Kids AtoZ with Dr. T
43 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 8 years ago - ★★★ - 2 ratingsKids AtoZ strives to endow parents with knowledge and skills to empower children to thrive. We share information professionals wish parents knew about child development.
Dr. Teresa and guests address the five areas of human development including physical, intellectual, social-emotional, emotional, and moral in children birth to five years.
Dr. Teresa is a child development specialist and speech-language pathologist. She is the former Director of the Smadbeck Communication & Learning Center and the Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at Marymount Manhattan College in New York. Presently she is a Visiting Research Scholar at the CUNY Graduate Center. She is a passionate nonprofit volunteer whose mission is to help people reach great potentials.
DISCLAIMER: The ideas and opinions expressed on the show are those of Dr. Teresa and her guests. They are intended for educational purposes. Audience members should always seek the advice of relevant professionals if they have questions about their child's development. Participating as an audience member implies that you agree to and understand these terms. Thank you for your interest and cooperation.
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Episodes
Screen Time and Digital Media: A Parent and Educator’s Perspective
October 23, 2015 19:00 - 58 minutes - 52.5 MBToday’s Brains in Toyland segment regards screen time and the use of various media in early childhood. Our guest is Candis Grover, Director of Literacy & Spanish Development at ReadyRosie, an organization that provides fun and family-friendly resources to help parents prepare children for school. We’ll talk about the screen time and digital media use recommendations of The American Academy of Pediatrics, how to engage with your child, and the use of technology in education. We hope you and...
Jumpstarting Communication through Sign Language and Music
September 28, 2015 13:30 - 27 minutes - 24 MBToday’s Brains in Toyland episode we talk about combining sign language and music to foster communicationin early childhood. Our guest is Lora Heller, a Board Certified Music Therapist and Licensed Creative Arts Therapist, and Author with a Master of Science in Special Education/Deaf Education. We’ll talk about American Sign Language and the pros and cons of homemade signs and gestures, the ideal age to introduce signing, what signs are great to teach first, how to involve music for great s...
The Impact of Music in Early Childhood: Some Science & Suggestions for Parents
September 17, 2015 18:00 - 30 minutes - 26.9 MBCertified Music Development Specialist Ekanem Ebinne returns to talk to us about the impact that music has on early child development and some of the science that supports it. She will talk to us about developmental music psychology, the types of professionals that use this in their work, and why she has decided to do research in this area. Learn more about her and the great services she provides to families through her website: MotherInTune. Enjoy! Dr.T and the Kids AtoZ Team
Everything You Need to Know about Potty Training BUT Didn’t Know to Ask
July 22, 2015 15:00 - 48 minutes - 43.9 MBPotty Training is physical, intellectual, AND emotional milestone for children. In this Brains in Toyland episode we are talking with Dr. Ingrid Crowther, expert childhood educator and consultant and the Executive Director of Lifelong Learn. Dr. Crowther will talk to us about the changes a child goes through, the stages of toilet training, and strategies parents can consider. We’ll address what predicts how ready a child is to begin potty training, muscle and sensory changes, how comprehens...
Swimming Safety & Developmental Benefits for Young Children
July 10, 2015 23:00 - 48 minutes - 43.2 MBToday’s Brains in Toyland segment regards water safety for young children and the benefits swimming has on the developing child. We have Lorene Janowski, a Life Guard/Water Safety Instructor and Advanced Clinician of Occupational Therapy in the pediatric rehabilitation program at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. Are those inflatable arm bands a hidden danger? When is the best time to introduce children to swimming? What is the overall impact on devvelopment? We'll look at ...
How to Talk to Young Children about Divorce
June 23, 2015 13:30 - 32 minutes - 29.3 MBIn today's Brains in Toyland episode we have Dr. Samantha Rodman, Dr. Psych Mom, sharing best practices for talking to children about divorce. We’ll address topics like breaking the news, fostering open dialogue, and working to ensure that a child’s emotional needs are met during this difficult family period. You can learn more about Dr. Psych Mom and her services at her website. We hope you find our conversation helpful. Best, The KidsAtoZ Team ... Don't forget to follow us on Facebook...
