Welcome to the 2003 Toddler Topics, a learn-at-home newsletter series for parents of young children. Toddler Topics is created by Penn State Cooperative Extension Family Living Agents.

Your child will have many teachers and influences throughout his or her life. Remember that as a parent, you are the first teacher and the greatest influence on your child. This issue provides some practical ideas to use on your path of parenting.

Sincerely,

Lynn B. Clint
Extension Agent - Family and Consumer Sciences

For more information, contact us at:
Penn State Cooperative Extension in Erie County
850 East Gore Road, Erie, PA 16509-3798
Phone: (814) 825-0900; Fax: (814) 825-4783

YOUNG CHILDREN AND MONEY
Cathy F. Bowen, PhD, CFCS
The Pennsylvania State University

How much thought have you given to how you teach your children about money? Parents of young children are often very concerned about teaching them to read, to write, and to acquire social skills. Yet an important life skill, managing money, is not given much consideration until children are about to graduate from high school. By then, many opportunities for teaching valuable lessons have passed. Lists of things "to do" with children to teach money skills are readily available in many books, magazine articles, and on web sites. However, before selecting suggestions from lists, determine what you really want your offspring to know. What's important to you and your family? What kind of attitudes and values do you want your children to have about money?

Do you want them to know how to save, invest, spend wisely and donate to charities? What specific money skills do you feel they will need to function well in society? What common pitfalls would you like your children to avoid? Your responses to these questions may be helpful as you sort through lists of suggestions for teaching money skills. Regardless of what you read in lists, remember that the way you handle money (spend, save, invest, talk about it, etc.), will be a powerful teaching tool in educating your child about money matters. The next time your children ask for the latest toy or candy in the store, think about your response. What will they learn if that response is repeated for five to ten years?

TEMPERAMENT TRAITS
. . . NOW WHAT?
(First in a Six-Part Series)
Denise Continenza
Lehigh County

In last year's edition of Toddler Topics we addressed the issue of children's temperament. This was described as the package of traits, the in-borne personality that children just seem to bring with them as they enter the world. The nine temperament traits are: activity level, regularity, approach/ withdrawal, adaptability, intensity, predominant mood, persistence, distractibility, and sensory threshold. Much research has shown that humans actually have personality qualities in their genes, present at birth. While these remain fairly constant throughout one's life, the environment has a great impact on how the child learns to manage with his or her uniqueness. For a child, environment includes the interactions he or she has with adults.

In my workshop on temperament traits, parents often ask "What now?" after they have examined their child's unique qualities. On the rating scale, some children rank very high in certain traits and, as such, pose a real challenge to parents. Parental strategies are most effective when there is a "goodness of fit" between the caregiver and the child.
This means that parents need to adjust their approaches to children based on each child's distinctive character. We will explore this in Toddler Topics for 2003.

Take for example a child with a high activity level. He seems to always need to move around. This child can pose a challenge to a parent or caregiver who has a lower activity level or prefers quieter, perhaps more artistic activities. Often, teachers and parents strive to have the child fit their mold rather than adapting the environment to meet the child's needs.

This does not mean changing the environment or overhauling the household for the sake of one person. It means making conscious decisions about how and when things will happen so that this child can be successful. For example, you might take this child on a picnic instead of to a restaurant for a family outing or choose a buffet where sitting and waiting are minimal. An active child needs many opportunities for movement. Outdoor play, movement to music, and other gross motor activities should be included regularly in planning your curriculum. It is easy to label high-energy children as "hyper" or "bad." Instead, frame children's behavior and personality in terms of strengths. Active kids are hard-working, energetic and ambitious young people!

………….................................…………FAMILY FUN………................................………………

Paper Plate Fun
Mary Ann K. Oyler, Franklin County

Let's Talk: When the sun isn't shining and the children are restless, pull out something as simple as paper plates. From puppets to hats, paper plates offer endless hours of entertainment.

Round and Round: Poke a hole in the center of each paper plate. Place the plate on a record player. Let your child hold the marker so the felt tip touches the plate. Turn on the record player and watch colorful circles form. Switch marker color and start again and again. If you don't have a record player, tape the plate to a Lazy Susan and spin it around. Source: Building Blocks, March 2001.

Spider Web: Use markers to decorate a paper plate. Using a hole punch, make holes all over and around the plates. Use colorful yarn with ends wrapped in masking tape to weave a spider web.
Source: Building Blocks, March 2001.

A Fish: Take a paper plate and cut out a triangle section for the mouth. Staple the triangle to the rear of the fish for a tail. Allow children to glue on pieces of foil, colorful cellophane or fluorescent dots. If you don't mind the mess, get out the glitter!

CHOKING HAZARDS WITH FOOD
Fran Alloway, Delaware County

Toddlers love to put items into their mouths. When the items are a nonfood object, we worry about them choking or swallowing something dangerous. Food can also block the airway. Some foods to avoid are
hot dogs, raw carrots, nuts and seeds, popcorn, round or hard candy, whole grapes or large pieces of hard fruit. Some foods like hot dogs, fruit, vegetables and meat can be cut into smaller pieces. You can also cook fruits and vegetables slightly to soften them. Here's an easy recipe for the microwave:

Cinnamon Apple Slices

1 apple, cored and peeled (any apple but Red Delicious) cinnamon and sugar

Sprinkle peeled apple with cinnamon and sugar. Wrap apple in plastic wrap and place in microwave oven for
1 ½ to 2 minutes on HIGH power, until apple is warm and sugar melts but is not as soft as applesauce. Let cool and cut into slices. Can be served with vanilla yogurt.

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A PYRAMID FOR KIDS
Marg Malehorn
Cumberland County

Think of establishing lifelong eating patterns when adopting the Food Guide Pyramid for children. For their food preferences, unique eating patterns and needs of young children, nutritionists are not changing what children should eat, but amounts and how it is offered.

A variety from each of the food groups every day is best. Make available whole grain foods and dark green vegetables. Remember fat is a nutrient needed for normal development and, by age five, that's about
38 grams a day.

Toddlers will be well nourished eating about a tablespoon of fruits and vegetables per year of age per day. They might need a bread or cereal portion a fourth to a half of what an adult would eat. Your child can eat more than that if they want and might at times. Avoid letting them fill up on liquid foods. Give water for thirst, juice and milk for foods at meals and snacks. Serve small portions and let them ASK for more. Too much on their plate can be overwhelming, so they give up before ever starting. It also teaches overeating.

Download a copy of the Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children from http://www.usda.gov.cnpp

This publication is available in alternative media on request.

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