MECC Chief Knowledge Officer<\/p>\n
In February our thoughts turn to all the ways we can show our loved ones how much we care about them \u2013 and children need us to show our love not by buying them presents, but by giving them our full, undivided presence. \u201cChildren spell love T-I-M-E,\u201d said Anthony Witham<\/p>\n
And the younger the child, the more important this is. It means putting aside internal distractions, work, devices, TV shows, and your own interests so you can be fully present with your children. This isn\u2019t something you can put off until next week or month \u2013 it happens moment by moment, day by day, throughout their childhood. As they get older you can look back with them at all the wonderful memories you\u2019ve made together \u2013 you won\u2019t regret it!<\/p>\n
When you cuddle with, hold, kiss, sing, read, and talk to your baby you\u2019re helping him feel safe and secure, learn that adults are trustworthy, develop social-emotional competence, and building his brain. When your baby cries, respond with care and attention \u2013 he\u2019s communicating a need. Remember you can\u2019t spoil a baby \u2013 it\u2019s impossible. By being responsive to his needs he learns that his communications have value, that his needs will be met, that you are there for him. He\u2019ll build on this to learn compassion and empathy for others. These social-emotional competencies are actually more important in later development than cognitive and academic skills \u2013 in fact, they are the foundations for success in school and life.<\/p>\n
Use the daily routines of caring for your baby as opportunities to show your love \u2013 by talking with and explaining things to him \u2013 he may not understand the words but he\u2019ll certainly get your message \u2013 \u201cI\u2019m important.\u201d \u201cI matter.\u201d \u201cMommy\/Daddy loves me.\u201d As you describe routines, use a variety of words, especially those that introduce math and science concepts: \u201cHow Big? So Big!\u201d \u201cWe\u2019ll pull the pants up.\u201d \u201cOne sock, one shoe, one foot.\u201d Yes, babies need to hear many different words from birth \u2013 this builds the foundation for school success. Adapt these routines as your baby grows into toddlerhood and beyond, gradually encouraging more independence and mutual participation in household routines and chores. This is an important citizenship skill as children learn to care for themselves, their rooms, their homes, and their community environments.<\/p>\n
One of the best ways to show your love for your children is to \u201cshare books\u201d with them beginning in the first weeks of life and continuing well into childhood years \u2013 in other words, read to and with them. This can become a nightly activity that will last for many years, and that they\u2019ll do with their children.<\/p>\n
Playing with your children is another gift of love \u2013 all kinds of play including active, large motor play, constructive play in which you build things together, and imaginative play. Let your children be the boss of play \u2013 follow their lead when playing rather than telling them what to do and how to do it. Play is a time to have fun and let your inner child out. It\u2019s not a test and it\u2019s not competitive, at least where infants, toddlers, and young preschoolers are concerned.<\/p>\n
The Montelores Early Childhood Council\u2019s website has many more ideas for specific ways to show your children you love them (www.monteloresecc.org) under the Parents and Families button. Your child will only be the age he is right now in this moment \u2013 so be sure to be present for as many of those moments as possible. Remember, you are the most important person in your child\u2019s life and the gifts of love you give them now will last a lifetime and be passed on for generations to come.<\/p>\n
Mary Dodd is MECC\u2019s chief knowledge officer<\/p>\n
MANCOS \u2014 During the public comment session on a proposed master leasing plan for oil-and-gas regulation, more than a dozen citizens voiced support for the plan.
\n Here are some excerpts.
\n MB McAfee: \u201cExperts predict that the gas shale play will re-emerge when oil prices rise and the technology to deal with salinity is solved. Therefore the boundaries of the MLP should include the area of the Gothic shale gas play.\u201d
\n Ellen Foster: \u201cThe BLM should establish a buffer zone around McPhee Reservoir and all reservoirs where drilling, seismic activities and waste water disposal wells are prohibited.\u201d
\n Betty Ann Kohlner: \u201cAn MLP with teeth can give the community the chance to control where we want industry presence. That way those of us who live here know what is ahead and have an MLP plan we have all created together.\u201d
\n Katie Kopenhaffer: \u201cA master leasing plan is a way to ensure that our recreational resources are protected. Phils World mountain biking is a huge draw to our area. \u201d
\n Bruce Short: \u201cCedar Mesa Ranches HOA is in favor of it. We are concerned about property value reductions for residences near drilling well operations. Also our roads are maintained by the subdivision and are not designed for heavy truck traffic. We are concerned that we would be stuck with the cost of maintenance.\u201d
\n Dennis Stiles: \u201cOf particular concern to myself and my neighbors is the added construction traffic on dirt roads and excavations. We feel that dust mitigation must be implemented and strictly enforced. Also all pipelines need to be buried for safety.\u201d
\n Kelly PettyJohn: \u201cWe have a strong agricultural community dependent on clean water. Increase in oil-and-gas production could degrade water quality conditions. Our arid climate has limited water. The millions of gallons of water is needed to drill one well and is more than our basin can handle.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chief Knowledge Officer In February our thoughts turn to all the ways we can show our loved ones how much we care about them \u2013 and children need us to show our love not by buying them presents, but by giving them our full, undivided presence. \u201cChildren spell love T-I-M-E,\u201d said Anthony Witham And […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5794,5735],"tags":[747,21,60],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-106556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","category-news","tag-children","tag-cortez","tag-montezuma-county"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106556\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106556"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=106556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}