Vaccination anxiety

Hello friends! How are you all doing? Hope all is well with you and family. Today we will talk of an interesting topic on vaccination anxiety. Vaccination anxiety is not uncommon - both for you as the parent and for your child who is being vaccinated.

Always remember that the emotions you show can affect your child's mood and temperament. If you get angry, they respond by getting upset. If you talk soothingly when they are upset, they respond by calming down. This means that if you are displaying vaccine anxiety, you might be making them anxious as well.

In order to reduce your child's anxiety about being vaccinated, the first step is to reduce your own vaccine anxiety. Dispelling the myths causing your vaccine anxiety should help you, and in turn your child, become more comfortable with vaccines. Doing your vaccine homework will also educate you about the fact that you have to stick to your child's vaccination schedule to become fully protected. To work their best, vaccines need to be given at the proper time.

For a child of any age, it is important that you be relaxed when they are being vaccinated. Remember, your emotions can affect your child's emotions and comfort level. Ask your health care professional about whether you should give your child acetaminophen to reduce the pain of vaccination and, if so, what dose to use. For babies it is best that you also cuddle them during the vaccination so they feel safe. Attempt to distract them during the immunization. Use your voice in a soothing tone or use a favourite toy.  Reward and praise them for being so good in the health care professional's office during their scheduled vaccination. Take your child somewhere special afterwards to have some fun together so they remember the positives better than the negatives.

Enjoy parenting and have a great time!!!

Baby stranger anxiety

Hi friends! Today we are going to talk of an interesting topic on Baby’s stranger anxiety.

Most babies begin to show fear of strangers by around 7-9 months. They aso don’t like being apart from their parents. Don’t worry, this is absolutely normal. Don’t think that baby has become fevicol to you. Slowly she will get over it and discover her own independence.

Why does fear develop around 7-9 months in babies? Some researchers believe children begin to show fear when they are able to compare something they know and remember, with something they don’t recognize. Children get better at knowing the difference between familiar and unfamiliar faces, they may become more fearful of faces they don’t know.

Others believe that fear is more biologically ‘programmed’. For these researchers, an unfamiliar face or situation is a natural clue to danger.

How can you help your child through stranger anxiety and separation anxiety?

·         Stay close to your child when new people are around. Infants react more fearfully to strangers when their mothers or caregivers are not close by.

·         Show your child that new people are OK. When you greet a stranger in a friendly way, with smiles and a positive tone of voice, children are less likely to feel afraid.

·         Give your child time to get used to new surroundings before meeting a stranger.

·         Try bringing a familiar toy or stuffed animal for comfort.

·         Encourage new people to approach slowly and gently, without immediately touching your child.

·         Pay close attention to your baby’s reactions, and respond.

·         If your baby cries or looks afraid with a new person, it’s OK to comfort her and try again later.

·         Avoid sneaking out on your child when leaving. Although it might seem easier at the time, children may feel confused or betrayed when they realize you’re gone. When leaving your child with someone, tell your child that he will be safe and that you will be back soon.

·         Earlier in the day, let your child know that a sitter is coming, who it will be, and how long you will be gone.

·         Give your child some time with the babysitter so your child has a chance to get more comfortable before you leave.

·         Let your child know that the sitter will keep them safe.

·         Tell her how much you love her, where you are going, and when you’ll be back.

·         Give your child something to look forward to when you return, like reading a book together.

As your child grows, he or she will overcome his fear with time. So stay calm and patient and don’t ponder too much.

Enjoy parenting and have a great time!!!

How to entertain your babies and stimulate his reflexes????

Hi friends!!! Hope you are all doing well and spending really quality time with your wonderful children. Today, we will talk of an interesting topic, of how to entertain your babies. They are small little wonders of your house, and yes, if you keep talking, interacting with them it will improve their reflexes.

Birth to 3 months, baby is developing his sensory organs. So he will simply observe you and the things around but not reciprocate. But, slowly after 3 months he will start to grab things and work on his movements. Now, this is the time you start enjoying with your baby. Dance and dance with your child. Dance will help you to relax and even lose weight in a fun manner. Silly exaggerated movements like jazz hands or shaking your butt are particularly funny to babies. You can try doing waltz in a soft manner with your angel or simply, sway her with the music. Slowly your baby will start enjoying dancing with you.

Dig into your closet and show your baby your cashmere sweater, your cottony-soft favorite jeans, your brilliant plaid skirt. Run soft or silky fabrics over his face, hands, and feet. Lay fuzzy stuff down on the floor and put your baby on top of it. In a few months, your baby will want to run his hands over anything beaded, embroidered, or otherwise embellished. But for now, he may just be content to gaze in wonder. You can try using your vocals and sing to glory. You may have a terrible voice — but your kid doesn't know it! Now's the time to sing at volume 10, so set free that opera voice inside you. Singing nursery rhymes with actions will be a lot of fun for your baby.

