Joy & Laughter Developmental Therapy

Is teeth brushing a big task at your home? Try these super simple tips and let us know how they work.

Tuesday Tip This Tuesday, Shreya Krishnan answers an important question you might have if you're raising a child in a bilingual home. It's not true that learning more than one language causes children to be confused and/or delayed. This fact is bilingual children reach their developmental milestones at the same time as monolingual children. If a child has a speech or language delay, it will be present in both languages, but is not caused by learning the two.

Everyone from JLD Therapy would like to wish you and your family a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Merry Christmas Eve!!! What’s everyone doing tonight?

Introducing Mangos, or any other fruit, these are some ways to start.

Some signs that you should be looking for in speech development are: - By 12 months, your child isn't using gestures, such as pointing or waving bye. - By18 months, he prefers to use gestures instead of vocalizing through sounds and words. Or he has troubles imitating sounds and has trouble understanding verbal requests. ... - By 2 years, your child can only imitate speech or actions and doesn't produce words or phrases on his own. By 2 years, your child can use some words and sounds on a regular basis. He should also be able to follow simple directions and instructions. At this age, a parent should be able to understand what the child is trying to say. If your child hasn't achieved these speech milestones, it's time to talk to a Speech and Language Pathologist. At JLD Therapy, we offer a 15-minute FREE consultation to determine your child's development.

Buy a safe pair of scissors and let your child experiment with cutting. Cutting paper through scissors help build your child's important hand muscles. Create patterns on the paper for them to cut out. Start with straight lines and move on the curved and circular patterns.

Spread a little Christmas cheer this year and donate a new, unwrapped to at either of our locations now - December 18th!

Here’s a fun Christmas Sensory bin idea! - Colored Rice - Colored Pom Poms - Lights ... - Candy Canes - Santa or Elf Figurines - Leaves from a Christmas Tree - Bows - Wrapping Paper Bits - Or anything cute you don't want to throw away! See more

As parents, there have been so many times that we have to calm our kids. The challenge is even bigger if you've got a hypersensitive kid. So the next time it storms, try these calming strategies.

Activity of the Day: Gardening. Let's get those little hands dirty. You don't have to plant an entire garden. A simple plant would do. Start with snap peas, tomatoes and carrots. They are easier and quicker to grow. When kids grow a garden, it offers a good dose of sensory stimulation to a child. It engages all your child's five senses. Also, when children garden they are more likely to pick healthy eating habits.... Gardening also teaches responsibility. Kids learn to plan and organize. Plus, its a great way to bond with your kids. Do it together.

Hey JLD Friends & Families!! At our virtual holiday party on Saturday, our staff as given 45 minutes to build and decorate a gingerbread house. It was so much fun!! Help us determine a WINNER by liking the photo or post in the comments on your favorite! The winner will be announced next Tuesday 12/29!

Help us spread a little Christmas cheer this year by donating a new, unwrapped toy at either of our locations! We are collecting toys until December 18th.

Kids ask around 300 questions a day, and with each question there's great opportunity to bond with them. What was a question your child asked you today? It tells us a lot of what they are thinking.

Who's excited for Halloween?! Here are some fun Halloween Activities to work on your child's motor skills: https://jldtherapy.com/9-halloween-activities-to-improve-m/

Messy Play. Kids love it, but most parents don't. The next time your child create his own muddy puddle, or sprinkles baby powder around the entire room, come back to us. However, we would recommend to encourage messy play in a safe environment. Create opportunities. Take them to a sand area. Or make your own messy play area.

Did You Know: babies are born with 300 bones, which is almost 50% more. The bones fuse together during growth to make approximately 206.

All our brave moms, send us a picture of that random crap.

The most important job you will ever have will be the one within your own home.

If your kids is continuously spitting out food, it doesn't necessarily mean they are rejecting the food item. Babies under 10 months are just learning to use their tongue. They are trying to cordiante the use of tongue and mouth muscles. Sometimes, instead of pushing the food in, they push it out. Be patient and continue to offer them food. There would be other reasons behind this. They love seeing your reaction. Other reason could be that their tongue is reacting to t...he new texture. Don't put labels on the food, such as, 'You don't like the food' or 'Even mama doesn't like eating this'. Keep offering the same and new foods. If your child is still spitting out food after 10 months, we recommend talking to your pediatrician. The wait and learn approach usually works, but continuous spitting of food can create picky eaters.

Proprioception is when your body coordinates its movement by using its muscles, joints and the skin to coordinate with the brain and process information regarding the surrounding. What we may perceive as awkwardness might be proprioceptive dysfunction. If your child is exhibiting more than one of these symptoms, it’s always good to talk to an occupational therapist. DM us to book your free 15-minute consultation.

Whenever our children cry, our first instinct is to make it stop. To soothe them. What is your first instinct when you hear your child crying? Do you rush forward or do you let them 'deal with it?

A child loves himself more when his parents love and appreciate him. Build your child's self esteem by praising him appropriately.