Aiden is Almost 4!!!!

What activities and experiences that you and your child engage in might be promoting healthy behavioral practices and an interest in physical activity?

As a family we encourage Aiden to play outside. He is very good at playing catch, kicking the soccer ball around, you name it as an outdoor activity and Aiden does extremely well doing it. He enjoys playing outside rather than inside. I'm sure he'll be bummed when the rains come this fall. We do watch educational shows and cartoons occasionally. Mainly when it is too hot outside or when I need to get a few things done around the house & Aiden's little sister is sleeping (which thankfully is a lot right now since we just brought her home for the hospital), this is my only time to get things done. The two of them keep me pretty busy! My husband and I try to show Aiden to make the most out of outside play. We are trying to save up for a house so we've been staying home a lot and trying to use what we already have and enjoy. I think this is part of the reason Aiden enjoys playing outside so much is because we try and go the park as often as we can.

Describe development of your child’s language and cognitive skills and discuss how these might be affecting his or her interactions with you & your responses.

Aiden is doing ok with his language. He does have issues sometimes but overall he does rather well. He loves to tell people stories! He does tend to leave out parts that kind of put the entire story together so I usually ask him questions after hes done to fill in the gaps for who ever he is talking to. He isn't shy when it comes to talking about things he likes to do or has done. Along with his story telling Aiden has acquired a new "story", he likes to get away with things around the house by lying to us about it when we ask him. Unfortunately we haven't caught him in the act of taking a cookie before dinner (which he leaves crumbs all over the counter) or other things hes lying to us about. When we do it will be good because we can explain to him that lying is not ok and that when you lie to people you hurt their feelings. I think other than Aiden lying to us we interact well together. Most of the time we understand what hes saying and if we don't he is usually pretty good in trying to explain what he means to us.

How well is your child adapting to social situations in the home and outside the home? Does your child have any behavior or emotional problems at this point? Why do you think these problems are occurring and what are you doing about them?

We weren't seeing to much aggression or tantrums before we had Kimber (our newest little bundle of joy), once she came home from the hospital Aiden as shown signs of regressing, he acts like a baby again, crying more, being a lot more whiny, uncooperative, and not using his words. We are trying to show him that it is more fun being a big brother than the baby. He does pride himself on being the big brother and he has shown a lot of interest in Kimber. Other than adjusting to Kimber, Aiden has been doing well at school interacting with other children and being well behaved and following rules at preschool. We are letting Aiden adjust to having Kimber at home with us and if his disobedience continues then we will have to look into figuring out a way to correct it and get Aiden back on track. I just think he is adjusting to Kimber and he will be back to behaving like the big boy that he is in no time!

Aiden is 2 1/2 years old!!!

Aiden has had some set backs in his environment. We had to change day care facilities due to his babysitter moving out of town, and then again when Aiden moved to a "big kid" day care center. He seems to be adjusting well but still has crying fits occasionally when me or my husband drop him off. I think that Aiden wouldn't still be so emotionally when we leave if we hadn't changed facilities a few times. I feel this way because I think he feels that he cant get close to people because he might be worried that he'll have to go to a new day care center again. I don't plan on switch day care centers anytime soon and I try to explain that to Aiden but I don't think he understands.
Aiden is doing well with picking up his toys , brushing his teeth, etc. when asked. He does listen when we ask him to do things or tell him its bedtime. We have an occasional breakdown but he usually can overcome that and get back on track. Aiden and daddy are spending a lot more time together so I think that this is helping with Aiden and listening and respecting the rules of the house. We are having the same issues with Aiden not always playing well with others. Unfortunately he only seems to not get along with girls. He plays fine with other boys unless the other kid wants to play with Aiden's favorite toy. I have to remind him to share with others and that he'll get his toy back.
I do like "Social Learning Theory". I want to be a role model to Aiden and I want him to know that it is ok to mimic others as long as they are doing the correct thing. It is nice to see Aiden mimicking me or my husband. He will work on saying a sentence correctly when either myself or my husband help him to learn the new words or rearrange the words so what Aiden is trying to say will make sense to others than me or my husband. Aiden also uses "Information Processing Theory" a lot when he is playing with his toys. He is starting to solve problems in his head and if he gets stuck he will continue to try and get it figured out. I usually try to step in before he gets overly frustrated and completely gives up. I love watching him work on a problem and figure it out! I try to have Aiden around all different kinds of people. I want Aiden to learn other ways of life other than just what is in our home. I think it is important for him to be around his aunts and uncles and grandparents and our friends families and learn that there are multiple ways of living and that he should take in everything that he can and learn and observe as much as possible.

