Tips For Kids Health The good news is that you don't need a degree in nutrition to raise healthy kids. Following some basic guidelines can help you encourage your kids to eat right and maintain a healthy weight. Here are 10 key rules to live by: 1. Parents control the supply lines: You decide which foods to buy and when to serve them. Though kids will pester their parents for less nutritious foods, adults should be in charge when deciding which foods are regularly stocked in the house.They'll eat what's available in the cupboard and fridge at home. 2.From the foods you offer: Kids get to choose what they will eat or whether to eat at all.Schedule regular meal and snack times. From the selections you offer, let them choose what to eat and how much of it they want. This may seem like a little too much freedom. But if you follow step 1, your kids will be choosing only from the foods you buy and serve. 3.Quit the "clean-plate club": Let kids stop eating when they feel they've had enough. Lots of parents grew up under the clean-plate rule, but that approach doesn't help kids listen to their own bodies when they feel full. When kids notice and respond to feelings of fullness, they're less likely to overeat. 4.Start them young: Food preferences are developed early in life, so offer variety. Likes and dislikes begin forming even when kids are babies. You may need to serve a new food on several different occasions for a child to accept it. Don't force a child to eat, but offer a few bites. 5. Rewrite the kids' menu: Who says kids only want to eat pizza, burgers, and macaroni and cheese? When eating out, let your kids try new foods and they might surprise you with their willingness to experiment. 6. Drink calories count: Soda and other sweetened drinks add extra calories and get in the way of good nutrition. Water and milk are the best drinks for kids. Juice is fine when it's 100%, but kids don't need much of it 4 to 6 ounces a day is enough for pre-schoolers. 7.Put sweets in their place: Occasional sweets are fine, but don't turn dessert into the main reason for eating dinner. When dessert is the prize for eating dinner, kids naturally place more value on the cupcake than the broccoli. 8. Food is not love: Find better ways to say "I love you." When foods are used to reward kids and show affection, they may start using food to cope with stress or other emotions. Offer hugs, praise, and attention instead of food treats. 9. Kids do as you do: Be a role model and eat healthy yourself. When trying to teach good eating habits, try to set the best example possible. Choose nutritious snacks, eat at the table, and don't skip meals. 10. Limit TV and computer time: When you do, you'll avoid mindless snacking and encourage activity. Research has shown that kids who cut down on TV- watching also reduced their percentage of body fat. When TV and computer time are limited, they'll find more active things to do. And limiting "screen time" means you'll have more time to be active together.
SIBLING WORRIES The second one was born recently and your first is already having insecurity issues? Parents have to start prepping up the older kids of the new arrival much before the delivery. Always encouraging the child of being a responsible as a big one is good. Never neglect the first one just because you are tired or irate. In that case, let your partner take care of the elder one without him/her knowing that you cant handle them now. Buy them a small baby doll and let them get attached to it as they do to a sibling. Once, the li'l one arrives, it will be easier. they will be able to relate and feel comfortable even with a young one around. Assign small and easy chores to the elder one, like holding the towel while you are giving the baby a bath, getting you the diapers, watching the baby in a swing/ craddle while you are cooking. Keep an eye however, the elder ones can be skillfully naughty. They might be good at handling their baby dolls, so they might think they can lift the real baby too. Make it clear to them that the real baby is Mom's or Dad's responsibility to carry. Praise them everytime they help with the baby. Once in a while, handover the bay to your spouse and you spend some good time with the elder one. - Prathyusha Talluri More articles from this author..... BABY WALKERS CONFIDENCE ISSUES
BABY WALKERS Parents are afraid if their li'l babies might fall while still learning to walk and they put them in a walker, but walkers actually dont encourage babies to start walking on thier own. Babies who generally have been in walkers are afraid to start walking on their own, without any support, they are so used to taking the help of these walking aids. Walkers can be used but only after the baby has learnt to take initial steps. Walkers should be used to support an already walking child but not to stop babies from walking and tipping over. Walkers are a hazard when there are staircases at home, when there are door stoppers in between, where the rooms are at different levels. Once babies learn to walk, they learn to run too, walkers with wheels allow babies to speed up. They reach things they cant, walkers allow them to be naughty too. This is not to scare the parents, but supervision is always necessary when these baby gears are used. Dont put the baby in a walker and relax. - Prathyusha Talluri More articles from this author..... BETTER NAPS Joy Of Pregnancy
