Parenting Archives

Category: Parenting

Blog PostsParenting

December 20, 2024 by Admin 0 Comments

New Year, New Goals for Parents & Caregivers

Setting goals is important in all parts of our lives — including parenting and child development — and the start of a new year can be a perfect time to make some resolutions about our parenting and our children’s learning and development. But just like for other types of resolutions (around health and fitness, reading more books, getting organized, etc.), getting a goal to “stick” and lead to accomplishment, isn’t easy.

Here are six steps families can use to establish and achieve goals as we prepare to enter a new year!

Consider Your Top Concerns

Before setting goals, take time to reflect on what matters most to you and your family.

Are you worried about your child’s early learning and development, social skills, or social and emotional learning? What specific concerns do you have? It can be useful to complete an Ages & Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3 or ASQ:SE-2 or both) on Sparkler to understand how your child is developing and identify your areas of concern.
Are you focused on your own parenting habits, such as staying patient during stressful moments or maintaining routines for your family?

Identifying your main concerns will help you focus your energy on goals that will make a difference for your child and your family.

Set a Big (But Achievable) Goal that Addresses Your Concern

Once you’ve identified your concerns, think about what success would look like and how you can set goals that are within your control as a parent. That is, parents cannot control how fast children learn and grow, but parents can control what they — as grown-ups — do or don’t do. The key is to set a goal that feels meaningful and challenging, yet realistic and within your control.

For example:

Instead of a big goal of “my child will be on track in her gross motor skills,” consider something more specific that you can practice and learn together like: “My child will be able to walk up the stairs in our home.”
Instead of a big goal of “My child will be able to express himself in full sentences,” consider something that you can control as a parent, such as: “My child and I will communicate better.”
Instead of a big, broad goal of “I will develop a stronger bond with my child,” consider something that you can control like: “My child and I will spend more time playing together.”

Break Down Your Big Goal into Smaller Goals

Just like going from zero gym visits per week to seven per week overnight can be a recipe for failure, setting a big goal for parenting or child development can also be daunting. The trick that can help you succeed is breaking down the big goal into smaller goals that you can take on, one by one.

Here are some examples, building on the big goals in the previous section:

Stairs: Smaller goals could be practicing stepping up onto a curb together every day, stepping over a small (1-2 inch) obstacle together, practicing balancing on one foot to a count of three, practicing going up the steps at the playground, etc.
Communication: Smaller goals could be playing with your child for 10 minutes each day, asking open-ended questions and waiting for your child’s response after reading a book together, or talking with your child while cooking meals or walking to school. If you think your child could benefit from early intervention or other services for speech, you could talk to your healthcare provider and learn about the options.
Play: Smaller goals could be reading together every day, playing with your child for 10 minutes every day, or trying new “calm down” activities like deep breathing or taking a walk outside together each day.

Achieving these smaller milestones will build momentum toward your larger goal.

Share Your Goals to Get Support from Family, Friends, Teachers, or Others in Your Child's Life

Accountability and encouragement can go a long way in sticking to your goals. Share your plans with trusted members of your “team,” who can provide support and guidance. For example, your child’s teacher might have valuable tips or a spouse or sibling might partner with you in achieving your goals or cheer you on. Involving others also helps create a sense of shared purpose that can help you to achieve your small goals and your big goals.

Measure Your Progress and Reward Yourself for Success

Tracking your progress is essential for staying motivated. Whether it’s using a chart, journal, or app, find a way to measure your achievements. Celebrate small successes along the way to keep the momentum going. Rewards can be as simple as a family movie night or a special outing to the park to recognize everyone’s hard work and dedication.

You Can Do It!

Finally, remind yourself and your family that reaching goals takes time and effort. There will be setbacks, but persistence and a positive attitude make all the difference. Celebrate your growth, even if progress is slower than expected. Every step forward is a victory, and with determination, you can achieve your goals and make this year a memorable one for your family.

Blog PostsFeelingsParenting

December 19, 2024 by Admin 0 Comments

Keeping Routines to Keep the Holidays Joyful

Sparkler chatted with Kate Sweeney, the co-director of the Parent Infant Early Childhood Innovations Institute at the University of Connecticut, School of Social Work about the holidays — which can be a joyful, celebratory time, and also an overwhelming, stressful time for children and families. “While the holiday season is an exciting and joy-filled time, we can often underestimate how overwhelming it can be for kids, especially the youngest. A big part of that is because these special events and celebrations remove us from our regular routines,” she explained. “Routines offer predictability and consistency for children, which helps them feel safe, secure and in control.”

Sparkler: Why is maintaining a routine important for kids during the holidays?