My little guy isnt so little anymore....

Well Aiden is 19 months now. He is doing really well. We just had an assessment done with the preschool.
Aiden is now able to find his toy that I hide from him. Before he would get off track and would lose interest very fast. I am glad that he has become interested in this game and loves to play it now! He does very well when the toy is hidden for long periods of time and he remains focused on finding it. Its very fun the watch. Aiden also loves to go around the park and touch and see new things, he would rather do it on his own than with me right there. So I hang back and just observe which is just as interesting.
Aiden is doing better than he was at an earlier age in regards to his temperament. He isn't as sociable as I would like him to be. He does warm up to new people rather slow, once he feels comfortable with you then that's a different story. I would like him to adapt more quickly but hopefully that will come with more interactions in new situations. He is a very active little guy, loves to be on the go all the time! Aiden isn't very aggressive towards others unless they try to take away his toy or what hes doing, which is a little surprising since Aiden is usually very cooperative with things. He enjoys helping out when I need it. I would say that Aiden has been pretty level with his temperament lately. Hes really been improving!
I wasn't very surprised by what the assessment had to say. I know Aiden has issues with warming up to people and he sometimes has a difficult time adjusting to new situations but overall he does ok. I do need to work on introducing new situations and people for Aiden to hopefully warm up to faster. I want him to be able to feel comfortable when someone new holds him. I would also like to work on his imitation of words and actions more, mainly his words. I want Aiden to be able to start saying slightly longer sentences with more clarity in the word itself that he is trying to say.
Overall I am very impressed with my little guy and enjoy all the new things that he is learning and accomplishing!

Aiden is 9 months!

Well I cant believe how fast Aiden is growing up. We just saw the doctor and the doctor said Aiden is quick to warm up in new situations with friendly people and interactive enviroments. Aiden has been sick a few times so far so the doctor advised me to keep him away from sick people and try new foods for a few days to see if that helps. Aiden does have some separation anxiety but he does calm down quickly once I have left his sight. I am very proud to say that the doctor said Aiden is advanced in his gross and fine motor skills. He loves to crawl around and try to stand up along the couch and our bed.

Aiden is doing quite well with all of his development so far. He occasionally has problems with eating but its usually when he's tired or wants to play instead. He is pretty normal with his sleeping patterns, we're starting to get on a better sleeping schedule. Aiden still likes to wake up during the night but overall I cant complain. As I said earlier Aidens motor skills are advanced so I'm not concerned about him in that area as long as he continues to improve.

I would say that Aiden was a "slow to warm up" baby. He had to get use to his surroundings and the people in them. I base this judgement on what the doctor said in his appointment.

Aiden is still reluctant to let me leave him at daycare. The babysitter says that he cries after I leave but that usually he can calm down quickly and move on. Aiden also tends to favor me over his father, but at the same time will go to him if he needs or wants something from his dad. I think that Aiden and I have a closer bond and we are working on his bond with his dad as well. I think that we are progressing quite well in terms to the separation anxiety that Aiden has from me and his father.

Overall Aiden is a happy little guy who enjoys spending time with us and others as well as by himself. Im very proud of how he is able to adjust to his different surroundings and most of the time be perfectly happy with thatever he is doing.

Aiden

It's A Boy!! I have a new baby boy whom I named Aiden. We had a normal birth, and are over joyed with this new bundle of joy!