Top Tweets for #ContralateralMovement

How about a big round of applause for this little guy, who has unlocked a new developmental milestone. Between 4-8 months of age, babies discover their feet. While laying on their backs, babies not only begin to watch and coordinate the movement of their feet, but begin reaching for them with their hands - and exploring them with their mouths. (Babies are flexible like that.) What you’re seeing here also involves the engagement of abdominal core muscles and is a sign that baby is soon to begin rolling and crawling. So get ready, mom and dad, this little one is about to go mobile. Did your baby ever put their feet in their mouth? 🎥 via honney_babies IG (original source unknown)

If your toddler’s favorite word is “NO,” rest assured that you’re in good company. After a period of intense brain, language, motor, and skill development (that remains ongoing), toddlers have transformed from heavily-reliant newborns into something altogether different: independent little people with their own thoughts and desires - and the tools to pursue them independently. This routinely leads to a phase full of “NOs” and “I DO ITs” as they seek to blaze their own trails. The transition can be frustrating for both parents and child. Your toddler’s growing desire for independence may put them into conflict with your well-founded insistence, for example, that they not step into traffic or that they they eat something other than cookies. Meanwhile they themselves can become easily frustrated when their desires and still-emerging skills don’t quite align. Tantrums can result. Danger can be real. For these reasons, your toddler requires heaping scoops of patience and understanding - not to mention your extra-vigilant supervision. This period is sometimes referred to as the “Terrible Twos.” But that’s really not the right way to look at it.  Take the time to marvel at your child’s growing knowledge, abilities, and independence - and know that this phase doesn’t last forever. Most importantly, remember that your toddler’s NOs are not expressions of defiance - but a marker of their blossoming into independent thought and activity. 🎥: These sweet NOs were expertly captured on IG by karajpick.