Fostering Meaningful Relationships with Children by Making Chores Fun
June 22, 2015 16:00 - 56 minutes - 50.6 MBOne-on-one time is terribly important to have with your kids. It's often so hard to find the time. Chores are also an important part of developing a wide variety of skills like planning, organization, problem solving, independence, good sense of self worth, and more. Today we are chatting with Art Therapist Reina Lombardi to discuss creative and fun ways to combine these two important aspects of child development to make a great impact. We hope you enjoy.
Breast Feeding: A mother’s experience with La Leche League
May 30, 2015 14:00 - 47 minutes - 42.7 MBAt Kids AtoZ with Dr. T we bring you information about the five areas of child development, physical, intellectual, social-emotional, emotional, and moral so parents can empower their children to thrive. Today’s “All-Star Playroom” segment is called “Breast Feeding: A mother’s experience with La Leche League” Our guest is Rebecca Loonin. She’s a mom, an advocate of breast feeding, and active participant in La Leche League. We’ll be talking about this international nonprofit organization fo...
Language Development Birth to 6 Months: Building Skills, Relationships, & More
May 26, 2015 16:00 - 33 minutes - 30.1 MBWelcome to Kids AtoZ with Dr. T, bringing you information about the five areas of child development so parents can empower their children to thrive. Today’s “Brains in Toyland” segment is calledLanguage Development Birth to 6 Months: Building Skills, Relationships, & More Melanie Feller, MS, CCC-SLP is returning to talk to us about speech and language development in children birth to six months of age, what to expect, and how to foster great development. You can listen to our last interview...
Teething and Drooling: What Every Parent Should Know
May 01, 2015 16:00 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBMouth development is a notably under-addressed area of child development. This “Brains in Toyland” episode will address what parents should know about teething and drooling in children. We have feeding, speech, and mouth development specialist, Diane Bahr, MS, CCC-SLP. She is a speech-language pathologist and author of Nobody Ever Told Me (or My Mother) That! Everything from Bottles and Breathing to Healthy Speech Development. She is one of the foremost resources on Feeding, Speech, and Mou...
Positive Parenting and Effective Discipline
April 13, 2015 14:30 - 1 hour - 57.2 MBToday’s “Brains in Toyland” segment is called “Positive Parenting and Effective Discipline” Our guest is Dr. Joshua Rosenthal a child psychologist in New York City. We’ll be talking talk about his workshop called, “Positive Parenting & Effective Discipline” that he offers to parents for children between the ages of 2 and 7 years. We’ll address the principals of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and the Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) and his approaches and styles as a clinician incl...
The Dad Beats: The Four-Father Quartet Rockin' Family Fun
March 13, 2015 21:00 - 1 hour - 59.3 MBThe Dad Beats are four rockin' dads who describe themselves as "a power quartet wrapped in a playdate with a hootenanny garnish." We'll talk about how their music brings families together and inspires children to be creative. Their fun music with surf, rock, and country flairs foster important life lessons and skills with songs like, “I Will Not Crush My Baby Brother” and “Dad, Put Down the Phone.” Visit their website to listen to their music, see where they are performing, and contact th...
Rights and Resources for Children Born with Disabilities
February 23, 2015 21:30 - 1 hour - 77.7 MBIf a child is born with a disability or disorder the challenges can be great. Many parents are not aware of their rights, the law, or the best steps to take to make sure that their children get the best care for optimal development. Today’s “Brains in Toyland” segment addresses steps parents should consider and resources they should know about if their child is born with a developmental challenge. Our guests are education attorneys Eileen Libutti and Jennifer Frankola of Lewis Johs Avallone...
