<![CDATA[WWW.APRILDAYCARE.COM - Blog]]>Fri, 29 Aug 2025 12:24:49 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[4 Ways to Get Children's Attention]]>Tue, 12 Aug 2025 19:57:49 GMThttp://aprildaycare.com/aprildaycareblog/4-ways-to-get-childrens-attentionTitle: Why Doesn’t My Child Listen? The Hidden Gap Between Hearing and Understanding
If you have ever given a child a simple instruction, such as “Please put on your shoes,” only to find them playing with blocks two minutes later, you might wonder:
Are they ignoring me?
The truth is, in early childhood, “not listening” is often not about stubbornness. It’s about how the brain develops and processes language.
Listening Is More Than Hearing
When we say “listen,” we often mean “hear my words and act right away.” But for a young child, this process involves multiple steps:
  1. Hearing the sounds
  2. Understanding the meaning
  3. Deciding what to do
  4. Physically carrying it out
Even a small delay at any stage can make it seem like the child is not listening.
Why Children Sometimes Do Not Respond
  • Developmental readiness — Processing speed increases with age.
  • Overload — Too many instructions at once can overwhelm a child.
  • Distraction — Their focus might be deeply engaged elsewhere.
  • Emotional state — Stress, fatigue, or excitement can affect responsiveness.
Four Ways to Support Listening Skills
  1. Get eye-level — Helps children know you’re speaking to them.
  2. Use fewer words — Keep instructions short and clear.
  3. Pause for processing — Give them 5–10 seconds before repeating.
  4. Add visual cues — Pointing, showing, or demonstrating — to support comprehension.
Final Thought:
When we shift our perspective from “They’re not listening” to “They might need help understanding”, we create more patience, connection, and cooperation.
💡 Want to learn more strategies and try them out with real examples?
Join my upcoming workshop: “Why Doesn’t My Child Listen?”
📅 Aug 29, 2025| ⏰ 12 Pm-1 PM | 📍 online (RSVP for registration <<info@aprildaycare.com>>.
ECE participants will receive a one-hour certificate approved by the BC ECE Registry for FREE!]]><![CDATA[Children's BOREDOM]]>Tue, 29 Jul 2025 20:41:37 GMThttp://aprildaycare.com/aprildaycareblog/childrens-boredomBy Zahra Rahbari
Let Them Be Bored
Children being bored these days is so controversial. Parents and educators are constantly planning the moments, the days, the months—forgetting that the fluidity of the adult-child connection is being skipped in the process.
Well, today—as I promised, and because many of you have asked how to handle summer with young children—let's chat about this: Should we keep planning and keeping children occupied, or let them feel bored?
As an educator and a mom, I understand how hard it is to leave a child's day unstructured. It feels like we are wasting their precious time. Like something important might slip away through that open window. But as I reflect on my own child’s days, I see it clearly now: the more space they have to feel bored, the more room they find to be creative.
Boredom is not a gap. It’s a bridge.
Doing nothing in today’s world has become a nearly impossible task—for both adults and children. We have forgotten how to sit in the quiet. Not eating, not watching, not listening, not talking. Just being. Just noticing. Just embracing the moment.
So this summer, maybe we loosen the grip. Let go of the urge to fill every hour. Let children linger in those slow, empty spaces. That's where wonder begins.
]]><![CDATA[Book club]]>Mon, 23 Sep 2024 19:30:56 GMThttp://aprildaycare.com/aprildaycareblog/book-clubBy Zahra Rahbari
Update: For those of you who could not attend the book club, I would suggest to get the book and enjoy reading it on your own. It is one of the best in revealing the facts behind children's behaviour.
​
​Fall 2024
And now exciting news!
I am pleased to co-facilitate a book-club with the Parent Support Services of BC.
Please refer to the flyer here to spread the word and/or to join.
The meetings are at 7PM PST every Thursday for 8 consecutive weeks.
Normally book clubs start in Oct, Jan and April throughout a year.
Picture
]]><![CDATA[must read children's picture-books]]>Thu, 29 Aug 2024 21:38:34 GMThttp://aprildaycare.com/aprildaycareblog/august-29th-2024By Zahra Rahbari
​This post constantly will be updated with new books. Always check back in a week.
As promised, I am going to introduce some picture-books for young children. If you google them, you might find the read aloud videos in addition to your local library. Please take your time and click on the links on this page to get familiar with the history of the books creation, the author/illustrator and much more. Remember to share all of that with your beloved children.
​
Here is the list:

Fiction Books

Kindness
Since kindness is very important concept for young children to learn, I started off the list with the books on compassion, kindness and empathy toward self as well as others.

