Category: Parenting and Childcare

Bringing up a child as a parent and taking care of them.
Handling day to day changes in a child’s behaviour

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Behaviour and Discipline Parenting and Childcare

Here’s How to Help Your Child Overcome Fears

Fears are a normal part of childhood—and thus are learning to get over them. Few children are scared of the dark while others believe that there are giants under the bed and some shouts when they find an insect on the pavement.

Before you begin to panic that these perplexing fears indicate there is something incorrect with your child, understand that these fears are completely usual part of their growth. Ultimately, learning to handle fear is an essential life lesson. Usually, these fears are not completely sensible but what they are feeling, along with their physiological response to it, is very genuine indeed. 

Take comfort in the fact your kid will grow out of these fears. Here are a few things you can do to make the evolution just that little bit easier for your little one:

Introduce role models

The fears of children are common and for this reason, there is a range of resources out there to help you in teaching your kid how to deal with them. Search for age-appropriate children’s films, toys, and books with characters that help in overcoming fears and being brave.

Be patient

Do not force your child to deal with their fears before they are ready. Keep in mind; while the fear might be puzzling to you, it is still very real to them. Rather, be patient, sympathetic and let them confront their fears at their own pace. You can talk to them through the emotion they are feeling in a comforting and calm manner.

Give them control

Fear can be a direct response to feeling helpless and physically threatened. Children who are frightened of the bathroom, for instance, are worried they will be flushed down; kids who are frightened of the monster under the bed are feeling at risk on their own in the dark.

Offering your child an aspect of control in the management of their panic will help them feel safe and sound. For instance, if they are frightened of burglars in the night, make locking and shutting their bedroom window one of their night-time tasks.

Answer their questions

Even though childhood fears are typically based on exaggerated or imaginary perceptions, that does not mean they are not very real to your kid. Discuss with them about their fears and try and understand where they are coming from.

Motivate your child to ask you any questions they like and do your best to answer them in simple, age-appropriate ways. If you do not know all the answers, research them together online or at the library.

Motivate and applaud

Ignoring your child’s fears or laughing at them will attain nothing optimistic. Ignoring or belittling your kid may compel them to internalise their fear instead of dealing with it and also shatter their belief in you.

Rather, talk to your child about their fears, assure them that you are there for them and persuade them to deal with their fears in their way – and in their time. It is also vital to praise their efforts when they do something out of their comfort zone. It will go a long way towards building their self-confidence and overcoming their fears.

However, if your child’s fears appear like they may be something more severe, consult with a doctor to see if more assistance is needed.

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Behaviour and Discipline Parenting and Childcare

Tips on Teaching Your Kid to Say Sorry

Most child experts’ consent that kids should not be compelled to say “sorry” when they do anything wrongly. But, that does not mean kids should be let off for bad behaviour. Adults should take the opportunity to educate kids about why their behaviour was wrong and learn about good etiquette simultaneously. Forcing a young child to apologise after he hits or bites a friend, may mean just saying a “sorry” statement without making their behaviour change. In such cases, what should parents and providers do?

Teaching your kids etiquettes for saying sorry is harder than it seems. For beginners, your kid needs to let go off his self-esteem and ingest his arrogance to say sorry. Also, your child may not think or consent that his behaviours call for a confession at all. And finally, also if they are eager to say sorry to run away your anger, it is hard to make sure that they mean it.

Why teaching your kids etiquette for saying sorry is important?

Saying sorry is not just a social gesture. It assists your child to identify right from wrong, take liability for his wrongs, modify his errors, clear the air and cure a relationship. For raising an adult who is accountable enough to accept his errors and say sorry, practice the below-mentioned tips with your child.

Teach your kids etiquette when to make an apology

It is hard to teach a small kid what is always incorrect and correct. But it is also vital that you start making them alert of these two concepts in the early hours. To aid them to understand their errors motivate your child to understand – enquire them how they will feel if something similar was done to them.

