Underweight Child

Underweight children can cause lots of anxiety for their parents. Many a times, parents have provided special care and nutrition to their underweight kids and yet they see no marked improvement and that can be very stressful for the parents. Underweight children have significantly less weight and height than what it should be at that particular age. There can be many causes for this particular phenomenon such as, child may have been born underweight or because of genetic or hereditary factors or improper nutrition, malnutrition or an unbalanced diet may also lead to a child being underweight. It can also be a combination of one or more these factors including some psychological or physiological problem.

Parents should maintain certain routine for underweight children. Factors like sleep and wake-up times, mealtimes and play etc play a vital role in making child healthy. Proper eating routine and habit should be developed in the child. He/she should get undisturbed sleep on a regular basis. Parents should strictly avoid junk food and in-between snacks, and focus more on whole meals and fruits or salad based snacks. It is the duty of the parents to develop taste and respect for food and healthy eating in the child. Child’s eating habits goes a long way in determining his weight issue. A well balanced diet with appropriate inclusion of proteins, carbohydrates and calories can sort out the problem with ease.

Hygiene is a vital element in a child’s life. Child must be taught basic hygiene, and should also be educated about the need for hygiene. He should also be encouraged to indulge in playful activities and sports which will stimulate appetite, exercises and stretch his body parts. Finally, parents should strive to develop a congenial, healthy environment at home where child is able to see a general display of hygiene and a love for fruits and greens in his family.

How to Handle Whining Children

It is not unusual to find children whining and complaining every once in a while. But what is worrisome for parents is to see their children seeing things in a negative light almost all the time. That is definitely a cause of worry. It is a nightmare to find your kids indulged in nitpicking all the time. It can be emotionally exhausting for parents. Parents often feel confused regarding how best to handle such situations. So what causes such behavior in children?

The first reason could be parents’ behavior. If parents themselves are indulged in complaining behavior then kids are also most likely to follow their parents. In that case, parents need to watch their behavior and ranting in front of the children. Parents should always lead by example. If they are not presenting the right examples, how could they expect kids to do the same?

First and foremost, parents should ask children the kind of behavior that they expect from them. It will help to explain what is positive and what is negative, and make sure he understands the difference between the two. Ideally, parents should sit with the child and talk about the undesirable things and how it is affecting the overall environment.

A good conversation always helps. Don’t underestimate the child’s ability to grasp the things. Or you can also set a certain time frame when child could complain about all the things he deems fit. If the complaints are sensible enough, parents can adequate steps to rectify the situation. Using these methods you can control your child's whining in a peaceful and authoritative way.

Raising a Smart Child

We are living in a world where parents are constantly scrambling to get their infants admitted into best schools. The competition has become so tough that kids are consistently being burdened. Yes, the truth is all the parents want to have smart children. So, how to turn your bundle of joy into the most promising kid around? Well, the first thing parents need to learn and do is not to overburden their kid. They must believe in the natural ability of the child. Don’t force child to learn anything. Try to find his strengths and encourage him to pursue it.

Children are very good observers. They learn a lot by simply experiencing the world. It is the job of the parents to provide opportunities to the kids so that they can learn in most original way. Concerts, theatres, museums etc provide unique learning experience to the kids. Parents should never ever make judgment on children’s learning value. As said earlier, motivate them to pursue what interests them the most.

Children of all ages need free time to read, explore or just absorb. Parents should ensure those rare moments on a frequent basis. Indulge in frequent reading with your child. Make it a daily ritual. Children get to learn from that. It will also help in establishing better bond between the parents and the child.

Present worthy examples of your deeds and passions to your kids. Children need no better role models than their parents. Children learn by example and you are the ideal person to give it to them.

Parenting and Technology

Parents have mixed feelings about effects of technology. For some, technology has managed to spoil kids. Whether it is video games, television, cell phones and internet, parents do not feel comfortable with the spread of technology in children’s lives. But at the same time, parents should not ignore the valuable contributions made by technology in the lives of children. There is no doubt about the fact that technology is an integral part of our lives. It is a necessary evil which we must embrace and accept. Technology can prove to be a wonderful ally for parents.