Health Insurance for Developmental Disabilities: Proposed changes
February 14, 2015 21:30 - 14 minutes - 12.7 MBThe ability for families to get services for children with developmental disabilities may increase if a new rule proposed under the Affordable Care Act becomes final. In this "Kids News Extra" segment Dr. T reviews the article, "Proposed Rule Mandates Coverage of Habilitation" from the ASHA Leader about proposed mandate to cover habilitative services. "Habilitation" is intervention to help a child build skills in which they are delayed or disordered. It's similar to the more familiar term o...
Social-Emotional Learning: Panel discussion on the role of providers and parents
February 09, 2015 16:00 - 1 hour - 59.4 MBSocial-Emotional Learning (SEL) the process of acquiring the knowledge and skills to be successful in life. It’s how we understand and manage emotions, forge and cultivate good relationships, feel and demonstrate empathy, make good decisions, and accomplish healthy goals. For the first time Kids AtoZ will be broadcasting from the road with the help of Hidden Chapel Studios. We're presenting a panel discussion with SEL experts at a training for the staff of the New York Center for Child Devel...
Get That Mouth in Shape: The Scoop on Pacifiers, Thumb-Sucking, & Mouth Toys
February 04, 2015 17:00 - 1 hour - 58.6 MBMost of us don’t think about how a child’s mouth develops, but there is a developmental process that impacts feeding, speech skills, and more. Feeding Specialist and Speech-Language Pathologist, Diane Bahr, is back with us to talk about what most people don’t know about mouth development, mouth behaviors, and mouth toys. She’ll talk with us about the process, common problems, and best practices. We'll talk about the pros and cons of pacifiers and thumb sucking and how to successfully we...
Storybook Yoga: Books and yoga for great bodies and brains
January 21, 2015 16:00 - 1 hour - 69.3 MBWelcome to Kids AtoZ with Dr. T, today’s Brains in Toyland segment is a nice example of how to promote physical, intellectual, and social emotional development. We have Dr. Suzy Lederer, a speech-language pathologist and Associate Professor in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department at Adelphi University in New York, here to share some great information with us. Dr. Lederer is an expert in speech and language disorders in young children, emergent literacy, pretend play, and yoga...
Being Serious about Play: An Important Medium for Development
January 14, 2015 16:00 - 1 hour - 54.2 MBToday’s Segment of Brains in Toyland on KidsAtoZ talks about the importance of play, and specifically, dramatic play on child development. Our guest, Dr. Dana Battaglia, is an Assistant Professor at Adelphi University in New York who looks at play in children. We’ll talk about what play is, how it development, and what areas of development it can foster. We’ll give parents ideas for things they can do at home to help maximize their child’s development and potential in this area. As always...
School Readiness Skills: How to set children up for success in the classroom
January 08, 2015 18:00 - 52 minutes - 46.9 MBToday’s All Star Play Room segment regards helping parents help children thrive by fostering great school readiness skills in early childhood. That is, making sure children have the skills and knowledge for success in school before they get there so they get a great start that flourishes across the lifespan. Our guest is Emily Roden, Co-Founder of ReadyRosie an organization that provides parent friendly resources to help parents prepare children for school. Access Ready Rosie at www.Rea...
The Power of Fables to Empower Problem Solving and Independence in Children
December 16, 2014 19:00 - 46 minutes - 41.7 MBStories are powerful. Stories teach so much. Stories connect so many. Fables are particularly powerful for teaching social-emotional and moral skills, problem solving and decision-making Today we have an “All Star Play Room” segment are will talk about a book called the Princess Fables with the book’s author, Marc Clark. The Princess Fables is a series of 11 fables that present common challenging situations for children and gives them means for navigating through these challenges in produc...
Terrific Toys & Activities for Great Physical Development Birth to Five
December 12, 2014 17:00 - 47 minutes - 42.7 MBNot all toys are created equal. That's a motto we have at Kids AtoZ. We have Dr. Maureen Suhr back with us to talk about what toys and activities are good to foster motor (physical) development in young children. Learn about what toys and games are super to do with your children as they grow from birth through their fifth birthday to help optimize their development. You can also visit our SMART Toy Store where we select the toys and games we love for child development. We tell you why...
