Good Parenting

As a parent do you commit these mistakes

2011-09-20T10:28:00.004+05:30

Almost all parents meticulously follow their child’s growth plan and vaccination chart. Still, parents tend to gloss over certain facts which can prove detrimental to the health of the child. Keep reading to learn about most commonly committed health mistakes by parents. And yes, even educated parents tend to make such mistakes.
1. Did you de-worm your child

“When was the last time you de-wormed her?” asked Dr. Rajiv Chabbara, Consultant Paediatrician and Neonatal Intensivist to Mehak Aggarwal. She had brought Suhani, her three-year-old daughter for a health check, as she wasn’t feeling too well and would complain of a stomach pain after having food. Mentally, Mehak calculated and spoke weakly, “Never.” Dr. Chabbara wasn’t in for a surprise. Even educated and well-informed parents fail to de-worm their kids, comments he. Children between the age group of 5 and 15 should be regularly de-wormed, says he. The common worm infestations are thread worm, round worm and hook worm.

Lifestyle changes

To keep worm infestation at bay, parents should inculcate healthy habits in children.

Make sure children always wash their hands after going to the bathroom and before eating.

Keep fingernails short to reduce the chances of picking up worm eggs underneath them.

Wash all the vegetables, fruits thoroughly before eating raw.

Meat, especially pork should be thoroughly cooked before eating.

Ensure that children don't play barefoot in soil.

Neem powder and onion juice help remove intestinal worms.

2. The dosage dilemma
Though all medicines prescribed to the child contain instructions for dosage, still many parents tend to be lax when following it. The conventionally used method of administering medicines through spoon is highly flawed, comments Dr. Chabbara. Priti Prakash, mother of 10-year-old Tanu realized when the fever of her daughter refused to go down even after giving the medicine the doctor had prescribed. She immediately bundled the child to the hospital. When the paediatrician on duty enquired, he figured out that Prakash was giving way too low dosage for a 10-year-old.

3. Do you know your kids blood group?
Usually parents know their kids’ blood group, but Anita Dewan didn’t. When the time came to fill in the pre-school forms, she filled the blood group as B positive, because she and her husband were the same blood group and she suspected her son’s blood group to be the same. Dr. Chabbara warns against making such speculations on your own. Blood grouping should ideally be done in all the kids as they are born. It is, however, compulsory for those kids whose mother's blood group is O or Rhesus negative; as kids born to such mothers have increased propensity to get significant jaundice tells Dr. Chabbra.

Also, it is good to know the blood group of your child so that during emergency you can inform the treating doctor to avoid any medical delay in adverse consequences. Nowadays, schools also ask for it as a mandatory requirement.

4. Have you checked your infant for underactive thyroid
A bit of skepticism saved Jagruti Motwani. Her ten-day-old baby girl would sleep throughout the day and showed no interest in feeding. She felt that something wasn’t right with the child and got her tested for IEM (Inborn Errors of Metabolism).

The test revealed that the child was suffering from underactive thyroid, a health condition that could cause mental retardation. Experts are of the view that there should be compulsory inclusion of thyroid test at birth. In India, the incidence of thyroid hormone deficiency at birth is one in 2,500 newborn babies, while it is one in 4,000 newborn babies in developed countries. Untreated under-active thyroid can cause mental retardation in the infant. A simple heel prick at birth can reveal the condition and it can get treated with oral medicines.

5. Pay attention to your child’s hearing
The good news is, hearing problems can be treated if it gets caught early — ideally by the time a baby is 3 months old. And, the bad news is, most of the parents don’t have proper awareness that hearing loss is a common birth defect, which if evaluated at the right time can be cured. So it's important to get your child's hearing screened early and evaluated regularly to keep hearing loss at bay.

6. Get squint treated
Many parents believe that children will outgrow squint, and this includes educated parents too, says Dr. Ajay Sharma, Medical Director, Eye Q chain of hospitals. This is not true. Squint is a misalignment of the two eyes so that both the eyes are not looking in the same direction. This misalignment may be constant, being present throughout the day or it may appear sometimes and the rest of the time the eyes may be straight. Treatment plan for squint include spectacles, eye exercise and surgery.

7. Do you beg your paediatrician for antibiotics?
Many parents do this, says Dr. Chabbara. Antibiotics are just not needed for viral fever. Hence, listen to your doctor’s words of advice, urges he.

How to Foster Parent -Teacher- Child Relationship

2011-09-20T10:22:00.002+05:30

“Easier said than done," you must be thinking! After all, there are teachers your child will love and teachers he may not. There are teachers you'll like and dislike as well. In fact, there should be a self help book stating Teachers are from Saturn Parents are from Jupiter to help navigate the difficult path of parent-teacher relationship. Priya Singh makes an attempt to provide some useful strategies on the subject.

Your child’s teacher is the second most important person in her life, but of course after the parents, says Mamta Singla, Consultant- Clinical Psychologist, Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon who witnesses about 80% of her OPD full of class room behaviour complains of a child! Keep reading to know what goes inside the mind of a teacher and benefit from the valuable nuggets of advice from the expert.

What Parents Should Do

Keep in touch with the school. Stay aware of what your children are learning, what their assignments are, and how they are doing. Make a point of visiting the school and talking with the teachers through parent/teacher conferences. If you can’t visit, schedule a telephone call to discuss your child’s progress. Remember that the teacher is on your side. Teachers truly care about your children and want them to be successful. "The child's success is our success," tells Kirti Mathur (M. Ed.) English Teacher, DPS, Indirapuram.

Create a problem-solving partnership, instead of confronting a teacher immediately with what's wrong. If your child's teacher contacts you about a problem or something that happened at school, understand that the teacher is trying to work with you to resolve any conflict that may be getting in the way of your child's development. Do meet with the teacher to brainstorm and to find out ways to help your child, instead of starting the blame game," recommends Dr Rohini Broota, Consultant Child Psychologist, Moolchand Medcity Hospital Delhi.

Try not to boast. Of course you think your child is brilliant, but bragging over his accomplishments may send a message to the teacher that you think he may not be good enough to teach your child. Always think before you speak as you don't need to sell your child to the teacher, notes Singla, rather you have to trust that your teacher will come to know what's important herself. Telling a teacher that your child loves to read will thrill the teacher. But challenging your teacher with statements like 'he read 50 new books over the summer,' may backfire.

Think like a child! Offer praise, support and encouragement. Parents and families play an important role in influencing a child’s confidence and motivation to become a successful learner. Encourage them to complete assignments and introduce them to outside experiences that will enhance their self-confidence and broaden their interests.
Also, you must be interactive with your child to know more about his behaviour in school. Ask child about his class work and school environment. And if you get to know that the child’s relationship with his teacher is not good, you must listen to the child and contact the teacher.

What Teacher Should Do?

Involve parents in classroom activities. Teachers can let child’s family know how they can be helpful and can ask for their assistance with specific activities. Parents can interact more with the teacher by participating in classroom materials, serving on a committee to select classroom equipment and materials, or by sharing information about their kids’ careers, tells Singla. At least quarterly activities of such kind can greatly help the child. The more involved parents are in what goes on in the classroom, the more likely they are to understand the teacher’s goals and practices.

Give parents a voice in decisions. Parents’ viewpoints should be considered in making decisions about their children’s schooling.

Foster good communication during parent- teacher conferences. During PTM’s create a comfortable environment in which parents’ feel free to share information, ask questions and make recommendations.

While these are no magic recipes that are easy to cook, but yes following these strategies you can help your child get close to the teacher and excited about learning (or at least get you through some tough spots along the way). Help kids plan their time, complete their homework, and make the most of school years. Before you realize, your child will be graduate to college and the memories of school days will rest in your heart forever.

Tackle Teenage Drinking

2011-06-20T14:13:00.002+05:30

As the trend is so much in the fashion, so it’s really difficult to prevent teenagers from experimenting with alcohol, but parents can encourage sensible drinking habits. Read to know the right way to handle this early stage hang over.

What gets teens to splurge in alcohol? The 3Ps, ‘peers, parents and present trend to be a ‘wannabe’, are the major causes behind teens being inclined towards boozing these day. It is observed that children who have been raised by so-called indulgent parents, who tend to give their kid lots of praise and warmth, but offer little in the way of monitoring of their bad behavior — were…three times more likely to participate in heavy drinking, says Dr. Rachna Singh, Artemis Gurgaon. Furthermore, friends also play highly influential role behind developing this habit, adds Dr. Singh.Apart these, some children also indulge in drinking to show their rebel while others just go for it for the sake to move with the latest trend.

Warning signs parents should watch out: Coming late nights, insisting most of the time for night outs, and demanding for more pocket money are some initial stage traits that should be observed by parents. Children who have just entered the drinking zone tend to avoid their parents or anyone when they come back to home. They would show little interest in studies and have more inclination towards friends. Also, sudden decrease in their regular appetite can be noticed.

For parents of 13 years and above, it is really important to scrutinize every change in the personality of their child. If your kid has started talking more about freedom and space, and if you have notice some instances of money being stolen, then you should get watchful towards his habit and try to be friendlier with him to understand his ways more closely.

Right way to bring them at ease: Scolding or frowning is not the best way to handle underage drinking habit. There are other more effective ways and non violent methods to fix it. ‘Insight’ is the real word to guide your tot about adversity of alcohol. Try to instigate self-awareness in your child’s mind that this lifestyle isn’t the correct one. Be friendly with them and discuss the positive as well as the negative aspect of drinking.

Drinking alcohol with parents “may help teach them responsible drinking habits or extinguish some of the ‘novelty’ or ‘excitement’ of drinking” according to Dr. Arti Anand, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Ganga Ram Hospital. The best way to handle children who drink is to be affectionate warm, loving parents. Further she adds, be disciplined with kids, set boundaries for them, and punish the child fairly when rules are broken; as sometimes, following strict rules with consequences, may stop a teen from binge drinking.

In case if he has become a chronic drinker, you must consult a psychologist or rehab experts.
For those looking to recover & rehab: There are many underage alcohol re-habitation centers in Delhi and at most of the urban cities that organize cessation classes for underage kids to deter their drinking habit. These alcohol rehab and drug treatment centers provide the mind stability and professional prevention skills, that addicts require the most to come on their path of recovery. Also, if required, they offer supervised detoxification that may involve medication in a hospital setting. Usually they prefer for social detoxification (i.e. no medication) in a non-hospital setting to make kids feel ease and little homely.
Most of these programs focus on medical stabilization, abstinence, and lifestyle changes and tend to keep patients up to 30 days at the centers. Staff members managing these centers are primarily medical professionals and trained counselors.

Raise alcohol smart kids: Don’t make alcohol a taboo in the family, talk about its ill- effects. Introduce social drinking in the family, for special occasions where the child is in a secure and homely environment. Most importantly don’t create a fear, act normal about it.
Parents also need to remember to have open and regular conversations with their children about drugs and alcohol, which is a very important component of prevention. It’s important for parents to communicate that they have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to their children’s use of any substance.

We know that having these conversations isn’t easy, and it can be very difficult to think about where to start. But, in the real parenting world, you must realize that there are times when you need to determine to yourself – let’s face it – for the ultimate wellbeing of your kid.

What Should You Look for when Deciding on a Summer Camp?

2011-05-17T14:14:00.009+05:30

Come summer and you can see scores of parents hunting high and low and seeking feedback of friends and colleagues on that ‘perfect’ summer camp? Why summer camps have all of a sudden gained so much popularity? Without doubt, for working professionals summer camp is a good way to keep their child engaged in a constructive activity during the summer holidays। But, beyond that what benefits accrue to children who go for summer camps। Are there any takeaways for real, or is summer camp just an expensive proposition to keep kids busy? Find the answers to all the crucial queries that you might be thinking about this summer. Lets review the check list:-

1. Focus—Other than keeping your child occupied summer camp should have an objective, which is to enrich the personality of the child. At the end of the camp the child should learn a new skill which would not be possible otherwise.

2. Distance from home—In the name of learning a new skill or art the child should not travel long distance. After all, its summer holidays and summer camps should not be an arduous task.

3. Interest of the child—Of late, grown ups as well as kids come with shorter attention spans. Camp conductors find it a challenge to keep the child hooked in the activities. Hence, it’s advisable to consult your child when choosing on the camp. If your child is interested in dancing, enroll him for dancing classes and if he is into fitness, he will like to go to fitness classes.

4. Peer pressure—You just can’t ignore this factor while deciding on a summer camp. If all your child’s friends are going for swimming lessons this summer, inadvertently, your child too will insist to join his friends.

