Greetings

Hello everyone, welcome to our August newsletter! As always, we provide an overview of what is happening within our childcare community. This month, we will focus on self-talk as a tool for  cognitive behavioural therapy.

The early years of a child’s life are crucial for their emotional and cognitive development. During this period, children form the foundation of their belief systems, coping mechanisms, and emotional regulation. Unfortunately, some children may be exposed to confusing beliefs, have difficulty managing their emotions, coping with stress, or developing positive self-esteem. Self-talk cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) offers an effective age-appropriate approach to intervene and promote positive development in young children.

Understanding Self-Talk in Young Children

You might see young children engaging in self-talk, especially when they play with their dolls and stuffed toys. Even by themselves, in their imaginary world, their play is peppered with references to the real world and their recent experiences. 

Self-talk refers to the internal dialogue individuals have with themselves. In children, self-talk may manifest as inner thoughts, imaginations, or even talking to themselves out loud. It can either be positive or negative, influencing their emotional experiences and behaviours. Teaching children to develop positive self-talk can empower them to manage challenges on their own, build self-confidence, and cultivate emotional resilience. 

Benefits of Self-Talk Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Young Children

Emotional Resilience

Negative emotional experiences are hard to avoid. However, if a child is able to reframe negative thoughts into constructive ones, it enables them to bounce back from setbacks and challenges. 

Emotional Regulation

Emotions can easily overwhelm a young child. However, through self-talk, children can slowly identify the emotion they’re feeling, express it clearly and process their emotions without resorting to disruptive behaviours as a coping mechanism. Self-talk helps children regulate their emotions and responses to it.

Improved Social Skills

Self-talk, when done out loud, helps a child rehearse social events and gives them a way to roleplay and test out different responses. It gives them an opportunity to gauge which response is the best and help them socialise more confidently. It also helps them improve their relationships with their peers.

Academic Performance

Encouraging positive self-talk can positively impact a child’s confidence in their academic abilities. Even in setbacks, a child armed with positive self-talk can encourage themselves to simply do better next time instead of wallowing in self-doubt and remaining upset. 

Practical Applications of Self-Talk for Young Children

1. Identifying Negative Self-talk

Therapists, parents, and educators can work together to recognise and address negative self-talk patterns in children. This involves active listening and observing the child’s verbal and non-verbal communication.

2. Introducing Positive Affirmations

Repeating positive and empowering statements help children set a positive mindset at the start of the day. It also helps them counter negative thoughts that may occur.

3. Role-Modelling

Adults can serve as  positive role models by displaying how they self-talk positively and encouraging children to follow suit.

4. Storytelling and Imaginative Play

Storytelling allows children to see fictional characters engage in self-talk, whether positive or negative, and see how they develop a better, much more positive self-talk. Meanwhile, imaginative play allows children to practise positive self-talk while drawing from their experiences and imagination of social situations.

The Takeaway

Harnessing self-talk as a cognitive behavioural therapy tool for children is a way to teach them to become self-reliant, resilient, independent, and highly emotionally regulated. As children naturally develop and engage in self-talk as a way to process their emotions and experiences, it is up to parents, caregivers and educators to guide these children into developing a positive and resilient mindset.

0-12 month development

Talking puppy or finger puppet? 5 tips for buying baby toys that support healthy development

Authors: Brenna Hassinger-Das and Jennifer M. Zosh

Toys are definitely a way to help your baby become more interactive and playful, developing their bodies and brain along the way. Now before you drown them in toys, here are 5 helpful tips on which toys you should buy to not only entertain them but also aid them in their development.

Read more about these tips to support your baby’s healthy development here.

1-2 year development

8 homemade toys that will entertain your child and encourage cognitive growth

Author: Doreen Staskal 

Young children’s imagination transforms everyday objects into toys that give them endless hours of entertainment. In this article find simple homemade toys that give young children an opportunity to scale their cognitive abilities without breaking the bank.

Find out more about these homemade toys and activities here.

2-3 year development

Pandemic babies behind on communication at age two – but other developmental areas remain unaffected

Authors: Susan Byrne and Jonathan Hourihane

Researchers have compared pandemic babies against babies born before the pandemic and found out that pandemic babies have been at pace with previous generations except in the communication department. Given that these babies had fewer opportunities to interact with other people and strangers, they had less practice waving or talk in 2-3 words strung together.

Read more about how pandemic babies fared against babies born before the pandemic here.

3-4 year development

The One Sentence to Say to Get a Toddler to Stop Whining

Author: Rachel Bowie

Toddlers develop their language and emotional regulation skills at different paces which is why whining may become their first strategy to getting things their way instead of patiently asking and waiting. As parents,  it can be taxing to hear toddlers whine constantly. However, a child psychologist has found a way to help a child communicate clearly their needs without that ear-piercing high tone whining voice.

Read about this technique to stop your toddler from whining here.

4-5 year development

Poverty is linked to poorer brain development – but reading can help counteract it

Authors: Barbara Jacquelyn Sahakian, Christelle Langley, Jianfeng Feng and Yun-Jun Sun

Poverty is an adverse childhood experience that can severely impact a child’s brain development. However, researchers have found one silver lining that can easily counter the negative effects of poverty and that is reading for pleasure. They have found that children who read for pleasure had larger cortical surface areas known for cognition and mental health.

Know more about the benefits of reading for pleasure gives children regardless of their background here.

Creating a Flowers Sensory Bin

Can’t wait for spring to begin? Plant flowers ahead of the season with these planting flowers sensory bin activity. From picking flowers to cutting them up, this activity helps children exercise their fine motor skills using tools like tongs to separate or group flowers and scissors to cut them up. You can add pinto beans to serve as gravel to add to their sensory bin experience.

Go here to see instructions on how to create this flower sensory bin.

Easy Slushy Sorbet Recipe

With a little bit of ice and salt solution, turn their favourite drink into a slushy sorbet and back to liquid! A delicious and fun chemistry experiment teaching little ones how matter changes its state from liquid to solid and then to liquid again. 

Get the recipe for a slushy sorbet here.

Earth Toast: A Tasty Global Warming Lesson for Kids

It’s a serious topic but with a little bit of crunch, you can turn it into a delicious lesson children won’t forget! Make an Earth toast where children learn about how global warming symbolised by toasting affects the earth. In this activity, children get to be creative with their personal earths.

Find the recipe for earth toast here.

How to Grow Aragonite Crystals

Hit two birds with one stone or in this case, a rock in this geology and chemistry experiment that’ll have children grow crystals. This experiment will only need two ingredients–a dolomite rock and distilled white vinegar. Take note this experiment will take a week or two before the crystals start forming.

See how easy it is to form crystals out of a rock using vinegar here.