Try singing a song in a low growly voice and then in a high squeaky voice, to see which gets the most reaction. Try singing the song breathily into your baby's ear, or use a hand puppet (or a napkin or sock willing to play the part of a hand puppet). And get used to singing, because this could begin to eat up a significant portion of your day.

Play Peekaboo with your baby. An infant version of hide and seek. In the game, you hide your face either in a small blanket or behind a curtain, or simply cover your face and pop back into the baby's view and says-to the baby's amusement-Peekaboo! I see you! Baby will turn ecstatic to see you return back. Turning the anxiety of separation into a game of joy is a form of mastery. In other words, instead of the baby crying when parent leaves the room, the baby is now laughing because despite his fears, the adult has reappeared. Peek-a-boo if played over and over again turns to be quite comforting and entertaining.

Enjoy parenting and have a great time!!!

Lets Learn World of Colors

Hi friends!! Enjoy the new video on world of colors. A cool game to introduce concept of colors to your toddlers.

How can neo-mothers lose weight safely after giving birth?

Hats off to all the mothers, I genuinely know how tough it is to go through the pregnancy and delivery of a child. Then, soon the thought dawns upon each and every mother, how I am going to lose weight. Relax and take it easy. After giving enough rest for yourself for atleast six weeks or more, you can start working out  in a healthy and stress free manner.

·        Eating well-balanced meals can help speed your recovery. It can also make it easier to keep up with the demands of being a new parent. Whether you are breastfeeding or bottle feeding, aim to eat healthily. Try to eat sensibly when you are hungry.

·        Make time for your meals, especially breakfast. Skipping meals can lower your energy levels and won't help you lose weight.

·        Eat at least five portions of fruits and vegetables in a day.

·        Include plenty of fibre-rich foods such as vegetables, oats, lentils and grains in your diet.

·        Go easy on the special high-calorie foods given to women after birth, such as panjiri, ghee-laden dishes and fried dry fruits. Enjoy these tasty treats by balancing them with your meals.

·        Watch your portions at mealtimes. Small meals eaten often can help prevent overeating.

·        Drink plenty of low-calorie fluids like water, nimbu pani, coconut waterand fresh fruit juices. Lots of calories can be hidden in packaged juices, full cream milk and soft drinks.

·        Breastfeed your baby. Experts say that exclusive breastfeeding makes it easier to regain your pre-pregnancy shape.

·        Keep an eye on the number and type of snacks you have between meals. Opt for healthy and filling snacks like salads, fruit platters or a glass of toned milk.

·        With a new baby it can be hard to find time to take care of yourself. But it is important to lose weight carefully and slowly.

·        Be positive and energetic. Positive mind will always help you to get back into your shape. 

Watch new video- Globe of shapes

Hi friends! Watch new video on globe of shapes that's colorful and entertaining as well!!!!

How to boost your baby's intelligence

Hi friends!!! Today we will speak on an interesting topic of how to boost your baby’s intellect.

·       ·        "There is a correlation between the number of words a child hears as a baby and his verbal IQ," says Lise Eliot, Ph.D., author of What's Going On in There? How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life. The more you talk to him, the richer a vocabulary he'll develop. Keep your subjects simple, because he thinks in concrete terms. Like don’t talk of abstract things but visible things like toy, towel, blanket, etc.

·      ·        Reading stories together helps you forge an emotional bond with your child and helps her learn too. "Your baby begins to grasp the basics of literacy from your reading sessions -- that there are letters and words on the pages and that you read from left to right," says Linda Acredolo, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis. And the pictures will allow your child to see things she otherwise might not be able to visualize. I would advise to get picture alphabet books and read them during the day time. Keep separate fairy tale story books for naptime.

·        Use sign language to communicate with your baby before he ever speaks. You'll be lending his intelligence a helping hand too: "Scientific data show that sign language has a positive effect on IQ and language development," Dr. Acredolo says. According to a study conducted at the University of California, Davis, babies who learned about 20 signs talked earlier and had higher IQs than those who didn't.

·        Kids who were breastfed as babies outperform their formula-fed peers on mental-development tests, Dr. Eliot says. And the longer babies breastfeed during the first year, the higher their IQ tends to be. Still, if you choose formula, don't fret. Studies have found that the ultimate IQ difference is just a few points, on average.

·        There is a philosophy that kids need entertainment around the clock, but they need some downtime to amuse themselves, play with toys, or crawl.

Its really an exhaustive job to be a constant 24 hour mother round the clock. But the more, you entertain and innovate in educating your baby, the more beneficial will your child be in the long run.

You can google and get good educational activity books, blocks or toys for your baby on internet sites like firstcry.com, snapdeal.com, amazon.in, fisher-price.com, littleones.com and many others.

