Tag: Child

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Awareness Parenting and Childcare Travel

Avoid Losing Your Child in Public Places

Every parent’s worst nightmare is losing your kid in public places. Parents love to travel with their children or take them out. Child safety should be of paramount importance. Just as we say ‘Prevention is better than cure’ if some tips are kept in mind when you travel with small kids such fearful situations can be avoided.

Dress your child in bright colours

In public places, it is easier to spot a child in bright colours. Before entering the crowded area, help your child memorize how you are dressed. This can help your child describe what you are wearing in case your child gets lost in the crowd. This can also help people in tracing his dear ones easily.

Device a plan for the day

Try to make a plan which is specific to the place you are going to. Point out a meeting spot to your child. Help the child to recognize the spot and its surroundings well. Ensure that the meeting point that you have selected can be easily located and reached by your child. Ask him to reach there and to wait if he gets separated from the group.

Train your child on what to do when he gets lost

Children should be taught what they must do if they get lost in public places. For a child’s safety, you must teach them that they must approach a responsible adult, for example, a security guard, a police or a mother with children. Children must explain the situation to adults and seek their help. Make them understand that they should never accept a ride from a stranger or never exit the premises if he/she is lost in an enclosed area like a mall or park and never accept food items or drink from strangers.

Help your child to memorise a few important details

For a child’s security, your child should be able to tell their full name and age, their home address, their parent’s full name and their mobile number.

If your child is too small to memorize, you can write them down in a piece of paper and place it in his or her pocket. You can also think of making an ID card for your child to wear in public places.

Keep a recent digital photo of your child with you

This is in case your child does get lost in a public place. Recent photographs describing features of your baby will help those involved in the search recognize the child from the crowd.

Consider using a digital tracking device

With the growth of Technology, using a digital tracking system can be of help. This can help you keep track of your child’s location using a smartphone that has access to the GPS device’s tracking signal.

Give him a mobile phone

If your child is old enough, you can consider giving him a mobile phone. Hand him at least a feature phone just for the duration of the trip. In case he gets lost can be used to get in touch with the parents.

Stay alert

Remember that you should not get too distracted or involved in a conversation with your spouse, friends, or other family members. Have an eye on where your kids are and what they are up to. Staying alert in a public place is the best precaution that can be taken for your child safety.

Losing your child in a public place can indeed be a traumatic experience. So when you start planning to take your children out to have fun; prepare them well for what they should do in case they get separated from their parents. This will help the children to be alert and act wisely even if they get lost in a crowd, and will be doing the appropriate things as their parents have taught them.

Categories
Development Parenting and Childcare

Tips on How to Teach Your Baby to Walk

Seeing your child take his first steps is one of the most thrilling early milestones. Children go through numerous developmental stages before learning to walk, which include crawling, sitting, standing and pulling up. While all toddlers tend to pursue the same development through these phases, no two babies experience them at the same time or in the same manner. That said, there are lots of ways you can assist your baby along in his journey to walk!

When do babies start walking?

Usually, a baby learns to walk at about 14 months, but every baby is different, so some may get there earlier and some will take a little longer. It is important that you give them time, even up to 18 months is considered common, though you can persuade them to practise often and try not to carry them in all places. If you are still concerned, it may be wise to seek medical assistance, so trained professionals can check your child’s reflexes, muscle tone, and posture.

Tips on how to teach your baby to walk
  • Even though you cannot rush their development, there are a few things you can do to assist build their harmonization and self-assurance.
  • Place an attention-grabbing toy on a chair to motivate your baby to get to it
  • Provide your baby lots of appreciation whenever they drag them up to standing and assist them to sit down again as they would not have learned this yet
  • If your baby is standing self-confidently by holding furniture, motivate them to ‘travel’ around furniture or to grasp their hands and get them to stroll
  • Once your little one tries to pull a push-along toy, they use it to support themselves when walking. Ensure it is firm and solid enough to support their weight steadily.
  • Your encouragement and smiling face is the most excellent way to motivate your baby to take their first steps on their own. Thus, stoop a few feet away, hold out your arms and smile as you advise your baby to take a few steps towards you
Things that you should not worry about

There are several peculiarities you will notice as your child waddles around — all of them completely normal:

Flat feet

Although you may find your baby’s feet appear flat, that is just baby fat plumping them up. By three years, the extra “plump” should dissolve and you will be able to see her natural curves. The feet may also bend inward, almost like half-moons. That is quite normal as it will take time to straighten out.