Sweeney: Routines offer predictability and consistency for children, which helps them feel safe, secure, and in control. Children don’t get offset by an event itself, it is more about the lack of predictability and routine. This can feel confusing and frustrating for adults: “You love trains, why are you throwing a tantrum when we made the effort to go see this train display?” But if we re-frame our response, and remember that a child’s behavior in the moment is likely expressing a moment of dysregulation due to lack of routine, it can help us feel less frustrated, stressed and annoyed as parents, and instead meet our children with calmness and compassion for how they are feeling.

Sparkler: How can we manage holiday activities while still sticking to a routine?

Sweeney: Some holiday traditions depend on kids being on their best behavior in new or less-familiar settings. Think about the lengthy services; parties with people who might be new or unfamiliar; different food and meal structure; and travel that can disrupt a child’s rest or nap time.

The key to engaging in these activities, while also protecting your child’s routine as much as possible, relies on two key factors: PLANNING and BALANCE.

By “planning” we mean literally looking at the weekend or holiday, with your child’s schedule and temperament in mind. What is moveable to accommodate the parts of your child’s routine that they are most dependent on for a successful day? If it is nap time, and an event starts in the middle of that time, is it possible to get them to rest earlier that day, or to tell the host that you will be there a little late? Is it best to leave the night before rather than waking your child up a few hours earlier than typical for travel?

By “balance” we mean planning a balance of active and calm parts of your child’s day — even if the routine will be modified. If you have family visiting and there are parties to attend or activities to do together, can you spread the many new activities over two days rather than all on one busy day?

It’s also important to be aware of your own self-regulation needs. When you are aware of your own needs, you are ready to help your child(ren). Our kids naturally respond to us (it’s biological!) so if we are stressed or tense (which can sometimes happen over the holidays!), we cannot expect them to be calm and rational.

Sparkler: What if my child is having trouble adjusting to the holiday changes?

Sweeney: Kids, especially young children, are going to demonstrate to you that they are having a bit (or a lot!) of a hard time with the additional activities and adjustments to their usual routine. It is so important to remind ourselves that behavior has meaning and is communicating a need. What does my child need right now? Are they hungry, tired, hot, overstimulated, bored? We would respond to all of these in different ways, so consider that in your response, always letting your child know you understand how they feel and even though they are upset, you are calm and can handle their moment of distress.

Sparkler: How can I keep bedtime routines consistent during family gatherings or while traveling?

Sweeney: Some of this will vary greatly if you are traveling away from the space where your child(ren) typically sleep for bedtime, or if they will be staying put in their familiar bed/room/home. You should start by considering what is going to matter most to your child: is it a particular blanket, particular sippy cup, particular music or white noise app on your phone, or a certain hour that they need for transitioning into sleep? If you are in a new location, it is natural that your child will take a bit longer to fall asleep (this happens to us, too!) so don’t get frustrated. Instead, plan for it and you will be more calm in handling the disruption. Another thing about bedtime is timing. Consider what is occurring right before you are asking your child to fall asleep. Can you arrive to a friend or family member’s home in the afternoon, rather than 30 minutes before you are asking your toddler to fall asleep in a new setting? If you are staying home, but having people over, think about some strategies that can make it easier to maintain consistency in your child’s bedtime routine.

Sparkler: How can I manage sensory overload during holiday events?

Sweeney: Sensory overload during the holidays is sometimes unavoidable. You will be going to places (even the grocery store!) that are more crowded than usual. Lines can be longer, decorations can be bright and lights can be blinking. All of this is beyond our control. One thing that is always in our control is how we respond to our child in their moments of dysregulation. Take the time you need to calm yourself, remembering that behavior (no matter how disruptive) is communication. What does your child need right now? And what typically works to calm and soothe them? Keep that in mind — or if it’s a physical thing like a stuffed animal or a favorite book — make sure that you have it with you so that you’re ready to help your child. Preparing is like checking the weather forecast before packing for a trip! And if your child(ren) are particularly sensitive to sensory overload, try to plan accordingly. Consider if you need to go to a busy store or tree farm when it is most busy.

Sparkler: What strategies help when my child struggles with transitions during busy holiday days?

Sweeney: Keep in mind the importance of expecting and understanding that the holidays can be both exciting and overwhelming for children (and adults!) and that this can be due to overstimulation, increased social demand, and disruption to an established routine.

Remember to anchor your response to your child in understanding. For example, you can say, “I know you were excited to see Santa, but the line is very long and it is hard to wait.” You can also prepare yourself with the things that support your children to calm down and regulate. This can be different for different kids, but you know your child best.

As you navigate routines during the holidays, remember that flexibility and patience are key to a joyful season. Embrace the imperfections, try to tolerate the tantrums that are sure to occur, and focus on creating special memories with your child(ren).

