Resources for Parents

Explore a wealth of expert insights in our parenting article archive at North Shore Pediatric Therapy. Discover tips and advice from specialized therapists to help you navigate the joys and challenges of parenting. From managing behavior to developmental milestones, our resources are designed to support and empower parents every step of the way.

Questions to Ask Your Pediatrician When You Suspect a Developmental Delay

Pediatricians oftentimes only have fifteen to twenty minutes with a child and family during a wellness visit. Most of that time would be used to ensure the medical health of the child. It is imperative that time also be spent on ascertaining information regarding the social, emotional, and behavioral development of the child. I always recommend that parents bring with them a list of questions that they have regarding their child’s development.
February 1, 2024

Red Flags for Feeding & Swallowing Disorders in Children

Most of us taking eating and swallowing for granted. These actions come naturally and allow us to eat our meals peacefully. However, for some children, feeding and swallowing disorders make these natural reflexes and muscle actions difficult. Read on to understand more about feeding and swallowing disorders and for red flags that your child may have a problem in this area.
February 1, 2024

Developing Hand-Eye Coordination

Hand-eye coordination is the synchronization of eye and hand movements. It involves proprioception (knowing where your body is in space) combined with processing visual input. Any task that requires the coordination of vision and hand movements involves hand-eye coordination. Examples of hand-eye coordination include grasping objects, catching and throwing a ball, playing an instrument while reading music, reading and writing, or playing a video game.
February 1, 2024

A Mother’s Role in Raising a Confident Daughter

As girls grow and develop, their overall sense of self-worth and confidence grows and changes. Sadly, in adolescence, a girl’s confidence and sense of self-worth often plummets.
February 1, 2024

10 WAYS TO HELP YOUR CHILD UNWIND BEFORE BED

Is it hard to help your child “turn-off” her brain before bedtime? Does your child constantly get out of bed or struggle to fall asleep at night? Oftentimes, it is hard for a child to understand what her body is feeling and vocalize what she might need in order to feel more balanced and organized. Overall, children truly benefit from a daily bedtime routine that helps their bodies find a consistent sleep cycle.
February 1, 2024

Tackling Trouble With R: Exercises to Practice “R” Pronunciation With Your Child

The /r/ phoneme is one of the most commonly mis-articulated sounds, and it can be one of the most challenging sounds to correct.
February 1, 2024

The Benefits of Contact Sports: Why Your Kids Should Participate

Here are the benefits of contact sports in child development.
June 9, 2025

The Difference Between Positive and Negative Reinforcement

Using positive and negative reinforcement can both help achieve the same goal of increasing the behavior you would like to see more of.
February 1, 2024

Help! My Child is Biting

Biting can be a very challenging behavior to deal with. It can result in physical and emotional distress to all individuals involved. In order to accurately address biting situations, we must determine why the individual is engaging in that behavior.
February 1, 2024

Collaboration Between Teachers and Related Service Providers

When we work with children we are constantly collaborating in order to provide children with the best possible education.
February 1, 2024

The Long Term Effects of Not Treating ADHD

Treating ADHD in childhood and adolescence is important for a healthy adulthood. Not treating ADHD increases a person's risk of several issues.
February 1, 2024

Catch Your Child Being Good

By providing positive reinforcement you will be more likely to have your child repeat these desired behaviors more consistently. Below are four tips on how to catch your child being good.
February 1, 2024

10 Tips to Help your Middle Schooler or Teen Sit Still During a Test.

Test taking in middle school can be stressful for your child and he/she may find it difficult to sit still throughout the duration of the test. There are a number of different strategies that you can teach and provide your child to help organize his/her body for improved focus during a test.
February 1, 2024

AAC: Speech Devices for Autism

For a child with autism, communication can be a challenging and difficult hurdle to manage. For some children, verbal communication may simply be an impossible or ineffective means of communicating. For these circumstances, an augmentative/alternative communication device (AAC) may be an answer.
February 1, 2024

Self-Regulation Strategies For Kids With ADHD

Symptoms related to ADHD can manifest differently from child to child. Redirecting hyperactive, impulsive, and/or inattentive behaviors can be achieved through following these strategies:
February 1, 2024

How to Maximize a Playdate for a Child with Speech Delays | Pediatric Therapy Tv

In today’s webisode, a pediatric speech pathologist explains ways to help a child with speech delays play well with others.
February 1, 2024

What is the role of the Child Life Specialist in the hospital setting? Read this first-hand account.

