Advanced Pediatric Therapies opens in Vancouver

I had the pleasure of attending the open house for Advanced Pediatric Therapies, Inc., on February 17th, 2009 at their new location in Vancouver, WA. My friend, Sharron Donnelly, MS, OTR/L, is the co-owner and manages the new Vancouver office.

APT is a private pediatric occupational therapy practice which focuses on providing individualized, multi-faceted and holistic treatments for the children they see to enhance their physical, cognitive and social skills. The services they offer address such things as sensory integration, fine motor skills, postural stability, bilateral coordination and therapeutic listening just to name a few.

I highly recommend their services and encourage you to contact their office if you have concerns regarding your child’s needs. They also have an office in SW Portland.

You may get more information from their website here.

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Symptoms and Your Child

Here’s what’s new at Principles for Parents!

I recently put up a page on PFP called Symptoms and Your Child.
This generally outlines the Chinese Medicine approach I use when
evaluating kids and their symptoms. To me, it is a much more
holistic way of categorizing what’s going on with your child.

Over the years I have been amazed at the consistency and the
remarkable accuracy of this energy system when I use it to try and
decipher the meaning of symptoms affecting a particular child.

Go ahead and visit the page and let me know what you think. I’ll be
adding more details in the coming weeks and months in this section
of the website.

Overscheduled Children

In an article called “The Overbooked Child” published in Psychology Today a few years ago, David Elkins described what has been happening to kids who are over-scheduled and pushed too hard by well meaning parents to be successful and involved in too many activities. As in all areas of pediatrics, there is wide variation in parenting styles.

However, I believe that given the high stress nature of our environment and society, children could really use more free time and a relaxed schedule. Parents can help even more by modeling the need for relaxation and non-goal oriented activity, like puttering around in the yard, going for a walk, spending time playing sports or wandering on the beach or in the woods.

If children grow up thinking it’s their job to be busy every minute of the day, this will surely take a toll on their health and wellbeing in the long run.

Let me know what you think about this topic by leaving a comment.

To read the original article on overscheduled kids, follow this link to the Psychology Today reprint called “Are We Pushing Our Kids Too Hard?”

Helping Promote Conscious Parenting

I came across this site called TEACH through love, an organization dedicated to helping to raise awareness of emotional harm that children can be subject to. It’s run by Lori Petro, a writer, producer, former educator, child advocate and mother of one.
In addition to articles on conscious parenting and really great resources, there is a section on baby horoscopes which may give you some insight into your child’s underlying personality characteristics.
Take a look at the site here and share your comments if you’d like.
Teach-through-love.com