Blog PostsParenting

November 21, 2024 by Admin 0 Comments

5 Steps to Grow Gratitude in Young Children

Gratitude — feelings of thankfulness — helps children (and all people) feel less stressed, more optimistic, and happier. Listen to Sparkler’s new song — “I’m Grateful” and learn five ways to help children practice gratitude (also available in Sparkler’s tips for adults in the mobile app). Parents/caregivers using the Sparkler app can find these tips under Tips for Adults in a unit called Growing Gratitude. Providers using Sparkler can find and share it from Sparker’s library on the web-based dashboard.

1. Say "Thank You" instead of "Good Job"

When your child does something that makes your life easier, like picking up toys, climbing into the car seat without protest, or not splashing water out of the bathtub, thank him or her! Being specific about what your child has done will help your child know what to do next time. Expressing your gratitude will also help them understand how their behavior affects other people.

2. Make Giving a Habit

Sharing can be hard for young children, so try not to force your child to share. Rather, when your child is moved to offer you a bite of his or her lunch or offers a toy to a friend, talk about how your child’s generosity is having a positive impact on others. You can say things like, “Look at how happy your friend is when you share your snack! You really made them smile!” This will make conversations about larger gestures of generosity easier. As your child outgrows toys and clothes, talk about passing some unused items to another child. Your child will have room on the shelf for new toys, and he or she will make others happy, too! Practicing generosity helps children to understand what gratitude means. Bonus points if YOU donate, too — you’ll be modeling generous behavior!

3. Thank YOU!

When you express gratitude to your child and to others, your child will be more inclined to follow in your footsteps. Express your appreciation to the people who help you — your partner, a postal worker, the cashier at a store, or a restaurant server. When you say “thank you,” you help your child to understand the meaning of the words. Soon, your child will learn to say “thank you,” and understand what the words mean.

4. Less Is More

Shelves and bins crowded with toys can be overwhelming, and can get in the way of a child’s ability to appreciate any individual toy. You wouldn’t toss your most prized possessions in the junk drawer, would you? If you’re not ready to let go of the extras, try putting some toys away and out of sight. When your child can easily see and access (and clean up!) individual toys, he or she will be better able to appreciate each toy.

5. Say "No" or "Not Today" Sometimes

It’s natural to want to give your child things to make him/her happy! It is easier for your child to learn what it feels like to be grateful when he or she also occasionally experiences disappointment. Help your child make the connection between what happened and the feelings he or she has. You might say, “I think you’re disappointed that I said ‘no’ to ice cream today. You’ve already had a treat today, so let’s save the ice cream for tomorrow.” Then, when it is time for a treat, your child can reflect on the disappointment, and rejoice in the gratitude of the moment!

Blog PostsParentingPlay Activities

November 21, 2024 by Admin 0 Comments

Practice Gratitude Through Play

Sparkler has thousands of activities designed to help children (5 and under) build important early skills and spark passions. Here are a few (off-screen) Sparkler activities that can help families help their children practice gratitude. Families can find these activities in their Sparkler mobile app, and providers using Sparkler can share them with families via Sparkler’s dashboard. All activities are available in English, Spanish, and Chinese.

Filled With Gratitude (for children 3-5)

This is a collaborative game to share things we’re grateful for, played with a jar, plus paper and crayons/markers/pencils.

Let’s write or draw people, places, and things we’re grateful for on small pieces of paper.
Now let’s say a few words about each one, fold it, and put it in a jar. Let’s take turns, adding more and more things we’re grateful for into the jar.
Is the jar full? What else are we grateful for?

Family Gratitude Quilt (for children 3-5)

This is a family art project, creating and assembling a paper “quilt” of gratitude.

We’re going to create a family gratitude quilt. Let’s each count out six squares of paper.
On each, let’s use pencils or crayons to draw something we’re grateful for: (1) something from nature, (2) something related to family, (3) something related to friends, (4) an experience we’ve had, (5) something related to our home or neighborhood, (6) a toy or stuffed animal we have.
Now let’s create our quilt by arranging the squares in a grid and taping or stapling them together.

Thank You Cards (for children 3-5)

This is a craft activity that can help children to express gratitude.

There are so many reasons to say thank you! Let’s make and send a thank you note to someone for whom we are grateful. They may have given us something, helped us in some way, or simply been kind.
Tell me about your gratitude. I’ll write down your words in a card. Then you can decorate it!
Let’s send our thank you note. How do you think the person will feel when they receive this wonderful card?

Thank a Helper (for children 1.5 years old - 5 years old)

Thank people in your community!

Let’s take a walk and look for helpers in our community.
Let’s look for crossing guards, sanitation workers, delivery people, neighbors cleaning the sidewalk, and anyone else who is helping to make our neighborhood better.
When we see a helper, let’s thank them for their hard work!

Thanksgiving Tale (for children 1.5 years old - 5 years old)

Make up a story about foods you love to express thanks for them.

Let’s think about all the foods we love to eat!
Every time I say a food I love to eat, I’ll say, “mmm-mmm!” and rub my belly.
You do it, too, if you love the food!