Tiptoe walking

Some babies have a desire to go around on their tiptoes which helps them develop their sense of balance. While in few cases tiptoeing may specify too-tight muscles in the feet or heels, it is almost always a peculiarity that goes away on its own.

Trips and falls

Ensure your home is childproofed and watch her at all times cautiously — then try not to tension over her predictable fall over. Your little one may indeed cry if he falls, but prospects are he is more irritated than wounded.

Once your baby is getting around on her own two feet, she will keep on discovering new things.

Categories
Health

6 Ways to Boost your Toddler’s Immune System

Once the babies are weaned, they are prone to health issues like runny noses, gastrointestinal problems, colds, coughs, etc. How often have we attributed these symptoms to changes in the weather or allergies? Is it fair to just accept that your toddler is more susceptible to infections than other kids? Instead, why not boost your child’s immunity against common diseases?

Here are some useful tips for better immunity in children

Breast milk

Breastfeeding is the best immunity-boosting method for babies. According to an article published by the National Health Scheme, U.K. breast milk boosts immunity and protects babies from various diseases. Breast milk contains powerful white blood cells and natural antibodies. The nutrients will protect your child from respiratory diseases, urinary tract infections, tummy bugs, meningitis, and others. If you are a stay-at-home mommy and get plenty of breast-milk, then try to breast-feed the baby at least for a year. This will strengthen the immunity of the child much more than supplements do.

Eating right

Some foods have powerful phytonutrients that enhance the production of white blood cells that fight diseases. Add 2 tablespoons of fresh fruit and/or vegetable pulp in the daily diet of your pre-schooler. Green beans, berries, carrots, oranges, kiwi, etc. contain diseases-fighting nutrients like vitamin C, beta-carotene, etc. Other foods that improve immunity in toddlers are oily fish (containing Omega-3), almonds (vitamin B), garlic (sulphur), mushrooms (zinc), yam (vitamin A), and others.

Healthy hygienic habits

Teaching clean habits is one of the most important ways of improving your child’s immunity. There are many situations when toddlers are exposed to disease-carrying germs. They may be handling pets, not washing hands before meals, using shared soaps and towels, etc. Teach your child clean habits at a very early age so that they become second nature.

Adequate sleep

Toddlers need 11 to 15 hours of sleep per day depending on age. Adequate sleep and regular sleep cycles are good for toddlers. Kids with low immunity can be affected by Sleep Deprivation. You need to ensure that your child gets deep sleep in order to remain healthy and happy. On the other hand, Ingestion of the right foods will also help to counteract the side-effects of sleep deprivation to some extent.

Physical activity

You do not want your toddler to grow up into a couch-potato! But formal exercises will be boring for your delightful little toddler. Whereas, music and dance, cycling, follow-the-leader game (which involves walking), racing, ball games, etc. will be fun.

Avoid passive smoking

The parents’ habit of cigarette smoking in the presence of children is the most common reason for respiratory problems in kids. Second-hand smoking or passive smoking will cause low immunity in the child. This will make your kid more susceptible to chronic/recurring diseases like colds, coughs, bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma, or worse!

Your toddler’s well-being is entirely in your hands. The more you know how to improve your child’s immunity the easier life will be for your toddler. Good health and stamina will ensure that your little darling is always active and happy.

Categories
Health Parenting and Childcare

6 Secrets to Raising a Healthy and Happy Child

As parents, what are our expectations of children? We all want them to be safe, healthy, and happy. But the habit of being a happy person has to be fostered in the early child development stage. This will help your kid deal with personal and professional relationships confidently.

Here are the 6 secrets of raising a healthy and happy child:

Build a strong bond

A child who feels a strong emotional connection with others will be happy. But the foundation for such connections must be laid in the form of parent-child-sibling bond. When you foster healthy connections, your kid will grow up feeling loved. Such a child will rarely develop bad habits like smoking, drugs, or drinking.

Avoid overindulgence

It is a mistake to overindulge your kid with toys and possessions. Your purpose is to make him/her happy but this gives the wrong signal. There is a very thin line between pampering and spoiling a child. If you cross this line repeatedly, your child will develop the wrong impression that money and possessions take precedence over family and friends.