5. How old is the summer camp—While summer camps are mushrooming every other day, still you should go for those camps which are being conducted by schools because they have an established system in place. After all, when there are 20 to 30 children together you need infrastructure in place—qualified teachers, spacious and air-cooled rooms (at least) individual attention, clean rest rooms, availability of drinking water and conveyance.

6. No technology—As it is children have more than enough exposure to technology in the form of video games, Farmville sessions on Facebook and Play Stations. When they are not gaming, they are watching cartoons. Hence, when choosing a camp keep in mind that the curriculum should keep technology to minimum.

Summer camps should throw in outdoor activities like trip to a farm, nature walks, planting a sapling and pottery which the child would not be able to do in his regular life. Summer camps are designed to be fun and that’s the whole purpose of it. The camps should spell a departure from academics. The focus should be on learning in a light-hearted way. Moreover parents need to refrain from keeping huge expectations of the summer camp. At the end of the day the child should enjoy the summer camp.

When Your Child Experiments with Lie

2011-03-25T12:49:00.005+05:30

‘Though, Suhana never lied to me’, says Anchal about her seven-year-old daughter, but these days I often catch her lying to me without batting an eyelid. “Agreed, her lies are not big and are usually in response to the questions that she prefers to avoid, yet lying is not good”, says the worried mother.

Why kids lie?
Lying is a symptom and it calls for parental affection and concern. Eight-year-old Sagarika complained of unexplained aches and pains in her leg just before the Kathak class. The pains would last only for an hour. Her mother insisted on taking her to the class and sat through out the session. She found that Sagarika was not able to dance like the older girls in her class and felt de-motivated for this reason. When she joined the class meant for girls of her age group, she became the star dancer and her pains vanished. ‘Now, in fact, she looks forward to her Kathak class’, says the beaming mother.

Sometimes what we call lying is just a figment of imagination. Kids live in make-believe world and their thoughts correspond accordingly.Many a time unknowingly parents introduce their children to the web of lies. What do we expect our children to learn when we ask our spouse, friend or staff to answer a phone call for us and concoct an excuse for us. The impressionable minds of children are quick to learn that adults tamper with facts, and so can they.

Often, parents tend to attach strings to their love towards the child. Sometimes this can coerce your child to tamper with truth because s/he wants to conform to the standards set by parents. Manisha, a mother of two children shares her childhood memory, “When I was young, once I scored less marks in Maths. Studies were of paramount importance in my family. Hence, I lied to my parents that I have scored well, but I have misplaced my report card because it would reveal my lies.”

Whats the remedy?
If you find your child experimenting with lies then make them understand that lies erode trust. Have faith in your children and try to get to the root of lying; you might find a fear lurking there. As a parent it is also good to understand thsi fact that as kids grow they become more independent and want to exert that too. And therefore with their growing mind often lying becomes an escape route to wriggle out.

Try to see them the reason behind your questions and they are likely to conform to your expectations. You will see a difference in their approach, thereafter.

What is making our kids obese?

2010-11-25T11:22:00.003+05:30

You don’t need a survey to tell this. A visit to your kid’s school should be more than enough. Children are becoming extra large these days! The experts blame the marketing muscle exercised by fast food chains and quick serve restaurants for this. There is also a greater likelihood for plumper kids to grow in overweight teens and finally as obese adults. Hence it becomes imperative to curb childhood obesity.
You are what you eat. Like always weight and food share relationship with each other. In the Indian scenario when the baby is young mothers tend to force feed the child thinking that this will nourish the child. This lays the foundation of obesity in children. As the child grows he is bombarded with images in media that hard sells junk food to their viewers (read children). Chandrima Sanyal, mother of seven-year-old concurs to this. She says, “Meal times have become a constant battle for me because my daughter insists on having instant noodles, pizza in place of nutritious home cooked food.” Chandrima is not alone in her struggle.

All TV and no play makes kids fatter day by day. Apart from junk food too much of sedentary lifestyle is responsible for making our kids overweight. Earlier kids would hop and jump in the playground after coming from school. Nowadays, children sit before the TV or the computer after finishing their meal in a hurry to catch re-runs of shows or to plays games. Internet too sneaks in the lives of children, initially in the garb of innocuous research for homework. As kids gain the license to use the net they build their Facebook accounts irrespective of the fact that they are not even eighteen. “I have many friends who are active on Facebook,” shares ten-year-old Swastee, “and we love to play games, particularly Petville.” Obviously with so much activity happening on the ‘received’ mediums (read TV, video games and online games) kids are not enthusiastic enough to pound the ground in the evening. Amidst all of these sedentary activities popcorn, cakes and cookies provide constant company to the children. “Is it a surprise that the kids are bloating up?” asks Chandrima.
Getting trapped in the vicious circle of obesity. When you are overweight you are at the receiving end of jibes and sneers of your fellow classmates and friends, explains Dr. Arti Anand, Consultant Clinical Psychologist with Ganga Ram Hospital. To bottle up the sadness overweight children eat more, particularly junk food which acts as a comfort food, says she. This starts the vicious circle. It’s no coincidence that depressed kids are usually obese.
What to do?
1. The first step involves weaning kids from unnecessary TV viewing and munching on junk food. To accomplish this, you need to figure out interests of your child that could be pursued in the spare time in place of mindless viewing of the TV. It’s a good idea to get the child enrolled in a hobby class.
2. Weaning off the junk food will be difficult. You got to ration junk food initially and then combine it with portion control. Offer the child healthy alternatives in place of junk food. You can engage the child if he is big enough in the cooking process to arouse his interest in the healthy eating habits.
3. Adopt a dog. If you’ve space and resources at disposal get a dog home but only if the child had been insisting for one. Try to make the child responsible for the mandatory walks of the dog and you are sure that twice a day your child will get some physical activity.

Time to Talk

2010-10-27T13:01:00.001+05:30

Learning to speak is a liberating experience for toddlers. It empowers them to express themselves. This is not always true. Dr. Vijay Aggarwal, speech pathologist at AIIMS has lots to say….

The first time when I met Madhukar, he had come to my clinic with his mother. He was tugging at her sari while she talked to me and I saw a six-year-old boy with a thick mop of unruly black hair and sad eyes. His mother shared that Madhukar didn’t like to go to school these days. She was quick to clarify that he was a good student who got good grades in all his written work at school. But, he had become a loner, refrained from meeting his friends and was reluctant to participate in oral tests at school. Whenever Madhukar would open his mouth to answer, normally he would take a second longer to speak the first syllable of the word. It gave an opportunity to his teacher to rectify his fault which he didn’t like at all. His class mates made fun of him!

Like Madhukar, hundreds of children lose confidence in their capabilities because of speech difficulties. Parents tend to notice speech problems in children by the time they turn 3 to 4 years old. This is also the time when child gains fluency in speech and develops a vocabulary. Initially, speech problems may be episodic in nature but as the child grows the problem stays with him.

Contrary to myths, one cannot outgrow stuttering. In fact, if it does not get cured it can leave psychological scars in the child’s mind. Children with stuttering begin to lose confidence and resort to gestures to communicate. Studies have time and again reiterated that stuttering runs in families.

Boys stutter more than girls. In 30 years of my experience as speech counsellor, I have seen thousands of cases and ratio of boys to girls is 70-30. However, girls stutter at an earlier age than boys. Emotions and stammering connect. Often, children who speak normally might stammer if they are agitated, afraid or under stress.

How speech therapy helps

Speech therapy helps in lowering the stutter by using various techniques to develop fluent speech that reduce anxiety levels of children, which helps them to talk more fluently and confidently.

1. Relaxation – To co-ordinate breathing and reduce oral pressure.
2. Phonation – co-ordinate breathing with articulators with soft contacts
3. Automatic speech – to practice technique effortlessly
4. Reading – short stories in simple sentences with voice continuity.
5. Reading and Narration –
6. Conversation in close-set with strangers.
7. Telephonic conversation
8. Conversation in different situation like public gathering, presentation etc.
9. Maintenance and follow up
10. Parents involvement

Coming back to Madhukar, he has regained his confidence when he learned to speak without stammering. Sometimes he does stammer when he is too angry and for these moments his mother hands him a glass of water to cool off. He looks forward to go to school and has a huge gang of friends.

Are You an Overprotective Parent

2010-09-07T14:50:00.004+05:30

“The rules for parents are but three—love, limit and let them be.”
- Elaine M. Ward

These days we are experiencing a new breed of parents, who have forgotten to let their children be themselves. This genre of parents have a name—helicopter parents. The name might sound interesting albeit logic defying to you. What’s a helicopter got to do with parenting? Nothing except hovering, yes, helicopter parents hover; they are constantly on guard protecting their children from every fall, fighting their battles, fretting over their grades, negotiating with their friends, always running that extra mile to safeguard their children and their interests.

Now, that’s a good thing, isn’t it? No. Agreed, helicopter parents cocoon their children from adverse situations, reactions and experiences, but while doing this they, in a way undermine the confidence of their children. “All said and done mistakes remain the biggest teachers and if you are not allowed to make one, you are deprived of an opportunity to learn,” says Dr. Arti Anand Consultant Clinical Psychology with Ganga Ram Hospital.

Mugdha Shekhar has just given her class X exams. She wishes to take Maths and Physics in Class XI, whereas her doctor parents are constantly advising her the benefits of opting for Biology, in lieu of Physics. To say the least Mugdha is frustrated. “All my life I felt squeamish at the mention of PTMs. Mom would ask too many questions during the PTMs,” says she.

Parents need to grow upIn a bid to protect the interests of their children these parents go to extreme lengths, often fighting their battles. In the year 2007 US media was splashed with the news of suicide of Megan Meier, a 13-year-old girl from Missouri, USA who killed herself after an online relationship she believed she was having with a teenager named Josh Evans turned sour. What her parents learned six months after the suicide was that Josh Evans was a fictitious creation, which was created by Lori Drew, a 47-year-old mother of one of the former friends of Megan Meier to settle score with her.

This might be an extreme instance of helicopter parenting, but instances abound where parents peer over each aspect of their children’s lives: do their school projects, shuttle them after school to various hobbies, hog attention during PTAs, scrutinize their report cards closely.

Dr Anand says, “Children with possessive parents or highly critical and judgemental parents will have lowered self confidence and self-esteem, they will have problems in making decisions and may have difficulties in dealing with others and in their relationship. Such adults will grow up to be confused and may not be able to take responsibility for their actions. Such adults may be become highly anxious and depressed easily and are overly sensitive to criticism.”

Millennia kids, roughly the kids born between 1981 and 2002 are experiencing this treatment. Roma Ranjan, mother of two teenage children says, “This generation is a pampered generation. As parents we strive, scurry and do everything feasible to fulfill the whims and fancies of our children. By serving everything on platter we are painting rosy picture of life before them.”

Namita Gokhale adds, “Last Saturday I had gone to the graduation ceremony. Don’t get me wrong, my daughter graduated from pre-school." "Aren’t we overdoing things?" quips she.

Bedwetting

2010-06-29T13:36:00.005+05:30

Almost all mothers encounter bedwetting—nocturnal enuresis. Most kids become fully toilet trained between ages 2 and 4 — but there's no target date for developing complete bladder control. Girls get toilet trained faster than boys.
Causes
• Kids, who wet the bed are not able to feel that their bladders are full and don't wake up to use the toilet.
• During childhood, some kids don't produce enough anti-diuretic hormone, or ADH, to slow nighttime urine production.
• A urinary tract infection can make it difficult for child to control urination.
• Sometimes bed-wetting is a sign of obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which the child's breathing is interrupted during sleep — often because of inflamed or enlarged tonsils or adenoids.
• For a child who's usually dry at night, bed-wetting may be the first sign of type 1 diabetes, if it is accompanied with passing large amounts of urine at once, unusual thirst, fatigue and weight loss in spite of a good appetite.
• Sometimes children who don't have regular bowel movements retain urine as well. This can lead to bed-wetting at night.
• Sometimes a kid who wets the bed will have a realistic dream that he or she is using the bathroom.
• Many kids who wet the bed are very deep sleepers.
• Bedwetting may also be the result of the child's tensions and emotions that require attention. Enuresis runs in families too.

When a young child begins bedwetting after several months or years of dryness during the night, this may reflect new fears or insecurities. These include losing a family member or a loved one, arrival of a new baby, change of home. What your child needs is increased attention and assurance from you for these abrupt episodes of bedwetting to go away.

What can you do at home to prevent bedwetting

Children rarely wet on purpose, and usually feel ashamed about the incident. Hence, do not discuss bedwetting with anyone when the child is present. A pediatrician's advice is often very helpful in treating bedwetting. Do not give the child liquid to drink just before he goes to bed. Most importantly, do not fret about bedwetting because kids outgrow it.