Blog PostsParenting

September 25, 2024 by Admin 0 Comments

Screen Time Savvy: Managing Your Child’s Digital Diet with Dr. Jenny Radesky

Dr. Jenny Radesky is the director of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics at the University of Michigan, and she authored the American Academy of Pediatrics’ screen time guidelines. Her research focuses on the intersection of mobile technology, parenting, parent-child interaction, and child development. Dr. Radesky chatted with Sparkler about screen time: What can families do to set appropriate limits? How can families empower their children in conversations about using screens and devices at home in safe, age-appropriate ways? How can parents regulate which games and other digital media are available to their children?

How can parents control their family's digital media & technology use?

Dr. Radesky: I’m focusing a lot of my research and advocacy on: How do we make sure the platforms that kids really love and are on all the time respect their developmental needs…A lot of it comes down to reading reviews on Common Sense Media, knowing a few developers that are really respectful of kids’ needs, and then avoiding the rest. Because a lot of the stuff on the app store is like fly-by-night app developers that are here one day, gone tomorrow, pushing out apps, and then they’re not on the App Store six months later. In our research, we’re amazed at the lack of oversight in the app stores or on the video streaming, like YouTube types of platforms.

What do you mean by the "lack of oversight"?

Dr. Radesky: If you thought of this as like a food store, another thing that’s offering products to kids — some of them are going to be really fun candy potato chip sort of products. Others are going to be healthy foods. You at least expect some degree of safety built in. They’re not going to contain toxic things like viruses. They’re not going to collect your data. Well, we have done research showing that a lot of kids’ apps [are] collecting a lot of private data. And then we also have found that these digital play things are also saying, come on, buy more, do more. It’s like as if you had an endless bag of potato chips that you could just hand to your child and they would never get to the bottom. So it just feels like a different ballgame for parents. We don’t feel like we know how to grab away that endless bag of potato chips because it never ends. Why would the child want to give that up and go eat some brown bread, you know? So it’s setting us as parents up for a really difficult, difficult battle that doesn’t feel like a fair fight.

What can parents do to protect their kids?

Dr. Radesky: Sometimes really powerful corporations get away with a lot of things that make our lives as parents harder. And we, as parents, can do a lot of things, collectively, to push back against that and to say, “You know what? We’re not going to download those janky apps from the App Store that just collect data and try to just pop up ad after ad. You know, that’s junk that would never pass FDA inspection. We’re not going to accept the endless bag of perfectly predictive, algorithmic potato chips that my child never wants to put down. That’s not fair.” I should, as a parent, have the option to turn off that algorithmic feed or to just select certain doses or samples or types of potato chips that I’m going to allow my kid to have because they’re delicious and fun and they’re fine in reasonable quantities. But the business model of just wanting kids and users to watch more and more and more isn’t really compatible with sleep or homework or other things that we really want our kids to be able to focus on and learn to do by themselves.

There's a lot parents can do — but should tech companies help, too?

Dr. Radesky: The messaging about screen time shouldn’t be directed solely at parents. It also needs to be directed at this really powerful tech system that exists and determines how much it’s trying to persuade kids to keep watching, keep purchasing.

So I’ll tell you, actually, during the pandemic, one of my main focus shifts has been less on, “Hey, parents, here’s what you need to do.” But more, “Hey, big tech companies, here’s what you need to do.”

Our kids have been dependent on this digital environment, and it isn’t always designed with their best interests in mind. It’s usually designed by adults, by engineers, for other adults, for these average human users, who are usually white male adults. That’s not the way a child lives and sees the world.

If your family needs a screen time "reset," how would you recommend going about it?

Dr. Radesky: Step one is just take stock. Pause, look around, observe your family’s day, and say, “Okay, where’s a place that we could actually put tech away so we can pay more attention to each other?” During meals or car rides, we know from research when a phone is even on the table with you or when it’s out, and you’re trying to toggle between looking at your phone and then trying to multitask with the kid in front of you or your friend, you can’t do both equally well. You’re going to be less good at both of those things. You’re going to be paying less attention to what that person sitting across from you is thinking or feeling.

So, give yourself a break. Give yourself opportunities to single-task on the people around you.

It’s so much harder to really pay attention to someone else’s mind when you have other things vying for your attention.

So I’d say take stock. Talk to your kids. Your kids are going to want some input, too. They may tell you to put your phone down at certain times of day. They may tell you to set the WiFi to have certain blackout periods so it’s easier for you to resist the call of your device. That may be your first step.

And then when you realize, “Oh, it actually really is easier to have a conversation with you,” or to feel like, “I heard what’s on your mind,” that hopefully will reinforce itself and carry on as a daily activity for families.

