Time to Go to the Orthodontist

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I am an Invisalign Teen^® brand spokesperson and all opinions expressed are my own.

Is it time for your child to see an orthodontist?

I always assumed that teenagers saw orthodontists, but what I found with my first child is that it is good to get an initial consult much sooner.

In fact, by the time my oldest son was a teenager, he had been through the first phase of braces due to alignment issues that needed some action before all his baby teeth were lost.  From this experience, I found out kids as young as 8 or 9 can receive an orthodontist evaluation.

I also found out that the first orthodontic appointment was pain-free!  The orthodontist simply checked Ryan’s mouth with a full evaluation, reviewed his dental records, looked at current teeth alignment, asked questions about potential jaw issues or pain, and examined X-rays.  He gave us several suggested treatment timelines and we opted to wait a year before beginning his first phase.  I have several friends who took their kids into the orthodontist who told them that everything was fine.  In our case, it was reassuring to me to know exactly what was going on and our different options.

When my second boy was 10, I took him to his first orthodontist appointment.  As with my first, it was obvious that he would need orthodontic intervention!  The orthodontist agreed and mentioned that he would be a good candidate for Invisalign® Teen clear aligners.  He recommended that we wait until all his baby teeth had fallen out.  We returned for two more checkups over the next 2 years.  Reid had one stubborn baby tooth that was just hanging in there!  The orthodontist said that 6 months after he lost that last tooth, we could start the Invisalign Teen treatment.  Reid lost that tooth right before the holidays 2015…so we are returning in another month to see if everything is ready to go.  If all goes according to plan, he will start with Invisalign Teen treatment around his 13th birthday.

I’ve learned that orthodontic treatment isn’t just cosmetic.  Crowded and overlapping teeth can be a hygiene issue; some kids have a bite that lead to jaw and tooth problems; and extreme cases can affect breathing and eating.  I also know that you child’s first orthodontist appointment will be an informational visit and can put kids at ease about returning, and ultimately, mom and child will be armed with knowledge that allows them to make future treatment decisions.

I am very relieved that Reid will be receiving Invisalign Teen clear aligners to align his teeth.  His older brother’s traditional metal braces caused problems several times when brackets and/or wires were broken – and it always seemed to be the weekend or at night!  I know from wearing Invisalign clear aligners myself that there are no emergency runs to the orthodontist and I always had the previous trays that I could wear if something happened to the current set until I could see my doctor.   I’ve also learned that Invisalign Teen treatment includes up to six free replacement aligners, although data shows that a very small percentage of teens require them.

For me, I love that the technology has become so advanced that they’re able to treat more complex cases, so it’s definitely worth getting a consultation if it’s something you’ve considered for your teen.  For my son, he is mostly excited that wearing Invisalign Teen is much more subtle than traditional braces!  A win win for both of us!

Kids Activities Blog is excited to be working with the maker’s of Invisalign Teen clear aligners again this year.  Holly Homer is an Invisalign Teen brand spokesperson and thrilled to be talking about her Invisalign treatment experience as well as starting a new Invisalign Teen clear aligners journey with one of her boys.   All opinions expressed are her own. Full disclosure.

 

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How to Teach Kids Self Control

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Imagine you are cooking dinner and your child is starving. You tell him to wait, but he wines and cries and pouts. You are tired of listening to him, whine so you allow him to have a snack. Teaching kids self control is hard.

Or imagine you are at a store and your child sees a toy that he really, really, really wants more than anything in the whole world. You just want some peace while you shop, so you let him have the toy and agree to buy it at the end of the shopping trip.

Or imagine you child desperately wants to play at a friend’s house, but right now you are leaving as a family for a commitment or obligation. You child does not want to go with you. He wants to go to a friend’s house. Okay fine. You make a concession and allow him to go to the friend’s house instead.

But wait?

What if I told you holding your boundary firm and making your child wait was the single most important skill you can teach your child.

Teaching kids self-control or delayed gratification.

Research shows that “Children with worse self-control (less persistence, more impulsivity and poor attention regulation) at ages 3-11 tend to have worse health, earn less, and commit more crimes 30 years later than those with better self-control as children.” (Source: Zero to Five).

Have you ever heard of the marshmallow test?

The Marshmallow Test was a series of studies on delayed gratification in the late 1960s and early 1970s at Stanford University. In these studies, kids were offered a choice: get one reward right now or wait twenty minutes and get two rewards. The reward was often a pretzel, marshmallow or mint.

The single reward was placed on the table, while the researcher left the room for about 20 minutes. As each child sat alone in the room staring at their marshmallow, they had to decide to wait and get double the marshmallows or eat the single marshmallow without waiting.