Beer, S. (2019). Kindness Makes Us Strong. Hardie Grant Publishing.
Brooks, F. & Ferraro, M. (2020). All About Friends. Usborne Publishing.
Cook, J. (2013). Tease Monster: A Book About Teasing vs. Bullying. Boys Town Press.
George, K., (2023). I Am a Meadow Mermaid. Tundra Books
Mayer, M. (2023). Just for You. Random House Books for Young Readers.
Zietlow Miller, P. (2018). Be Kind. Roaring Books Press.


Non-Fiction Books
Brunelle, L. (2024). Life After Whale the Amazing Ecosystem of A Whale Fall. Neal Porter Books. 
Hevron, A. (2024). City of Leafcutter Ants: A Sustainable Society of Millions. Neal Porter Books. 
Hodge, D. (2004). Ants. Kids Can Press.
Rocco, H. (2023). Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough. G. P. Putnam’s Sons. 

Wordless Picture-Books
These books that are open to interpretation provide a great opportunity for you to talk about the pages, stories and illustration with your child. Remember "a picture is worth a thousand words".
Cole, H. (2012). Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad. Scholastic Press.
Lehman, B. (2008). Trainstop. Clarion Books.
​Stevenson, D. (2014). The farmer and the clown. Beach Lane Books.
Wiesner, D. (2006). Flotsam. ​​Clarion Books

Books with No Pictures
Novak, B. J. (2014). The Book with No Pictures. Dial Books.

​

]]><![CDATA[Morning/school transitions]]>Thu, 29 Aug 2024 18:10:28 GMThttp://aprildaycare.com/aprildaycareblog/morningschool-transitionsHello hello,
As most of you requested this post is about school transition and early morning transitions from home to daycare/school.
Well, as a parent I remember the days that I would sit on my chair in the workplace early morning, thinking "Now I can sit and relax". Early mornings bring too much stress for families, parents and children.

But we can lessen the pressure by doing simple things:
​
1- Limit your child's choice of clothing (not too many clothes nor non-weather-appropriate ones) and ask them to choose the night before.
2- Transition starts from the evening before, by reading stories about the areas a child might have difficulty recognizing. For instance, a child who picks summer clothes for winter benefits from first, those clothes being removed and second, reading a book/doing art to make the concept clear.
3- Have a paper and chart showing the child the process, e.g., draw bubbles and in each with the help of the child write what to expect or make activities one after another with play dough, from tonight until tomorrow night.
4- Yes, as an educator, I agree to tell the child about the time you are coming for pick up but please do not bring the focus on PU as the child will be all waiting during the day. Instead, bring the attention to the play and fun the child will have during the day.
5- Help and encourage your child to make a card/letter/art for a friend or teacher to take to school/daycare the next day.
6- Limit your drop-offs to less than a minute, trust the teachers and say goodbye very quickly. 
7- Through the readings and doing these projects, you and your child bond together and this spending time without any distractions will make it easier for your child to say goodbye the next morning.

