition: Language development isn't just about how many words are in your toddler's vocabulary. In the beginning, other elements of Language development are even more important than words. For example, how a child responds to changes in your voice (anger or friendly tones), his own inflection and his ability to understand what's being said are just a few other things to consider when evaluating your toddler's language skills.

Toddlers around a year of age are usually able to use one or two words in addition to words like "ma ma" and "pa pa" plus be able to use body language or sounds to indicate wants and needs. This marks a departure from using crying as his primary way of signaling or communicating.Give comments......................

How To Celebrate Halloween with Your Family

Halloween is just around the corner. That means there's plenty of time for you to plan the perfect holiday celebration. Here at About.com, we want to help you do just that. Family Crafts Guide Sherri Osborn and a multitude of other Guides and bloggers have put together a top-notch carnival of Halloween ideas to help you. Find the perfect costume for any age. Decorate your home inside and out. Plan a fun holiday party. Learn how to carve a pumpkin and get the whole family involved in Halloween themed arts and crafts activities. Happy Halloween!

May be your child is not ready for Potty Training

A mother writes: "My child is potty training today. We have stuffed her full of drinks and she pees about every 10 to 15 minutes. She has used the potty several times when we take her to it at timed intervals. She does not seem to understand that when she feels the urge, she should go sit on the potty herself. She pees wherever she is sitting (a few times on us) and does not seem to mind. I do not want to 'catch' her pee all day long. What do you suggest we do??"

I get questions like this quite frequently. The answer I have, however, may not be one that many parents want to hear. What you should do is stop potty training.

Yes. Stop. But don't look at it as quitting or as a setback. Think of it more like taking a break.

The reason: Your child is not ready to potty train yet.

There are many signs of readiness and among those are:

Interest and desire, which means that she wants to go to the potty and is not indifferent to peeing on your lap. She should be talking about it and asking questions and showing curiosity about potty "things" like the toilet, underwear, toilet paper and the flush handle.

Longer periods of dryness, which means not giving her excess fluids. If she's staying dry on her own for two to three hours at a time, then her bladder capacity is increasing. In addition, it makes for more opportunities for success and less opportunity for failure if she's not going to the bathroom every 10 to 15 minutes.

Awareness, which means she recognizes when she's wet or poopy first, and then later in time recognizes the urges that come before she's wet and poopy. She also has to be able to connect the urges to the act AND be able to move herself to the bathroom after making that connection.

If you take the process of using the bathroom and break it down into its many steps, you can see why potty training is such a process for a young child's mind and why it takes time and practice to gain mastery.

So, for now, unless you are practicing an alternate method of potty training that is more parent-centered than child-centered and requires you to "catch" your child peeing (like Infant Potty Training) take a break and return to potty training when your child's mind and body is completely ready to take on the task. It will be so much less stressful for both of you if you can wait.