Enjoy parenting and have a great time!!!!

When to send your child to playgroup???

Hi friends! Hope you are doing very well, learning new art of parenting every day. Today, we will talk of an interesting topic on whether or not to send child to a play group. While there is a hot debate in India, regarding the government new resolution to raise the age limit to nursery and having uniform age during admissions, still as a parent let’s today understand the advantages of playgroup.

While there are many schools that take kids as early as 1.5 years old in playgroup, I would suggest please don’t send children at this tender age to school. They won’t understand or enjoy the socializing at school. They need your protective environment. Once the kid reaches the milestone of 2 years old, you can definitely think of sending your child to playgroup.

Advantages of Playgroup

·        This is first step of your child to survive without you being around at school. Although, initially it would be an emotional drain for you as well as your child, but steadily the child will understand and learn to do without you.

·        This is a valuable learning experience for your child to learn adjusting himself into a new environment and learn new things everyday.

·        At a playgroup or nursery school your child will have a much wider variety of play equipment than you can provide at home. She will have to learn how to share toys and take turns which is all character building.

·        As well as increasing your child’s independence and confidence and having the companionship of other children and learning to play properly with others, your child will have the chance to make relationships with other adults. This will help her learn that other people as well as her parents can be trusted and liked.

·        This will help mothers to get some quality time for themselves.

·        Child learns to open up and improve upon his communication skills at playgroup.

·        Exposure to school will help your child to get trained using the loo for urine and potty

·        Friendly atmosphere starts building into the child’s system and slowly he starts getting adjusting to his new found environment.

·        Parents of nuclear family fail to inculcate social skills in their children. Playgroup helps to bridge the gap and help in overall development of your child.

Signs of Potty training in children

Hi friends! Hope you all are doing well. Today we will talk of an interesting topic on signs that show child is ready to get potty trained.  Before, we start off the discussion; please note that every child is different. So no two children can achieve the milestone in the same way. Stop comparing them.

What are the signs that suggest your child is ready to get potty trained.

Physical signs

·        Child is well coordinated enough to walk, and even run, steadily.

·        Urinates a fair amount at one time.

·        Has regular, well-formed uniform bowel movements at relatively predictable times.

·        Has "dry" periods of at least two hours or during naps, which shows that his bladder muscles are developed enough to hold urine.

Behavioral signs

·        Can sit down quietly in one position for two to five minutes.

·        Can pull his pants up and down.

·        Dislikes the feeling of wearing a wet or dirty diaper.

·        Shows interest in others' bathroom habits (wants to watch you go to the bathroom or wear underwear).

·        Gives a physical or verbal sign when he's having a bowel movement such as grunting, squatting, or telling you.

·        Demonstrates a desire for independence.

·        Takes pride in his accomplishments.

·        Isn't resistant to learning to use the toilet.

·        Is in a generally cooperative stage, not a negative or contrary one.

Cognitive signs

·        Understands the physical signals that mean he has to go and can tell you before it happens or even hold it until he has time to get to the potty.

·        Can follow simple instructions, such as "go get the toy."

·        Understands the value of putting things where they belong.

·        Reciprocates for words like potty and urine.

Remember that each kid will achieve this physical, behaviorial and cognitive development at various time frames. Be patient with your child. Rome was not built in a day. Allow him to use diapers, if he shows signs of not being yet ready for potty training. Don’t worry, your loved little one will not go to his college in diapers. (Pun intended). Chillax. My grandmom used to stay everything has its own set time. So, keep trying. Don’t force or scold your child if he isn’t showing keen interest to potty trained. Allow him to be his own way, till he himself feels now it’s time for him to learn the new art of using the potty.

Constipation in toddlers

Hi friends! Hope my blog is helping you in some way or the other to handle your little sweethearts better. Today we will talk on an important topic, constipation in toddlers.

Constipation is very tricky and needs to be handled with utmost care. As you all know toddlers are in their own fantasy world. So always be calm and composed to deal with any problem.

Constipation in a toddler can be caused by:

·         not having enough fiber intake

·         not drinking enough fluids

·         drinking too much milk and not enough water

·         lack of exercise and activity

·         being anxious about potty training that can make your child "hold in" her poo, which can make constipation worse. If your toddler is constipated, it will be painful for her to do a poo. This pain means that she might hold back even more and a vicious circle begins.

Remedies

·        Boosting your child’s fibre intake will make her bowel movements easier. Offer foods such as wholemeal bread and cereal, and fruits and vegetables such as prunes, figs, apricots, plums, peas, broccoli, sweetcorn, potatoes and baked beans. However, don’t overload your toddler with high-fibre foods – they shouldn’t form the bulk of her diet until she is at least five. Too much fibre for a toddler could give her diarrhoea.