Don't worry: If your child is happy with the PU, it means that they are safe and having fun. 
*If you reside in BC and have a child, this link might have a lot of details for you. Check it out!
 Remember to leave a comment about your experiences.]]><![CDATA[Stay tuned!]]>Thu, 18 Jul 2024 04:12:39 GMThttp://aprildaycare.com/aprildaycareblog/stay-tunedHello hello...
I know it's been a while and I get many questions from you, all passionate parents, on a variety of topics to elaborate on here.
Good news is that a new post will publish soon. It is about the books for young children.
​I am very excited for it.
Stay Tuned.
Zahra

]]><![CDATA[Potty learning.]]>Thu, 11 Apr 2024 18:30:13 GMThttp://aprildaycare.com/aprildaycareblog/potty-learningI hear you! We want to go through this potty learning at once and say goodbye to all messy diapers and pull-ups. But, please wait.
There are some special signs that children and parents should have before stepping to potty learning.
Check on the positive answers to the following questions regularly and if the answers to most of them are yes, then go for potty learning.

1- Are you (yes you - the caregiver) ready to patiently accompany the child through this process?
2- Yes, you heard it right. It is a time consuming process. It does not happen over one week (as you might hear from some caregivers). In order for the child to have a positive, long lasting relationship with their body and toilet, the skill should build up over time. So, please be patient.
3- So, the next question is, would you have the time, energy and patience for the next couple of months? Remember you might want to reconsider the timing if you have planned a vacation, the new baby or going to change jobs/home.

Ok. You got it. You answered all of the above questions satisfactorily and you want to go for it. Now, what is the first step?

Have you seen the signs that your child is ready physically and emotionally?
  • they tell you when they pee and poop
  • they do not like their wet diapers/pull-up
  • they wake up with dry diaper/pull-ups especially during the day (short naps)
  • they say pee and poop
  • they start to put up/down their pants 
  • they are happy most of the time and there is nothing new happening and your child and you will have a stable condition/relationship/connection for a while

So, What's Next?
We know we are ready, the child is ready. What should we do now to go through this process happily and successfully?

Initial Stage (before training starts):
  • Encourage the child's independence.e.g., to put on/take off their pants 
  • Show them the difference between wet/dry
  • Role model: We go to washroom several times of day, why don't we brag about it and announce it loudly. After coming out, again, explain to yourself or another person that your body is relived and your tommy is relaxed because of using the toilet and pee and poop that are gone to potty. Let children watch you going to the washroom and enjoy the weight off your shoulders. 

How to Avoid Power Struggle? It is all about giving choices that ends to what you want.
  • Always have potty books handy in potty in a basket (ask children to pick one book at a time) and leave them there for privacy (and tell them about privacy in potty). "ok, I will leave you with your book. I will give you some privacy". 
  • Set an alarm (it is more successful if you can agree with your child on one sound, children love the duck sound on the alarm clock).
  • As soon as the alarm goes off, you go to your child, holding their hand and you take them to potty. After a couple successful trips, you just announce, "oh, ducky is telling us it is potty time, let's go".  If they do not want to come, don't give up and don't tell them that is ok, and that they will go another time. Instead you say, "I am right here to help you" and then give them options, "do you want to hop or jump toward potty?"
  • Do not ask if their pee/poop is there. If they did not pee/poop and you know that it is the time, set another alarm without bringing it to your child's attention.
  • Please stay away from asking your child yes/no Qs (what are we expecting to hear from a toddler? Most probably is a big NO):
         - do you want to go potty?
         - can you go potty?
        - would you make me happy and go to potty? (Child's body should be happy after using potty not another person's!)

Second Stage (children have an idea of potty and their wet/dry diaper)
  • Use diapers or pull-ups for the first weeks as it makes a mess and you will get tired (no need to go straight to training underwear; keep that excitement for the next stage).
  • Do not wait in potty by their side and do not let children sit on the potty forever. Five to eight min is maximum. If they are waiting for poop, a couple of deep breaths might help (they can have a water bottle to blow air in it).
  • After you see the dry diapers/pull-ups for a couple of days, you might want to go for training underwear. They absorb water and you won't have pee on the floor or poop every where in case of accidents.
​Useful Note:
  • The intervals should be at first around half an hour to 45 min. For some children it might be around two hours. You decide about the timing of using potty based on your dry/wet pants/diapers.

By implementing these strategies any child who has normal development could finish potty learning within a couple of months (3-4 months).

You want to give it a try?
Go for it. Best of luck and remember to share your experience with other caregivers here.]]>