Is Your Child Sleep Deprived

2010-06-15T11:27:00.004+05:30

Are you one of those parents who are apprehensive of your child’s sleeping pattern? Then, this is the wakeup call for you. Just like adults, children need to sleep well to replenish their energy reserve and get ready for another day. Study says that sleep deprivation in children has been linked to lowered immunity, diabetes, depression, obesity, hindered physical development, stress and anxiety. When children don’t get enough sleep, it can have a negative effect on their overall health.

Why sleepless?

What causes turmoil in bed for young children? In young children, however, failure to establish a regular routine is frequently to blame. Physical factors such as bedwetting, general illness and developmental delay can cause sleep problems.
Psychological factors that can cause sleep problems include anxiety about separation from parents, fears (for example, of the dark), depression, drug abuse (in older children) and sexual abuse. A bedroom that is cold, noisy or damp may deter child from sleeping.
Dr. K. Ramalingam, pediatrician informs, “ Children who are experiencing exam fever, are couch potatoes and watch too much TV or are on the internet can suffer from sleep deprivation.”

Loss of sleep in your child can manifest in following behavioural changes–• Aggressive behaviour• Temper tantrums• Decreased patience• Hyperactivity• Crying and fussiness• A feeling of continuous lethargy• Poor concentration• Poor school performance

Dr Ramalingam points out the health hazards of sleep deprivation in children. “Poor food habits, unseemly growth and development, stomach upsets like constipation or irritable bowel syndrome and even depression can hit a sleep deprived child.”

How can you make your child sleep well?

• Create a simple and familiar routine for bedtime. For example: feed, bathe, and put to bed

•Allow toddlers time to settle down. If they make a fuss, don’t give in immediately.

• Keep things quiet, this helps toddlers to settle and teaches them that the night is different from the day.

• Alternatively, keep natural house noises going.

• Make sure your child unwinds before the bedtime. This will make the transition from lively toddler to a sleeping child easier.

Waking up too early:

• Use thick curtains to make children’s rooms darker so the morning light doesn’t wake them.

• Provide safe toys for him to play with in the mornings, so he can play quietly until he hears that the rest of the family is awake.

• If your child’s a natural early riser, you may just have to be patient. Usually, once children start nursery or school, they tend to sleep in for longer.

Waking in the night:• Be realistic and remember that everyone’s sleep requirements and patterns vary. Some people need eight hours or more, others can manage on five or six.

Many toddlers continue to wake during the night for feeds. If you’d like to stop this, cut down night feeds by gradually replacing milk with water. When you go in to comfort him, keep the lights low and use a soft voice. Don’t encourage any kind of activity. You’ll probably need to do this several times.

Bone Building

2010-03-16T14:37:00.003+05:30

As mothers we fret and fume to make our kids down milk every morning and evening. Errant kids will cajole, plead, argue and throw tantrums to escape milk making us think– blessed is the mother who have kids that drink milk minus tantrums! After all bones provide the framework for your child’s growing body. Milk is rich in calcium and thus crucial for bone health of your kids.Exasperated mothers can heave a sigh of relief from the study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. This study says that higher intakes of fruits and vegetables throughout the teen years improve bone density in adulthood. This does not mean negating the importance of dairy but other factors like a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, exercise and sunshine are equally important.Bone basicso Bone is the living tissue that changes constantly, with bits of old bone being removed and replaced by new bone.o The bone mass acquired in childhood and adolescence is an important determinant of lifelong skeletal health.o Bone mass or density is generally higher in men than in women.o Sex hormones, including estrogen and testosterone, are essential for the development of bone mass. Girls who start to menstruate at an early age typically have greater bone density.
The minerals in a child’s skeleton are completely replaced (or recycled) about five times between childhood and her or his 55th birthday.

Say yes to fruits and vegetables. An array of nutrients—vitamin C, vitamin K, potassium, and magnesium—found abundantly in fruits, vegetables, and other plant foods, have been shown to promote bone health.

Vitamin C from citrus fruits, tomatoes, peppers, and other fruits and vegetables is essential for making collagen, the connective tissue that minerals cling to when bone is formed.

Vitamin K is thought to stimulate bone formation. It is found most abundantly in dark leafy greens like kale and spinach, but is also readily available in beans, soy products, and some fruits and vegetables.

Potassium decreases the loss of calcium from the body and increases the rate of bone building. Oranges, bananas, potatoes, and many other fruits, vegetables, and beans are all rich sources of potassium.

Magnesium, like calcium, is an important bone mineral. Studies have shown higher magnesium intakes to be associated with stronger bones. “Beans and greens”—legumes and green leafy vegetables—are excellent sources of magnesium.o Diets high in fruits and vegetables actually tip the acid-base scales in the opposite direction and make it easier for bones to hold onto their calcium.

Go outdoors

Bones function on a simple logic. Either use them or lose them. Exercise stimulates bones. For this to occur, your bones must sense more strain or pressure than they do in everyday life. This is why “weight bearing exercise”, like running, jogging, skipping is usually mentioned when it comes to building strong bones. The mechanism occurs based on “Wolff’s Law” which basically states that new bone is laid down where it is needed based on outside mechanical stresses applied to the bone involved. Bone is also removed where it is not needed — which is why being inactive and sedentary can cause osteoporosis or weak bones. Besides playing outdoors also gives your child the necessary vitamin D for strong bones.

Sneak in milk

Kids who do not love milk may like it in ice creams, custards, puddings and soups. Think of innovative ways to outsmart your kids

Coping with exam stress

2010-02-17T16:04:00.003+05:30

Exams can be stressful. For that matter anything that has a result attached to it, which can impact your life is stressful, say for instance--your performance appraisal, job interviews and even exams. Exams and more specifically the results associated with it are stressful because in Indian scenario exams decide a whole lot of things, which means the course of your career and the source of your livelihood. Moreover parents also put emphasis on settling down their children and exams decide everything in this critical process.

How exam stress kicks in the child?

Stress can express itself in different ways, but for different people before an exam. You might feel knots in your stomach or have the urge to visit the washroom all the time. This kind of anxiety is called anticipatory anxiety and results in adverse affects on the body and mind and therefore, a sub optimal performance.

"Stress not only causes palpitations and tense muscles but also reduces the ability to make decisions, act or express oneself including organization of thoughts," says Dr K.K Agarwal. Stress during exams can makes it difficult to read and understand questions and even to recall terms and concepts.

What can you do to cope with exam stress?

A recent study has shown that 45 minutes of afternoon nap improves the declarative memory. Declarative memory is the memory of events learnt and understood earlier during the year.

Not taking afternoon nap or the night sleep may cause the child end up with transient loss of declarative memory.

Free Writing Can Clear Mental Stress: By spending 30 minutes each day for four days to write out your innermost thoughts and feelings, one can significantly boost mental and physical health. In expressive writing therapy, students are encouraged to express whatever is on their mind, letting their hopes and fears flow out in a natural, unrestrained way. It’s akin to keeping a journal, but more focused on the things that might be bothering you or triggering stress.

Everything you wanted to know about pacifiers

2010-02-08T13:57:00.003+05:30

New borns can cry for as many as two hours in a day. During these crying marathons, many new mothers confront a choice of offering pacifier to their crying baby. Sometimes after making the decision to offer pacifier, guilt overpowers them. These mothers may find some relief from the fact that American Academy of Paediatrics gives green light to pacifiers through out the baby’s first year.

Thumbs up

Sucking is a natural reflex of baby. For some babies the amount of sucking they get during feedings is less. Pacifiers can be a key to contentment between feedings for these babies. Bottle-feeding mothers can buy some time with pacifier while preparing milk for her hungry baby. Pacifier can make a restless baby sleep.

Moreover, it is easier to break the habit of sucking on a pacifier as compared to sucking on a thumb. You can throw a pacifier. Research proves that a pacifier may reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Thumbs down

Pacifiers may interfere with breast-feeding.
Babies may become dependent on pacifiers, and, you may have to wake up at night on hearing your baby cry to grope for the lost pacifier. Pacifiers may increase middle ear infection. Middle ear infections are most common in children below three years of age. The risk of ear infections is the lowest in the first six months when the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is the highest.
When it comes to making decision, mother is the best judge.

Dos

Allow breastfeeding to establish, before you introduce pacifier to your baby.
When it comes to sucking on pacifier let the baby decide.
Replace cracked nipple and keep identical spares.
Wash pacifier thoroughly with soap and water; put it in hot water with white vinegar, equal parts to kill germs for ten minutes everyday.
Try to get your baby off pacifier after the first year.

Don’ts

Do not put pacifier in the mouth of a sleeping baby.
Do not shove in pacifier in your baby’s mouth every time she cries.

Protect your teenage kid from depression

2010-01-19T10:04:00.001+05:30

Abhyankar Rastogi, 17, qualified grade XI exams in one of the best known schools in Delhi with poor marks. The school decided that he couldn’t study Science any longer and had to move to Commerce or Arts stream, to which Abhyankar, an automobile enthusiast was reluctant to. Moreover, he belonged to the family of toppers. His mother, father and elder sister were all toppers, hence the pressure to perform had compounded on him. Naturally, he slid in depression, stopped eating altogether and would chat for hours on internet when all alone at home to strangers in virtual land, because it was easier to offload your problems to someone whom you didn’t know at all. Fortunately, Rastogis woke up in the nick of time and took their son to clinical psychologist Dr Arti Anand, who diagnosed him of depression. His school was changed and with the help of medicines, change of environment and positive reinforcement Abhyankar gained back his confidence and is doing well in another school in the Science stream and dreams of studying automobile engineering soon, because he is passionate about cars.

Why has depression and suicide rates grown up in children?

“If you see, children have to undergo a lot of pressure—peer, parental, studies and these days add a new dimension to it extra curricular. Naturally, so much stress is too much for young minds, because physically children might look grown up, mentally they are not equipped enough to handle so much of stress,” explains clinical psychologist Dr Arti Anand. Symptoms of stress and depression in children manifests in increased episodes of suicides in children. It’s a shocker that suicide is a leading cause of death in 15-24 year olds.

Watch out

Many a time the child will not come and tell you that he is depressed. But, you got to be careful if you see any/few/all symptoms enlisted below—

• Change in eating and sleeping habits

• Withdrawal from friends, family and regular activities

• Violent actions, rebellious behavior, or running away

• Drug and alcohol use

• Unusual neglect of personal appearance

• Marked personality change

• Persistent boredom, difficulty concentrating, or a decline in the quality of schoolwork

• Frequent complaints about physical symptoms, often related to emotions, such as stomachaches, headaches, fatigue

• Loss of interest in pleasurable activities

• Not tolerating praise or rewards.

A teenager who is planning to commit suicide may also:

• Complain of being a bad person or feeling ‘rotten inside’

• Give verbal hints with statements such as: ‘I won’t be a problem for you much longer’, ‘Nothing matters’, ‘It’s no use’, and ‘I won’t see you again’

• Put his affairs in order, for example, give away favorite possessions, suddenly clean his room, throwing away important belongings.

• Become suddenly cheerful after a period of depression

• Have signs of psychosis (hallucinations or bizarre thoughts)

How can you help your child?

Adolescent is a period of intense hormonal upheavals. Hence, parents need to support children to help them sail through this rough patch. “Realistic expectations from the child, mingling with his peer group are the right steps to begin with. Chatting with the child is important because it helps open lines of conversation,” says Dr Jayanti Dutta, clinical psychologist. Once in a while try having a chat-a-thon with your child. Still better, invite your children’s friends too, for a sleep over, cook dinner together and talk about what’s going in their lives. This will allow you to have a view of the world of your child. On an important note, allow your child to do what she likes the most. Recently, Neha Sawant, 11, a bit of reality TV star committed suicide because her parents pulled her out of the dance academy. Refrain from acting arbitrarily and involve the child in decisions. After all, it’s his life. Also, stop comparing your child with anyone else and pick your conflicts carefully. Like don’t fret if your child wishes to grow a goatee or get a tattoo.

Your adolescent was just a kid few years back. Hug him occasionally, (in private) encourage him often and at times ignore his eccentricities. More importantly, if you see the child is not being himself, talk to his teacher, friends and seek help.

Keep your child warm

2010-01-11T09:20:00.002+05:30

Its winter time and your biggest worry is how to keep your little one unaffected by the bitter cold. Frightful winter temperatures can expose children to fever, cold, frostbite, and other dangerous illnesses. Dressing your children properly and warmly will allow them to play outside, while staying warm and dry and protected from harsh temperatures.
Here are a few valuable tips on how to keep your kid warm, without overheating:

• Layering is the key, as it provides adequate protection from cold. When taking your child outside in chilled weather, dress him up in multiple light, thin layers, instead of one heavy sweater. But do not over bundle him. The rule of thumb is when dressing your child add one additional layer of clothing than an adult would wear in the same weather.