Explain to your child how to apologise correctly

A good apology is not just saying sorry. Teach your child different “elements” of a good apology:

  • Stand still and straight
  • Make eye contact
  • Motivate your kid to put in language what he did incorrectly so that the listener knows that your kid knows why he/she is disturbed.
  • Conclude with a promise for future behaviour
  • Follow up with a question to ensure that he is forgiven
  • Use the correct tone of voice. For saying sorry you can utter it in diverse tones and assist the child know when it sounds like you does not mean it and when it does.
Be unbiased

Maximum parents fall on two edge – they are either very guilty about their kid’s behaviour or they are too nice, blame their kid and support the other children. But none of these are excellent ideas. Explain to the kids that it does not matter who did it, however, now that there is an issue both kids need to make an apology to one another. If your kid feels awful about it, later on, clarify to him that argument typically happens when more than one person is involved, may not be equal but both add towards it. Thus, it is essential to say sorry even if your child did not begin it.

Though it might be difficult initially, slowly your child will develop a sense of liability and understand the implications of his behaviour and actions. Empathy will grow and you will feel proud to have raised a well-bred child.

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Feeding Parenting and Childcare

What Are the Most Comfortable Positions to Carry a Baby?

We relive the magical moment when we first held our newborn in the arms. It was a moment of trepidation, ecstasy, and gratitude all rolled into one big emotion! The baby’s crown (top of the head) is a delicate spot so you must avoid exerting pressure. Secondly, the baby cannot hold up its head at this stage so the head and neck need constant support. In this article, I have given you a few tips on safe and gentle positions to hold a baby.

Gentle and Safe baby-carrying positions

You may have to carry the baby while you are standing, walking, sitting, and even in a prone position. Every time, you will have to adjust the hold so that the position of holding the baby is safe and gentle. Here are the tips:

Feeding Position

Place your left hand under the head-neck of the baby and the right hand under the buttocks. Lift the baby to your torso. Gently move the right arm upwards along the spine to support the head-neck as well. Place the head at the elbow the left arm and slide the baby’s body along the left arm. Lean the left arm against your torso for extra support.

Carrying Position

Carrying a baby against your shoulders is one of the most natural and easy babies carrying positions. Place your hands under the baby’s armpits while it is facing you. Make sure that your fingers are supporting the neck and head. Now gently lift the baby till its head is resting on your shoulder. To make this a truly safe and gentle position to hold a baby, ensure that the child can see over your shoulders. The nose should not be resting on your shoulder otherwise the baby will feel smothered.

Burping Position

One of the easiest baby-burping positions is the belly hold. Turn your baby so that the stomach is facing down on the mattress. Now slide your right arm under the baby from the face towards the legs and lift the baby. Support the back with the other hand. Use gentle strokes on the back to burp the baby.

Chores Position

Once your baby can hold its neck steady, you can use the hip hold. Face your child towards you or outwards and place the baby on your hip. Place your arm around the baby’s waist for support. This is a gentle and safe baby carrying position while you want to complete some chores with the free arm.

Coffee-Break Position

This baby carrying position is the most comfortable one for you as well as the child and perfect for a much-needed coffee break. Sit down in a comfortable chair and let your baby sit facing outwards. Your torso will support the baby’s head, neck, and spine.

Crying Baby Position

Lift your baby, secure its arms and hold them with the other hand. Make a 45-degree angle of your arm and move it slowly like a swing. The baby will feel soothed and will stop crying.

Holding your baby safely and gently is an instinct but knowing the best positions will make you and your baby happy.

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Parenting and Childcare

What Should You Do If Your Toddler Is Too Clingy?

A toddler’s clingy stage is not an easy phase for a mom. There are many reasons why toddlers want to be carried all the time. It may be because your baby is learning to adapt to changes like a new crib, a new room, etc. Sometimes, kids want to be carried when they are in crowded areas or just because they are tired. It is better to make the child independent during the very early stages of childhood development. Here is a list of things you could do to make things easier for yourself

Encourage independence

Your love for the baby may compel you to carry the child more than is necessary. Curb the urge to carry the child and do so only when your little one asks to be carried; that too, not every time he asks! Let your toddler crawl or walk around the house freely and let him/her explore. Be in the same room and just keep a watchful eye to prevent falls or injury. While going out, use the stroller instead of carrying the child.

Take your kid for walks

Walking to the park is another easy way of preventing clingy behaviour in toddlers. Point out children who are running around the park and having fun. Offer incentives like more pushes on the swing or more ball-play time if your little one walks to the park. But the incentives should not be in the form of more cookies, chocolates, or toys. That will give your kid the wrong signal and he will refuse to walk just so that he can get more goodies. You can carry him while returning because he is naturally going to be tired and probably hungry too.

