What is Shared Book Reading and Why It Matters for Your Child
As parents, we know reading to our children is important—but did you know that how you read can make a big difference in your child’s language and literacy development? One approach that speech pathologists often use is shared book reading . What is Shared Book Reading? Shared book reading is more than just reading words off a page. It’s an interactive experience where an adult and child engage together around a book. During this time: The book becomes a shared focus of atte
🧼👕 Self-Care Skills for 3–4 Year Olds: What’s Typical?
As an occupational therapist, one of the most common questions I hear from parents of preschoolers is: “What should my child be able to do for themselves at this age?” The preschool years (ages 3–4) are an exciting time. Children are curious, eager to try things on their own, and developing the motor, thinking, and social skills that lay the foundation for independence. Self-care tasks, things like dressing, feeding, toileting, and hygiene, are key stepping stones in this jou
“Recently a member of our family has died & my child is asking questions, what should I do?”
A question that comes up from parents/caregivers is around asking what to do when their child, particularly a younger child, starts talking about death or experiences a death in their life. It can cause the adults stress around the best response in order to not traumatise the child. FIRSTLY, take a breath :) Remember that it's developmentally normal for children to have lots of questions and be curious around the concept of death/loss even if they've never experienced de