Just have some intentional planning on where and when tech is going to be in your day. Is it going to be in the morning when you’re getting ready? Is it going to be when you’re cooking and you want the kids occupied? The more you can plan it out and make it at discrete, predictable, consistent times of day, you won’t have kids begging you at every moment. Just make it predictable, and then kids will internalize those rules over time.

Can you explain what you mean when you say kids will internalize the rules?

Dr. Radesky: And my goal is that kids — themselves — can control and regulate their own media. Then you as the parent don’t have to be the policeman who’s saying, okay, I’m putting on the timer and I’m grabbing it out of your hands. Do some challenges with your kids to see can you hand it over to me without whining. If so, great. You can get more tomorrow.

How do you get a child to hand over a device without whining or being upset?

Dr. Radesky: So first is, if you watch the last five or ten minutes along with your child, you’ll know where that stoppage point is happening. It’s easier to stop it instead of letting the autoplay start back up again when children just want to be carried along.

Number two is notice what’s going on in the show where they might be coloring, they might be dancing, they might be doing something in nature and use that idea and launch it over to your 3D physical world so that you could say, “Hey, this character was just doing that. Let’s go do that in the yard.” So that’s another way to get kids transitioning off.

Third is if your child’s a little older, you can challenge them or give them the responsibility ahead of time and say, “Okay, here’s the deal: We’re just going to watch two episodes of X show, honor code. You are going to turn it off when those two episodes are done, and if you do, you get a sticker or you get a point towards going out for pizza at the end of the week.” Having that behavioral reinforcement for a child, self regulating their own media use, turning it off without complaint is an amazing skill to try to build. It takes a while because tech is fun and it’s hard to let go of. But I recommend trying to challenge kids to hand the device over without a big emotional reaction.

Blog PostsParentingPlay Activities

September 25, 2024 by Admin 0 Comments

Start Your Engines! Sparkler Activities for Little Engineers

Sparkler has thousands of activities designed to help children (5 and under) build important early skills and spark passions. Here are a few (off-screen) Sparkler activities that can help families help their children learn the building blocks of engineering and programming. Many of these activities include early math skills (like patterns and operations), and they also focus on children’s memory, problem-solving skills, and curiosity!

Follow the Program (for children 3-5)

This is a coding game for littles that helps children give and follow instructions.

Let’s play a coding game! First, let’s use tape or chalk to mark a path on the floor. Our path should have straight lines and 90 degree corners.
You go first! Stand at one end of the path and close your eyes (or wear a blindfold). I’ll guide you along the path by tapping on your body. I’ll tap your forehead to tell you to take one step forward, tap your right shoulder to tell you to turn right, or tap your left shoulder to tell you to turn left. Let’s try to get to the end of the path without talking or peeking!
Now let’s switch roles! I’ll put on a blindfold and you can help me follow the path from beginning to end. (If my forehead and shoulders are too high, you can tap my knees and toes!)

Machine Maker (for children 3-5)

This is an invention game, using your MIND — plus your crayons and paper.

Let’s invent a machine! What should our machine do?
Let’s draw a picture of our machine and name it.
What else does our machine do? I will write down the words.

Sock Sort (for babies 0-18 months)

Start to understand patterns with this fun sorting game.

Help me sort this pile of socks!
Here is a yellow sock. Can you find the other one? I’ll put the matching pairs together.
Here’s another sock – let’s find the match. Let’s keep going until all of our socks are sorted!

Painting Machine (for children 3-5)

See what happens when you put paint on a ramp to grow children’s curiosity and focus!

Let’s paint on a ramp! First, let’s tape the paper to a cookie sheet or other firm, flat surface and water down the paint so that it can drip.
Let’s go outside or into the bathroom and lean the cookie sheet against the wall at an angle. Now let’s use the brush to drip watery paint at the top of the ramp and watch the colors run down the paper!
Let’s change the angle of our ramp and try again with another color. Do the colors drip faster or slower this time?

Catapult (for children 3-5)

Launch a ball into the air to build connection-making and self-regulation skills.

Let’s build a machine to launch a ball. Take a ruler and put it on top of a can so one end of the ruler touches the ground and the other is in the air.
On the end of the ruler that is touching the ground, tape a small paper cup.
Now, let’s put the ball in the cup and press down on the other end of the ruler. How far does the ball go? Let’s do it again!

Rhythm Patterns (for toddlers and littles 2+)

Drum and count the rhythm to start recognizing patterns.

Let’s make a pattern by counting beats. Let’s start by clapping and counting one at a time: 1, 1, 1, 1!
Now let’s try making a pattern by counting beats in twos. Stomp your feet in rhythm: 1, 2; 1, 2; 1, 2…
We sound like drums!

Where are the Wheels? (for children 3-5)

Search for wheels to build focus and expression/storytelling skills.