CONFIDENCE ISSUES A Child's love is pure. They love immensely and depend so much on parents. They chant the names of their friends daily. Its important that parents watch what a child does and whom they make friends with. But, over watching, and warning the child on everything he/she does is not good. It forces the child to loose self-confidence, they depend on parents even after growing up. The words "NO, YOU CAN'T DO IT, DON'T DO IT" are not good always. Parents have to teach children to help their selves and to be careful while doing things. Encouraging a child to do a job and being available to offer help is a good start, slowly the child learns to do it on his/her own and knows that parents always and only come when its time to help. A child also looses confidence in a person when parents are not spending time with the child, when parents are not beside them to soothe a painful situation and share happiness with the child. Teaching a child to trust others and also being careful of over-dependency on anyone is very important. This way, they make friends easily and are careful of not being bullied or hurt in relationships. - Prathyusha Talluri More articles from this author..... SHOPPING WITH KIDS MILESTONES
SHOPPING WITH KIDS You need your toddler to sit in the cart, but he's too busy pulling items off the shelf or trying to climb out of the seat. And when you reprimand him/her, a meltdown follows soon! One of the key ways to avoid a tantrum is to first limit the number of errands you run with your child in a day. "If you've been there a long time or it is one of a series of errands you're running, then you're probably asking for trouble." So if you need to do the grocery shopping, try to make that your one big errand of the day and only once. Before you go in, remind your child of the rules and what is expected of him in the store. Let him know he's going to be secured in the cart (letting him sit in the back or stand on the cart is dangerous) or expected to hold your hand as you walk through the store. You can try to make the experience more fun by involving your child in the shopping: asking him which cereal/fruit he would like, if he would like to hold the cereal/fruits, etc. For each privilege he gets (for example, choosing his own cereal) link it to his wonderful behavior right now. And if he begins to tantrum? "Look away and ignore until the tantrum is over". "Don't worry about what other people in the store think--they're just happy it isn't their child at that moment!". - Prathyusha Talluri More articles from this author..... MILESTONES BETTER NAPS
MILESTONES Milestones are to be remembered!! They are sweet memories, achievements, good turning points in ones life. Such are milestones in every child's life. However, they are definitely not yet ready to achieve rewards but only if they cross a milestone are they considered to be growing well and healthy..some babies skip these but ultimately everything settles for good!! 3-6 Months: Babies observe our facial expressions. its important that we exhibit positive, happy expressions as babies tend to mimic ours. This same observation improves and helps thier concentrating ability in the future. 9-12 Months: Babies observe the different colors and shapes. Use household cardboard boxes or plasticware to stack up and help the child crash those down using his/her hand. This simple game improves their eye-hand coordination and teaches cause-effect relationship. 1+ Years: Present a soft toy or any child-friendly toy to the child and try to use it as a puppet. Talk to the child and help them learn to answer simple questions like "what is your name? what is your Dad's/ Mom's name? " It helps the child think and answer questions and improves language skills as they are ready to learn your language, infact any language. But dont use more than 2 languages at home, its so confusing. Specially Mom should use only one language always, the moment the child notices Mom is talking in a different language frequently, the child's brain is confused. 2+ Years: Taking the child to the zoo, educational-science exhibitions meant for li'l ones is exciting at this stage. They identify the famous animals. Read books to them, show animals, fruits, vegetables that we come across regularly. It is helpful to promote early education. Thier fresh brain captures things fast, so make sure they are not exposed to Cruel, Voilent TV Shows, this point is not meant for children of 2+yrs age but for children of any age. 3+ Years: Children learn to reciprocate and reproduce your actions. Teaching them to sing a good song, a lengthy rhyme is helpful in pronouncing long words. Even if you cant play any instrument, play one in your music system or encourage the child to play one just by giving a drum to the child. This improves concentration and hearing ability. - Prathyusha Talluri More articles from this author..... BETTER NAPS SLEEP WELL
