Your Questions About Baby Care

The Expert answers:

Actually, the exact opposite is true. Shoes are cruel to all feet ecpecially the developing feet of children. Dr. Lynn Staheli, who directed the orthopedics division at the Children’s Hospital in Seattle for 15 years, documented that children raised in parts of the world where shoes are rarely worn had better flexibility, mobility, and strength, which resulted in fewer foot-related problems and injuries. In the 1960 classic “Take Off Your Shoes and Walk,” chiropodist Simon Wikler notes that children who go barefoot regularly develop stronger, healthier, and more functional feet than children who are generally shod. (He notes that a “constantly shoe-wearing tenderfoot” is rarely able to comprehend the innate capability of the human foot.) The following site covers such topics as when and when not to let children go barefoot, what doctors think, and parental testimonials. It also features excerpts from “Take Off Your Shoes and Walk.”
http: www.unshod.org/pfbc/index.html

The Expert answers:

Check these out http://www.monticelloshoes1.com/ms/index.php/faye-5.html. Yes they are flats but they have the small heel in the back and they are not manly at all and would be great for work! They are also from a company who focuses on comfort and style. So check them out!

The Expert answers:

Club foot has been not been specifically connected to a genetic inheritance passed down from family lines.

It has been connected to uterine crowding more than it has been connected to genetics, especially in twins because obviously there’s little room for one child, let alone for 2 children.

The good news is that I’m sure you’re aware that clubfoot can be diagnosed as early as the first trimester so should the occasion arise that there needs to be treatment for your second child, it can be treated.

Honestly, the percentage of having another child with this particular situation is slim to none.

The Expert answers:

1) Bunny Ears
Probably the most common method for teaching kids to tie their own shoes is the “Bunny Ears” method.

Tell the child that he needs to make his shoe laces into “bunny ears.”First, he needs to secure a knot for the bunny’s head. Take the laces and cross them over to make an “X”. Then, pull one ear through the bottom of the “X” and pull tight.
Say, “Now we need to give bunny some ears.” Loop the laces into “bunny ears”.
Tell the child that now we need to “make the bunny ears tight so they don’t fall off”. Then make another “X” using the “bunny ears”, slide one “ear” under the “X” and pull tightly.

2) Bi-Colored Laces
This is a great tip that can really make learning to tie much easier. Take two laces in two different colors and cut them down the middle. Then sew them together to make two bi-colored laces. Lace a pair of old shoes with these funny shoes strings. Using bi-colored laces can really help a kid who has trouble remembering his right from his left. You can use any learning-to-tie method in combination with your bi-colored laces.

3) Cardboard Cut-Out Shoe
Take a cardboard box and cut out an over-sized shoe shape. Have your kid decorate the shoe in any way he wishes. Using a pen, poke holes for laces. Use the bi-colored lace tip above, but instead of cutting the original laces in two, use two entire laces sewn together to create one long, bi-colored shoe string. Lace the shoe and use any teaching method, using this cut-out. Some kids find it easier and more interesting to practice on an over-sized model.

4) The Squirrel and the Tree
This is a fun method that utilizes a kid friendly story and movements that help kids understand and remember the basic steps to shoe tying.
Tell the child to create “tree roots” by making a starter knot.
Make a tree with a long thin loop; hold the loop in the child’s right hand.
With his left hand, take hold of the lace and tell him that a squirrel runs around the tree and jumps into the hole under the tree and comes out the other side (he’ll need to switch hands at this point which can be difficult for some kids).
Many parents prefer this trick because it teaches the kid to tie shoes with the single loop method.

5) Loop It and Swoop It
This is a less childish, but still memorable way of teaching a child to tie in the traditional single loop method. Teach your child to tie his shoes using the standard tying method, but as you go through the motions say, “loop it, swoop it, pull.” Do this over and over while repeating the same three, simple instructions until your child is able to tie his shoes on his own. Encourage him to say “loop it, swoop it, pull” each time he attempts tying his shoes until it becomes second nature.

6) Learning to Tie Toys and Books
If you want to make learning to tie more fun, consider getting your child a toy or book that will help him learn to tie on his own. This is especially helpful for kids who learn best through interaction with toys. Some suggestions:
Franklin Dress-Up Doll
Melissa & Doug Wood Lacing Sneaker

http://about.pricegrabber.com/search.php?form_keyword=Melissa+%26+Doug+Wood+Lacing+Sneaker&mode=about_kidsfashion

The Expert answers:

Why wait until they ask? That just seems strange to me. Don’t you have photos or video of them? I would start showing my child photos and videos from a young age on up and I would just say each time, there’s grandma so and so who died before you were born, she would have loved you etc etc… Children will be able to handle that better if told from a young age then suddenly told at an older age.

My Grandmother who was like a mom to me died before my youngest was born and my older three were very little but I have always showed them video and photos of her and talked about her so they would feel as if they knew her all along. It’s better to talk about these things from an early age. If you always wait for children to ask before you tell then there will come a point that they won’t ask you and will just wonder to themselves. You have to open the doors to communicate about these things so then they will feel comfortable asking you more.

EDIT: not sure how old your child is but trust me it will be a long time before she will ask because children don’t think that way. They think in the here and now and they don’t have a good understanding of the world around them and the fact that others have the same things they have as well so it won’t occure to her that since she has a mom and dad, you must too and then think to ask you. I would guess that wouldn’t happen until at least school age and even then maybe not. I think it’s up to you to talk about. I don’t really understand why you would want to wait anyway. You loved your parents right? Don’t you want to share them with your child from an early age so that your child can grow “knowing” them from your descriptions and stories about them?