I’m always up for a surprise and since launching my website, playonwords.com, I have had some delightful surprises, meeting interesting people. About 2 weeks ago I got a note from a fellow speech pathologist, Debra Levinson, who liked my website and found the articles especially helpful. Naturally, I looked up her website, www.cradle2college.com and saw that she had developed a calendar for your baby’s first year. Debra is a Board Certified Educational Therapist as well as a Speech-language Pathologist. She kindly sent me a copy of the calendar and I have been sharing it with new moms ever since.
When my daughter-in-law became a first time mom five weeks ago, I asked her what information would be most helpful for her to know in regards to language development. One of the things she said was, “A time-line.” Begin this calendar the month your child is born–just fill in the month on the first page and proceed through the year. There is plenty of space for you to record developmental milestones and even a picture each month to see his growth.
Each month has five learning blocks: vision, hearing, movement and touch, emotions and relationships, and speech, language and thought. Within each area of learning you are given 2-6 “Basics” (what your baby may begin to do that month), and 3-5 “Boosters” (suggestions to support his development in that area, leading to future academic success). Helpful tips are sprinkled throughout the calendar and suggestions on topics such as baby-massage, breastfeeding, how to avoid ear infections, comforting a crying baby, and child-proofing refer the parent to extensive “Resources” at the end of the calendar for further reading. A “Parents’ Problem Solving Guide” gives signs for a sick baby, when to call the doctor, how to soothe a crying baby and the signs of postpartum depression.
In a world of too much information coming at new parents from all aspects of the media, this calendar is a concise, helpful chunk of relevant tips covering the five main areas of your child’s development his first year. Busy new parents have just enough time to refer to this calendar and be reassured of their baby’s progress in the first year of his life.