Once referred to as “the play lady” in the hospital setting, the Child Life Specialist role has since grown into one that addresses the psychosocial concerns of children and their families.
February 1, 2024

12-Month Doctor Visit Checklist

Take this checklist along to your child's 12-month doctor visit to determine if she is on track with gross motor, fine motor and speech skills.
February 1, 2024

Take the Battle out of Brushing | 5 Strategies to More Successful Tooth Brushing!

Is tooth-brushing ever a battle in your household? Have you bought every sort of toothbrush and toothpaste out there, and nothing seems to help the process go smoother?
February 1, 2024

Framing Questions and Commands So Your Child Will Listen

The way in which a directive is presented can elicit a variety of responses. Prior to communicating with your child, set your expectation.
February 1, 2024

Helping Your Child With Articulation Difficulties

As children develop speech and language, it’s critical to reinforce their communicative attempts. This presents a challenge for children who often have unintelligible speech utterances.
February 1, 2024

Strategies for Oral and Motor/Sensorimotor Input

Children who put toys in their mouths, chew on their clothing or bite their pencils at school may be seeking oral motor/sensorimotor input to help their bodies reach an optimal arousal level. We want to provide them with strategies to get this input in an appropriate manner.
February 1, 2024

Hey, PE Teachers! Start Picking Team Leaders Who Will Pick The Right Kids For The Right Reasons!

Do you remember when your gym teacher picked two team captains and they got to pick their teams? Were you the captain?
February 1, 2024

5 Reasons Why Your Child Needs a Visual Schedule

A visual schedule can bring a multitude of benefits to your child's life. Read on to understand the possibilities with this handy tool.
February 1, 2024

Daily Activities to Improve Fine Motor Strength

Decreased hand strength can make participating in fine motor activities very difficult for a child.
February 1, 2024

How Sign Language, Singing and Reading Help Toddlers Learn to Communicate

Parents often ask if things like singing, sign language and reading will be effective in helping their child learn to communicate.
February 1, 2024

Arts and Craft Ideas To Improve Fine and Gross Motor Skills

Toddlers learn about their world by using their senses, manipulating objects and experimenting. Toddlerhood is marked by an explosion of development in all areas, including fine motor skills, or “hand skills”.
February 1, 2024

5 Favorite Edible Crafts for Kids and How to Encourage Language During Snack Time

Edible crafts are a favorite activity for kids. I find it a win-win situation: moms/dads love the learning opportunity, and kids love the food!
February 1, 2024

MORE Activities for Crossing the Midline

As discussed in last week’s post, crossing the midline is an essential skill that affects a person’s efficiency in many of life’s everyday tasks.
February 1, 2024

Echolalia | What is It?

Parents often wonder if it’s normal for their child to repeat things others say.
February 1, 2024

Travel Tips For Kids With SPD

Seat belts, exit doors, floor path lighting, oxygen masks, life vests, preparation for takeoff, and in-flight rules such as no smoking, follow the directions of the crew, and the appropriate use of the lavatory are all included in the flight attendants’ cadence preceding take-off.
February 1, 2024

Why Does My Kid Sit Like That?

You may be asking yourself the question “why does my kid sit like that?” frequently enough to drive yourself crazy.
February 1, 2024

Encouraging Speech & Language Development in Infants and Toddlers

Infants immediately begin to learn from the environment around them after entering into our unfamiliar yet exciting world.
February 1, 2024

Pacifiers – Time to Give it Up?