Let’s go for a walk to look for wheels. What vehicles have wheels?
The wheels spin around and carry vehicles from place to place.
Let’s pick one vehicle with wheels. Let’s make up a story about where it has been and where it is going!

Blog PostsParenting

July 25, 2024 by Sparkler Learning 0 Comments

Play & Learn Through the Summer Olympics

What 2024 Olympic sports will inspire your future athlete: Badminton or breaking? Triathlon or table tennis? Skateboarding or surfing? Families with toddlers and littles (from 1.5 – 5 years old) can find a selection of Olympics-inspired activities in their Sparkler mobile application to help them play along at home as the Olympians compete in Paris.

Inspiration for Your Own Home Olympic Games...

Home Golf: play cardboard box golf to develop perception skills and persistence
Sailing! Build (and float) sailboats out of recycled materials to build fine motor and persistence skills
Rhythmic Gymnastics: Dance with a ribbon or scarf to build pattern & operations skills and gross motor skills
Balloon Volleyball: Play volleyball with a ballon to build gross motor and persistence skills
Olympic Ring Art: Create an Olympic-inspired ring sculpture that symbolizes athletes coming together to compete to build small muscle and imagination
Triathlon: Walk, jump, and run in your own race to build muscles and persistence
Balance Beam: Pretend to be Olympic gymnasts walking on the balance beam to build perception and big muscles

How You Can Play

Sparkler families with toddlers and littles (aged 1.5 – 5 years old) will find the Summer Olympics play pack under “PLAY” starting on July 26 — the first day of the games in Paris.

If you’re a provider, you can find and share selected activities with families from Sparkler’s Library.

Questions: Email us at support@playsparkler.org.

Blog PostsParentingPlay Activities

June 21, 2024 by Admin 0 Comments

All About Camp Sparkler: Q&A with Dana Stewart

For more than 100 years, researchers have been asking: What happens to student learning during the summer months? Researchers have found evidence of what educators call “summer slide,” “summer setback,” or “summer learning loss,” especially for children from low-income families (source).

These statistics are not destiny! Summer can be a time of growth, curiosity, exploration, and advancement! 2024 is the third summer of Sparkler Learning’s summer learning program — Camp Sparkler. Learn more about the program from Sparkler’s Education Director, Dana Stewart.

Q&A About Camp Sparkler

Sparkler: In your experience, is ” summer learning loss” real for preschoolers and young children?

Dana: Yes! I remember as a preschool teacher, we spend the whole year building up routines. By the spring, children are so practiced that they know exactly what to do in the classroom. If they go away for two weeks, and it’s like they never learned the routines. When we think about summer learning loss, we tend to think about older children and academic learning, but the same principles hold true for toddlers and preschoolers. They’re just learning different things in school.

Sparkler: As a mom and longtime preschool teacher and leader, can babies, toddlers, and preschoolers actually keep learning in the summer months?

Dana: Yes! In fact learning never stops with young children. I think that’s why it’s especially important for us — as caregivers of young children — to create opportunities for them to practice the skills that we want to promote throughout the year.

Sparkler: Why is the summer actually an important time for learning?

Dana: I think summer offers new opportunities for learning because a lot of us tend to slow down. The hustle bustle of the school year slows; children are less busy. This gives families opportunities to really dig into their children’s interests. We’re also outside more in the summer months, which gives children a chance to explore the natural world freely in a way that is more complicated when it’s colder outside. Summer can be an especially great time to involve children in sensory-rich activities like splashing in sprinklers, blowing bubbles, and playing in the sand.

Sparkler: Why have you built the Camp Sparkler program around stories?

Dana: Stories are amazing, stories are magic, stories connect people across cultures and around the world! Children are naturally drawn to stories, so they tend to be more engaging for young children, and the diversity of stories from various cultures offers lots of opportunity to explore different topics through play. Most people can’t get on an airplane and visit South America, Asia, and Africa over the summer, but through stories we’re able to give children a chance to go on this adventure and learn something about people and traditions from far away.

Sparkler: Sparkler emphasizes play — why is play important in the Camp Sparkler program?

Dana: Play is how children learn best. I think play is how everybody learns best. The physical experience of play is the best teacher. It’s the joyful self-directed practicing of skills that helps to crystalize new information. It generates new ideas and is the birthplace of creativity and ingenuity. The fact that play is FUN is maybe the most important aspect of play. We are motivated to play because it doesn’t feel like a chore. Playing WITH people you love is even better.

Sparkler: People are busy — how much time does a busy parent or caregiver have to spend playing with a child in order to make a difference?

Dana: The good news is that it doesn’t take much time at all. Even five or ten minutes a day can make a huge difference. The best is when you can spend a few minutes playing with your child and then set them up to continue playing, thinking, and processing independently for a few minutes.

Sparkler: What are some of the highlights of Camp Sparkler this year?