• Make him wear clothes made of cotton, wool and fleecy fibre. Add mittens or gloves. Cap and socks are musts. Covering your child’s head and feet will keep his body temperature regulated.

• Make sure that your child remains as active as possible by playing games, going to the park, etc. And if it is too cold you can think of some indoor games and activities to keep him active.

• Keep little hands and feet dry as the body gets cold faster in wet clothes. Change diaper and undershirt frequently.

Clean your baby’s skin with luke-warm water and use mild gentle baby soap. But before bathing him check for yourself to make sure that the water is neither too cold nor too hot. After the bath, apply the essential baby oils and light gentle cream to keep the skin soft and supple. If skin is dry, apply the cream twice a day. Include plenty of hot drinks and food.

• Do not over dress him while putting him to bed. A hot, sweaty baby will wake up sooner than a warm and comfortable baby. Also, do not cover him with blankets, quilts and pillows in the crib as it could smother him. If you must use a blanket to keep your baby warm, tuck the blanket under the mattress of the crib. Keep the blanket or quilt tucked only up to the baby’s chest, so that the face doesn’t get covered by the blanket.

• Put a hot water bottle under the bed to warm it up.
Make your children well equipped, let them go out to explore winter.

RESTLESS CHILDREN

2009-07-27T15:52:00.004+05:30

Bunty had always been a restless kid. Even as a preschooler, he would poke his nose at the most unexpected places at home. He was forever screaming and bouncing on top of the furniture. No toy or activity ever held his interest for more than a few minutes. When his teacher's comments about his inattention and disruptive behaviour in class became too frequent to ignore, his parents took him to the doctor, who recommended an evaluation for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Boys are about three times more likely than girls to be diagnosed with it, though it's not yet understood why. Dr. Rajeev Chhabra, consultant—paediatrics and neonatology, Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon says, “There is no specific reason for which children become hyperactive. In some cases may be genes are responsible. Normally, by the time such children become teenagers they calm down.” Dr Arti Anand consultant psychologist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital adds, “Besides the genetic link (for which you can do nothing) a pregnant woman who is addicted to alcohol or smoking is at risk of giving birth to a hyperactive baby.” However, she is quick to mention that a high level of lead in the blood, can also lead to ADHD disorder.
Signs
• Can be easily distracted
• Do not seem to listen.
• Have difficulty playing quietly.
• Often run or climb excessively
• Difficulty following instructions
• Interrupt or intrude on others.
• Do not finish tasks.
Seven steps to calm down—
Treatment options for ADHD are extremely varied. Your treatment plan might include some medications prescribed by the doctor. Behavioural modification helps too.
1. Deep breathing is one of the simplest ways to calm the body. Teach your children to take deep breaths (in through the nose, out through the mouth) when they begin to feel frustrated and out of control.
2. Be careful! It is best to talk to the toddlers and let them understand that their actions disturb others and they can hurt themselves
3. Divert attention. If the child insists on making a mess in the kitchen you can divert his attention by letting him play with utensils. In all circumstances do not hit or slap the baby, suggests Dr. Arti.
4. Share moments. Use free time to take a trip to the park, read a special book together, take a walk, or simply giggle and be silly with your child. These free moments can be especially helpful in bonding with hyperactive kids.
5. Healthy bites. Dr Chhabra points out, “Parents can restrict the quantity of sugar or sugar substitutes in their child’s diet, because these things may contribute to hyper behaviour and mood swing of toddler. Parents should also take care of the presence of some essential fatty acids or, certain vitamins in a wholesome child diet”
6. Cuddle your baby. Touch therapy helps children with ADHD disorder.
7. Praise and reward: “Kids will be inspired to obey when their efforts are recognized by parents, teachers or other adults”, suggests Dr. Arti.
Doc speaks
• Insist on a regular bedtime and adequate rest. Insufficient rest can cause attention problems.
• Limit TV viewing. Though it is tough, it’s important.
• Encourage your children for some physical exercises everyday, preferably outdoors.

Inputs from Dr. Rajeev Chhabra, Paediatrics & Neonatologist, Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon.

The right way to discipline your child

2009-05-18T11:38:00.004+05:30

When it comes to disciplining toddlers as a parent we reprimand, scream or hit the child. All these methods are wrong and are not approved by research studies. On the contrary behaviour specialists recommend time out as an effective discipline technique that works well with children as young as 18-24 months old.

Dr. Sal Severe in his book How to behave so your kids will too, says, “Parents need to understand that their children's behavior is often a reflection of their own behaviour” Spanking a child for misbehaviour makes them realise that it is okay to hit.

In his book Dr. Severe has set guidelines for time out.
Time-Out Guidelines
 Determine the time-out setting:
o Safety first
o As boring as possible
 Identify one priority misbehavior
 Use a timer
 Explain time-out to your child:
o Time-out is going to improve behavior
o What time-out is
o How the time works
o How the timer works
o Describe the priority misbehavior (give an example)
 Use time-out as part of a plan
 Be consistent with time-out
 Stay calm when you use time-out
 Use a chart to keep a record of progress
 Initial episodes may be difficult (extinction burst)
 When you're putting your child in time-out, briefly explain what she has done so she can connect the behaviour with the time-out. A simple phrase such as “No hitting” is enough. Do not lecture and do not spank. Time-out is not the time for teaching or preaching.
 Do not negotiate with a child in time-out. Completely ignore him, even if he shouts, bangs or apologizes.
 When time-out is over, it is over. Create a fresh start by offering a new activity. Don’t discuss the unwanted behaviour, just move on.

The duration

Time-out should last 1 minute for each year of your child's age. It should not last for more than 5 minutes.
 You can use a stopwatch as timer. Make sure you put it where your child can see and hear it.
 If she leaves time-out, put her back quickly and reset the timer. This teaches her that you mean what you say. Be consistent.
Siblings
If your other children touch the timer, or tease their brother or sister in time-out, they should be also placed in time-out.
End of time out
 Make it clear that you are in control of when time-out ends. When time-out is over, it's over. Reminders or lectures after time-out may lead to the same misbehaviour. It's better to comfort your child.
 If your child repeats the behaviour that led to the time-out in the first place, repeat the whole process. If used properly, time-out will eventually work.
Remember, your child should know that time-out is directed toward the misbehaviour not him. It's important not to hurt your child's self-esteem by instilling shame, guilt, loss of trust, or feelings of abandonment.
Parenting is all about patience, it can be excruciating at times but kids imbibe the way their parents behave. Be a role model yourself, and kids are going to follow.

One size doesn't fit all

2009-04-23T09:13:00.002+05:30

If you see your kid doodling, do not fret thinking he is wasting his time when he should be studying. Rather use this act of drawing images while teaching him. And you may find it to be an effective learning sty le of his. Read more with My Health Guardian

Kirti sings the mathematical formulas quietly to herself. Kavisha learns spellings by tapping her pencil in rhythmic patterns. Krish needs to put everything in points in order to cram. Anika draws pictures from her……….. Raghai puts his own logic to extend his knowledge of simple facts to harder ones. These children naturally express their preferred intelligences as they attempt to master their school assignments

We are all endowed with different personalities, special skills, preferences and tastes. And our ways of learning are as diverse as the colors of the rainbow. Parents and teachers must observe and value these differences. Once we are aware of their children’s strengths and know what kind of learners they are, we can build up activities that will make the most of their children’s abilities and increase the chances of their success.

“God never makes junk! Each one of us is special and has a unique set of qualities that just needs right encouragement and sometimes guidance to blossom”, says Dr Rima Sehgal, counselor at Bal Bharti school, Ghaziabad. Think of any one child or person who is not doing well in life and you would be able to find that the child is good in something else. Unfortunately, in our society a child's worth is determined by her Report Card, and parents have limited and comparative vision regarding their child’s future and career goals. As part of the rat race, every second person either thinks of Engineering, Medicine, CA, CS, BBA or maximum variation can be teaching career for girls! This happens when there are around 30,000 listed careers available!

Nitya Ramaswami, Head Child Development and Academics, Zee Schools, says, “Principally any child when posed with a concept confronts it with questions as--what, why, how and what if I do it this way? We would be devoid of inventions, had all of us thought in a singular pattern. Newton is a classic instance of ‘why’ intelligence and Bill Gates corresponds to the school of ‘what if I do it this way’ intelligence.”

But our conventional education system is focused towards rat race. The paradox is even if you win this race you’re still a rat.

Other than the two intelligences that we focus on-linguistic and mathematical skills, there are other intelligences that are equally important to a holistic human development. They include--visual/spatial, bodily/kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, naturalist and intra personal intelligence.
Multiple Intelligences are eight different learning styles or ways to demonstrate our intellectual abilities, which was conceived by renowned educational psychologist, Dr. Howard Gardner,

Let’s survey and understand our children’s intelligences and make them their guide. In fact, there can be no one better than parents to assess the leanings of the child. Pay attention to the questions of your children and the activities he tries to do. Like does he dismantle household equipments or he asks questions. Whether he is good with expressions, sways to beats of music or doodles on walls. Observe your child if he plays a leader in a game and see what activities disinterest him. “Once you have a clue of the bend of the mind of your child, learning becomes a child’s play”, reasons Nitya.

Making children understand their stongest skills and the many ways they are intelligent will help them channelize their potential on the right path.

It is very important to encourage children to discover and tap into their intelligences. Creating a rich, fostering, and a motivating environment filled with interesting and constructive materials, toys, games and books, lays the foundation for healthier, happier and brighter children! Students who have these kinds of experiences know many ways to learn almost anything!
How do I judge towards which intelligence is my child inclined to? …while playing with your little one, chalk out a few activities and give him options to perform…solve a puzzle…sing a song………draw a picture or tell a story. You do not need to repeat all the activities every time but keep adding new ones and repeating just two or three. Soon his interest will come to the fore. Use this interest as his learning channel. You might also come to see a blend of intelligences in him.

Expose your child to a variety of activities and things that he is passionate about and wants to do. Allow him to express his knowledge in a range of ways. Soon you would notice recurring success and enjoyment in certain areas. That would be hint enough on the talent or specific high intelligence areas.

Tips for parents-

Understand that IQ is not fixed and there are innumerable options open for the child in spite of poor or average academics.
Help your child develop self-esteem that is essential to bring about any positive change, through appreciation and affection.
Find out the exact cause of poor performance and help the child do better accordingly
Focus and encourage what the child can do best rather what he would land up doing average!

Help him draw his strengths, focus on the learning skills that he can master and see what acumen would he like to expand?

TEENAGE DILEMMAS

2009-03-23T15:00:00.004+05:30

Parenting was never a cake-walk, but teenage years of the child are definitely one of the trying times for parents. Six years of teenage from 13 to 19 are actually a stage of metamorphosis for the child when he takes a leap into the adult world. My Health Guardian explores the world of teenagers

(Karan with sister Tanya)

Fifteen-year-old Vipul was brought to Dr Jayanti Dutta, a well-known consultant clinical psychologist in Delhi, because he had turned abusive and violent in his behaviour towards parents, as they could not afford a swanky car for him and were driving plebeian Maruti Alto which did not conform to his peer group. The child even suggested that they could do away with the mum’s jewelry to deposit the margin money for the car.
“Such blatant materialism!” reflects Dr Dutta. “Somewhere, we might have gone wrong as parents,” says she.
The transition years of teenage though simple becomes complex because different factors are at play: peer pressure, immature juvenile mind, curiosity about sex to name a few. But, the way you deal with the teenage minds is going to affect their psyche for years to come. And this is where the challenge of parenting a teen lies: how to screen your child from the negative peer pressure and to instill values so that he grows in a responsible adult.

Vera Garg, Lead Teacher, Social Studies, at the American Embassy School, New Delhi, a proud mother of two grown up sons says, “I never had a difficult time with my children in their teen years, for the simple reason that we believed in talking a lot, mostly across the dining table where we shared our day’s high and low points everyday. We were vigilant all the time, nevertheless we trusted them. ” Shalini Nambiar, director Excelsior American School, Gurgaon had always counseled parents to let children follow their dreams, but when her son decided to do so it was not an easy decision for her. “My nineteen-year-old son Karan got an interview call from IIM, which he did not want to continue. Rather he asked me to give him two years of his life to pursue his dream of music. It was one of the most difficult decisions of my life to let my child do what he wanted, because as a parent I would like him to be secure. But then, parenting is all about letting children follow their dreams, I guess,” says she.