Ready, Set, Go! Fostering Gross Motor Skills in Toddlers & Preschoolers
December 04, 2014 16:00 - 44 minutes - 39.8 MBRunning, jumping, climbing, and more. Dr. Maureen Suhr joins us to talk about fostering physical development in children from that first to that fifth birthday so children can really thrive. We’ll review the skills we should see emerge in children at different ages and talk about great toys and activities to help children develop great motor (physical) skills. Listen live on BlogTalkRadio and visit our website www.KidsAtoZ.com for more episodes and to visit our SMART Toy Store with info on ...
Building Literacy Skills from Birth (Yes Birth) and Beyond
November 16, 2014 23:00 - 57 minutes - 52.1 MBToday’s Brains in Toyland segment regards how children learn to read and write. Literacy specialist, Lauren Becker, is here to talk about how these skills really begins at birth. She’ll tell us how parents are key players in their child’s reading ability development and address questions parents often have. We’ll talk about the connection that reading has to speaking, listening, and writing skills and discuss ideas to help children become successful readers and develop a love for this very...
Guiding Challenging Behavior in Young Children
November 11, 2014 19:30 - 1 hour - 56.9 MBToday’s Brains in Toyland segment gives parents great tools to help manage challenging behavior in young children Our guest is Dr. Ingrid Crowther, an expert in early childhood and middle year’s education. Dr. Crowther appeared on our program last month talking about Effective Positive Guidance with children. That show suggested positive communication strategies parents could use with children at difference stages of communication development from birth to five years of age. We are excite...
Sippy Cups, Bottles, & Straws - Oh My!: Feeding 201
November 07, 2014 17:00 - 57 minutes - 51.3 MBPart II of our Feeding Development Series. Diane Bahr, MS, CCC-SLP, a feeding expert and speech-language pathologist is back to talk with us about how feeding skills develop from 12 to 24 months of age. We address what parents are often surprised to learn and common questions. We tell you what the experts think about straws, sippy cups, and more. You can learn more at Ms. Bahr's website, Ages and Stages, through her newsletter, book for parents, "Nobody Ever Told Me (or My Mother) That! ...
Floortime Play: Fostering Intellectual, Motor, & Emotional Development
October 30, 2014 14:30 - 49 minutes - 44.4 MBToday’s episode regards a great approach to fostering intellectual, physical, and emotional development in children called “Floortime” The Floortime approach, created by Dr. Stanely Greenspan, helps caregivers energize a child’s interest and creativity, build their symbolic and logical thinking, and helps them develop good social and emotional connections with others. Our guest today is Melanie Feller a speech-language pathologist and child development specialist. Ms. Feller is a DIR Floort...
Mentoring Mini Musicians: Building Music Skills in Early Childhood
October 23, 2014 15:00 - 1 hour - 62.4 MBThis Brain's in Toyland segment features Ekanem Ebinne, a GIML Certified Music Development Specialist. More than a music teacher, Ms. Ebinne leads children on a social and emotional journey as they improve their musical skills. She considers herself to be a music mentor. Ms. Ebinne will talk to us about how musical skills develop and how we can foster musical abilities in young children. Her innovative mentoring approach includes internet-based training which Ms. Ebinne has used successful...
Positive Effective Communication with Children for Success across the Lifespan
October 16, 2014 15:00 - 1 hour - 57.1 MBThis Brains in Toyland segment features Dr. Ingrid Crowther, an Early Education specialist. Dr. Crowther will talk to us about what Effective Positive Communication is, why we should consider this approach with our children, and give us ideas to use it successfully with our kids. We’ll learn how positive communication is a key element for building relationships, trust, and so much more. We’ll end our show, as always, with Dr. Crowther’s Five Favorite Facts for Families to help parents empo...