BETTER NAPS Newborn-hood comes with a free sleep package...Babies sleep and sleep...by 3 months, parents have to plan of setting up a nap schedule. Putting the baby to nap at the same time everyday will set his/her internal clock to be sleepy at those moments, wherever they are. If the baby wakes up at 6 am everyday, put him/her back to sleep at 8 am. Repeat for nap no.3, 4. If they fight sleep, check in on them every 5,10,15 minutes. Dont pick them up but stand beside and speak in a slow, soothing tone or sing a lullaby. Then leave the room so they can help themselves to sleep. It helps to have a naptime routine ---sing a lullaby, read a book. And be sure to keep the room dark and reasonably quiet. The moment it is nap time, close the curtains, turn off the lights, take the story book and the baby will soon know that after an array of all these things, sleep comes and automatically, everyday. Repeating these things everytime, in addition to changing the dress or giving him/her a warm bath at night makes the baby learn that it is not a naptime but sleep time at night and that they can sleep longer until morning. By the end of 5 months age, they will learn to sleep around 8pm, make sure to follow your routine else they will take a nap at 8pm and wake up afresh at 10pm when you are ready for bed.... - Prathyusha Talluri More articles from this author..... SLEEP WELL ENOUGH EXERCISE
SLEEP WELL There is no one single answer when asked how much sleep do babies really need. Some babies snooze longer at night; others love their daytime naps. Here are some guidelines on the total number of hours they need to sleep. AGE DAILY AMOUNT OF SLEEP NO.OF DAY TIME NAPS NEWBORN 10 to 18 Hours Round the clock naps that last 2 to 4 hours 3 MONTHS 15 Hours 2 to 4 naps, 30to 2 minutes hours each 6 MONTHS 14 Hours 2 to 3 naps, 45 to 2 minutes hours each 1 YEAR OLD 13 to 14 Hours 2 naps, 1 to 1.5 each hours Based on the table above, a baby can sleep the maximum time, splitting the time between daytime naps and sleep at night. Consulting the pediatrician if the child sleeps too less or too much than the hours mentioned as per their age is suggested for the well-being of the child. Some babies tend to sleep more if one of the parents has the habit or if any medication is being taken. - Prathyusha Talluri More articles from this author..... PLAY TIME Are you friendly ?
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ENOUGH EXERCISE Not just elders, even kids need to exercise. Infact, there is a minimum daily required time for every kid based on their age, a new European study has pinpointed. Pediatricians usually recommended 60 minutes of exercise for every kid, but this study has added few more minutes. The researchers tracked how active 3000 kids in the 2 to 9 yrs group were, then they estimated thier risk for heart disease based on factors like blood-sugar levels and body mass index. Result: Exercise time needs to increase as kids reach school age, and boys need more time than girls do. Fortunately, any physical activity like going for a walk, climbing the playground equipment, jogging, playing activity games that need physical movement will fit the bill. BOYS: 2-6 yrs 73 minutes 6-9 yrs 85 minutes GIRLS: 2-6 yrs 58 minutes 6-9 yrs 66 minutes - Prathyusha Talluri More articles from this author.... Its OK to be Bored FRESH ART IDEAS
Its OK to be Bored Step off the hectic, hyper-parenting wheel sometimes! Too much of organizing the child's calender with School, Co-Curricular activites, and music/ games coaching during the weekends...dont you feel its getting too busy? Organised activities are good for nourishment but the kids are not learning to entertain themselves. Suddenly someday when you are busy with your work or ill, and you cant take them to their friends' place or tuitions, they keep nagging "I am Bored" every 5 minutes. They have to know how to entertain themselves. And that is why, letting the kids be bored is good sometimes. There are so many kids in most of the neighborhoods but you never see them playing outside these days, as they are all running from one activity to the other, through the week. There is no one found if you want to set up a playdate for your children. It takes courage to accept that everything's going to be just fine if you dont enroll your kids for piano, basketball, math classes, and chess etc. Specialists say "Kids dont have to experience everything before age 8. Leave them something to discover on their own. and hanging around the house is wonderful--we dont have to protect our children from boredom. Infact, kids will figure out something to do when left to entertain themselves and discover new games or new hobbies/ special interests of their own" - Prathyusha Talluri More articles from this author..... FRESH ART IDEAS PLAY TIME
FRESH ART IDEAS Go beyond crayons and markers!! Encouraging kids to use natural materials helps them enjoy the process of making art. You dont draw with them or set any standards, let them loose, on their own, however, do the kid-proofing much before hand, because you know how messy the walls and floor can get. Present natural objects such as leaves, shells, dry fruits, grains, pine cones. Let them choose and arrange the objects on a canvas or a drawing chart in their own imaginary ways of various patters and designs. You will be surprised. Shaving Cream: Spray shaving cream unless too expensive, with Dad's permission! onto a foil board or tray and add a few drops of food color. Let the child wear gloves and blend colors, make designs in the foam....watch to not let the child swallow it. One Children's Museum in USA follows this technique. PrintMaking: Collect everyday objects like bottle caps, wood pieces, cotton balls, ear buds, leaves, vegetable slices, sponges, cork, marker caps and let children between ages 2-4 and up dip them in washable, non-toxic water colors to print their canvas. Clay towers: Get non-toxic clay, either colorful or mud clay, and encourage kids to make sculptures on thier own. - Prathyusha Talluri More articles from this author..... PLAY TIME Are you friendly ?