Avoid giving in

Toddlers who always want to be carried resort to temper tantrums if they do not get their way. To avoid embarrassment in public you may feel tempted to give in. You are doing more harm by encouraging laziness. Your kid will learn to use tantrums as a way of getting whatever he wants. So you will need to be firm and not let emotions get the better of you.

Praise good behaviour

Whenever your child has walked around a mall or park, carried out simple tasks independently or is very accommodating remember to praise such actions. Your kid will develop a sense of self-reliance. He will also get a feeling of achievement every time he walks instead of being carried around. Praise goes a long way towards boosting your toddler’s self-confidence.

Keep your temper in check

Scolding a clingy toddler will only worsen the situation. Both you and the child will be distressed. Instead, use a pleasant, gentle but firm tone of voice to persuade your kid to sit in the stroller or to walk.

Look for signs when your toddler is tired and carry your child. The rest of the time, let him romp around and enjoy his freedom. Set these habits as soon as your baby starts crawling so that he learns to play on his own. As you go on teaching your child more self-reliance, your kid will not be a toddler who clings anymore.

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Parenting and Childcare

Things to Avoid While Dealing with Working Mom Guilt

Being a mother is the biggest gift from nature. But dealing with working mom guilt can hamper your thoughts and actions. When you are a working mother, you do not have spare time to be miserable because you are working. To make life as a working mom easier, why not eliminate these negative feelings?

My-Responsibility-Syndrome

Every chore at home is not necessarily your responsibility. Get rid of the notion that only you can do something efficiently. Learn to delegate household chores to children when they are still small. Never mind if they are not as quick and as smart as you. Let them do things at their own pace. Guide them and encourage them to do better. Do not take up every task upon yourself or you will be burdened with the jobs forever. Also, this will discourage them from becoming self-reliant and confident.

Self-Reproach

Being a mom is a fulfilling experience but this does not mean you have to be at the beck and call off your children. Some amount of healthy neglect will teach your kids independence, responsibility, and self-help. If you forget a small task, do not berate yourself; especially not in front of the kids. Instead, motivate the kids to do the job on their own without seeking any assistance.

Excessive Regimentation

Some discipline and organisation are necessary for every household, otherwise the home environment becomes chaotic. But too much regimentation can be stressful for you as well as the kids. Keep a good balance between house rules and freedom so that there is a pleasant atmosphere and the parent-child relationship is cordial.

Forgetfulness

The question of how to get over working mom guilt is raised most often when you forget a parenting task. You may be rushed off your feet and may forget that it is a sports day in your kid’s school. So your little one goes off wearing the wrong uniform. Should you beat yourself up for forgetting? Instead, what you can do is make a note of the important dates/days when your kid may need extra attention and help. You can also set reminders so that the chances of forgetting can be reduced.

Critics

Know that there will always be some people who will criticise your efforts. Their comments every time you make a mistake in parenting will make it harder to cope with working mom guilt. Constructive criticism is fine if the person is giving you useful information. But petty comments should be ignored if you cannot avoid their company. You are trying your best at maintaining a good work-life balance! Do not let anyone persuade you to think otherwise.

What do kids want from their parents? They just need love and attention. They need to feel that the parents appreciate their efforts. Small children are not judgemental and are usually willing to accept you with faults and everything. Do not let the guilt of a working mom sour a wonderful parent-child relationship.

Be happy!

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Parenting and Childcare

Psychological Impact of Fighting in Front of Your Child

According to the research carried out by the US National Library of Medicine, negative emotionalism in a toddler is a precursor to many problems as adults. The toxic relationship of parents can cause poor physical and emotional health of a child. Therefore, the psychological impact of fighting parents on a toddler can have far-reaching consequences.

During early childhood development, a kid learns from the parents’ behaviour that there are negative emotions. Toddlers emulate most of their parents’ actions and words. They can sense moods and even newborn babies can understand ‘anger’. When parents fight in front of their kids, they are displaying their inability to deal with negative emotions or situations.

Some of the effects of these conflicts on a toddler are:

Emotional insecurity

Fighting in front of a child makes the kid feel insecure and worried about the future. The unpredictability of the fights makes it even more worrisome, whether there will ever be a normal life.