In follow-up studies, the researchers found that children who were able to wait longer for the larger reward tended to have better life outcomes. This was measured by test scores, educational achievement, healthy weight in adulthood and more.

20+ ways to teach kids self-control or delayed gratification.

You need not do all these things all the time or make them an exclusive part of your everyday life. Pick what works well for your family and use it when it’s best for your parenting style and kids’ personalities. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Play red light, green light.
2. Teach kids to save money for something bigger they really want.
3. Create an end of the day reward if kids complete all their chores.
4. Teach kids to wait for dinner, despite being hungry, rather than giving snacks close to mealtimes.
5. Play games that require focus and attention like memory.
6. Teach your child to wait at the end of the line instead of cutting in front.
7. Play freeze tag.
8. Teach your kids to put a toy they really want on their birthday or Christmas list rather than buying it right away.
9. Help your child practice yoga or meditation (this could be as simple as asking them to take 5 deep breaths) where they must sit still for a certain period of time.
10. Have a staring contest.
11. Teach your child to wait for another child to finish using a toy before he can play with it.
12. Play follow the leader.
13. Play the quiet game where everyone needs to be as quiet as possible and the first person to talk or make noise is out.
14. Have kids sit for story time to improve focusing skills.
15. Complete a listening activity where your child must repeat back instructions to you.
16. Have kids play alone for at least 30 minutes a day. This encourages kids to have enough self-control to problem solve with their toys and entertain themselves without outside support.
17. Teach kids to wait to interrupt you using the interrupt rule: putting their hand on your shoulder or leg to let you know they need to interrupt you.
18. Teach your children how to wait for a treat like a cookie or cupcake.
19. Teach your kids to self-regulate emotions. If your child is fussing or protesting, allow your child the opportunity to calm themselves a bit before intervening.
20. Praise for effort and encourage hard work to achieve goals, rather than doing the work for your kids.
21. Teach your kids to help with chores around the house before earning the privilege to watch movies, play outside or do fun activities.

Delayed gratification (or self-control) is the single most important skill you can teach your child. This valuable skill not only translates into better behaved children (it really does!), but it also shapes them into fabulous adults and develops great listening skills which is all we can hope for our kids!

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Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork

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You won’t believe how easy our Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork is to make for your family on those busy days when you just don’t have enough time to cook!

Another favorite fix it and forget it meal around our home is our Lemon & Thyme Slow Cooker Chicken. Oh my goodness it’s amazing!

With just 5 minutes preparation time and your slow cooker doing all the work, your family is going to enjoy one delicious meal that they’ll be begging for seconds on. You will definitely want to add this recipe to your mealtime rotation.

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork

Ingredients

• 3-4 pound pork roast
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 to 2 cup your favorite bbq sauce

Directions

First sear the pork roast in a hot pan with a small amount of olive oil. This step is totally unnecessary, but it adds flavor to your final dish. Place whole roast into slow cooker and add 1 cup water. Cover and cook on LOW for 10-12 hours. Take roast out and shred with two forks OR a great tip is to let your stand mixer shred it for you. Add enough barbecue sauce to your liking and mix it all together. Serve bbq pulled pork on rolls with homemade or store-bought chips. And maybe a salad?

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Simple Block Learning Activity with Shapes & Colors

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Super simple block learning activity for toddlers and preschoolers to practice their shapes and colors and then build! If your child loves blocks, I have tons of block activities for them to do!

We did this long, long ago with George (see below) and this time, Louis got a turn. George played along too and did block patterns that I shared on PBS Parents.

Before inviting the kids to play, first collect some blocks that you have! If you have different colored blocks (here’s an affiliate link to ones very similar to what we have), that’s even better, then you may need some colored markers (affiliate link) too.

I ripped off a large sheet of butcher paper (affiliate link) and traced several different shapes of blocks, as well as some of the same shape, but different colors.

Then Louis had the job of trying to find the matching block, that’s also in the correct color.

It proved to be an easy task for him.

After we were done, I encouraged the kids to build towers, but keeping their foundation on the correct color blocks.

This was fun to see Louis’ building skills!

Don’t forget to check out the block patterning that George did. I shared it on PBS Parents.

George’s block matching a couple years ago.

I went back to the basics for George to learn shapes and colors with a block activity since he’s been all about the blocks lately.

A very fast setup (excuse the scribbles on the paper!). While the boys were busy scribbling, I traced a few blocks in different shapes onto a large piece of butcher paper.

Basic Matching to Learn Shapes and Colors:

I traced them in the same color as the blocks too, just to add another element of learning.

I set out the blocks (affiliate link) with the traced outlines for George to match up.

