Getting To Know Your Baby Babys Ninth Month Guide

Writen by Michelle Higgins

It has been nine months since you first held your bundle of joy in your hands! However the once squirming bundle has undergone a dramatic change. For one, it is no longer squirming but almost running! Welcome to your baby's ninth month.

Look mamma I can stand

In baby's ninth month, he is getting closer to walking all by himself. He can crawl up the stairs (dangerous!) and is cruising too. Your baby at this stage is trying to learn how to stand up from a sitting position. You might be amused to see your nine month-old baby standing for a long time, tiring himself out but unable to sit from this position. A few babies might even start walking at nine months. Mobile walkers are not very safe for baby. You might want to consider exersaucers or stationary walkers instead.

One, two, buckle my shoe?

Not yet. Walking bare foot helps your baby get a better grip of the ground. Besides, it gives her first hand information on the texture of various surfaces and helps the learning process. Baby shoes look cute and you want to go out and buy every pair for your nine month-old baby, but resist the temptation to do so until she starts walking outdoors.

Play with me!

In baby's ninth month, he loves to play interactive games with you. He is now an expert at reaching out and grabbing things. He hates it when something is taken away from his hands. Roll a toy car towards him, stack rings or build block towers with him and watch his eyes light up.

"Da-da Ma-ma"

How soon your baby talks, depends on a number of factors including her environment and her general predisposition. A great majority of babies who start talking as late as three years have normal intelligence. So don't worry if your nine month-old baby seems quieter than his peers. (Babies must not be compared anyway). Keep talking a lot to your baby and sooner or later, she will talk to you too.

Watch out, here I come

Your nine month-old baby is naturally curious about his surroundings and this is a crucial time to avoid accidents. Supervise your baby all the time especially if she is very resourceful. If you have not childproofed your house already, now is the time to act. Do pay special attention to avoid drowning hazards and electrical accidents. Protect your baby from being injured by sharp corners and remove all unstable furniture from the room. Install childproof locks on cabinets and doors and put up barrier gates at the stairs. Keep an emergency rescue number handy just in case.

Who is that?

Baby's ninth month is a time when she develops preferences for toys….and people. She does not like strangers handling her and wants mamma around her all the time. Never force your baby to interact with strangers. Give her a little time to warm up and she will surprise you by eventually getting over her stranger anxiety all by herself.

Visit the doctor regularly for well-baby exams and keep baby's immunization record up to date. A healthy baby is a happy baby.

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What Are The Factors That Can Rule Out The Presence Of Adhd

Writen by George Gallegos

What are the Factors that can Rule Out the Presence of ADHD?

By George Gallegos, Ph.D. www.youADDitup.com

According to the American Psychiatric Association's DSM-IV, ADHD is a disorder that first presents in childhood usually observed before the age of seven years in a child. It is characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention, distractibility, impulsivity, and/or hyperactivity. Impairment is realized in one or more major life areas typically in the home, in the classroom, in social interactions, in occupational settings, or other areas of adaptive functioning. The symptom list goes on to describe a variety of interferences that can be presented with ADHD that can easily disrupt performance, learning, and behavior in any child. Curiously, the symptom description fails to specify the amount or severity of symptoms with the exception that the interference must exceed normal developmental levels evident in children. As a result, parents and professionals alike are left with the challenge of distinguishing excessive ADHD symptoms from those that are normal for a child's specific level of development.

Good practice demands that an ADHD evaluation include the gathering of multiple types of information from a variety of sources. A simultaneous effort must be made to rule out as many alternative disorders that can present with similar attention and performance difficulties. This could include but not be limited to the impairments observed in learning disabilities, developmental delays in younger children, sensory regulation dysfunction, mood difficulties and depression, anxiety, as well as basic low motivational effort. These alternative disruptions will easily and predictably interfere with a child's optimal performance and learning in the classroom. However, distinguishing these interferences in the classroom remains a challenge for teachers and professionals especially when attention deficits are characteristic of a variety of interfering disorders.

As a child psychologist, I realize this professional challenge every time I begin a new ADHD evaluation for a presented child. I will then lament the absence of an accurate and objective evaluation for ADHD that can effectively distinguish inattention from alternative interfering conditions. On occasion, I will be fortunate to learn crucial information about the presenting child that I have come to recognize as "Rule Outs" of ADHD. While these Rule Out factors are not necessarily absolute in their distinguishing ability, they usually increase my potential of accurately diagnosing ADHD.

Age of onset is one of these differential diagnostic factors. The presence of ADHD can be recognized at least by the age of seven in a child. Generally by this age, a child has developed in multiple areas including cognitive, social, emotional, behavioral, and physical so as to allow them to meet the majority of routine expectations held for that student in the classroom. The same cannot be said for five year old children who may still be developing their ability to self regulate attention and activity level so as to facilitate learning in the kindergarten classroom. My comfort level in attempting ADHD evaluations is substantially improved when the identified child is at least six years of age. By this chronological age, I can more accurately use my clinical expertise and judgment to determine when activity and inattention is observed beyond expected developmental levels.