Family bonding

Situations of parental conflict, angry words, physical altercations, abuse, etc. not only cause a chasm in the parents’ relationship but also between the parents and child. They lose out on the love, affection, and warmth that they usually expect from parents.

Stress

Parental conflicts impede a toddler’s physical and emotional development. The child feels stressed out every time the parents get into a heated argument. Overhearing fights and raised voices will make the child miserable.

Cognitive disorders

A child growing up in a happy environment gets the opportunity to develop cognitive skills at a normal pace. The parents can give the child sufficient time and attention to help develop these skills. In an environment of parental conflicts, a child’s development of cognitive skills will be slower.

Aggression/delinquency

The toddler will imitate the parents. If the parents are always fighting in front of the child, the kid will treat siblings and others with anger and hostility. While growing up, the kid will find it difficult to maintain healthy relationships.

Eating and sleeping disorders

One of the effects of marital conflict on toddlers is sleep deprivation and eating disorders. Kids whose parents are always fighting tend to eat less and may suffer from various health issues like migraines, irritable bowel syndrome, malnutrition, anorexia, bulimia, or worse.

Substance abuse

The worst impact of fighting parents on children is substance abuse. Children from an unhappy home will seek comfort outside. Kids who indulge in smoking, drugs, drinking, etc. are usually from homes where the parents fight in front of the kids.

Low academic performance

Arguing in front of kids affects their grades. Researchers say that one of the biggest reasons for the low academic performance of a child is due to frequent parental conflicts.

Your toddler learns to handle negative emotions, conflicts, and disagreements by seeing how you handle similar situations. When parents fight in front of the kids, the child cannot identify the home as a safe and secure environment. Therefore, parental conflict adversely affects the overall development of a child.

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Development Parenting and Childcare

Speech and Language Development in Children

Speech and language development are some of the most crucial parts of a child’s overall development. It determines the capability of an infant to communicate with the outside world. It also facilitates your child’s ability to speak and express his feelings, to understand and exchange information in a meaningful way with others.

Crucial developmental period

The most intensive period in a child’s life is considered to be the first three years to develop speech and language skills. It is at this time when the brain is maturing and growing that these skills develop the most. During this period the child’s brain is best in absorbing any language. You must provide him/her with good exposure to sounds, sights and continuous interaction with others speaking.

Parent’s role

Parents play a prominent role in helping their little ones develop the skill of speaking. From the beginning, you can respond to small sounds and gestures that your baby makes. Introduce him to the world around, the creatures, sounds and all that you see and touch.

Engage your child in conversation

Whenever your baby says something, keep adding on to it. Keep talking to your baby whenever you are with him. Asking him questions would prompt the child to speak and you need to listen to the answer patiently. You need to engage him listening to your stories, poems or rhymes. Make your child get familiar with your language. Encourage him to speak and mingle with others.

Age-appropriate milestone

You can identify children with difficulties and their speaking habits at certain points of time.

For this, you must be aware of the time by which your child should start interactions in various forms depending on his/her age.

By the end of 3 months
  • Make cooing sounds
  • Recognizes your face
  • Smiles when you appear
  • Cries differently for different needs
By the end of 6 months
  • Responds to changes in tone of your voice
  • Pays attention to music
  • Makes varieties of sounds and babble
  • Moves their eyes in the direction of sounds
  • Identifies the sounds of toys
By the end of 12 months
  • Tries imitating speech sounds
  • Start saying a few words like Amma, Dada etc.
  • Understands simple instructions like come here
By the end of 18 months
  • Though non verbally, answers simple questions
  • Recognize the names and faces of familiar people and body parts
  • Tries imitating simple words
By the end of 24 months
  • Combining words like more milk, go tata, etc
  • Speak well enough to be understood by at least parents
  • Begins to use pronouns like mine
By the end of 3 years
  • Answers simple questions
  • Speech becomes more accurate but strangers might not be able to understand what they speak completely
  • Uses descriptive words like ‘big’, ‘happy’, ‘small’
  • Uses questions to ask for something such as ‘my ball?’
  • Asks a lot of questions

By 4 years he must be able to describe events as they have happened and can tell a simple story all by himself.

By the age of 2 or 3, if your child doesn’t start speaking, it should be taken seriously.

