Greetings

Hello everyone, welcome to our April newsletter! As always, we provide an overview of what is happening within our childcare community. This month, we will focus on supporting children’s sensory development.

Starting from infancy, babies process and learn what they can about the world around them through their five senses. Their eyes widen at every unfamiliar object in their eyesight, prick their ears and respond to any sound within hearing distance, and have an urge to touch and taste if possible anything they can get their hands on. How babies and children process these sensory experiences help them a lot in perceiving and interacting with the world around them. 

What is Sensory Processing?

Sensory processing refers to the way our nervous system receives, interprets, and responds to sensory information from the environment. Sensory information includes sights, sounds, smells, touch, tastes, and movement. Most children will have no difficulties processing all this sensory information at all and seemingly, seamlessly process this information from birth without any trouble at all. 

However, due to a plethora of sensory information, children can be overwhelmed and face challenges trying to make sense of and overcome sensory experiences. 

Common Sensory Processing Challenges

Here are 4 common sensory processing challenges toddlers experience.

Sensory Overload

Children crave new and exciting sensory experiences. However, there is a limit to what they can take in and when they experience sensory overload, this is when the baby or child starts to break down. Overwhelming sensory stimuli can range from loud noises, large crowds, bright lights or tight spaces. They may have a tantrum, or withdraw and refuse to participate in activities. 

Sensory Seeking

On the other end of the spectrum is sensory seeking behaviours. Any child who is understimulated may actively seek out sensory stimulation such as touching anything and everything they see, running and zipping around, or jumping excessively.

Sensory Avoidance

As children start to formulate their likes and dislikes, children also exhibit sensory avoidance. It may come in the form of avoiding certain foods because of its texture or mouth feel, refusing to wear certain clothes because of the cloth texture, refusing to brush their teeth because of the funny feeling of bristles on their teeth or mouth, being averse to cutting their nails or even shying away from the barber for a haircut.  

Sensory Discrimination

Children who’s not quite adept yet at barring sensory noises may discriminate severely against certain sensory experiences they have had a negative experience in the past. Children may start to refuse to take their headphones off if they perceive any public place to be quite loud for their hearing, refusing certain food groups because of how it looks, or steering clear of haircuts or toothbrushes. 

5 Ways to Support Sensory Development

Children learn from their senses and proper sensory development can only be done if the children are properly supported in their journey. Here are some ways to support sensory development.

1. Create a well-balanced, sensory-friendly environment.

Providing a calm, orderly and predictable environment that will not overload children’s senses can help a child feel more safe in it. Using soft lighting, soothing colours and music, and a quiet area where children can relax helps a lot in giving a child a well-balanced sensory experience.

2. Offer sensory breaks.

Children are sensitive to their sensory needs and will let you know if activities are overwhelming to their senses. Before a tantrum or retreat happens, offer children a break away from the activity and help them calm using sensory tools like fidget toys, weighted blankets or sensory bins. This helps the child to refocus their attention and self-regulate.

3. Provide choice and control for children over sensory experiences.

More often than not, when children are placed in situations where they feel helpless and forced to participate in activities for far too long than their senses can manage, they start to break down. Asking for a child’s input on the activities and sensory experiences they’d like to participate in helps them choose and decide what’s right according to their sensory needs and comfort levels.

4. Use visual aids to help children prepare for transitions.

While children’s attention span might not be as long as adults’, once they are into an activity, they can tackle it with such zeal and fervour it might be hard to pull them from it. However, this is where routine and visual scheduling comes into play. Having visual aids at children’s eye level helps them familiarise themselves with the activities, timelines and routine so that transitions need not be filled with tantrums and tears.

5. Include physical activities to help children unleash excess energy.

Children are just filled with boundless energy that it seems it’s an eternal spring. However, movement breaks and physical activities definitely help children in refocusing that excess energy and aid in self-regulation.

The Takeaway

Understanding sensory processing and implement supportive ways can make a huge difference in children’s sensory development. As sensory development is vital in how children learn, perceive and adapt in an ever-changing world, having well-developed and regulated senses helps children be more in tune with their self, peers and surroundings.

0-12 month development

What Every Parent Should Know About Baby Tremors and Shakes

Author: Vincent Iannelli, MD

Have you noticed your baby twitching or shaking? Shaking and tremors may be part of a baby’s fine motor development skills. However, if it’s eerily similar in terms of feature and duration or is not triggered by changes by posture or activity and cannot be easily stopped, it might be a seizure.

Find out more about baby tremors and shakes and when you should consult a doctor here.

1-2 year development

The best foods to feed your sick toddler, according to a pediatric dietitian

Author: Dahlia Rimmon, MS, RDN

An apple a day keeps the doctor away but what will you feed a sick toddler who’s taste buds have been debilitated by their sickness? A pediatric dietitian has suggested specific nourishing foods that are also considered young children’s comfort food–like pancakes, potatoes, and yoghourt.  

Learn about these foods and why they are nourishing to a sick child, helping them get better and flourish faster here.

2-3 year development

How to teach your child to take turns

Author: Kids First 

Toddlers undergo such a massive transformation that taking turns might be a little bit harder to master. However, there are ways to help toddlers be more cooperative and sharing with their peers, especially at play. 

Find out how to teach your toddler to take turns here.

3-4 year development

Screen time doesn’t have to be sedentary: 3 ways it can get kids moving

Authors: Juliana Zabatiero, Kate Highfield, Leon Straker, and Susan Edwards

Screentime has been feared as a reason for kids becoming sedentary. However, researchers have found that parents should consider in what context it’s used and how it can encourage children to be more active.

Find how digital devices can help children be more active here.

4-5 year development

How having conversations with children builds their language – and strengthens family connections

Author: Kimberley Hillier

Having quality conversations with your child can improve their language skills and build a stronger family connection. Conversing with children lets parents know about how their child’s world is developing, increasing their literacy skills and helping with their verbal communication.

Find out more about how to create language-building conversations here.

Candy Corn Experiment for Fall Science

Perform a scientific experiment fit for young children with their favourite candy corn! This candy corn experiment will have children learn how to guess scientifically, test those guesses and see which one is proven correct using the results of the experiment. It will enhance their observation, measurement, and analytical skills while rewarding them with a sweet treat in the end.

Get the instructions on how to conduct this candy corn experiment here.

Send Secret Messages with Invisible Ink! (Using Turmeric)

There are many ways of sending secret messages but in this experiment, we’ll go the organic way using baking soda and  turmeric! Children will have fun measuring and mixing their baking soda and turmeric solutions for the message and decoding part of the activity.

See how secret messages can be sent and decoded using turmeric here.

Building with Jelly Beans

In case there’s some Easter jelly beans leftovers, this engineering experiment will have children hone both their building skills and fine motor skills. Find out what wondrous structures children can bring to life with 2 simple materials: jelly beans and toothpicks.

Find out more about this engineering activity for kids here.

Magic Easter Eggs Two Ways: Hatching and Foaming

Make Easter more magical by creating these lovely easter eggs that hatch and foam to reveal a chick inside. Kids will have a lot of sensory fun mixing, measuring and moulding ingredients into its egg shape. After the eggs have been formed, children will use their observational skills to see how the eggs foam and hatch to produce a chick.

Get the recipe & procedure for this magic easter egg experiment here.