Is this Normal? Crawling, Moving, & More from Mama’s Belly to that 1st Birthday
October 13, 2014 17:00 - 40 minutes - 35.9 MBThis Brains in Toyland segment features Dr. Maureen Suhr, a pediatric physical therapist and motor development specialist for New York’s famed Hospital for Special Surgery. "Is this normal?" is a question Dr. Suhr often gets. She will walk us through motor development starting with the fascinating milestones in mom’s belly through the first adventurous year of life. She’ll tell us what we can expect and what we can do to help children thrive. We’ll end our show, as always, with Dr. Suhr’s F...
The Benefits of Music on Child Development
October 07, 2014 14:30 - 43 minutes - 38.6 MBToday’s Brains in Toyland segment regards the wonderful benefits that music has in a child’s life. Our guest today is Maya Benettar, MA, MT-BC, LCAT who is a music therapist and expert in the impact of music on development. We’ll talk about how music can benefit physical development like the motor and sensory systems and intellectual development, like creativity, organization, language, and learning. We’ll also talk about how music can help foster social-emotional development an such as int...
What Baby Food Jars Don’t Tell You: Feeding 101
October 03, 2014 16:00 - 51 minutes - 46.4 MBFeeding skills develop like all others. Today's Brains in Toyland features Diane Bahr, MS, CCC-SLP a feeding expert and speech-language pathologist. We'll be talking about what parents are often surprised to learn and addressing common questions they have. We'll review the stages of feeding development from birth to 12 months of age so parents can learn when and how best to introduce different foods and liquids to children in this age range. You can learn more at Ms. Bahr's website, Ages ...
Timely & Late Talkers: When and How Children Start Speaking
September 16, 2014 17:30 - 37 minutes - 8.36 MBLearning to speak is one of the most important and complicated things your child will ever do. On today's show, we'll talk with Dr. Michelle MacRoy Higgins about speech-language development and "Late Talkers" We'll talk about what often surprises parents to learn about how children begin talking, what influences how children learn to understand and use words, and ways to foster great development. Dr. MacRoy-Higgins is a professor at in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audio...
Tummy Time and Interruption the Container Baby Lifestyle with Marita Black, DPT
August 29, 2014 14:00 - 39 minutes - 8.87 MBToday we have Dr. Marita Black, a pediatric physical therapist talking to us about motor development. She will be talking about Tummy Time and the Container Baby Syndrome and address ways to position infants so their physical development progresses well and appropriately. Dr. Black is based in New York City and offers prenatal training to parents among her other great services. You can find more information on her website: maritablack.com We hope you enjoy the show. Best, The Kids AtoZ ...
Muscle and Sensory Development in Infants to Preschoolers
August 13, 2014 16:00 - 38 minutes - 8.48 MBMovin' and Feelin' Motor skills involve the muscle movements your child makes. Sensory skills involve taking in information from environment like things we see, feel, and touch. Occupational Therapists are experts in the development and functioning of motor and sensory skills. Accomplished Occupational Therapist, Karen Katzman of "Manhattan East Associates, Pediatric Occupational Therapy" in New York City is our fantastic guest. She talks about what motor and sensory skills are, what a...
Parenting Styles around the World, Many Paths to for Raising Children
July 29, 2014 19:30 - 22 minutes - 19.5 MBIn today’s thought provoking episode Dr. T reviews the article, “How Cultures around the World Think about Parenting” by Amy S. Choi. She then reviews an ABC news article profiling a parent in South Carolina, recently arrested for leaving her 9 year old unsupervised in a playground. In Japan, this would be no issue. The article links are below. http://ideas.ted.com/2014/07/15/how-cultures-around-the-world-think-about-parenting/ http://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_senior_for_parents_happiness...