Do not coddle

As parents, we are not responsible for every emotion that a kid experiences. Emotions like sadness, anger, frustration, etc. are part of life and your kid should be allowed to experience and cope with them. Instead of over-protecting your child from such feelings, you can teach how to deal with these emotions and bounce back into a cheerful state of mind. Also, keep a good balance between spending time together and giving space to each other.

Be happy

Your kid will take his/her cue from your behaviour. The best way to raise a happy child is by being happy. If you are relaxed, smiling, cheerful, and usually speaking in a pleasant tone, the child will develop the same habits. When surrounded by a happy family, the kid will learn to find joy in interrelationships and togetherness.

Teach responsibilities

Everyone has an inherent wish to be involved with others and be liked by them. Even a toddler does not want to be excluded from the family activities. Your toddler will feel included when you give him simple tasks. As the kid learns to perform these tasks properly, your kid will develop a sense of achievement and pride in a job well done. Even small jobs like feeding the pet or laying the table will give your child a lot of happiness, especially if you praise his efforts.

Avoid criticism

You may find it difficult to see your child struggle with a task and may criticise with the intent to instruct. On the other hand, to prevent failure you may feel tempted to take over the task rather than letting your toddler struggle with it. The right thing to do is to just guide verbally and let the child complete the given task. You must make allowances for failure because kids learn from their mistakes.

The most beneficial trait of raising a happy child at home is that your kid will grow into a cheerful and confident adult.

Categories
Activities

Spark Your Child’s Imagination by Promoting Creative Skills

A highly creative child is imaginative and thinks out of the box. So there is a strong connection between a child’s creative skills and imagination. But how to ignite a toddler’s imagination? Here are some cool ideas that will give you and your little one a lot of pleasure:

Imaginative Home Activities for your child

Children are naturally creative and it does not take much effort to ignite that little spark of imagination in them. 

Sparking your child’s imagination with stories

Bring out all your childhood fairy tales full of adventure and imaginary creatures. Describe them and their actions using different voices for the various characters. 

Children’s encyclopedia

Invest in a good children’s encyclopaedia. The ones for kids are normally full of beautiful pictures. As you point out animals, birds and insects from the book, imitate their sounds or movements. 

Books

While reading aloud from books, embellish your story with sounds, voices, and movements. These graphic descriptions will teach your toddler to image the existence of those creatures even if he has never seen them. 

Enacting the stories

Use soft toys, dolls, or other items in the house to represent characters in the stories. Enact these stories along with your toddler and turn it into the most enjoyable parent-child bonding activity. 

Developing your kid’s imagination with artwork

Colouring books

These books are the easiest way of igniting your child’s imagination and creative skills. Motivate your baby to use unusual colour combinations on every page of the colouring book. 

Doodling

Another fun-filled activity is doodling. Let your kid scribble with an ordinary pencil on a piece of paper. In the maze of scribbles, identify shapes like circles, triangles, squares, animals, faces, etc. and teach your kid to colour only those areas. 

Abstract art from waste

One of the most inexpensive ways of using creativity to spark your kid’s imagination is making art pieces from waste. Recycle cans, boxes, wrapping papers, grocery bags, plastic bottles, etc. and indulge in abstract art projects. The waste items can be painted, dried, and glued together to form different shapes. 

Other creative games that ignite a child’s imagination are stone art, sand art, puppet-making with waste, Origami (paper folding), paper cutting, and more. 

Outdoor Activities to Ignite your kid’s Imagination

When we go to parks or the zoo, we would normally just point out trees, flowers, birds, animals, and other objects. Even in the outdoors, there are immense possibilities to spark your toddler’s imagination with creativity. 

  • Nature’s tale – Carry a small bag to the park. Ask your toddler to pick up small pebbles, shells, buttons, string, flowers, seeds, or any other small items found on the ground. When you come home, ask your kid to arrange them on the floor and create a story around those items. 
  • Garden tent – Set up a tent in the backyard so that your kids can pretend they are camping. You can join in the fun and encourage them to think of something new every time they use it. The tent can be a cave, spacecraft, aeroplane, ship, or anything else. 

Have fun…

Categories
Parenting and Childcare Travel

Sleeping Arrangements When Travelling with Twins

Are you a parent of twins and ruminating how you will manage globetrotting along with them? There are a lot of you who avoid hasty and long-distance travel just because your child twins are not used to it. Or, is too notorious and picky while sleeping. There might arise a few scenarios where you cannot avoid travelling. For instance, your better half might be serving in the army or a government post where transfers are frequent. There are a few tips for you while travelling with your twins hassle-free. Let us have a look at some of the most effective ones.

