Month: April 2020

Categories
Health Nutrition

How to Introduce New Foods to Your Child

Hello parents! Congratulations on having some of the cutest toddlers ever!
There are a majority of toddlers who would refuse to try all the healthy stuff out there. Are you one of those parents struggling to make your child eat some new healthy food? How would you make them chomp on all those green stuff? Those foods are essential for their development and growth. There are a few tips which we have listed to aid you out.

Club the tasty food with healthy ones

This is one of the easiest ways of ensuring that your child has healthy food on his platter. Put the veggies alongside his favourite ones. This will ensure that he does not think much about the new food on his plate. Make your task easier to feed the child those veggies. You can lure him into eating those stuff. First provide the favourite stuff, not everything at a go and then this one.

Practice what you preach

Children often tend to observe their parents at every step and time of their lives. They often try to emulate you in several ways. You can use this to your advantage by simply eating that healthy stuff before he does. Simply ask him to emulate or just wait until he does. More often than not, they will do it themselves. A task made easier for you in simple words. Way to go! It is of the most effective ways of making your child eat that stuff.

Avoid large portions

Children do not tend to eat large chunks of foods that they dislike or run away from. You must be aware of this fact and try to avoid filling his plates with a truckload of veggies.

Exactly where you want to tread with caution. The portions must be sufficiently poky in size. The child does not feel like he is being made to eat this stuff at gunpoint. You will surely see the results yourself. Surely, the child begins to regularly eat small portions of this stuff. Then you can gradually increase the portion size to meet the daily nutritional requirements.

Addition of lip-smacking flavours

If it is possible to add some lip-smacking flavours which are your child’s favourite ones to those healthy foods, you must try that out.

First up, identify which flavours your child loves to gulp down. Then, identify the healthy foods in which you can add those flavours without compromising on their nutritional values. This will ensure that the child loves the taste while meeting the daily nutritional requirements.

By luring them

Talk about the splendid appearance of the new veggie you wish to load in his mouth. You can gulp it yourself first and then talk about how amazing it was. Your child will most likely emulate you. You can even offer them their favourite games and toys if they finish their portion quickly without much fuss too.

Hence, these are some of the most effective ways to help your child try out new and healthy foods. Good luck!

Categories
Parenting and Childcare

How to Deal with Saying ‘No’ to Your Child

Are you caught in a dilemma if you want to refuse your child anything or not? Do you fear that your child will retaliate aggressively after you say no to them? Will you mind succumbing to every demand he/she makes?

You are at the right place to deal with these complex problems effectively. Today, we are going to have a detailed look into the most effective means of saying no to them.

Some tips on saying no to your child

Here are some of the most remarkable yet simplest techniques to try for parents.

Substituting ‘No’ with some other phrases

According to research, children tend to retaliate if you say no to them very often. This word has a psychological impact on their brains in the long run. Hence, you can subtly replace no with phrases that suit the situation. Ensure that your child understands the message you are trying to convey. Also, the subtle phrase must have an equivalent impact on your child. For example- If your child eats too much chocolate ice-cream, do not say no directly. You can tell them that your teeth will get rotten. Instil a sense of fear that will prevent them from repeating this.

Let them have other options to choose

Your child does not want to be restricted a lot. They enjoy their freedom and their growth thrives when you provide them with this freedom. Hence, the next time you intend to say no to them, have an alternative ready in your mind.

For example- Let your child be adamant on having their favourite foods in unfavourable circumstances. Give them an option to eat the same foods which are home-made. This will ensure that the nutrition value is intact. Therefore, your child will not develop the habit of eating out a lot.

Assent with their demands putting certain conditions

The next time your child is too adamant on having something, you can simply tell them that they have your assent. However, this must come with a condition that they must fulfil before they get what they want.

For example- You can agree to buy their favourite superhero toy set. But, they must secure certain threshold marks and behave like a good child. This will help them understand their priorities well as they grow up.

Logical reasoning

This is one of the most effective tools to substitute the no with a better alternative. If your child wants to have a Dairy Milk chocolate before lunch, tell them that their stomach would fill up.

Also, tell them that you will not become healthy if you do not eat this. Let them picturise the repercussions of their demands before they agree with whatever you say. This will prove to be a very effective tool provided that you use it wisely.

