Early childhood mental health services improve communication for the whole family

“It was easy to choose Rainbows for childcare since we were familiar with the organization,” said Shannon Pope, mother of two preschoolers. Shannon herself had volunteered at Rainbows, her aunt has worked in the office for many years plus her kids get to see their cousins who also attend every day. “We wanted them to […]

Is this just a stage?

Raising a child can be challenging.  Even under the best circumstances, their behaviors and emotions can change frequently and rapidly. All children are sad, anxious, irritable, or aggressive at times, or they can occasionally find it challenging to sit still, pay attention, or interact with others. In most cases, they are just typical developmental phases. […]

My Child may have ADHD; Now what?

Does your child struggle with staying focused on a task, easily distracted, and/or unable to compete the task to completion? Does your child get into trouble frequently at home or school, forgets things, or struggles with building positive relationships with his/her peers? If so, please know that you are not alone! Although all the above […]

Benefits/Downfalls of Positive Reinforcement

“Every conflict presents you with a choice. You can choose to view conflict as an opportunity to teach or as an opportunity to blame and punish.” ― Becky A. Bailey, Conscious Discipline® We’ve all heard of positive reinforcement, but what exactly is it and how does it work in an early childhood learning environment? Positive […]

5 Ways To Encourage and Support Creative Play

Encouraging creativity can be vital to a child’s growth and development, helping to develop their fine motor skills and control. Helping children learn their abilities to engage in play and art can aid in their growth emotionally, socially, and physically. Brain growth and development are key parts that go on during these stages of their […]

13 Ways to Play with Your Infant/Toddler

Playing with your child is essential in helping young children grow and develop. Due to the many demands of parenting, work, and other responsibilities this can often be a challenge. Children at a young age are often exposed to television or computer games for learning activities. However, it is through relationships and play that we […]

Take the Time to Connect

Strong and safe connections are vital to children’s overall well-being and development. Children that display “attention seeking” behaviors are frequently seeking connection from adults. Often times we assume that connections between children and parents “just happen”, but connections are something that we all have to work at. The good news is, building strong connections doesn’t […]

Hello, Mom? Dad?

Smartphones have become an integral part of lives. Just in the past two years, we have seen the vital role that Smartphones have had in our daily interactions both personally and professionally. Our Smartphones allow us to do business virtually, connect to health providers, pay bills, shop online, and access a vast amount of information […]

Building Strong and Positive Bonds

Children learn about the world around them through positive parent-child/teacher-child relationships. As they grow and change, they look to their parents/teachers to determine whether they are safe, secure, and loved. This also prompts how they will build their future relationships. A secure attachment leads to healthy social, emotional, cognitive, and motivational development. Children can gain […]

Calming Down with a Social Story

When a child gets upset, our first instinct is to quickly get the child to calm down. Sometimes when we do this, it escalates the situation. We should find other ways that will take time, to help the child calm down. One thing we should do is sympathize with the child by saying, “You look […]