When to check with the doctor

If a child’s speech or language appears to be delayed, immediate measures have to be taken.

Approach a speech-language pathologist and share your concern about your child’s communication skills. The doctor will evaluate your child based on hearing tests and special spoken tests. Depending on the test reports, doctors will suggest activities to be performed at home to stimulate the development of a child’s speech.

Always keep in mind that your little one is always keenly listening to you and is going to speak by imitating you. Talk to your child whenever you are with them. These techniques can encourage your child’s speech and language development.

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Activities Education and Curriculum Fun Parenting and Childcare

Make Homework Fun and Engaging for Your Child

We all know homework is uninteresting, but there are some easy ways you can make homework more fun for the student. The time for homework can instigate growls from kids and parents. As a guardian, you know it is essential to make sure that your child is advancing academically; however, you also need to know that it can be taxing and a bit tedious too. After looking at the board for hours and bounded by quizzes and books, and taking note of lectures, there is a chance that kids will throw a fit of temper when you enquire them to complete their tasks.

The good news is that there are a few ways by which you can make homework fun for the children.  Few of which are explained below:

Make a creative and fun space

You may have found in your own professional or academic life, working in a distracting or boring space can make progress difficult. It is no diverse for children, so begin them off on the correct track. Prepare a creative, cosy, space for your child to work. Stay away from hectic areas of the home that may be disturbing, and keep TVs and any needless technology far-off. It is vital your child likes the space and feels at ease, so with her input, add some inspirational imagery, colour, and lots of academic essentials, such as pen pencils, markers, and paper. Just as it is typically suggested to only use your bed for sleep and not for work, your child will relate this space with just schoolwork and learning, instead of playtime.

Play an educational game

This tactic can work in a couple of diverse ways. You can turn the actual homework task into a game. For instance, if your student is working on vocabulary words, you can create a matching game or flashcard. If your child is learning concepts of mathematics, you can use small pieces of toffee to assist with the numbers. Division and subtraction units are so much more fun when they can eat a few of those toffees!

If you are not capable to find a way to turn the task into a sport, try playing a brain puzzle before your student begins studying to warm up, for instance, scrabble, chess, bingo, or connect four.

Track progress for rewards

Making a rewarding method to use as positive support can assist make homework appear less like a task. Set up some objectives with your kid’s contribution and match them with suitable rewards for something to look forward to. For instance, for every task completed on time, a star or a ticket is earned and placed on a chart in the homework space. Once the chart is filled, the child can choose a reward, such as getting ice cream, watching an entertaining movie, purchasing new attire, or acquiring a new game. Only ensure your child clearly understands the big picture of what good grades indicate for his future, so you do not fall into an entrap where your child exclusively studies as a way to earn treats.

Work beside your child

While your child is doing homework if the rest of the family is relaxing and having fun, then it can feel isolating for a child. Rather than leaving your child to work alone, join her and complete some work of your own. This can include checking emails, developing a budget, pay bills, or planning a trip, do it next to your child. It not only assist your kid feel that she is not the only one working hard, but it also offers an opportunity to spend time with your kid and be present for any questions she may have.

These are some of the simple ways that parents can follow to make homework fun for your child.

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Parenting and Childcare

Safety Measures to Follow to Keep Your Child Safe from Abuse

Maximum parents fret about how to guard their children in a world that at times seems so risky. As with any other danger, guarding our kids against risk starts with knowing those risks. For example, parents frequently think that keeping a stranger away is sufficient to protect kids from sexual abuse, but most sexual abuse cases are carried out by someone the child trusts and knows such as a step-parent, parent, teacher, coach, sibling or older cousin, babysitter or religious leader.

Here are some simple safety measures to keep your child safe from abuse.

Ensure your kids are well managed.

You must know where your kids are and who is with them. It is best to have more than one child and a minimum of two adults present when you are not present to manage. One adult/child situations should be avoided unless the adult involved has shown to be very reliable.

Parents should be very cautious about leaving young children with teens. Stay away from settings for children such as day-care facilities that do not permit parents to stop by anytime. Also, one of the important safety measures is to keep any kind of internet facility in common spaces of the home so you can keep an eye on your kid’s web browsing. It is very simple to trip upon improper material online by chance.