Playful acts to divert their attention

Does it happen that your child wants to use your brand-new iPhone? You can playfully divert their attention to some activities that will make them forget about it. You can opt to indulge them in their favourite toys without saying no in this regard. 

These tips will surely help you in dealing with these situations. We hope you liked reading this article. Thank you!

Categories
Parenting and Childcare

What Parents Can Do About Their Children Lying

Have you ever ruminated why your child lied about anything to you? Analogous to most other parents, does this continue bothering you a lot? Well, you just landed up at the perfect place to know what you can do about it by handling it properly. According to several kinds of research, children tend to commence lying at a tender age of around three. However, this trait peaks at an age ranging from six to ten. Your child might lie to you in order to accomplish a task, maybe he/she is an attention seeker, to observe your response and actions or some other reasons as well. Today, we are going to have a look at how parents can deal with this effectively.

Dealing with children who lie

Here are a few things that you can try in order to solve this issue-

Focus on the solution rather than yelling

Often, parents tend to do this mistake of yelling a lot at their that they get encouraged to do this stuff again and again. As a repercussion, parents fail to focus on the solution of the problem and rather tend to vent out their unnecessary emotions on their children. Try to stay as calm as possible and ensure that your child follows the solution that you have provided. Also, ensure that the child knows the consequences he/she will have to face if they fail to co-operate. 

The role model theory

You must be a good role model for your child in terms of speaking the truth at all times. This is because children tend to follow their parents a lot while growing up. If your child catches you speaking lies, he/she is bound to repeat that no matter what.

Help your child in identifying the perils of speaking lies. You can connect the dots with some favourite fictional character of your child. For example- If your child loves Iron Man, convince him/her that he is a superhero only because he speaks the truth and if you do not follow him, you will be treated like a villain in everybody’s eyes. Children tend to emulate their favourite characters. Use this to your advantage.

Reward honesty

Help your child earn some rewards each time they speak the truth. For example- It can be a penny dropped into their piggy boxes or a favourite toffy which they earn after collecting a number of truths.

You can also lure by saying that if you exceed let us say 1000 truths, we will buy you your favourite toy. But you must not lie otherwise there will be consequences that are pre-decided by you. Let your child understand the importance of honesty.

Engage your child in social activities

Many researchers observe that fussy toddlers lie just because they want some attention or are apparently low in self-esteem. They just want you to focus on them. If this is the case, be a keen observer and engage them in activities where they make a lot of new friends boosting their self-esteem and confidence. Also, by observing many strangers speaking the truth, they will want to follow them and garner more attention. 

These are a few points you must keep in your mind while dealing with these things. Surely, you will see the change after some time. Good luck parents!

Categories
Parenting and Childcare

What You Say Might Affect Your Child’s Temperament

Does your child defy the majority of your orders, as you continue to ruminate why he/she does it? You ought to revisit how your tone and language was when you talked to your child. Yes, this might seem like a petty thing, but fixing it might bore the fruits you were yearning for. According to multiple studies, even a slight error on the parents’ part while talking to their children affects the child psychologically, emotionally, mentally and physically to a large extent. Let us have a detailed look and delve deeper into this topic.

The Psychological Effect

Reminisce the yelling tone of yours while talking to your child? That affects him/her to a great extent. If you curb their freedom for petty reasons without understanding them properly, it will affect them psychologically both in the short and long run. If not dealt with properly, the child will have a timid response and often grow up as someone who either becomes an outrageous rebel or submissive. On the other hand, a softer tone while understanding the child’s behaviour will help them obey you while their freedom is preserved. They will share great camaraderie with you as well.

Emotional Effect

If you constantly yell at your child, whether it is necessary or not, you are in for some trouble when they grow up. Their emotional quotient might show it as well and outsiders might even take unprecedented advantage of them when they grow up to be adults. Also, such children will not respect you surely and if this continues in their teenage, they might suffer from anxiety and depression. All they want is their parents to understand them without any judgement. Try this – Talk to them in a softer tone and see them grow emotionally at an unprecedented rate. They will understand you and themselves better too.