·        Add fruit juices in their diet. I would advise to make fresh juices at home than offer canned ones.Give your child plenty of fluids to help moisten her poo. Keep offering water at regular intervals.

·        Constipation may make your toddler sluggish and low in energy. But encouraging her to be active and lively will help her ease a little. Play with her or you can even dance with her.

·        If your child is constipated while you are potty training her, stop potty training her for a while. Remember, may be your child is not ready to get potty trained. So chill and go easy. If you push too hard, your child can pick up on this and refuse to go to the toilet, making the problem much worse.

·        If your child’s constipation still doesn’t improve, your doctor may prescribe a mild laxative, probably lactulose, to soften her poo.

Enjoy Parenting and have a great time!!!

RHYMING WORDS- MIND MAKER NEW VIDEO FOR KIDS

ENJOY!!!! AND HAVE FUN!!!!

Weaning food recipes for babies

Today, we will talk of an interesting topic on weaning food recipes for babies. But, before that let’s first try to understand the difference between gagging and choking.

Gagging is noisy. Scary, but the best thing you can do is watch carefully, encourage your child not to panic, and to simply gag the offending food back up - and give smaller/smoother food next time. It's a learning experience for her and you. Choking, on the other hand, is when the airway is *completely* blocked. It's silent, and a choking person may well lose consciousness. This is an emergency. Take home message: if your child is still making noise, it's the time to stay calm and teach, not the time to call an ambulance.

Keep in mind that just 'cause a child's teeth haven't broken through yet, doesn't mean they're not there. If you doubt it, stick your finger in there. If and when your child chomps down on it, you'll know the teeth are there! They're just below the gum surface, and can be used to chew.  Every baby develops on their own timetable.  Always start with smoother solids to babies. It’s only once they start getting settled, you can introduce coarse solids in due course of time. Don’t be in a hurry, things will all fall in place. Every baby’s development skills are different than the others, so go with the flow. Don’t keep comparing milestones of one baby with the other. My daughter took time to start eating rice and dal, unlike others.

Recipes - weaning food that can be prepared at home.

1)  Sago Kanji

Sago-25g

Roasted Bengal gram-25g

Jaggery-25 g

Water (cups)- 2

Method

Roast sago and powder Bengal gram. Add sago to 11/2 cups of boiling water and cook. Prepare a batter of Bengal gram powder in ½ cup of water and pour it into the cooked sago, stirring continuously. Cook for 10 minutes. Add jiggery and cook for five minutes again.

2)  Porridge of wheat dalia

Wheat dalia- 50g

Sugar-15g

Milk-50g

Method- Roast wheat dalia and add to the boiling water, cook until it is soft, then add sugar and boiled milk.

3)  Bajra Infant Food

Bajra-50g

Green Gram dal-3 teaspoons

Ground nuts-2 teaspoons

Til seeds-1 teaspoon

Sugar or salt to taste

Method-Clean and dehusk bajra roast ad powder bajra, dal, ground nut and til seeds. Mix, all the powders together with skim milk powder and store in an air tight container. Whenever required mix the powder with boiling water or milk to desired thickness. Add salt or sugar.

4)  Rice Kheer

Rice- 50g

Sugar-10g

Milk-250ml

Method- Clean, pick and wash rice. Boil milk add rice and cook till semi-solid. Add sugar.

5)  Porridge of ragi (red millets)

Clean ragi and soak in clean water for 4-5 hrs. Tie it in clean cloth for 24 hours. Dry it in hot sun for 4-6 hrs. Roast and powder it and store it in air-tight container. Whenever required, take 1 tsp of podwer and 11/2 cupof water and cook till it becomes soft. Add milk to get desired thickness and add sugar for taste.

6)  Khichdi of rice, dal and vegetables

Rice-50g

Dal (lentil)- 25g

Vegetables small pieces as desired

Oil- 3 tsp

Salt to taste

Method- Clean and wash rice and lentil separately and cut vegetables small. To boiling water add a piece of onion, ginger, bay leaf, cardamom and rice and cook until half cooked. Then add lentil and vegetables and add salt, cook until soft. You can even pressure cook and make khichdi.

7)  Rice Kanjee

Rice- 100g

Water- 400 to 500 m

Salt- 1.5 to 2 gm

Method- Clean and pick and wash rice. Add rice to water and cook till soft, adding salt.

8)  Rava Kanjee

Rava-25g

Milk-250 ml

Water-1/2 cup

Method- Roast rava and keep it aside. You can even roast it in 1 tsp of ghee. Then add water and cook it a bit. Then pour milk and allow it to cook. Once cooked, add sugar as desired. You can add elaichi (cardamom) powder to give a great flavor.

Enjoy parenting and have a great time!!!!