CHALLENGES

PEER PRESSURE: “After having spent so many years as a clinical psychologist, if you ask me I will say that the biggest factor that influences the mindset of children is the peer pressure,” informs Dr Dutta. She is distressed at the growing promiscuous behaviour in well known Delhi public schools, where teenage children make out during school time so that they can get peer acceptance. It is in the peer pressure that teenage children give in to underage drinking and driving.

COUNTER IT:

Vera had during the growing years of her children often discussed with them which behaviours are cool and which are not. Under age drinking and driving were surely un-cool behaviours. “And, I never hesitated to give instances of my life where I have gone wrong, so that the children don’t get the impression that as parents we are infallible,” she recalls.

“Teenage children love to party and if you gain access to their peer group, you know how to screen your child from the negative influences. I party a lot at my place with the friends of my children and have a great time together. By doing this I also make sure that children are not overstepping boundaries,” shares Shalini.

INTERNET: There is so much uncensored information available all the time, and it can devastate the psyche of the child too.

COUNTER IT

Vera says, “The only way to outsmart the internet is by being vigilant.” Besides being vigilant, Shalini believes in rationing the time spent on the internet and the rules should be set in consultation with the teenage child.
Dr Dutta is all for having internet connection in the family room. In fact, this whole concept of child’s space, his room does not appeal to her for the reason that parents then become unaware of what’s happening behind the bolted door.

CURIOSITY ABOUT SEX: This is but natural.

HANDLE IT
As a parent you should make your child aware which is around ten years of age, says Vera. If the child is not supplied right information, he will find half baked ones which can be dangerous in these times. In fact, tell your children about body boundaries as well about the physiological changes that happen to him/ her in this age, says Shalini.

IDENTITY CONFUSION: Dr Reema Sehgal, counselor at Bal Bharti school says, “Teenage is a time when the child is groping for identity and his peer group supplies him with that. When your child turns rebel this is his cry to be noticed.”

HANDLE IT

The trick here is to pick your battles wisely. “My son wanted to grow his hair in his teen years, and I let him do so. Soon he got tired of it and got it cut. Similarly, I never made an issue when he got his eyebrow pierced, it was just a fad, and he got bored out of it,” says Shalini.

EXPERT COMMENT

Keep the lines of communication open. Talk a lot and don’t ask questions such as how was your school? You will evoke a one word response after which child will clam up. Instead, ask what your friend got for lunch today? The idea is to help the child open up.

Refuse to become a money minting machine to the child. Rather, spend time with children and nurture their emotions. Resist the urge to bury children with unreasonable gifts all the time, because by doing this you’re setting expectations in their minds.

Be there for your child always.

Establish rules that are non-negotiable.

Finally, your teenage child needs a parent. Be that.

What should you eat during exam time?

2009-03-10T14:33:00.005+05:30

Exams involve stress. This time of the year is heavy with the anxiety of students cramming for their forthcoming class X and class XII exams. Obviously, students are frazzled studying for their exams and nutrition takes a backseat. This is the time when nutrition becomes more important than ever. My Health Guardian shares tips for fuelling your body and brain during exams.
Do not skip breakfast. Quick healthy options include--
Whole grain cereal/ wheat flakes, milk and banana
Instant oatmeal with raisins and milk
Vegetable upma or poha
Mixed vegetable porridge with boiled egg
Missi roti /Stuffed Parantha with buttermilk

§ Re-fuel every 3-4 hours. For long lasting energy, start with a fruit or vegetable; add a grain product and some protein (milk, cheese, yogurt, meat, eggs, fish, beans, nuts, seeds or peanut butter.) Plan study breaks and include a light meal or snack to keep your blood sugar and energy levels stable.

§ Have healthier snacks available. High fat, high sugar snacks provide little brain fuel and can cause unwanted weight gain. Have healthy options in your reach. The season offers many healthy options like—raw carrot with lemon juice, roasted almonds or walnuts, chocolate milk, steamed corn to name a few.

§ Cut down on caffeine. While caffeine can give you an immediate energy boost, its effects are short-lived. Overdo it and you’ll feel—jittery, restless, irritable, and unable to relax. Limit your caffeine intake to 2 small cups of coffee per day and try lower-caffeine beverages like green or herbal tea or decaf coffee.

Hydrate yourself. Not drinking enough fluids can leave you with a headache.

§ Avoid mindless munching. It’s easy to polish off a bag of chips or savoury snacks while you’re concentrating on your notes or reading, so don’t bring snacks to your study spot. Eat only in the kitchen or away form your desk. Take regular study breaks and look for true hunger signs.

Use non-food stress busters. Learn to decrease stress without turning to food. Get some fresh air, take a walk around the clock, call a friend, put on your favourite music, take a 15 minute nap, play a game of solitaire, or try some yoga, deep breathing or meditation.

Or better yet, make a list of some nice things to do for yourself when your exams are finished!

Is my child eating right?

2008-12-23T12:44:00.002+05:30

What do women discuss when they congregate? One of the subjects surely is the eating habit of their children. Not only mothers are disturbed about their children’s eating behaviour but also fuss around it. The fact remains that no child stays hungry. But, we have to ensure that the children are eating well, after all growing kids need more nutrition. Dr Rajeev Chabbra, consultant Pediatric and Neonatal Intensivist at Artemis, Gurgaon says, “Roughly children’s meals should be divided as: morning breakfast, mid day snacks, lunch, afternoon snacks, dinner and post dinner feed.”

“Offer your children milk, as soon as they wake up and before they retire to bed,” advises he. As it has been proven in the studies that if a child is given milk before sleeping they have sound and peaceful sleep. Breakfast of cereals is good as it contains complex carbohydrates which provide slow release of energy to sustain longer, the other options being poha, paranthas, sandwich,idli etc.

Mid day snack portion may contain fresh fruits, handful of dry fruits

Lunch should have a portion of vegetables, bowl of pulses/legumes, chapati/rice along with salad so as to fulfill the requirement of carbs/proteins/fats and fibres.

Afternoon snack may include a glass of juice or some snacks which may be puffed rice/bhel puri/sweet potato/sweet corn/steamed peas,etc.

Dinner should be the same as that of lunch and one should change the dal as different dals contain different proteins. If you are child eats non-vegetarian, give him/ her chicken and fish.

To increase protein intake especially in growing kids, 5 eggs per week is recommended or for vegetarians cheese slices/cubes should be consumed.

Picky eaters

“Children who are fussy eaters are most of the time otherwise normal and it is always a behavioral problem. Stop fussing over their eating pattern,” Dr Neelam Mohan, consultant incharge Pediatric Gastroenterology at Ganga Ram.

Try to make mealtime a joy time for the family and as far possible sit together and eat same type of food.

Avoid offering food alternatives to the child. You should be firm but polite in your rules. Once a while junk food should be allowed but not regularly. Try to eat everything yourself as your child is watching you and will follow your eating behaviour.

Do not eat in front of the TV. If the child refuses to eat don’t shout or scream, just remove the food from there and do not offer any other alternative.

What should I buy?

The market is flooded with various milk food drinks for children. Each brand promises much more than the other, which leaves the consumers (in this case harried mothers) very confused. “Despite the tall claims made by each manufacturer, a closer look at the ingredients in these drinks shows they are more or less similar for all. They all contain milk solids, malt extracts, a sugar source (liquid glucose, dextrin, etc), flavouring, and are fortified with vitamins and minerals. Almost all the drinks are fortified with the B- Complex vitamins - thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, and B12. The common property of B- vitamins is that they are essential for the metabolism and proper utilisation of energy, carbohydrates, proteins, and fat,” says Dr. Mohan.

Sail through the school interviews

2008-12-10T15:55:00.003+05:30

These days there's a lot of hype surrounding the school admissions process. Entering into the school life is one of the many exciting milestones of childhood. However, it can also be a stressful time for both children and parents. When it comes to getting children admitted to formal schools, most parents take it very seriously. No wonder, you feel anxious about how you and your child will perform in the interview.

Admission at nursery level is generally based on an oral test of the child and interview or the parents. The main objective of the oral test is to observe the child to see what all qualities the child has; whether the child is active and really interested in studies: whether the child has got the capabilities to understand what the other person says and if so, how much receptive the child is, etc.

Known and unknown syllabus

Identification of alphabets, colours, etc.

Identification of birds and animals, vegetables, fruits

Identification of common objects like household articles such as table, chair, pen, pencil, car etc.

Recitation of one or two nursery rhymes

Finding out missing alphabets and numbers: a, b, _, d, e, _ and 1, 2, 3, _, 5,6,7, _, 9, _, 11.

What is your name?

Name the days of the week, etc.

Preparing for the day

Get tension free

Your child will be judged according to her speech, perception of the world, and basic skills of reading and writing. So, do not take tension. Talk to your child enthusiastically about the big school, her admission and positive aspects in an interesting and friendly manner. Your worries will travel to her. Remember it is the first and not the last interview. So don’t punish her and always try to encourage with positive motivation.

Licensed to think

Preparation for the school interview is not an overnight activity. Interview or no interview; let your child express herself freely. Children shy away from neighbours, guests and relatives. This tendency should be curbed. The child must be able to express her thoughts and knowledge well, of course without being overconfident. This will ultimately help her to create a good impression in the 15 to 20 minute short interview.

More interactions

Make your child alert to the environment around her. Give satisfactory answers to her questions. Habits like greeting visitors, shaking hands with new acquaintances, saying hello to neighbors, wishing a New Year to a loved one, will help the child to not only do well in the interview. But these will be lifetime gifts.

Be neat and clean

Teach cleanliness as a matter of principle. Be strict with the child when it comes to maintenance of hygiene. Teach the child to clean hands before and after every meal. Do not allow her to fancy long nails. Stop him from spitting in public places.

Handle with care

Teach the child to take care of her belongings and manners. She should know the importance of discipline and punctuality in her life.

Before you hit the school

Listen for any expressions of anxiety.
Talk with your toddler about their feelings.
Brainstorm with them to find things she can do to feel better.
Make sure she is getting enough sleep.
Make sure you are not over scheduling her.

Inputs Dr. Arti Anand, consultant clinical psychologist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi.

What’s your child surfing?

2008-11-01T10:02:00.005+05:30

The Internet has become an indispensable element of life for most people in the contemporary world, and children are not excluded. It’s a place where your kids jumble with others and enhance their social life. While it's a valuable resource for schoolwork, communication, recreation--and learning essential computer skills—there’re dark sides too. As a parent it is important to assume the responsibility for your child's online computer use, at home, at school, and even in the library. Sujaya Guha reveals more on this.

There are roughly 30 million children using the Internet today. It has brought the world into our living rooms, and in doing so has provided the opportunity to meet and communicate with people from all over the world. Today there are many sites contain areas where children and teenagers can post personal information about themselves including their name, age, location, photographs, contact details and in some instances their sexual preference. In many cases the predators attempt to gain a child’s trust by pretending to be the same age as their victim.

Dr. Arti Anand, Consultant Psychologist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi expresses, “Internet bullying occurs more frequently with children. Threats, harassment and psychological torment via email or in a virtual chat can have a devastating effect on your child.”

Warning bells

You find pornography on your child's computer.
She is spending a large amount of time on the Internet.
Receiving gifts, phone calls or mails from people you do not know.
When you enter the room she changes the screen or turns the computer off.
Increased aggression, poor school performance, fear, etc.

Steps towards safe surfing

Block out
Get to know the services your child uses. If you don't know how to log on, get your child to show you. He may not reveal everything but it’s a good start - at least he'll know you're interested. Find out what types of information it offers and whether there are ways for parents to block out objectionable material.

Right place
Locate the computer in a common room such as in the playroom or in your bedroom rather than in your child's bedroom. Children will be less likely to seek out inappropriate information and you can more easily monitor the website they are visiting.

Select the site
Discuss with your children what kinds of sites you feel are okay for them to explore, and which sites are not. “Tell them that not all web sites are friendly and if they encounter a site that makes them feel uncomfortable, they should leave the site immediately,” suggests Dr. Arti.

Avoid meeting
Never allow your child to arrange a face-to-face meeting with another computer user. If a meeting is arranged at last, make it in a public spot, and be sure to accompany your child. Be very careful about any offers that involve your coming to a meeting or having someone visit your house.

No chance to chat
Discourage your child from entering chat rooms. If there is a chat room on a topic your child would like to participate in, enter into the chat room together.