When to give pacifiers up: 12 months. This is when your baby should be transitioning away from bottle to sippy cup or open cup drinking as well.
February 1, 2024

How to Encourage Baby’s First Steps

As a physical therapist who works primarily with the 5 and under crowd, I have had the pleasure of witnessing many babies’ very first steps.
February 1, 2024

How to Get More Whole Grains into Your Kid’s Diet

Whole grains are an important part of any diet. Whole grains are more nutrient-dense than their refined counterparts.
February 1, 2024

Ten Tips for Parents for Successful Parent-Teacher Conferences

Parent-teacher conferences serve as an important time in a child’s academic year. The teacher can provide updates and insight into your child’s progress within the classroom.
February 1, 2024

Twin Talk: Speech and Language Development in Twins

Learn about the unique patterns of language development in twins and potential red flags for twin language development.
February 1, 2024

5 4th of July Crafts to Improve Fine Motor Skills

4th of July is the perfect time to have your child create customized crafts. Here are 5 ideas to build upon fine motor skills.
February 1, 2024

3 Things To Help A Child Focus With Sensory Processing Disorder | Pediatric Therapy Tv

A Pediatric Occupational Therapist shows us 3 things that can help a child with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) sit and or focus more.
February 1, 2024

iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch Apps to Teach Kids Social Skills

As a licensed clinical social worker, I have worked with hundreds of kids and teenagers since 1994. For many, social skills do not simply comeChild with iPad naturally; they need to be taught, just as they need to be taught spelling, reading, mathematics, social studies, and science.
February 1, 2024

5 Tips to Make Speech-Language Therapy Successful

You just found out your child needs speech-language therapy, among all of the other activities. How do you make each session successful?
February 1, 2024

Top 5 ways to Prepare your Child with SPD for a Birthday Party

For many children, the best part of a birthday party is running around playing with lots of friends and family, eating birthday cake, popping balloons, tearing apart wrapping paper, and wearing party hats!
February 1, 2024

5 Ways To Prevent Meltdowns After School

Oftentimes, after-school hours and times of transition can be extremely difficult for children, especially for children with sensory processing disorder (SPD). Children may often perform well throughout the school day, but then quickly meltdown after they get home.
February 1, 2024

Turn-Taking and Language Development

Turn-taking is a foundation for speech and language development. Think of language as a back-and-forth exchange system: one person talks while the other listens, and vice versa.
February 1, 2024

How To Develop Task Initiation In Children

Initiation is a child’s ability to independently start tasks. Many children with executive functioning deficits struggle with initiating actions, leading to difficulties completing tasks. .
February 1, 2024

Baby Sign Language: Does It Delay Speech Or Increase It?

Your one-year-old child looks up at you, and you wonder when their first words are going to start so that you’ll know exactly what they’re thinking.
February 1, 2024

3 Reasons Your Child Needs A Meal Schedule

Today, there is the great debate among parents to whether or not put their kids on a schedule. Should I give my child a daily routine or go with the flow of what they want, when they want it? In terms of feeding, schedules are very important for kids that are over 6-12 months old.
February 1, 2024

Zero Tolerance: Should 7 Year Old Boy Be Expelled From School For Bringing A Toy Gun?

A 7 year old boy in Florida last November was expelled from school for having a toy gun in his backpack.
February 1, 2024

Five Tips to Help Your Child Use the Internet Safely

With recent advances in internet technology, we are able to communicate readily and quickly with long-distance friends and relatives; find information through search engines that connect us to multiple sources; and even have access to engaging, child-friendly websites that assist in teaching!
February 1, 2024

Gross Motor Milestones in the First Year

Developmental check-ups with a Pediatrician throughout the first year of life are a perfect time to bring up any concerns about your child’s development.
February 1, 2024

8 Tips to Help Your Child Gain Control of His/Her Emotions

Many people, both adults and children, have difficulties dealing with emotions. Parents sometimes struggle with helping their children appropriately express their feelings.
February 1, 2024

MOMMY-ITIS! What is it?

As moms, we share our brains with our children or our husband daily. They rarely are just our brains to do with what we please! So, what good tips can you remember while using YOUR mommy brain so that you don’t spend your child’s childhood with MOMMY-ITIS?
February 1, 2024

Common Household Materials for Tactile Exploration and Learning

At times, the best source of entertainment can be found in the simplest materials! Use these readily available household items for a rich tactile sensory and learning experience right at home.
February 1, 2024

How to Make Building a Snowman into a Speech and Language Activity

Winter 2013-2014 has arrived and it has not been afraid to show us who’s boss this year. Snow, wind, ice, and frigid temps have already graced us with their presence and getting outside is not always enjoyable.
February 1, 2024

Communication Skills for Kids

Often, the best way to teach communication is to model what you want your child to be doing.
February 1, 2024