Great Preschool Language & Thinking Skills with Expert Insider Tips
July 24, 2014 17:00 - 29 minutes - 26.1 MBIn this segment of “Brains in Toy Land” Dr. T talks about ways you can foster your child’s language and intellectual skills. Dr. T starts with a brief over view of language and relevant early concepts and then talks about “tricks of the trade” that developmental experts use to get children to talk more, think critically, and be creative while having fun. Please always feel free to send questions and show topic requests to Dr. T and her team at [email protected]. We’d love to address them on...
Great Play Skills & Play Rooms for Great Developmental Potential
July 22, 2014 21:30 - 38 minutes - 8.6 MBIn this episode of KidsAtoZ, Dr. T talks early play experiences are so important and how they serve as the foundation for more complex skills later in life. She provides a brief theoretical overview of child development and the five areas of human development so that parents have a rationale for selecting and creating beneficial experiences for their children. Dr. T then shows how the developmental areas can be fostered by making suggestions for creating a great home play space. If you’d l...
Speech vs. Language, Activity Ideas, & FAQs for Baby Talk & More
July 21, 2014 21:00 - 47 minutes - 10.7 MBWelcome! In this “Brains in Toyland” segment, Dr. T reviews the differences between speech and language and what skills to expect in the first two years of life. She also reviews activities you can do with your kids to help them thrive. You can access a handout for this section of the talk at her website through the links below. http://www.myspeechdoctor.com/KIDS-A-to-Z-with-Dr-T.html http://www.myspeechdoctor.com/upload/Speech%20&%20Language%20Overview.pdf Next Dr. T reviews some researc...
Bilingual is Better. Becoming Bilingual - The Expert's Perspective
July 19, 2014 20:30 - 19 minutes - 4.19 MB"Bilingual is Better” That’s our slogan at Kids AtoZ and you can quote us on that. In this “Brains in Toyland” segment Dr. T reviews the webpages from the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association regarding the advantages of being bilingual, ways children can become bilingual, and suggests some resources for parents. We’ve included the links to these pages below where you can access more information. http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/learn.htm http://www.asha.org/pu...
Early Language & Literacy Development in Children
July 18, 2014 21:00 - 34 minutes - 7.76 MBLanguage and reading skills begin a lot sooner than most people realize. There are “pre-reading” or “pre-literacy” behaviors children must master in order to be able to read and write. In this "Brains in Toy Land" segment Dr. T reviews the webpages from the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) on Emergent Literacy. Dr. T also reviews and an article in ParentGuide News by Dr. Elizabeth McCrea, President of ASHA. Dr. McCrea talks about early language skills that lead to s...
Children, Noise Dangers, Hearing Hygiene, and Learning Impact
July 04, 2014 04:30 - 14 minutes - 3.07 MBWelcome everyone. I’m excited for you to hear this episode about hearing hygiene and how noise is dangerous to more than just hearing. I’ll talk to you about the physical effects that it has on our bodies and the effects of noise on the learning environment. I’ll give you some examples of different sounds levels for various types of noise sources and signs that tell you when an environment is too loud. I’ll give you some tips on how to protect you and your children from noise, including so...
Dancing with Babies Builds Great Social Skills Later in Life
July 03, 2014 17:30 - 7 minutes - 1.5 MBIn this "Kids News Extra" segment of KidsAtoZ, Dr. T has a brief review a study regarding how dancing relates to developing interpersonal relationships. This is a great example of how the different areas of development influence one another. Here we see dancing, a physical activity, and it's impact on social-emotional, intellectual development, and one might argue, even moral development. We discovered the study in an article called "Moving in Sync To Music Helps Your Baby Build Interpe...
KidsAtoZ Program Overview: Endowing Parents to Empower Children
June 19, 2014 18:41 - 7 minutes - 1.59 MBKids A to Z strives to empower parents and set children up for success. The show addresses the areas of development (i.e., physical, intellectual, social-emotional, emotional, and moral), how they influence each other, and how to best foster them. Topics such as the effects of TV on the brain, how physical activity benefits cognition, and the benefits of bilingualism are just a few themes. Early childhood experiences are critical. They set the foundation for skills across the lifespan. Speci...