Be cool
Dr. Arti Anand shares, “Don't panic if you discover any record of inappropriate pictures or conversations on a computer after your child has used it. Talk to her if you're worried and explain that she shouldn't give out personal information to people she meets on the internet. Try to control your temper and handle the situation warily.”

Watch out

A survey shows that more than a quarter of 11 to 18-year-old people visit adult websites, while 27% of them interacts with strangers online.
Most children that fall victim to computer-sex offenders spend large amounts of time on-line, particularly in chat rooms. They may go on-line after dinner and on the weekends.
Computer-sex offenders work very hard at driving a wedge between a child and her family or at exploiting their relationship.

When thumb sucking refuses to go

2008-10-03T11:02:00.007+05:30

Your baby sucks thumb. This worries you. Take heart. Almost all babies suck thumb, in their initial years. It is a normal response to anxiety or hunger. Research shows that even unborn babies, who won’t experience hunger, suck their thumbs. My Health Guardian finds more about this childhood habit.
Thumb sucking is known to peak between 18 and 21 months and more than 80 percent children give up this habit before the age of four to six, on their own.

Thumbs down

Normally children outgrow thumb sucking. But if the child persists with thumb sucking beyond the age of 4 years, parents need to worry.

“A strong thumb sucking habit by a child beyond the age of five or six can alter the jaw line and result in ‘buck teeth’ where the front teeth may be pushed out of alignment. This can alter the shape of the face and lead to an open bite”, says Dr. Shilpi Tandon, dentist with Max Healthcare.
Dr. Tazeen Kidwai, consultant paediatrics with Max Health care says, “Children sucking their thumb are at increased risk of gastro-intestinal infections. Speech problems may interrupt the normal flow of conversation in such children and they begin to mispronounce ‘t’ and ‘d’, lisp and thrust out the tongue when talking.”
In fact, thumb sucking leads to a ‘cause and effect’ kind of scenario. “Friends can take jibes at such children, which in turn can increase her anxiety levels and lower her self-confidence. In a bid to soothe themselves, they begin sucking their thumbs and try to hide this from parents and peers”, points out Dr Arti Anand, consultant psychologist with Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
In extremely rare circumstances, children continue with thumb sucking even in their teen years. “For them counseling helps”, informs Dr. Arti.

No more thumb sucking

Give stars. “You might mark a star on a calendar when the child goes without thumb sucking for each period (such as a day or week). Reward her by counting the stars she gets at the end of the week Then again give her some bigger gift as well more stars at the end of the month. Thus the child will be motivated to leave thumb sucking automatically,” shares Dr. Arti.
Divert her mind. While your child is watching TV, have toys available for her to play with. Sit with your little toddler during this time and give a hug to help her not to suck. Lots of praise and support should prove as an ally to help your child. In the car, give some toys to distract her attention from sucking the thumb.
Bitter bite. Your dentist or paediatrician can prescribe a bitter medication to coat the thumb. Apply this before she gets sleep or whenever you find her sucking her thumb.
Bind the thumb. Put gloves on your child’s hands or wrap her thumb with a bandage or a cloth. Explain her that it is not for the punishment but to remind her to get rid of thumb sucking.

Always keep in mind that nagging will not help, but patience and perseverance will.

St-ut-ter-ing in children

2008-09-09T11:08:00.006+05:30

Stuttering is fairly common in children and more boys stutter than girls. This speech disorder scars the confidence of children and the sooner speech therapy is resorted to better it is for the confidence of the child. Dr. Asha Agarwal, eminent speech therapist working at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital writes----

The first time when I met Madhukar, he had come to my clinic with his mother. He was tugging at her sari while she talked to me and I saw a six-year-old boy with a thick mop of unruly black hair and sad eyes. His mother shared that Madhukar didn’t like to go to school these days. She was quick to clarify that he was a good student who usually got ‘A’ in all his written work at school. But, he had become a loner, refrained from meeting with his friends and was reluctant to participate in oral tests at school. Whenever Madhukar would open his mouth to answer, normally he would take a second longer to speak the word which gave an opportunity to his teacher to correct and his fellow classmates to sneer.

Like Madhukar, hundreds of children lose confidence in their capabilities because of stuttering that hampers their development. Learning to speak is a liberating experience for a child as it allows him to express his feelings. But speech becomes a deterrent to his development when each time he opens his mouth he fears that someone is going to correct him or people will make fun of him. Stammering usually gets detected in children by the time they turn 3 to 4 years old, because this is the time when they develop a vocabulary of words. But, I have come across episodes of stuttering in a two-year-old child. Initially stuttering is episodic; it comes and goes.

Contrary to myths, one cannot outgrow stuttering. In fact, if it does not get cured it can leave psychological scars in the child’s mind. Children with stuttering begin to lose confidence and resort to gestures to communicate. Studies have time and again reiterated that stuttering runs in families.

Boys stutter more than Girls. In 30 years of my experience as speech counsellor, I have seen thousands of cases and ratio of boys to girls is 70-30. However, girls stutter at an earlier age than boys. Emotions and stammering connect. Often, children who speak normally might stammer if they are agitated, afraid or under stress.

How speech therapy helps

Speech therapy helps in lowering the stutter by using various techniques to develop fluent speech that reduce anxiety levels of children, which helps them to talk more fluently and confidently.

Relaxation – To co-ordinate breathing and reduce oral pressure.
Phonation – co-ordinate breathing with articulators with soft contacts
Automatic speech – to practice technique effortlessly
Reading – short stories in simple sentences with voice continuity.
Reading and Narration
Conversation in close-set with strangers.
Telephonic conversation
Conversation in different situation like public gathering, presentation etc.
Maintenance and follow up
Parents involvement

Coming back to Madhukar, he regained his confidence when he learned to speak without stammering. Sometimes he does stammer when he is too angry and for these moments his mother hands him a glass of water to cool off. He looks forward to go to school and has huge gang of friends.

Raise confident kids

2008-08-27T11:33:00.010+05:30

Self –confidence is a feeling of trust in one’s abilities, qualities, judgment, and value. Some children seem to be born with coyness and a lack of self-confidence. Dr Arti Anand, consultant psychologist with Sir Ganga Ram Hospital says, “A shy child will hesitate to make new friends and clings to the mother when she meets new people or in new situations. She will not talk to people who come at home.” Regardless of the cause, you can help your child build a healthy level of self-confidence. It helps your child to develop mentally and emotionally.

Positive parenting means responsibility of a parent to help a child grow with self-confidence. Dr Anand points out, “Such children become back benchers and resist to respond to teachers because they are afraid of any spot light shining on them.”

Road to confidence

Be proud parents. Be proud of your kids and show that pride. Be proud of what your child is and express that pride. Knowing that you’re proud of her, she will always refrain herself from going on a wrong path and will never hurt your expectations. This will definitely build her self-esteem.
Trust her! Trust, as we all know is “earned”. You must start building trust between you and your children. Nothing builds confidence in human beings like trust. Though it is not always easy for a parent to feel sure of their children’s abilities, start with small and realistic steps that are agreed upon and carried out.
Praise her. Appreciation works more than criticism. Parents often speak without thinking. Statements such as, “You’ll never get it right,” or “Don’t be so stupid,” may seem harmless when spoken, but they send a negative message to your child that contributes to a low self-image. Dr. Anand advises, “Build your child’s self-confidence by providing frequent, genuine statements of praise. Tell your children they are special, that you love them even when they fail.”
Perfect role model. Children learn a great deal by watching the role models in their lives. Parents are the first and the most important role models. Do not put yourself or your spouse down in front of your children. Be the perfect role model for your little angel.
Help them to choose right. Give your child choices. Being able to make decisions is something that your child will have to do all throughout life. Such decision-making skills will give your child confidence in her ability to make her own choices, as she gets older.
Admire your toddler. Respect your child's interests, even if they seem boring to you - take a genuine interest in your child's friends, and what's happening at school, and comment to show you're listening. “All the children should be given a chance to participate in plays, sports etc. Teachers should be polite and kind while expressing a failure rather than shouting and screaming at them,” suggests Dr. Anand.
Self-dependent kids. Don’t do things for your child that he or she can do alone. Children need to learn to take care of themselves and they learn this through hands-on experience. By knowing appropriate developmental stages of your toddler, you can identify which tasks he or she can safely do without your help. In the end, this will help build self-confidence.

My ear hurts.....

2008-07-28T16:33:00.007+05:30

It can be difficult to tell, but if your child has a cough or runny nose and then suddenly develops a fever for three to five days, it may be caused by an ear infection. Ear infections are among the most common illnesses of early childhood. Three out of four children have had at least one ear infection by age 3, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Dr KD Gupta, Consultant ENT Surgeon with Sir Gangaram Hospital discloses, “The ear cavity internally opens into the upper part of the mouth cavity - one on each side by a tube like structure. This tube allows ventilation of the ear cavity. In young children the tube is short, wide and straight and this allows easy spread of infection from nose, nasopharynx (upper part of mouth cavity). This is the reason that young children are prone to ear infections.”

However he is quick to mention that children most affected are between 3 to 7 years of age. This is because babies are often fed improperly (whether breast fed or bottle fed). Dr. Gupta even points out, “ During feeding a baby's head should be raised. If babies are fed lying flat, milk regurgitates easily from the mouth into the ear and an infection sets in.”

Symptoms

Ear infections can be hard to detect, especially if your child is too young to say, "My ear hurts." Children with ear infections may:

Tug or pull at their ears
Cry more than usual
Have trouble sleeping
Fail to respond to sounds
Be unusually irritable
Develop a fever
Develop fluid that drains from the ears
Have headaches

Treatment options

Your child's treatment decision depends on several factors including:

Your child's age
History of previous infections
Whether your child has any underlying medical problems

Most ear infections safely clear up on their own without any antibiotics.

“By 7-10 years of your baby the Eustachian tube (the tube mentioned earlier) becomes larger, narrower and less straight. Hence there is a less chance of ear infections,” Dr Gupta adds.

Normally, treating the pain, steam inhalation and allowing the body time to heal itself suffice. Curing the infection may need a dose of antibiotics. When giving antibiotics to young kids, follow the dosage, schedule and your doctor’s advice strictly.

Watch out

Dr. K.D. Gupta warns that recurrent infections can impact hearing. He says, “Children with persistent ear infections do run the risk of hearing loss. If a child turns the volume of TV high and does not respond properly are warning signs for parents warranting an evaluation of the ears of the child by an ENT specialist.”

Prevention

Protect your child from secondhand smoke. Keep your child at bay from smoke. Stay in smoke-free environment.
Breast-feed your baby for at least six months. Breast milk contains antibodies that offer protection from ear infections.
Ask your child's doctor about the pneumococcal vaccine (Prevnar). Studies indicate that it slightly reduces the risk of ear infections as well.
Try to limit the use of any group childcare. Children in childcare settings can easily spread germs to each other.
Washing your hands often. Hand-washing stops infection from spreading by killing germs.

Fighting tooth and nail

2008-07-17T13:02:00.006+05:30

Accidents happen without notice! Same with dental emergencies, but if you are updated on ways to handle an emergency situation, it can spell the difference between a ‘lost’ and reclaimed ‘tooth’.

Handling dental emergencies

1. Broken tooth
Seeing your child with a broken tooth can be a gut-wrenching sight. Keep patience and do the following—

Carefully rinse the tooth in water. Make sure that you do not touch the root of the tooth with your hands. The root is the portion of the tooth embedded in the gum and not normally seen.
Attempt to place the tooth back in its socket and secure with a wet wrap. If this is not possible or if you are afraid that your child might swallow the tooth, place it in a glass containing either saliva or milk.
See your dentist immediately.

2. Chipped tooth
Check to see if your child is experiencing pain or sensitivity in the tooth. If so call your dentist to seek dental treatment immediately. In case your child is fine, contact your dentist to see whether or not your child should be seen. In most cases of chipped teeth, you can simply schedule a future appointment to replace the lost portion of the tooth with a porcelain veneer or with bonding material.

3. Bitten Tongue or Lip
Clean the area gently with a cloth and then apply cold compresses to reduce the swelling. If the bleeding does not stop, go to a hospital emergency room immediately.

4. Objects Caught Between the Teeth
Try to gently remove the object with dental floss and avoid damaging the gums. Do not use a sharp instrument. The best item to use is a plastic toothpick that has an angulated tip. If not successful in removing the object, visit your dentist.

5. Toothache
Rinse your mouth with warm water to clean out the area. Make sure there is no food or any other object lodged around the tooth. Use dental floss to clean the area thoroughly.
Never put aspirin or any other painkiller on the gums or around the painful tooth because it can burn the gums, thus causing more harm than good.