I use a related Rule Out factor whenever I evaluate students who are somewhat older in age. Recently, I evaluated a fifth grade girl referred due to her lower academic achievement and difficulty attending specifically in the area of Math. Her absence of inattentive symptoms or concerns during earlier elementary years cast serious doubt on a possible ADHD diagnostic. Not only was there an absence of earlier ADHD concerns, but this student enjoyed excellent academic achievement and performance in all prior elementary years. Unfortunately, her math performance began to show degradation as she progressed in curriculum involving higher abstraction in concepts and problem solving. In my opinion, increased academic challenge will predictably generate higher levels of inattention and poor task engagement in students and cannot be recognized as the neurological impairment of ADHD.

Rule Out factors are critical when considering any child for ADHD. Specifically, children should show evidence of ADHD by age seven and the symptoms can not be confused with delayed child development. ADHD symptom interference should be recognized by classroom teachers in every elementary grade without fail, and the interference should be evidenced in every academic area. This suggests that an ADHD student will show some amount of impaired attention in all subjects and activities. And finally, ADHD interference will not suddenly present in fourth or fifth grade correspondent with the increasing curriculum demands in elementary school. In the current example, a student who demonstrates developmentally appropriate ability to sustain task engagement early in elementary school will not lose this ability in later grades. More accurately, learning weaknesses or motivational problems frequently present in students struggling with the progressive academic demands in the classroom. These students will almost certainly have trouble keeping focused and attentive to their assigned work.

These Rule Out factors are certainly useful in arriving at an accurate diagnosis of ADHD in any child or student. Although such Rule Out factors can reasonably dismiss the diagnosis of ADHD, such factors are largely suggestive rather than absolute in making this diagnostic determination. The non-specific descriptive criteria of ADHD (DSM-IV) in combination with the lack of objective ADHD testing will continue to set the stage for significant clinical judgment contributing to its final diagnosis. While there are numerous factors and indicators that will support an accurate diagnosis of ADHD, there are numerous variant presentations of this disorder that must be considered either to diagnose or rule out this disorder.

I am a child psychologist recently retired from the public school district. I continue to maintain a private practice devoted to the assessment of ADHD in children. I have recently developed a parent questionnaire that helps parents decide whether to pursue a formal ADHD evaluation for their child. This questionnaire can be viewed at http://www.youadditup.com

When A Parent Has Weight Loss Surgery Building Better Body Image In Our Children

Writen by Kaye Bailey

One of the biggest mental struggles we have, before and after weight loss surgery, is body image. It's not uncommon for a person to reach goal weight with WLS and upon receiving a compliment they say back, "Yeah, but my [fill in blank] is a real mess, ugly, still fat" etc. Have you heard yourself respond that way to a compliment? It is a painful challenge to nurture a healthy body image because often a negative body image originates in childhood.

I recently learned of a 9-year-old girl who refuses to wear her coat this winter. Why? "It makes me look fat." She is not alone. According to Linda Smolak a psychologist and Kenyon College 40% of elementary school girls and 25% of elementary school boys report dissatisfaction with their bodies. Dr. Smolak said, "These unhappy and self-conscious kids report more frequent feelings of depression, insecurity and anxiety."

That describes how I often felt as an overweight child and teen. Can you relate?

It occurred to me that while I work on my body image perhaps it would be a valuable time to actively engage in encouraging the young people I know to accept their bodies. Perhaps if I modeled positive habits for them they may be spared years of torment and insecurity.

Prevention Magazine suggests these ways to instill a healthy body image in children:

Uncover media myths: Media images present an unrealistic message about what is beautiful and desirable. Adults should look for opportunities to explain that ultra thin young actresses or super muscular athletes are not realistic for most of us. Focus on healthy eating and active living.

Give Alternatives: When hearing children criticize someone's body as fat adults should respond by explaining that although overweight can be unhealthy "dieting" usually isn't the solution. A solution to build a healthy body is eating nutritious foods and being physically active each day.

Listen to yourself: It has been said children learn not from what you say but what you do. Listen to yourself - are you saying "I look fat today" or "My thighs are enormous" or "Look at this ugly excess skin"? Children have observed our weight loss, probably with great curiosity. If we can learn to say, "Wow! I love the power of my healthy weight body" or "This healthy dinner was just the ticket to boost my energy" then we are sending a positive message. Healthy bodies are good. Rather than focus on the flaws we are celebrating good health. And so may our children.

Wouldn't it be awesome if we became the last generation of self-loathing people? We can do it, one child at a time.

Kaye Bailey © 2006 - All Rights Reserved

An award winning journalist and former newspaper editor Kaye Bailey brings expertise in writing and personal experience with gastric bypass surgery to EzineArticles.com. Kaye Bailey is the founder of LivingAfterWLS, an online market driven social space evoking feelings of comfort, understanding, knowledge, warmth, acceptance, trust and happiness.
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