Taking babies as young as four months old to a class is becoming an increasingly popular trend. Classes that were once intended for crawlers and walkers are now being offered for even younger babies. There are a variety of classes offered for babies and parents. You may be wondering what is available and if the classes are worth the time and money needed to attend. Here are some of the classes typically offered for babies and toddlers.  

Yoga for Babies

This is one of the newest trends in classes for babies. Yoga has grown in popularity among pregnant and new mothers in recent years. Now studios in major cities and even some smaller cities are offering yoga classes for mother and baby. Proponents of these classes say that yoga has benefits for babies, including relieving gas and constipation. In addition, taking classes throughout childhood can lead to healthy fitness habits and increase the chance that they will continue to practice as adults. 

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Babies are born with the grasping reflex. From birth, your baby can grasp an object, usually your finger. You will need to put your finger against the palm of the baby’s hand to get her to grasp at it. As your baby grows, she will develop the coordination to actually pick up things and hold them.

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The milestones that your child meets in the first year or two of life are more obvious than the changes in the toddler and preschool years. This doesn’t mean that the changes aren’t happening nor does it mean that these changes are any less exciting than ones that happened earlier in life. Watching your baby grow into a child is an amazing experience. Seeing the changes that your child goes through and the speed that your child is going through these changes is equally as amazing. While some people tend to call these the terrible-twos there are so many other things going on in your child’s life to focus on. This is the time your child matures from a toddler to a preschooler.

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You may be wondering if you should join a playgroup with your baby. Will the baby really benefit from social interaction at such a young age? Do they really need to attend a regular playgroup? While babies do need social interaction, a playgroup isn’t absolutely necessary to meet that need. However, there are benefits for mom and baby in joining a group of other moms and children.

When looking for a playgroup, there are several factors to consider. One is the location of the playgroup’s meetings. Do they meet in a central location or do members take turns hosting the group in their homes? Is the location and schedule at a time and place that fits your needs? A playgroup that meets in the middle of your baby’s nap, it may not be the right fit.

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During the first year of life you watched your baby start as a helpless infant to a budding toddler. The second year of life is even more exciting. This is when your baby starts to really show personality. Your baby learns eating skills, speech skills, walks and learns how to play during this year. Temper tantrums may begin during this year as your baby pushes to become independent. Every new discovery is greeted with enthusiasm and each month takes your baby a little closer to independence.

13th Month

During the thirteenth month of life your one year old is a toddler. At this point in life you have a strong bond with your child. Speech and independent travel (walking, and running) is being perfected as are feeding skills. At this point your baby can:

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We all know how it can be sometimes very frustrating trying to communicate with our baby or toddler. Perhaps one of the newest trends in parenting is baby sign language.  People in the deaf community have known for years that babies could communicate through sign long before their vocal cords allow them to speak, but the trend didn’t really catch on because of the false assumption that signing led to later verbal language development. We now know that not only does signing not keep a baby from talking; it actually helps them to start talking sooner and have better language skills.  

By using sign, children learn how to express themselves with words, and some will even start to put words together in sentences before they turn one.  Sign is also great for relieving some of the frustration you and your child face because they can tell you exactly what they want.  This is especially helpful if your child is ill.  Imagine a child under a year being able to tell you not only that they’re in pain, but where it hurts.

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