Preventing dental injuries

The best way to prevent a dental emergency is to properly protect your child. Increasingly, dentists are recommending that children engaged in sports wear mouth guards. Once only used in football and ice hockey, mouth guards are now being recommended for other sports as well. Most mouth guards are made of plastic and cover the lower teeth.

Not only do mouth guards protect teeth but they also protect lips, gums, and cheeks. Commonly there are two types of mouth guards:
Another way to reduce the risk of dental injury is to watch out for situations that commonly lead to injury. These are some of the more common:

Trips and falls - Falling into furniture and down stairs often causes dental injury. This is most likely to occur when children are first learning to stand using furniture to maintain balance. If you have a baby childproof your home before he learns to walk.
Water fountains - Often kids injure teeth by ramming them into the spout of water fountains as they drink. Sometimes kids behind them accidentally bump into them causing them to injure their teeth.
Forks and Spoons - Believe it or not, some injuries are self-inflicted when people, not paying attention, crack or chip their teeth with spoons or forks as they eat.
Bottle Caps - Tell your child to never open a bottle cap by teeth.

If you have young children at home make sure that your dentist has after hours coverage, which means there will be a qualified dentist available to take care of emergencies and keep the phone number handy.

Dr. Ramesh Mathur, Chairman Max International Dental Academy

Living with autism

2008-07-01T10:45:00.016+05:30

Two-year-old Minal hardly spoke for her age. She is fond of symmetry, babbles few words, which her mother can comprehend and is a stickler for symmetry. Most of her waking hours are spent in stacking her toys in a specific fashion. When she is not stacking her toys, she is flapping her arms like a bird, and if she hears her name, she avoids eye contact. Minal is autistic.

Autism is greatly misunderstood. “It is a developmental disorder in young children that affects three important aspects--development skills,social skills, communication skills and these children have repetitive or restrictive activities”, says Dr. Raghuram Mallaiah, neonatolgoist at Fortis La Femme hospital, New Delhi. The symptoms of autism are present in the child from birth, but they become apparent between 18 months to 3 years—a time when social development begins to occur and language skills are learnt. “Diagnosing autism is difficult”, mentions Dr. Mallaiah. Not only, is it a complex condition to diagnose, but also there exists low awareness levels on this disorder. A number of children with autism may have normal IQ and the only problem that is apparent is their poor social skills and language development skills or repetitive and obsessive behaviour. Since genetic and blood screening is incapable in divulging autism, investigations by a trained psychologist only could offer clues on it.

Causes
“Autism is multifactorial, but a larger number of evidences have begun to nudge towards the genetic link, as more than one child is born with autism in one family”, informs Dr. Mallaiah. There has been a good deal of debate if autism is linked to MMR vaccine. Dr. Mallaiah says, “ The evidence to support the link is very weak and the most likely explanation was the fact that MMR is given at 15 – 18 months, round about the time when autistic behaviour starts becoming apparent to parents. There have been large studies that have denied these associations. The medical fraternity on the whole would recommend all children to be vaccinated.”

Spectrum
Incidence of autism in developed countries where there is better awareness of the condition is said to be about 1-2/1000 children. These numbers include milder forms of autism too, says Dr. Mallaiah.

Earlier autism was dismissed in India. "From one in 10,000 children ten years ago, the prevalence is 3-4 per 1,000 live births now," says Mythili Chari, Founder-Director of the Institute for Remedial Intervention Service (IRIS) and member of the Expert Committee (Mental Retardation) under the Rehabilitation Council of India. Mythili adds wryly. "Those who dismissed it as a low-incidence disorder are now being forced to sit up and take notice.”

In India concrete steps towards autism happened with the Action of Autism—a society set up by Merry Barua in 1991. Parents can detect traits of autism in their children, if the child shows two or more of the following symptoms, says she.

Absence of warm and joyful expression
Does not respond to his/her name
Refrains from making eye contact
Babbles incoherent phrases, has unusual voice quality, tone and pitch.
Does not show and tell.
Indulges in repetitive behaviour.
Has a special fondness for symmetry

“Autism can’t be treated with medicines”, says Mythili. Dr. Malliah agrees, but, behavioural and speech therapy help moderate the severity of symptoms. “Children with autism do not benefit with learning by rote method. They need instructions based on applied behaviour analysis with a strong focus on structured teaching and experiential learning”, says Barua. Caring for a child with autism is resource intensive and often these children need to work upon the skills they possess. “However, these children might need special care and attention through out their lives”, says Dr. Mallaiah.

Societies for autism in New Delhi

Open Door
url: http://www.autism-india.org/afa_opendoor.html

School of Hope
CPWD Complex
Near Chinmay School
Vasant Vihar
New Delhi 110 057
tel: 26143853, 26151572
e-mail:tamana@mantramail.com

Action For Autism
Pocket 7 & 8
Jasola Vihar
New Delhi-110025
Tel: 91-11-65347422
Tel: 91-11-40540991, 40540992
Email: actionforautism@gmail.com
url: http://www.autism-india.org/index.html

Well-behaved kids

2008-06-04T14:26:00.007+05:30

You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance.
Franklin P Jones

All children have episodes of bad behaviour, some more frequently, severely and others less. It’s just a fact of life! As parents you can’t escape scenarios when your child will act in annoying or hurtful ways and refuse to co-operate with your requests. It’s normal for parents to fly in rage at such instances, but rage does not help, instead complicates the matter further. A good understanding of normal problematic behaviour can help you respond appropriately and more sensitively to your child at a time when she needs you most.

There is a growing epidemic of bad manners among school children. Teachers are complaining that their students, some as young as seven, are speaking to them in the same familiar way they speak to their friends. Dr Arti Anand, consultant clinical psychologist with Sir Ganga Ram Hospital says, “Young children imbibe behaviour of parents. If parents behave badly, children are going to learn that.”

Tell-tale symptoms

Using bad language
Behaving aggressively or violently
Destroying property
Lying
Stealing
Refusing to cooperate with necessary tasks, such as getting dressed in the morning, going to bed at night or doing schoolwork.

Causes

Why my young one is becoming difficult these days? If the question bothers you, experts have answers. Children try to grab attention, wrest power and sometimes seek revenge through their bad behaviour. Rude behaviour is also a garb for lack of confidence and feelings of disappointment.

Seven steps towards better-behaved children

Explain limits. When your child doesn't understand what you expect, explain your reasons. Make polite requests for changing misbehaviour, and be specific and concise. Say, "Please play with the ball outside, not inside, because something might get broken."
Provide a reminder. When your child forgets a rule, tell him the rule again. Explain what happens if the rule is not followed. After you have reminded her of this rule, place her in the stroller if she breaks the rule again.
Take your time. If you find yourself angry or frustrated with your child, "take time." Take a deep breath, count to 20, or give yourself five minutes away from your child to cool down before you respond.
Aggression hurts. Never strike your child in anger. This teaches your child that aggression is okay. Dr Arti points out, “ Sometimes the teenagers become aggressive and out of control if their demands are not met. Again if parents do not spend quality time with their children or are unable to communicate with them, children tend to be frustrated and aggressive.”
Time out. Learn to use the "time out" method to help your child regain self-control. Give your child some time alone, not as a punishment, but as an opportunity to recover from a bout of misbehaviour. Try to discuss the behaviour problem constructively with your child.
Take a break. Allow for some breaks in routine to reduce boredom. This gives children a chance to experience fun and variety, and still lets them return to the security of familiar routines afterwards.
Just ignore. Ignoring misbehavior is an effective way to deal with fighting between siblings and misbehavior that is directed at getting attention. Children do need attention. Children, who do not get enough positive attention will settle for negative attention, e.g. yelling, brought on by misbehavior.

As parents we strive to give our children what we didn’t have in our growing years. Sometimes in this struggle, children miss out on what we had in our growing years—time of parents. Children are malleable and inculcating good behaviour is not difficult after all, but like all episodes of parenting it is going to test your patience. Amen!

Scouting for summer camps

2008-05-22T11:48:00.006+05:30

Summer vacations are here. With schools closed and long summer days outstretched before us, parents are in look out of activities and engagements to keep their children busy, and what better way to do that than to enroll them in a summer camp. Normally, schools offer summer camp for their students, but the neighbourhood children are also welcome to enroll. While some schools like Excelsior American School allow students to invite their friends and cousins to enroll in the summer camp. Arti Anand, psychologist Sir Ganga Ram Hospital says, “Summer camps provide an opportunity to children to engage their minds in creative and active pursuits away from the indoctrination of TV. They learn new things which makes them confident” Normally, children believe summer vacation is for watching and re-watching runs and re-runs of their favourite shows and to fiddle with their cool videogames. “Normally children stay indoor these days. By enrolling in an active sport like horse riding or skating they get the much-needed reprieve from TV and the necessary exercise”, says she.

Namita, spokesperson for Alpine school says, “The whole philosophy behind summer camps is to keep children busy by engaging them in creative pursuits without encumbering them with the burden of studies.”

Shopping for summer camps

Many playschools in conjunction with various hobby classes spring summer camps in these months to cash on the trend. They may be a viable option as they are in the neighbourhood, still if you are deciding on summer camp, it is advisable to talk to your children and explore their areas of interests.

Activity—the kind of activity in the camp should be in sync with the interest of the child. Gitanjali Dogra, manager with Amadeus school Gurgaon, says, “Amadeus school offers sporty activities like horse riding and skating, and have facilities of swimming pool for children and parents alike.”
Counsellor—As goes with any group-based activity a moderator or counsellor is assigned to a group. The group should be large enough to foster interaction and small enough to be monitored. Ideally, seven to eight members in a group suffice.
Duration—Summer vacations are meant for unwinding and relaxing. A camp engaging children for a duration longer than three-four hours and more than four weeks thwarts the purpose and begins to double up as day-care.
Transport—You got to find about the pick-up and drop facilities. Alpine school offers free transport on their bus route, informs Namita.
Meals—Will the children get some refreshments at the camp or will they need to carry their own?
Amount of activities—Any camp that boasts of doing too many activities will not do justice to even one.
Cost— Summer camps come at a tag of Rs. 500 per week to Rs. 1500 per week.
Flexibility—Will the programme allow you to enroll for a week or two or you have to enroll for a month?

Before scouting for summer camps it is a good idea to have a heart-to-heart talk with children on what they wish to do. After all, children should be interested in the array of activities that are on offer in the summer camp to make most of it.

Burdensome education

2008-04-22T10:35:00.005+05:30

A new school year is here! Lugging heavy bags to school have become an integral part of school life.

Check that bag
Children between the ages of 6 and 14 are typically in their formative ages. At this stage the body's vital organs are not fully developed and are therefore more vulnerable to injury. The heavy book load that children are subjected to carry lead to physical stress and poor posture, which may have repercussions on spine health.

Dr S. P. Mandal, senior consultant, department of orthopaedics, Sir Gangaram Hospital reveals the health hazards of lugging heavy backpack. He expresses, “Heavy backpacks affect your child's health in many ways. The pressure of the belt in the bag presses the vital structure of shoulder and neck, due to which in the long term can cause muscle fatigue and neurovascular embarrassment.”

“Ideally for a ten-year-old child the weight of school bag should not exceed beyond two to three kilos”, advises he.

Tips to load-off

Encourage your children to check their timetable carefully to minimize the load to be carried.
Your child's school should provide lockers as a storage space to lighten the load.
Help your child to avoid countless bulky books, which make your child's load too heavy.
Keep a set of textbooks, which can be shared by groups of students.
Provision of safe drinking water and hygienic food in the school canteen instead of allowing them to carry these from home.
Also encourage your child's teachers to plan ahead and inform students when texts are not required for lessons so that they are not carrying unnecessary loads.

Some schools like Excelsior American School, Gurgaon believe in the philosophy of going ‘bag-less’. Parents need to help the school in this effort and Shalini Nambiar, Director of Excelsior American School, Gurgaon, gives some advice in this regard— “Check that backpack on a regular basis. They are typically full of unnecessary items. ... I think if you went through the backpacks, you could shed 10 pounds just like that.”

“Isn't school a place to study and home a place for parents to spend quality time? I often have parents insisting on homework but one needs to give this keeping the age of the child in mind. Homework should be re-enforcement of what is being done in school and if it is well planned then children don’t need to carry loads of books back home,” she adds.

When kids learn to lie

2008-04-10T14:15:00.006+05:30

Parenting is akin to enrolling yourself in a school. Everyday springs new surprises and has lessons to offer, wise parents keep learning and moving on. Often, parents feel shocked when they learn that their otherwise honest and truthful child has begun to experiment with lies. While some lies are innocuous and are products of overactive imagination, there are some, which are spoken intentionally. Now, there is a good and bad news attached to it—the good news is that the child has become grown up enough to tamper with facts to wriggle out of awkward situations like an adult to save his skin and the bad news is that he has learned to lie.