Understand the warning signals

Adults who demonstrate a strong liking for being with kids over adults, particularly being unaccompanied with kids, should provoke some doubt. Be careful of adults who engage in any actions that look suspicious. In children, the below-mentioned behaviours are indicators of psychological suffering and can signal that a child is being abused:

  1. Sudden changes in temper
  2. Changes in a child’s eagerness to be around a particular adult
  3. Constant crying
  4. Trouble focusing
  5. A sudden commencement of toileting accidents after a history of continence
  6. Aggressive or cruel acts towards others that appear out of temperament for the kid
  7. Low confidence.

One strong pointer of child sexual abuse is strange sexual behaviour. If children are talking about or mimicking adult sexual acts, they have likely either seen or experienced something damaging.

Keep communication lines open between yourself and your kids

Find out what is happening in your kids’ lives and get to know their interests. Your kid is most likely to discuss with you about a serious issue, such as worries about an adult in her life, if you already have repeated, healthy conversations.

Spend some time with your children to find out about what is important to them. For instance, you can ask them about their wishes. Perpetrators often look for children who appear to have a fragile bond with their parents as they are less possibly to tell their guardians about abuse, and as they might be fascinated by an adult who shows them the attention they are missing at the house.

Have faith in your instincts

If there is a hesitation in your mind about the safety of your kid, do not go against your instincts. Even if it will harm anyone’s feelings, even if you cannot put a finger on why you feel insecure about someone, do what you need to keep your children safe. Your parental instincts, if you rely on them, can be a useful tool in protecting your child.

These are some of the simple ways to stay away from child sexual abuse.

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Special Child

Ways to Help Your Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Sleep Better

During the initial periods of life, babies get into a typical pattern of rest and attentiveness. There is a slow diminish in the number of daytime snoozes they need. They begin resting for longer timeframes around evening time.

A few youngsters keep on experiencing issues nodding off or staying asleep. This ranges from sundown to sunset, and the issue can persevere long after kids start school. Rest issue might be much regular in youngsters with mental imbalance range issue. Scientists found out that a range of 40% to 80% of youngsters with an autism disorder experience issues resting.

What sort of impacts do rest issues have?

Not getting a decent night’s rest can affect a kid’s life as well as wellbeing. In such cases, there is a connection betwixt an absence of rest and the following:

  • Animosity
  • Gloom
  • Hyperactivity
  • Expanded conduct issues
  • Fractiousness
  • Poor learning and intellectual execution
Lack of rest

If your youngster isn’t resting, there’s a decent possibility you aren’t, either. One investigation demonstrated that the guardians of youngsters with mental imbalance restless, have more unfortunate rest quality, and get up sooner than guardians of kids without chemical imbalance.

On the off chance that your youngster experiences issues nodding off or awakens more than once for the duration of the night, it may be a sign of a rest issue. To know without a doubt, make a meeting with your kid’s paediatrician. The specialist may allude you to a rest authority or an ear, nose and throat specialist. It can assist with saving a rest journal for seven days to follow how a lot and when your kid is dozing. You may incorporate any wheezing, changes in breathing examples, uncommon developments, or trouble relaxing. It might assist with recording perceptions about your youngster’s conduct the next day. You can impart this journal to your kid’s primary care physician and any pro engaged with treatment.

How might I help my youngster rest better?

You should utilise the prescriptions with youngsters if everything else fails. There is various way of life changes and characteristic tranquillizers that can improve rest time and quality for kids with chemical imbalance range issue.

  • Please avoid your child from having some addictives, for example, caffeine and sugar before bed.
  • Set up an evening schedule: shower your kid, read a story, and let him sleep.
  • Help your special child unwind before the sofa by perusing a book, giving a delicate back rub, or turning on delicate music.
  • Close down TV, computer games, and other invigorating exercises an hour before sleep.
  • To forestall tangible interruptions during the night, put some blinds on his windows keeping out light, introduce curtains, and ensure the entryway is noise-free. Keep the temperature pleasant of the room and decision of sheet material fit with your youngster’s tactile needs.
  • Converse with a rest clinician about brilliant light treatment. Presenting the youngster to times of splendid light during dawn may help direct the body secrete melatonin by helping them to feel wakeful during the day.

Following all of these measures and techniques, you can ensure that your child with Autism Spectrum Disorder can sleep better.