By using an Inflatable Air Mattress

This is an effective way to accommodate the twins while you are on the go. There are loads of blow-up mattresses available online on Amazon and a few other e-commerce websites where you can find comfy inflatable mattresses. These are pretty lightweight to carry anywhere and you can easily roll them up when not required. However, you must be skilled at training your twins beforehand for sleeping in these mattresses at home. They could find it tough to adjust to this in one go. Hence, if you are intending to use this during travelling, you must train your fussy toddlers beforehand. See how well they can adjust to this.

By using cribs

If the cribs are comfortable enough for your twins to fit in and have a sound sleep, this is a pretty effective way for you. Several toddlers have slept in these cribs for years. As a result, they want to fit inside as long as their size permits, regardless of their age. If the twins sleep well in it, you may carry it. However, you might find it bulky.

The one twin per parent formula

You might want to see if each of your two toddlers prefers to sleep with either of you. You can try this out for a considerable time at home before attempting it first up on the go.
You will be overwhelmed if they prefer this kind of sleeping method. This will save your money in buying different sleeping stuff for them as well as the time when you make beds for them. Also, the children who sleep with their parents up to an age share a better camaraderie with them. This is scientifically proven in many kinds of research.

By using fold-able tents

There are a few flexible and foldable tents available online which work well for your child. However, you must carry their favourite blankets along with this, lest they will find it a bit tough to adjust. There are tents which come pre-built with flashlights as well. This makes it an exciting option for you.
There are loads of options available in the market. You have to figure out what works best for your child. The most comfortable of options for a particular child might not work for the other. See what best fits your case.

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 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
Technology

How to Prevent Your Toddler from Watching Mobile Videos During Meals

A majority of toddler moms complain about how they have difficulty in feeding their babies without distracting them with a video on their smartphones. Children are often very fussy eaters and persuading them to eat healthy food is not easy. Whether at home or in a restaurant, parents often resort to showing videos on their mobiles just to make the baby eat without a tantrum.

My baby does not eat without a mobile video playing on the side!

How does video-watching during meals affect a pre-schooler?

Just as in adults, distracted or hurried eating can cause a lot of physical and emotional damage in a toddler. Some of the harmful effects of watching mobile videos while eating are:

  1. Overeating – Video-watching is one of the biggest causes of toddler obesity. Studies have shown that we tend to overfeed the baby because the kid is engrossed in the video and does not indicate when the tummy is full.
  2. Gulping food – When your child is distracted by a smartphone video he just gulps the food. His mind does not savour the food and develop preferences.
  3. Slow metabolism – Seeing a video while eating lowers your baby’s metabolic rate. Consequently, the food is digested slowly and excess fat is burned slowly.
  4. Indigestion – Your toddler’s addiction to videos during meals every day may ultimately lead to frequent bouts of indigestion, colic pain, reflux, constipation/diarrhoea, etc.
  5. Allergies – Both you and the kid are distracted by the mobile video. So you are also not as alert as you should be in detecting allergic reactions to certain foods.
  6. Interaction – It is truly said that ‘a family that eats together stays together’! Meals are the best time for parent-child bonding. While watching a video, your pre-schooler does not interact with the rest of the family and misses out on precious quality time.
How to encourage your toddler to eat without a video

Distraction from a video makes it easier to feed your child. In due course, this becomes a habit and your kid may refuse to eat a meal without watching a video. Even if the habit has set in, you can wean your child from the habit. Initially, your little one may throw tantrums and make a huge fuss. But if you persist, then eventually the child will learn to eat without the distraction. These are a few tips on how to prevent toddler from watching videos during meals every day:

  • Keep everyone’s mobile devices away during meals
  • Take help from other members of the family to keep the child in conversation
  • Try to add creativity in the food, in order to make it look a little more attractive
  • Avoid texting or browsing on your phone during meals
  • If necessary, only play audio music (preferably nursery rhymes) instead of showing videos
  • Give more time to the toddler so that your child learns to value personal relationships more than objects.

As you have seen, there are many harmful side effects of a toddler not eating without mobile video clips. Video-watching during meals adversely affects the physical and emotional well-being of your toddler. Your child’s welfare is within your hands and not so difficult to manage.