Insecurity

If you as a parent continuously keep torturing your child, he/she will be bound to feel insecure around you. As they grow up, they will keep secrets from you and let themselves suffer from things that they normally should tell you. However, your behaviour and language make them think that you are of little help to them. This insecurity translates into rebellion, a lack of attachment, lack of respect and very little camaraderie with you. On the other hand, if you make them feel secure by the way you talk with them, they will consider you as a pal from school or college and speak their heart out to you. This will ensure that they share great chemistry with you and be the bulwark of your relationship.

Attitude

Children whose parents constantly yell at them or talk in a way that displeasures them often end up having a pessimistic outlook about life. They develop a rebellious attitude and want to defy all the curbs that people intend to put on them. They tend to undervalue qualities such as care and affection that people show for them. 

Physical Effect

Your bad behaviour towards your child while talking to them can translate to perilous physical effects on them such as constant headaches, body weakness, dizziness and a few others. There is no way that they can sustain physical strength and endurance if they are mentally ill in any way. This also affects their performance in academics and co-curricular activities that are a vital cog for their overall growth. The ball is in your court as a parent. 

A sense of fear

Children who have experienced constant mental torture from their parents tend to develop fear even for the simplest of situations. They fail to deal with it effectively and it results in long-lasting repercussions making their lives tougher.

Hence, it is important that parents learn how to talk to their children, lest it will have major harmful effects on them. 

Categories
Awareness Parenting and Childcare

Child Safety: Identifying the Common Signs of Sexual Abuse

Signs of child sexual abuse could be emotional and/or physical, with physical symptoms being less common. Emotional signs can vary from “too ideal” behaviour to depression, withdrawal, or unexplained anger. It is vital to remember that some children may show no signs at all. There are also red flag behaviours you can recognize if you know what to look for to assist intervene in the grooming process.

Emotional Signs

Emotional and behavioural changes or signs are more common than physical signs and can include:

  • Depression and anxiety
  • Change in eating habits
  • Sleep disturbances, including night terrors or nightmares
  • Unusual fear of certain places or people; unwillingness to be unaccompanied with a certain person
  • Withdrawal; runaway behaviour
  • Changes in mood include aggressiveness towards pets, parents, friends, siblings, and anger
  • Frequent unexplained or health problems such as stomach aches or headaches
  • Alteration in attitude towards academic or school performance; no interest in sports, friends or other activities
  • Poor confidence; avoidance of relations
  • Self-mutilation or change in body discernment, such as thinking of body or self as bad or dirty; suicidal thoughts
  • Unusual behaviours, for instance, thumb-sucking or bedwetting
  • Abnormal knowledge or sexual behaviours of advanced sexual behaviours and language
  • Too “ideal” behaviour or overly compliant behaviour
Physical Signs of Abuse

The physical signs of sexual abuse are not usual. But, when physical signs are present, they might include bumps, bleeding, bruising and redness, or scabs around the mouth, anus, or genital. Sexually transmitted diseases, urinary tract infections, and penile discharge or abnormal vaginal discharge are also warning signs.

Other indirect physical signs comprise:

  • Headaches
  • Wetting or soiling accidents unrelated to toilet training
  • Chronic stomach pain
  • Chronic or relentless pain during stool movements or while passing urine
  • Sexually transmitted diseases
Symptoms that a person may be harming a child

Keeping children safe can be as hard as numerous perpetrators who abuse children sexually are in positions of trust. Keeping a kid away from the perpetrator may indicate major changes in your own life.

Be cautious of an adult who spends time with kids and exhibits the following behaviours:

  • Does not admire boundaries or listen when anyone tells them “no”
  • Engages in touching a child inappropriately
  • Tries to be a kid’s buddy instead of filling an adult role in the child’s life
  • Does not seem to have age-appropriate relation
  • Discusses with children about their relationships or personal problems
  • Spends time alone with children outside of their role in the child’s life or makes up justifications to be alone with the kid
  • Expresses bizarre curiosity in the sexual development of the child, such as sexualizing normal behaviours or commenting on sexual uniqueness
  • Offers gifts to the kid without reason or occasion
  • Spends a lot of time with your kid
Taking action is not easy, but it is vital

It is not always easy to recognize child sexual abuse—and it can be even more demanding to step in if you believe something is not right. If a child informs you that a particular person makes them feel embarrassing, even if they cannot tell you everything, pay attention.

Consult with somebody who can assist you find out if this is something that must be reported, such as a staff member from your local sexual assault service provider.