Dana: One of the things I’m most excited about at Camp Sparkler this year is the FAMILY TALES PROJECT, where we are encouraging children to listen to stories told by their grown-ups and turn them into a book of family lore. I’m excited to see the books that Sparkler families create this summer!

Sparkler: This will be your third summer leading Sparkler’s summer learning program. What brings you joy about Camp?

Dana: My favorite thing about camp is creating new play activities I’m really excited about and sharing those with families — and seeing their excitement as they play them together.

Sparkler: Will there be any new songs this year as part of Camp?

Dana: Yes! Last year, we had the Once Upon a Time song, which will be part of Camp again this year. We’ll also share about 3 new songs.

Sparkler: How can families access Camp Sparkler?

Dana: If a family already has a Sparkler account, they’ll start seeing camp activities on their app home screen on July 8, 2024. If a family doesn’t have a Sparkler account, they should create one, linking up with their local school or program and then they’re all set. Families can start anytime over the summer. It’s OK if they miss the first day or week. People can learn more on our website, and if there are other questions, just reach out to support@playsparkler.org.

Camp Sparkler 2024

Blog PostsChildrenParentingsocial emotional

May 23, 2024 by Meaghan Penrod 0 Comments

Mental Health in Early Childhood: A Q&A With Dr. Sarah Gray

Tell us a little about yourself and what you do in the field.

I am a licensed clinical psychologist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at UConn, with a joint appointment in Psychiatry at UConn’s School of Medicine. My primary roles are in research and teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate level, including clinical and research training of our doctoral students in clinical psychology at UConn. My areas of specialty in both my clinical practice and my research are early childhood mental health, parenting, and trauma, with a specific focus on how parents and other important caregivers support young children’s thriving under conditions of adversity. I am also a parent to two daughters, ages 4 and 7.

We’ve heard a lot about a youth mental health crisis in America. Is this something that we’re also seeing among children 0-5? Do we know if the crisis we’re seeing is related to Covid or screen time or other factors?

Recent research that has come out during and after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic did show critical disruptions to some of the most important contributors to children’s mental health during the earliest years. These disruptions include increases in family violence, decreases in parental mental health specifically among parents of young children, and broad disruptions to support networks for families. Importantly, some of this research — including work coming out of our lab — has highlighted some of the processes that buffered young children and their parents from these risks to mental health, including healthy family communication patterns, and caregivers’ material and psychological access to positive pandemic-related experiences, such as more quality time spent with family members or more time spent donating or volunteering to help those in need.

What is the relationship between social emotional development and mental health in young children?

This is a great question. Social-emotional development and mental health are deeply tied to one another across childhood, but perhaps especially during the earliest years. In many ways, children’s mental health in many ways is defined by their ability to move through developmental milestones in social-emotional development – for example, when we see disruptions in young children’s ability to share their joy or sadness with caregiving adults, or their ability to control their bodies in developmentally appropriate ways, these are signs we may be seeing emerging mental health concerns. When we support young children’s social-emotional development – their ability to use their words to tell an adult they are distressed, for example, or their prosocial connections with important adults and their peers – we are supporting their mental health, too.

What can parents and educators do to support children’s mental health?

For parents and educators alike, your relationship with a young child is the strongest tool in your arsenal for supporting their well-being. Young children learn about themselves and about the world – how safe it is, what to expect from it – through their relationships with important adults. Caring, responsive, and predictable relationships with loving adults during the earliest years are the greatest foundation for mental health across the lifespan. One of the sayings in our field is “behavior is communication.” When you are confronted with a challenging behavior, instead of immediately reacting, try taking a minute to ask yourself, “what need is their challenging behavior trying to communicate to me? How can I respond to that need?”

Common mental health challenges look different than the same mental health challenges in adults. How do young children present with these challenges in ways that are different than adults?

Young children struggle with many of the common mental health challenges that adults do – depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress, aggression – but of course, the way that they manifest looks different. In the area of posttraumatic stress, for example, we sometimes see developmental regression – this means losing skills that have already been developed, such as a return to bedwetting in a child who has already been potty-trained. Instead of re-experiencing the event through flashbacks like we may see in adults, young children experiencing posttraumatic stress might repeatedly play out scenes that they’ve experienced or witnessed in their pretend play. Sometimes this play might be healthy and constructive – helping them to make sense of what has happened – and sometimes it might be more “stuck,” repetitive, or disrupted, illustrating an unresolved narrative that might need clinical attention.

How can the mental health of the parent impact the mental health of the child?

There is a saying from pediatrician and psychoanalyst D.W. Winnicott that I and many others in the field like that speaks to this question: “There is no such thing as a baby.” That is to say, there is always someone else caring for that baby, or else the baby could not survive. Young children’s emotional worlds necessarily involve caregiving adults, and the well-being of that adult is a lens through which the child learns about and experiences the world. One of the things I am most drawn to in therapeutic work with young children is that no one pretends we can just see an infant or toddler alone in our office and fix the issue – of course we need to address their broader social environments, bring the parents and other important adults in on the work of the therapy. I think this is true of adults, too, but it can be harder to bring those broader social worlds into the treatment room with adults.

