Book #Giveaway: Making Kid Time Count for Ages 0-3

When we become parents, we know our job is incredibly important. We know we’ll play a critical role in shaping our children, their personalities, likes and dislikes, and how they react to certain situations. We’re ready for this job and this commitment. We think.

Did you know a child’s brain grows exponentially in the first three years? The connections he makes now will be with him for years to come. There are so many responsibilities we have as parents beyond caring for our children’s basic needs. In fact, being a parent can be a little overwhelming! “How do I structure her day?” a new parent may wonder. “What can I do with her to help her develop strong social skills? How can I bond with her? How do I play with her?” And the question we all ask after the millionth game of peek-a-boo, “What are some exciting activities that I can do with her that will enhance her development?”

I wrote Making Kid Time Count: Ages 0-3: The Attentive Parent Advantage with these questions in mind. Making Kid Time Count is a conversational overview of recent research of the developmental stages of ages 0-3. This book covers subjects such as cognition, bonding with caregivers, the importance of unstructured, child-led play, why music, arts, and taking your little one into the community and out in nature are so important for cognitive, emotional and social development, and of course, how much technology should be in your young child’s life. It highlights four key elements of strong parent and child relationships: Time, Connection, Interaction, and Play. In this book, readers will learn how to maximize the time they have with their little ones, whether they are a stay at home parent or a parent who works outside the home.

At the end of each chapter, there are 10-20 parent or teacher tested activities that can enhance each type of development. For example, one of my favorite sensory activities was given to me by a mom of a three year old and almost one year old. She says, “Take a flashlight into the bathroom and turn off the light. Shine the light on different objects in the room, and have your toddler tell you what you are looking at. Then, give your toddler the flashlight, and you can take a turn naming the objects he chooses!”

The activities are easy, quick, and require few materials. We don’t always have much time to play with our kids, so we want to use all the minutes we have playing, not preparing to have fun!

Want to learn more? The book is available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon and Lesson Ladder, but we’re giving away a copy just for Momiverse readers!

How to enter the giveaway

It’s super easy, and only takes a few seconds to enter. Simply follow the directions in the widget below and don’t forget to share your answer to the following question down below in the comments section:

What’s your favorite stage that a child goes through between the ages of 0-3? Why is this your favorite stage?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

By entering, you agree to the giveaway terms and conditions. Winners chosen at random by Random.org via the Rafflecopter widget.

Good luck!

Sarahlynne Davis

Sarahlynne, MEd, is a co-founder of MerelyMothers.com, a blog that analyzes our generation of mothers and the choices we make as parents. She is an experienced educator with eight years of teaching experience and is especially trained in working with students who struggle in reading, writing, or who have difficulty succeeding in school. She is a Parenting Guru on Yahoo! Shine and her work has been featured in Z-Life magazine and Project Marriage. Follow Sarahlynne on Twitter at @SarahLynnes or @merelymothers.

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