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Socialization begins in early infancy when babies cry, smile, and coo at their caregivers. Friendship naturally evolves from these early expressions. It evolves so naturally that adults don t always take time to explain the concept to children until they have their first fight or friend breakup. Giving [friendship] a label early on [gives] kids.a greater.understanding of themselves and their peers, says Molly O Shea, M.D., a pediatrician for Goldfish Swim School in Bloomfield Township, Michigan.
Adults can start talking about friendship with children as early as 9 months, and realistically, children will begin to better understand what a friend is as they start having more peer-to-peer interaction around 2 or 3 years old.
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The country is reeling from the recent domestic terror attack in which an armed white mob of insurrectionists took over the U.S. Capitol building in an attempt to curb lawmakers from certifying the 2020 election results. In the midst of the assault on democracy, at least four people died. In the wake of these events, it s totally normal if you re grappling with not only your own emotional exhaustion but a mix of dread and uncertainty around how to tackle the topic with your child. But as daunting as it might feel, experts say it s important to create a safe space to communicate with children about the crisis.
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Children all over the world have been touched by COVID-19. In just a few months after learning about the new coronavirus, kids went from happily playing on playgrounds with their buddies to wearing masks, swimming in hand sanitizer, and not being able to play with friends. This pandemic will most likely have a long-lasting impact on their lives, and that s why it s so important to help them understand what it means when we say pandemic. Here s how you can start the conversation. What Is the Difference Between an Epidemic and a Pandemic?
Just like a school has many classrooms, our world has many countries. One such country is China, the place where lots of people first started getting sick with COVID-19. The virus moved from person to person in China and then started making people sick all over the world.
I started talking to my kids about vaccines when they were babies. Yes, babies. That s what made
me feel better about getting them their shots. Being a vaccine researcher, I never questioned whether or not I d vaccinate, but it s still not an easy task as a parent to get your kids their shots the tears, the pinch of pain, the doctors appointments. Eventually it got easier for me, and maybe a little harder for them. But I kept talking.
Today, my elementary-aged children are fine with getting their shots, and I think that s because I never stopped the conversation. They re curious little creatures and talking about those scary things seems to help a lot. Now that coronavirus vaccines are headed our way, it s especially important to start talking about vaccines with your kids.
Playlist. Right now, the podcast is tackling the three branches of government in bite sized policy interviews on Instagram with the women who will be making policy in the new administration. Based on these conversations and the hard-hitting political questions I get from my 2- and 4-year-old, I’ve broken down the branches of government. What are the three branches of government?
The federal government, which runs the whole country, includes three different groups, or branches, that are separate but all have equal power. Each branch functions in a different way but together they are responsible for making, and implementing rules for the entire country.