Agreed, these lies are not big and are usually in response to the questions that children prefer to avoid, yet lying is not good.

Why kids lie?
Lying is a symptom and it calls for parental affection and concern. My friend's eight-year-old, daughter Sagarika complained of unexplained aches and pains in her leg just before the Kathak class. The pains would last only for an hour. Her mother insisted on taking her to the class and sat through out the session. She found that Sagarika was not able to dance like the older girls in her class and felt de-motivated for this reason. When she joined the class meant for girls of her age group, she became the star dancer and her pains vanished. ‘Now, in fact, she looks forward to her Kathak class’, says the beaming mother.

Sometimes what we call lying is just a figment of imagination. Kids live in make-believe world and their thoughts correspond accordingly.

Many a time unknowingly parents introduce their children to the web of lies. What do we expect our children to learn when we ask our spouse, friend or staff to answer a phone call for us and concoct an excuse for us. The impressionable minds of children are quick to learn that adults tamper with facts, and so can they.
Often, parents tend to attach strings to their love towards the child. Sometimes this can coerce your child to tamper with truth because s/he wants to conform to the standards set by parents.

If you find that your child experiments with lies make them understand that lies erode trust. Have faith in your children and try to get to the root of lying; you might find a fear lurking there.
As kids grow they become more independent and want to exert that too. Often lying becomes an escape route to wriggle out. Try to see them the reason behind your questions and they are likely to conform to your expectations. Have faith, your kids are going to get out of this habit.

Raising children with healthy body image

2008-03-25T15:36:00.006+05:30

Weight has always been a tricky subject. With new entrants--young girls who are obsessed with their reed thin frame, the weight imbroglio has taken a dangerous turn. Media has a role in it because it continuously beams unrealistic body images. Girls as young as four have deciphered their body image and there is absolute clarity on the subject. Thin is what they want and will strive to be, and thin has a name now—it is size zero, the size Paris Hilton is and closer home Kareena Kapoor has reduced herself to.

No denying the fact that obesity invites several health complications and there is a greater likelihood for obese children to grow in obese adults, yet this degree of fanaticism with weight scares parents and has reasons to do so. Size zero has been linked to anorexia nervosa and bulimia, which involves extreme steps like starvation and throwing up after having food to lose weight.

Repercussions

If a growing body is starved of calories, it leads to frequent attacks of giddiness and hypogly-caemia (a sinking feeling due to low blood sugar level).
These children become more prone to infection, as their immunity takes a nosedive. We have seen a rise in cases of tuberculosis in young adults even in well-to-do families.
Fewer calories create a hormonal imbalance and cases of irregular periods are common among teenage girls. They appear tense and frequently complain of headaches.
Among boys, inadequate calorie intake may result in delayed growth pattern. The body becomes more prone to hypocalcaemia (low level of calcium in the blood) thus becoming vulnerable to fractures.
‘Parents have a sensitive task before them. They have to maintain a very delicate balance between promoting a healthy weight and placing too much importance on body weight’, says Evelyn Tribole in her book Intuitive Eating anti-diet and self-help book.

Ten tips to instill a healthy body image

Educate your child about the genetic differences in body types and the nature of prejudice.
Avoid placing judgments upon people who do not meet your standards for beauty. Refrain from giving critical comments like, "You"ll look more beautiful if you lose some pounds," or "Don't eat so much. It will make you fat."
Discuss with your child the dangers of trying to alter body shape through dieting. Emphasize the value of choosing the right kinds of food and moderate exercise for stamina and cardiovascular fitness.
Avoid labeling foods as "good" or "bad" and "low-fat" or "fattening".
Be a good role model in regard to sensible eating, sensible exercising and self-acceptance.
Help your child develop appreciation for others - especially women - for who they are and what they do and not for what they look like or how they dress up.
Do not limit your child's calorie intake unless a physician has instructed you to do so. Children need a variety of foods including fats, protein and carbohydrates for their growth and body maintenance.
Allow your child to be active and to enjoy what they do and feel. Encourage them to exercise for their health rather than their weight.
Give them a lesson in metabolism. It is a known fact that our metabolism slows down when we cut down our intake of calories.
Promote your child's self-esteem and self-respect in every aspect of their being, including intellectual, athletic and social endeavors.

With your support, your child will overcome her fixation with body image. This is the time when children should feel secure in the growth of their body and that’s the way to be.

Holi Hai!!

2008-03-11T12:39:00.007+05:30

The festival of colours is round the corner. The official welcome of spring, a time of new beginnings and blossoms can also become a time, when you scurry to your paediatrician's office with your kid in tow. Kids go wild while playing Holi. Read ahead to learn safe ways to celebrate Holi and have more fun minus the inconvenience and pains. This sounds a better way of celebrating Holi.

What meets eye
During Holi eye injuries are on rise, a majority of them result from balloons hitting an eye. .

Eye traumas arising out of Holi include –

Direct injury- when a water-filled balloon hits an eye, it causes maximum damage and it could result in vision loss of the affected eye.
Abrasion and problems due to chemical toxicity- Usually sand and mica, glass, talc and starch are mixed in colour. It damages eye, may result in impairment of the eyesight. If the coloured water splashes in eyes it can damage the ocular surface and cause temporary visual disability, discomfort and complications that pose a great danger to the vision.

Toxic colours
Colours appear innocent but they are not. Colours can harbour acids, powdered glass and asbestos, silica, oxides, copper sulphate and mercury sulphite to name a few. The speckled shine in colours comes from silica and mica - substances that can cause skin irritations and even damage your vision.

Play safe

Dress your child in full-sleeve shirts and trousers, preferably denims.
Smear her with oil all over including hair.
If she agrees, make her wear dental caps to protect her teeth from staining.
Sunglasses can keep her eyes safe.
Buy natural colours and refrain from using colours with toxic chemicals.

After-effects
If your child feels nauseous after playing with colours, take him/her to the doctor immediately. Aloe Vera gel and Calamine lotion are good skin soothers post the celebrations. If coloured water splashes in the eyes of your child wash with lukewarm water. Watch out for the clarity of the vision, in case the child complains that the clarity of the vision is affected take her/ his to an eye-specialist immediately.

Winning formula for exams

2008-02-28T11:39:00.009+05:30

Exams exasperate. Now, that they are almost there, students are cramming their textbooks with feverish pitch. Nevertheless, many times children fear that they are not able to retain what they have studied and their mind is as blank as a blackboard. The stress levels soar high during the exam time and parents need to learn PQRST model to help their child with revisions so that the fears of children could be put to rest.
Imperial College London has suggested PQRST, which is a good revision technique that can be used
Preview - skim the material to get an overall preview
Questions - formulate questions that highlight what you aim to derive from your reading
Read Actively - make appropriate notes of key ideas
Summarize - identify the main points using lists, key words, flow diagrams, etc. and connect them with knowledge from other sources
Test - test yourself by reciting and reviewing the summaries immediately after learning the material and again at later intervals

A good way for effective retention is to take breaks while studying.

Strategy inside the exam hall
Writing exams is an art and like all other arts it needs to be mastered. After all, this is the place which judges your academic accomplishments in a time of three hours. Naturally, stress and exam hall go together. Take help from tips mentioned below to score better in the exams--

Map your time. This is the primary rule of writing an exam. Read the questions carefully and allot time to writing answers to these. While solving numerical questions if you are getting stuck, it is a good idea to move on and return to the question later. Always strive to have 15 minutes in hand so that you can revise the answers before handing your answer-sheet.

Avoid irrelevance. This is not going to fetch you any mark and your will waste your time.

Write in a legible handwriting and avoid grammatical and spelling errors. It becomes difficult for examiner to give marks if s/he can't read what you have written. Spelling errors and grammatical mistakes are a big put off.

Underline important points. Leave a line between paragraphs and between the answers. They may sound common sense, nevertheless are overlooked in the hurry to complete the answers.

Start your answers with crisp definitions, and give relevant diagrams wherever necessary.

Tips for parents

Exam time is stressful for children. However, with the support of parents children can beat stress.
Be affectionate with the child but your over-attention is going to make him/ her uncomfortable.
Spend some light moments with your child. It could be sitting at the dinner table and sharing some jokes with the family.
Forget about an exam as soon as your child has appeared for it, ruminating over it is not going to help you or your child. Inculcate the same in your child.
Do not set down rules for your child; let the child follow his or her routine while studying
Encourage your child to take adequate breaks.
See that the child gets eight hours of shut-eye.
Nutritious food is essential for your child but steer clear of foods that are high in fat and sugar.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are the best bet.
It is however recommended that in extreme cases of stress, insomnia and tearfulness expert consultation should be sought.

Finally, children remember external pressures around exams can be huge. It can be hard to deal with, especially with family and people you respect, but you need to remember that it's your life and your exam, with you in control. Also try to put the last exam out of your mind and look ahead to the next one - you can't go back and change things.

Day-care dilemmas

2008-02-12T14:44:00.005+05:30

There is no place like home. But for mothers who work day-care is inevitable and so is the dilemma. When it comes to children we hate to compromise, yet many of us are ignorant of the facts, one should look for while deciding on a day-care.

Checklist

Go by the word of mouth. While deciding on a day-care, go for one, which is highly recommended. Seek the opinion of other mums.
Find out adult to child ratio. Experts say that crèche should have a realistic child-staff ratio. That is one adult to four two-year-olds or six three-year-olds. Avoid crèche that is run by ayahs, maids rather than mothers and facilitators.
Is it clean? Look for a day-care that is clean and comfortable. This means toilet flushes should be in working conditions, clean toilets and mattresses to loll around the daytime. Staff should be aware of hand washing practices.
Are children punished? Corporal punishment is a big no. So is a crèche that ostracises children by making them wear badges for an unacceptable behaviour. A day-care that reprimands children for accidental leakages is to be avoided.
Safety. Safety is of paramount concern. Have a close look at the driver who ferries children in the van. If the school employs a teenaged driver then reject the day-care immediately. Does a maid accompany children in the school van? Do they keep tissue papers to wipe nose of children and water with plastic cups in the van. Do they have child-proof switchboards? Is the toilet seat low for toddlers?
Could you visit anytime? An open door policy for parents is what you want. Does the place seem clean whenever you walk in? Large imposing gates are intimidating and a day-care that does not allow you easy access to your child is not a good idea, after all.
Activities. A day-care should endeavour to have a healthy mix of activities. Children should have a routine to follow for all their activities, which should offer age-appropriate stimulation.
Open space. A day-care that offers open space like a jungle gym or a park is preferable to one that does not have this kind of space. Young children need open areas to expend their energy.
Number of children. Smaller the size of daycare better it is. Also it is not a great idea to mix children of different age groups, as they have different requirements.
First aid knowledge. The staff should be trained enough to handle emergency situations. Children as well the staff should follow the vaccination chart religiously.

If you feel that your baby is not accepting day-care, there has to be some inherent problem with the day-care, or your child is not ready to accept separation from the mother. To make transition easier start looking for better options—like a crèche at work, working from home, flexi-timings, so that you are able to spend more time with your baby.

BEAT BULLYING

2008-01-30T10:37:00.003+05:30

What bullying does?

In our growing years we all have faced bullying, either we were bullied or we did the bullying. All said and done, bullying is a universal phenomenon. Though years later, you may recover from the aftereffects, while you are undergoing it does make life difficult and miserable for the victim. Without doubt, it erodes confidence of the victim and when s/he decides to retaliate, the price may be steep sometimes stained with blood, as we witnessed recently in Gurgaon. Everyday in our schools, families and neighbourhoods children are tormented, teased and bullied for their looks, accents, intelligence and backgrounds--to name a few. No doubts, bullying is a big menace and we need to do someting to curb this.

Bullying takes many forms: it isn't all physical violence, it is also verbal and social abuse. Passing a nasty remark, a snigger, calling names come under the purview of bullying. Bullying erodes the confidence of the vicim and often stems from low levels of self confidence of the bully.

Bullying can't be brushed away, rather it needs active parental intervention as well support of school to curb this menace. Spending quality as well quantity time with children is mandatory to curb bullying. Listen to what they have to say because in our hurry we often forget to hear what kids need to share, and if you get a whiff of the fact that your child is bullied, do not ignore it, rather complain and take action. Let us all join our hands to beat bullying and not bullies.

Health Web Sites

2008-01-19T10:19:00.001+05:30

www.guardian.in

www.myhealthguardian.com

www.gncindia.in

www.guardianlifecare.com