For instance, let’s consider school reports. It has become a common practice in schools to send weekly or monthly performance reports to parents via emails. This way, parents will be consistently updated with child’s progress and his attendance record. Teachers can also interact with parents on a regular basis with the help of internet.

Technology is proving to be a boon for schools. Many educational institutions are adopting new modes of learning with the help of interactive/multimedia tools. Here again, with the help of technology, learning becomes a complete fun activity and wonderful experience for the kids. By taking the help of technology, kids can complete their home assignments and projects.

Technology is not at all a bad thing but if misused, anything can turn out to be a bad influence. Parents can use technology to secure their children. This can be achieved with the help of CCTV cameras or closed circuit television cameras. Parents can keep an eye on their wards with the help of CCTVs. This is definitely a big relief for parents who work or travel a lot. Parents can also rest easy about their child’s location with able assistance from GPS technology. If you apply right parenting control on PC, kids can learn a lot on internet. Seeing all these benefits, parents should definitely embrace technology and make the most out of it

Handling Shy Children

Shyness among children is a common phenomenon. Shyness has a deep impact on child’s future depending upon how he/she and her parents tackle it. Many a times, parents fail to realize the basic nature of a kid. It has been observed that some parents take child’s shyness or aloofness as a sign of disobedience and arrogance whereas some other finds it a good sign. They assume a child is shy because he is quiet and gentle in nature but truth is far from that. The situation demands much more understanding from the parents. The most common fallout of a shy child is his avoidance of basic social interactions at all costs. Introverted children also find it difficult to mix up with other kids. They avoid sports and any social activity demanding group participation. This adversely affects their physical, mental and emotional growth.

Excessively shy children are prone to social phobia when they grow up. They even feel hesitant in sharing their emotions, interacting with peers and social outings. This makes him isolated and completely stunts his growth and development. It is the responsibility of parents to try and work on building child's self confidence at every stage of life. Shyness comes from lack of confidence or lack of attention. Parents should provide kid the attention he is craving for.

It is important to encourage child to socialize with children of his age. Prompt him to play with other kids. Parents can also think of organizing interesting games at home where child will be joined by other kids of his age. This way, he will be able to relax and enjoy more. Don’t make any comparisons of your child with other kids. This instigates inferiority complex. If nothing helps, take your child to a counselor.

Educational Toys for Infant

First-time parents always have too much to think about. Their new-born brings lots of happiness to entire family but also many responsibilities for the parents. Toys and playground equipments are one such responsibility. Why toys? Well, the kind of world we are living in, parents are putting in extra efforts to make their kids stand apart in the competitive crowd. And one nice way to educate your baby right from the very beginning is by providing her with educational infant toys. Parents tend to be very careful while choosing toys for their little ones. It is believed that educational toys play a major role in stimulating his/ her learning potential. At the same time, toys are a wonderful source of entertainment.

Toys are very crucial in developing a child’s brain. Toys & montessori materials are of various types. Some traditional toys like puppets, dolls, doctor set, and toy animals etc help in making the children learn through role-playing. The reason why toys help in stimulating baby’s mind is because babies are not able to focus during the initial days. They can only understand contrasting colors like black and white. Because of that, most of the educational toys are blend of contrasting and bright colors. The infant’s sense of touch develops when he enters his preschool years. At that time, toys with different textures help in stimulating his/her sense of touching sense.

Educational toys also create soothing sounds that help in soothing babies during uncomfortable times. That’s why, musical toys are very popular among the parents. Some of the wonderful educational toys are baby mobile phone for visual stimulation, baby rattles for stimulating baby’s eyes and ears and nesting cups for multipurpose functions. They help babies in developing hand-eye coordination. Some other wonderful educational toys for infants are stacking rings and baby building blocks etc.