As he matched up each block to the shape. I simply repeated what he was doing. Calling out the shape of the block, as well as the color.

George was better with matching up shapes then he was colors. But once he realized there were differences in the colors too, he soon grasped that as well.

Advanced Block Matching Activity:

Henry ended up getting pretty creative with our block to shape matching setup.

He not only matched the blocks to the correct shapes and colors, but he took it a step further and connected them all in a large structure.

Henry completely challenged himself with this task. I had absolutely nothing to do with it. And he was very determined to make it happen.

I didn’t plan for this at all, so some of my tracings of the blocks were too far apart to be able to reach to another within the span of one block. Henry did have to improvise to get it to work then and had to add supports.

This is a big deal for him at the moment. Adding supports is something he’s starting to understand with making block structures and that it can’t always just be one tall tower, or be top heavy. It needs supports underneath to make it stable and not fall down. I cannot tell you how helpful this is that he’s learning this. Its making block building much more fun to do with him! And I love how much its making him think about how he’s building his structures.

There’s 40 more block activities to browse too!

Simple Block Learning Activity with Shapes & Colors on handsonaswegrow.com

Simple Block Learning Activity with Shapes & Colors

Hands On As We Grow http://ift.tt/169FmRd

Super simple block learning activity for toddlers and preschoolers to practice their shapes and colors and then build! If your child loves blocks, I have tons of block activities for them to do!

We did this long, long ago with George (see below) and this time, Louis got a turn. George played along too and did block patterns that I shared on PBS Parents.

Before inviting the kids to play, first collect some blocks that you have! If you have different colored blocks (here’s an affiliate link to ones very similar to what we have), that’s even better, then you may need some colored markers (affiliate link) too.

I ripped off a large sheet of butcher paper (affiliate link) and traced several different shapes of blocks, as well as some of the same shape, but different colors.

Then Louis had the job of trying to find the matching block, that’s also in the correct color.

It proved to be an easy task for him.

After we were done, I encouraged the kids to build towers, but keeping their foundation on the correct color blocks.

This was fun to see Louis’ building skills!

Don’t forget to check out the block patterning that George did. I shared it on PBS Parents.

George’s block matching a couple years ago.

I went back to the basics for George to learn shapes and colors with a block activity since he’s been all about the blocks lately.

A very fast setup (excuse the scribbles on the paper!). While the boys were busy scribbling, I traced a few blocks in different shapes onto a large piece of butcher paper.

Basic Matching to Learn Shapes and Colors:

I traced them in the same color as the blocks too, just to add another element of learning.

I set out the blocks (affiliate link) with the traced outlines for George to match up.

As he matched up each block to the shape. I simply repeated what he was doing. Calling out the shape of the block, as well as the color.

George was better with matching up shapes then he was colors. But once he realized there were differences in the colors too, he soon grasped that as well.

Advanced Block Matching Activity:

Henry ended up getting pretty creative with our block to shape matching setup.

He not only matched the blocks to the correct shapes and colors, but he took it a step further and connected them all in a large structure.

Henry completely challenged himself with this task. I had absolutely nothing to do with it. And he was very determined to make it happen.

I didn’t plan for this at all, so some of my tracings of the blocks were too far apart to be able to reach to another within the span of one block. Henry did have to improvise to get it to work then and had to add supports.

This is a big deal for him at the moment. Adding supports is something he’s starting to understand with making block structures and that it can’t always just be one tall tower, or be top heavy. It needs supports underneath to make it stable and not fall down. I cannot tell you how helpful this is that he’s learning this. Its making block building much more fun to do with him! And I love how much its making him think about how he’s building his structures.

There’s 40 more block activities to browse too!

Simple Block Learning Activity with Shapes & Colors on handsonaswegrow.com

Paper Bag Octopus Craft

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This Paper Bag Octopus Craft is one of our favorite paper crafts. It is perfect for an ocean lesson plan or a fun inside activity on a hot summer day.

Paper Bag Octopus Craft

Here’s what you need to make this Paper Bag Octopus Craft:

• Paper bag
• Pink Craft Paint
• Paint Brush
• Yarn
• Scrap paper or newspaper
• Googly Eyes
• Glue
• Scissors

Open the paper bag and paint each side pink.  We stood our bag up over a plastic bottle to make it easier to paint.

Crumple up scrap paper into a ball.  Drop the paper ball inside the bag.

Gather up the bag under the bag and tie a piece of yarn tightly around it to hold the paper ball in the bottom of the bag.

Cut the paper bag into strips.  You now have the octopus head and tentacles!

Glue the googly eyes on and draw a smile.

You can also make an octopus using toilet paper rolls for a fun and easy craft!

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