Teens And The Transition To Adulthood: How To Support Your Child

How do you support you teen as he or she transitions to adulthood?
February 1, 2024

How Dogs Help Children Develop Social and Emotional Skills

Is your child begging for a puppy? If you have the means to take care of one, you might want to consider it. Sure they cost money, make big messes, and need to be walked on a timed schedule.
February 1, 2024

Expressive vs. Receptive Language

Receptive language is the understanding of language "input." Expressive language, is the "output" of language, how one expresses his or her wants and needs.
February 1, 2024

Top Warning Signs of Anorexia Nervosa

Are you concerned your child suffers from anorexia? Read here for a list of top warning signs.
February 1, 2024

Finger Foods for Little Fingers

The transition to solid foods follows a continuum of developmental stages that coordinate with the infant’s ability to handle new types of foods, textures and methods of feeding.
February 1, 2024

Baby Food Pouches: Bad for Baby’s Health?

A recent statement from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry warns parents of the possible side effects to prolonged usage of baby food pouches.
February 1, 2024

Positioning for Infants 101

Recent statistics show that 1 in 10 babies have plagiocephaly, or flatness to one side of their head. Since 1992 when the American Academy of Pediatrics launched the “back to sleep” campaign, cases of SIDS have dramatically decreased.
February 1, 2024

Spooktacular Speech and Language Activities

The costume is picked and the decorations are up. Halloween is just around the corner, and it’s time to use this fun season to work on speech and language!
February 1, 2024

Baby Led Weaning: Is It Right For My Child?

Learn about Baby Led Weaning (BLW), a method of transitioning infants from breastfeeding to eating solid foods that bypasses the use of purees.
February 1, 2024

“Can you check under my bed for monsters?”: DOs and DON’Ts to Help Children Who are Afraid of the Dark

Many children are afraid of the dark, and these fears becomes especially present during bedtime, when they are alone with their thoughts of monsters, ghosts, or other scary creatures that lurk in the dark.
February 1, 2024

The Anatomy of a Great Baby Carrier

Here are the things physical therapists look out for when it comes to choosing baby carriers.
February 1, 2024

Visual Calendars & Schedules: How They Benefit Your Child

Summertime brings about a more relaxed schedule that is filled with fun activities: camp, family vacations, trips to the water park.
February 1, 2024

The Benefits of Family Game Night

Whether it's rainy, snowing, cold or hot, a family game night is a great way to enjoy time together while secretly working on fine motor skill development.
February 1, 2024

Help Your Child Pronounce /k/ and /g/

/k/ and /g/ can be more challenging sounds for children to learn to produce. Help your child to pronounce these sounds with these tips.
February 1, 2024

The Power of Push-Ups

“It’s too cold, I get bored, I’m so out of shape,” or, my personal favorite, “I’d rather eat this slice of pizza.” These are all too familiar utterances between my friends and I.
February 1, 2024

When Should You Hold Your Child Back A Grade?

Many parents are often worried and cautious about their child’s transition from kindergarten to first grade. There are unanswered questions and concerns that the child faces.
February 1, 2024

Recreational Activities to Promote Gross Motor Skills

It is often that parents ask me for recommendations for suitable physical extracurricular activities for their children that will also help to facilitate the gross motor skills we work on in therapy.
February 1, 2024

How to Treat Twins as Individuals

In general, parents that have twins are very concerned with treating their children equally, but they often struggle in allowing their children to find their own identity.
February 1, 2024

International Adoption and Speech-Language Development

What Language Skills Can Adopting Parents Expect?
February 1, 2024

How to Adapt a Book to Support Language Development

Adapting a book can make reading fun and interactive. It can also help children develop speech and language skills. Read here for how to adapt a book.
February 1, 2024

Moving the Fun Indoors: Encouraging Your Child’s Speech & Language Skills During Winter Weather

Along with this new year came a fresh coat of snow, marking the start of another Chicago winter.
February 1, 2024

Handwriting: There’s An App For That!