Health Tips For Moms

Being a mother is always a challenging job. The job involves lots of responsibilities and chores to perform. Just think of the works she has to perform. Right from waking up early in the morning, preparing breakfast to running after the small ones and going for kitchen stuff and doctors and you have got a truly jam-packed schedule. A mother has really very less time to devote to her own self. The situation is understandable considering mom has to cater to endless demands of the kids.

However, running endlessly from this corner of the house to other, sometimes it can get unhealthy for moms. They can fall sick and it might require a visit to hospital. So before things come to such a pass, it is recommended for mothers to take good care of themselves. The problem begins with the birth of the baby. On one hand, it is perhaps the best experience a female can ever have but at the same time, the body goes through several physical and emotional changes. Keeping that in mind, mothers should take adequate care of themselves. Small steps like taking a stroll in the park, sleeping a bit extra or reading something you love etc will do a world of good to your health.

There are several ways to keep your body fit. Indulging in gentle exercises like yoga or tai chi will help you to stay in shape. Have a healthy intake of water regularly. It will maintain your blood osmotic levels apart from eliminating harmful toxins from your body. Make sure to have at least eight glasses of water every day. Lastly, keep yourself on a healthy diet of green vegetables, nuts and seeds. Finally, indulge in laughter and enjoy motherhood.

How to Make Child Speak Confidently

We all know the importance of the term ‘confidence’. This single factor can so dramatically alter life of a person. A confident person is always likely to achieve success in all the spheres of life. Now think of a child who is bristling with confidence. This one aspect of personality indicates child is very much on the way to become a confident mature adult. Now the moot point is how to instill confidence in the children. More so, making a child confident speaker completely changes dynamics of his personality. A child is not a natural talker. He needs to learn and for that, parents need to play a big role. The most important thing here is teaching kids speaking confidently cannot be enforced. It must be a fun activity and then only child will enjoy learning it.

A child is very much afraid of other kids laughing at his poor speaking skills. You can start with teaching new words to the child. Teach him how to pronounce big words and this must be an ongoing process. Slowly, push him to use these new words in his day to day speaking. This will give him a sense of accomplishment. Whenever he makes mistakes, correct him carefully and never ever make the mistake of laughing at it.

Rhyming poems and nursery rhymes play a major role in confident speaking of the kid. Parents can encourage child to play crossword puzzles and scrabble. Always make some time to listen to his stories. Make the kid talk about his school day and how things panned out. This way he will gain confidence. Also, praise him for small activities and good speaking. All the steps will help the child in becoming a confident speaker.

Separation Anxiety In Children

Parents must have heard of separation anxiety faced by the children. According to child specialists, separation anxiety begins from eight months of age and till the age of five it remains prominent and afterwards slowly starts to decrease. This can also said to be normal stage of development and there is nothing to worry about it as is commonly faced by almost all the kids. This anxiety in babies arises because of the feeling that caregiver will leave only to never return again. So, if the child senses the impending separation he/she starts reacting and showing anxiety. Normally, a kid usually expresses his anxiety through clinging to the parents, excessive crying and distress. Frequent demonstration of this behavioural pattern in children is indicative of separation anxiety.

Once parents are aware of this problem, they should devote more time to the kids. If not taken proper care, this might lead to a psychological disorder called the separation anxiety disorder. But, that stage is far away and parents can always treat this anxiety problem with utmost care and devotion. Ideally, parents should remain firm when child starts showing tantrums. The reason is if you get affected by child’s behaviour and react as per his preference, next time handling anxiety symptoms will be even more difficult.

Talking to the kid will help a lot. Make him understand that separation hurts you as well. Understanding and talking will make him feel more comfortable. It will also be a good idea to familiarize the kid with his surroundings. Maintain a proper routine for you so that way child will be aware of timings. Always, always empathize with the child and understand his anxiety. Finally, never ever show your own anxiety to the child. It will make him react even more aggressively.