Doctors/Dentist Trips

This year, we took my son, Ethan, 3, to his first dentist appointment. 

Now my son is very, ummm, sensitive. And new situations are always 

unpredictable (as are most things with 2 and 3 year olds!). I read a great 

article about preparing for a child's first dentist appointment. 

Role-playing a dentist visit

We decided to use role-play to help Ethan get ready for the dentist. 

I made a dentist hat out of construction paper (one of my favorite/cheapest resources)
and had Ethan first wait in the "waiting room" (aka our kitchen). Then we
walked into the dentist office (our living room) and sat in the
dentist chair (our rocker). I pretended to be the dentist (with my nifty hat)
and asked him questions like, "What's your name?" 

and "How old are you?" Ethan LOVED it! I also asked him to open wide 

and then counted his teeth. After a few minutes, I let him be the dentist and I was

the patient. I couldn't believe how great Ethan did with the role playing! 

He walked me into the waiting room, then into the living room and told me 

to sit in the chair. He asked me all the same questions, and then checked my teeth. 

It was adorable! 

When we actually went into the dentist office, it was almost exactly the 

way we had practiced. I thought maybe he'd want me to sit in the chair and 

he on my lap, but I let him take the lead and he sat up there all by himself! He did 

a great job and I was really glad I took the 10 minutes to prep him for the visit. 

One other thing I would add when going to the dentist or doctor's office is 

reading children's books about a dentist or doctor's visit. Kids like to know 

what they are going to be doing. It's called "front-loading," another teaching term. 

I use this technique everyday to let Ethan know what is coming up. 

I think sometimes I am not sure if Ethan will understand what I am saying 

or doing, but it's always worth a try. I've never regretting presenting him with 

something more challenging than his age or level because once he's older and 

can actually understand, he will have a little prior knowledge to access 

because he's seen it before. 

#deliberateparenting

Welcome!

So my mom has been saying for a long time that I should write a blog about parenting. Now, I am NOT the world's best parent, but I do read a lot about parenting. I am a teacher by day, and there is something called "best practices" in education, where teachers share out the best strategies, activities, and management techniques that they use. These are called best practices or teachers teaching teachers. It's really a great way to learn what works for some teachers, and what can work for you! I have decided to use the same techniques as a mom. So I "research" the best parenting practices, using parenting magazines, online articles, books, television programs (think Supernanny), Pinterest, and conversations with other successful parents and apply them to my parenting. All of these skills/ideas don't always work, and sometimes I have to tweak them to make them fit my life, but for the most part, my research has paid off! Another idea I stole from teaching and applied to parenting is Harry Wong's idea of "Beg, borrow and steal" [good ideas] from others. There is nothing wrong with taking information/activities/ideas from other parents who are doing a great job. In fact, we can all learn from each other....and should! And in the end, our children are the ones benefiting from our research and deliberate parenting strategies.

This blog is a compilation of parenting tips/advice/ideas/activities that have helped me in my parenting endeavors. Hope you enjoy!