What steps should a family take if they have concerns?

Talk to the other adults on your team! Pediatricians are always a great place to start – part of their training is focused on normative developmental milestones, and if families are concerned about children’s development or their mental health, pediatricians can be a great resource about “when to worry.” Teachers and early education professionals can also be a resource.

Are there any books or articles that are family friendly that you’d recommend if people want to learn more about the mental health of young children?

Yes. Alicia F. Lieberman is a giant in the field of early childhood mental health, and she has written a very accessible book called The Emotional Life of the Toddler that I have recommended to friends and families I’ve worked with alike. The organization Zero to Three is also an amazing national resource, and they have many fact sheets and informational resources online about just about any issue facing young children and families.

Blog PostsParenting

April 9, 2024 by Meaghan Penrod 0 Comments

The Power of Early Intervention: A Q&A With Dr. Marianne L. Barton

In honor of World Autism Month (April), a Sparkler family & community engagement specialist, Meaghan Penrod, spoke with Dr. Marianne L. Barton, Clinical Professor and Director of Clinical Training at the University of Connecticut Ph.D. Program in Clinical Psychology. Dr. Barton is a licensed psychologist and has worked for more than 30 years providing evaluation and treatment to young children and their families in multiple settings. Dr. Barton is one of the authors of The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers-Revised, (M-CHAT-R/F) and the Working Model of the Child Interview, as well as the Activity Kit for Babies and Toddlers at Risk.

Sparkler: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do in the field?

Dr. Barton: I am a Clinical Psychologist with specialized interest in Early Childhood. At UConn, I am the director of our training clinic, the Psychological Services Clinic and I oversee Clinical training for our PhD students. I supervise treatment and assessment services, complete assessments with students, consult to local Birth to Three programs, teach graduate courses and engage in research. My research is closely tied to my clinical interests. For example, because of our frustration at not seeing children with suspected Autism until they reached school age, several years ago my colleague Deb Fein and I developed the M-CHAT, a screening tool for young children that is now completed across the country at well-child pediatric visits. We are currently working on a series of videos that would help parents teach and engage with young children with autism.

Sparkler: How would you explain autism to someone who doesn't know much about it?

Dr. Barton: I think of Autism as a neuro-developmental disorder that interferes with a child’s ability to build reciprocal social relationships. Young children with ASD struggle with all of the behaviors that allow them to initiate and sustain social interaction, such as making eye contact, following someone’s attempt to direct their attention, showing things to others or pointing to direct attention. Some children develop communication skills, including language, others struggle to communicate. Children also develop repetitive behaviors, and sensory interests such as spinning toys, watching things fall or spin etc. Repetitive behaviors or restricted interests are required for a diagnosis of ASD. Beyond those two characteristics, there is enormous variability in children diagnosed with ASD. Some have comorbid intellectual disability or ADHD; others do not. Most develop functional communication skills; a small percentage remain minimally verbal.

Sparkler: What are some common misunderstandings people have about autism?

Dr. Barton: I think that people rely more on atypical behaviors, such as hand flapping, to identify children with autism, rather than the difficulties with social interaction. Children with many kinds of difficulty engage in atypical behaviors (for example, ADHD, Intellectual Disability, sensory concerns); unless they also have significant social deficits, they would not be considered autistic. I think people also under-estimate the extent of the progress that individuals with autism can make with intensive early intervention. A small number of children (15-20%) make so much progress that they no longer qualify for the diagnosis. Some of those teen-agers and young adults are indistinguishable from typically developing individuals. In recent years, the diagnostic criteria have been loosened to permit the diagnosis of individuals with less severe impairments. That has allowed for the identification of more children and the provision of services earlier.

Sparkler: How does early intervention support young children with autism?

Dr. Barton: If we can identify children early and provide intervention most children will make significant progress. Services typically focus on improving functional communication skills and developing skills at social interaction. When necessary, intervention may also focus on teaching adaptive skills and reducing atypical behavior. Over many years, we have learned that children with autism can learn many of the skills that typically developing children acquire on their own; children with ASD may require specific teaching to acquire those skills. Early intervention will allow children to address the social difficulties associated with autism and develop more typical friendships and social relationships. It also supports brain development which remains flexible in our youngest children. Finally, intervention provides greater support to families, teaches parents the skills they need to engage their children and reduces some of the stress and isolation that family members experience in raising a child with special needs. We have a great deal of evidence that early intervention results in significant gains in skills, healthier developmental trajectories, improved outcomes for both children and families and markedly reduced costs over the course of a child’s life.