In this day and age, there really is an app for everything! So why not use technology for educational purposes, especially for the fine motor skill of handwriting?
February 1, 2024

5 Uses for a Large Floor Pillow

As I mentioned in my previous blog “how to make a large Floor Pillow”, there are several different reasons that therapists use floor pillows during your child’s therapy sessions.
February 1, 2024

The Benefits of Play Therapy

Play therapy is an evidence-based treatment approach that targets the medium of communication which is developmentally appropriate for children.
February 1, 2024

A Beginning Babysitter’s Guide – Discipline Basics

In this beginning babysitter's guide, you will learn tips to prevent and solve discipline problems while babysitting.
February 1, 2024

How to Make Your Own Baby Food

Are you interested in creating your own baby food? The good news is that it is actually quite possible and simple to make your own baby food!
February 1, 2024

How To Help Fidgety Students Pay Attention In Class

For many teachers, it can be hard to teach class when students are wiggling around in their seats or on the rug during instruction.
February 1, 2024

Squeeze! You’re Under Arrest: Potential Pitfalls of Squeezable Food Pouches

Squeezable food pouches offer parents an easy way to get young children a serving of fruits and veggies, however there are several problems with using them.
February 1, 2024

Promoting Your Child’s Independence with Everyday Tasks

Have you ever done something for your kids when you know that they can or should do it for themselves? Some examples include, tying their shoes for them, zipping or buttoning their coat, cutting their food, making their bed, making their lunch, and doing their laundry.
February 1, 2024

Surviving Meltdowns: Supporting Children with Language Disorders During Breakdowns

Parents often tell me about the challenges they face when helping their child through a meltdown. It’s difficult to know how to help when you can’t figure out why your child is upset to begin with.
February 1, 2024

The Best Board Games for Toddlers

Not only do board games provide traditional fun for families, they are also great therapy activities. Here are our top picks for toddlers.
February 1, 2024

Sibling Rivalry and Conflict Resolution Advice

With having more than one child comes the chance of sibling rivalry. Many brothers and sisters fight from time to time.
February 1, 2024

The Importance of Person First Language

Person first language allows us to focus on the whole person and their positive qualities.
February 1, 2024

Types and Presentations of Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy can be classified based on severity level, location of lesion, body part affected, change in motor control, and gross motor function.
February 1, 2024

How To: Keep Your Child Under Control in Public Places

It is very common for kids to have a difficult time transitioning to new places. Many kids will act out because they are uncomfortable or simply because they only want to do what they want to do.
February 1, 2024

Top Warning Signs for Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

Read here for the top warning signs for Oppositional Defiant Disorder.
February 1, 2024

Take this checklist along to your child's 2 year doctor visit to determine if he is on track with gross motor, fine motor and speech skills.

Building off of last month’s 1 year check-list for Pediatrician check-ups, we bring you a check-list to look at prior to your child’s 2 year old check-up.
February 1, 2024

Tips for Tackling Oral Texture Aversion and Achieving a Peaceful Mealtime

Read here to understand oral texture aversion and tips to achieve a peaceful mealtime.
February 1, 2024

Common Childhood Mispronunciations

Learn about common childhood mispronunciations and when it's time for Speech Therapy.
February 1, 2024

What is Proprioception and Why is it Important?

What: Proprioception is the concept of knowing where your body is in space (body awareness) and the ability to safely maneuver around your environment.
February 1, 2024

Frustration-Free Communication With Your Toddler

Communicating with toddlers can be a frustrating experience for both caregiver and child. Read these tips to create better communication with your toddler.
February 1, 2024

Obstacle Courses are FUNctional!

Obstacle courses can provide great opportunities for your child to gain multiple skills as well as challenge their performance in gross and fine motor activities.
February 1, 2024

When it’s more than a case of “The Mondays”: Motivating your Child when School Is Challenging

If you’ve heard these comments from your child, you are not alone. Children with learning differences in particular are at risk for school burn-out.
February 1, 2024

Stranger Danger: Teaching Your Children to be Safe

Teaching children about “stranger danger” is about teaching the possible dangers they may face as they are out in the world.
February 1, 2024

Download our Guide for Families

We know that choosing a local ABA facility can be a hard decision. We’ve created an informational guide to help you understand more about the questions you should be asking while meeting with different providers.

‍Although we talk about our services here, our highest goal is for you to feel comfortable and knowledgeable about picking a provider that is the best fit for your needs. You are making a decision that will impact the entire trajectory of your child’s life!
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The cover of the NSPT Guide for Families, which helps families to figure out the questions to ask when picking an ABA provider.

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