Development Milestones

Toddlers and the Power of Why

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

From the weather to why we brush our teeth, it’s almost like they can’t help themselves. It’s been covered in TV episodes and in cartoons. You can picture it even now. An exasperated parent being followed by a super-inquisitive toddler, relentlessly asking “why”.

Research reveals that kids ask around 40,000 questions between 2-4 years of age. Similar studies also found that some 4-year-olds ask about 200-300 questions DAILY. As taxing as their inquiries can be for us as parents, it’s a good thing! Questions and curiosity are good indicators of social and cognitive development.

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Guest Post: The Mama Dentist

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

A couple weeks ago, we shared a couple posts about our first visit to the dentist and sensory toothbrushing. For this special guest post, we’ve hooked up with The Mama Dentist, Dr. Taylor McFarland, DDS, MS and asked her a few questions on what she thinks parents should know about toothbrushing. Dr. McFarland is a Board Certified Pediatric Dentist and Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry.

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Their Wildest Dreams: A Kid’s Imagination

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

Imagination and Halloween go hand-in-hand. It’s the time for decking out the house with some curious décor, telling fantastical stories, and becoming anything you want to be. It’s only a matter of how far your creativity and imagination will take you. 

Imagination is the ability to create up an image or scenario that hasn’t been seen or experienced, like coming face-to-face with a dragon or witnessing an alien abduction. Imagination is internal, unconsciously influenced by memories and feelings of past experiences rather than our current situation.

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Balancing Act: All About Postural Control

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

“Stand tall. Sit upright. Shoulders back, tuck your bottom…”

While your grandparents might want you to be prim and proper, posture is much more involved than just how you look. How we sit, stand, or maintain any upright position without support requires postural control. We do this daily without much thought or effort so that we can use our energy and focus on more complicated tasks. But for some, especially kids, just sitting in a chair without falling is a challenge. It may not seem like a big deal, but almost activity we do requires sustaining an upright position against gravity.

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Get in (Mid)Line

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

There are two sides to every story. The same applies to the human body.

Practically any movement we do, big or small, requires the left and right side to work together to stabilize and/or execute a motion. Even reading this post relies on such teamwork. Bilateral coordination (also known as bilateral integration) is the ability to simultaneously use both sides of the body. Like all developmental skills, this ability is gained through our own body awareness, experiences, and practice.

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