PLAY TIME Tummy time for Infants: New Moms know that floor time helps babies develop their neck and tummy muscles, as well as visual and motor skills. Its also the perfect time to watch your new little bundle of joy discover the world around them. Put them on a clean, soft floor once you know they can handle their neck. Get down on a Toddlers' level: The Toddler years are a great time to play sorting games that introduce basic math skills. You could also build towers out of building blocks to help tune fine motor skills, or just a Peekaboo with your kids to help them learn how to take appropriate risks and still feel safe. Dance party for School-age Kids: Older kids still benefit from one-on-one time, so transform the living room into a dance floor and get their friends and the whole family moving with a dance party. Whether you break loose with children's songs or rock out to top 40 hits, you'll be teaching your kids the importance of physical activity in a fun environment. - Prathyusha Talluri More articles from this author..... YOUR ATTITUDE COUNTS Are you friendly ?
మీ పిల్లలు చేసే అందమైన పనుల కోసం మీ ఇంట్లో పిల్లలు అల్లరి బాగా చేస్తుంటారా? మరి అలాంటి పిల్లలకు ఏదైనా పని చెప్తే ఎలా చేస్తారు? ఎదిగే పిల్లలకు పనులను ఎలా నేర్పించాలి? ఇలాంటి చిన్న చిన్న ప్రశ్నలకు కొన్ని చిట్కాలు ఉన్నాయి. అవి ఏంటో చూద్దామా! * పిల్లలకు చెప్పిన పని వెంటనే చేయ్యాలనుకోకూడదు. తగినంత సమయం ఇవ్వాలి. అయితే ఎవరైనా మంచినీళ్ళు అడిగితే ఇవ్వడం లాంటివి మాత్రం వెంటనే చెయ్యాలని చెప్పాలి. * పిల్లలు ఏ పని చేసిన కూడా ముందు ప్రశంసించి తర్వాత నిదానంగా తప్పుల్ని సరిచేస్తూ.." ఇలా చేస్తే బాగుండేది" అంటూ ప్రశాంతంగా చెప్పాలి. ఏదైనా పని చేసి వాళ్ళు విఫలమైతే కోప్పడకూడదు. మళ్ళీ ప్రయత్నించమని చెప్పాలి. అందులోని తప్పులను వారికీ సున్నితంగా చెప్పాలి. * పిల్లలకు ఏదైనా పని చేయమని చెప్పేటపుడు ప్రేమతో చెప్పండి. ఉదాహరణకు... "కొంచం గది సర్దిపెట్టమ్మా. నువ్వైతే బాగా అందంగా చేస్తావు" అని ప్రేమగా చెప్తే వాళ్ళు కచ్చితంగా చేస్తారు. * కొన్ని కొన్ని పనులు మనం చేసేటప్పుడు వారికి చూపిస్తూ, దగ్గరుండి వారికి చిన్న చిన్న పనులు నేర్పించడం వల్ల వారికి త్వరగా వస్తాయి. అంటే ఇది ఒక ట్రైనింగ్ లాగా అన్నమాట. * అలాగే పిల్లలకు పని భారం తెలియకుండా వారితో కబుర్లు చెబుతూ నేర్పించాలి. ఎప్పుడు అలసట అనిపించకుండా ఎలా పని చేయాలో నేర్పితే, అప్పుడు వాళ్ళు నేర్చుకోవడంలో ఉత్సాహం చూపిస్తారు. సంతోషంగా పని కూడా చేస్తారు. * మీ పిల్లలు చేసిన పనిని మీరు మెచ్చుకోవడమే కాకుండా, ఆ విషయాన్నీ ఇతరులతో పంచుకోండి. తన గదిని తను ఎంత శుభ్రంగా ఉంచుకుంటుందో, ఇల్లును ఎంత బాగా శుభ్రంగా చూసుకుంటుందో అంటూ తన స్నేహితులతో కూడా చెప్పండి. ఈ విధంగా చేయడం వలన వారిలో ఆత్మవిశ్వాసం పెరుగుతుంది. దాంతో వారు మరింత పని చేయడానికి ఎక్కువ శ్రద్ధ చూపిస్తారు.
HEALTHY BEVERAGES Sodas, Juices,Smoothies, Milk shakes,Chocolate milk or other beverages are Yummy and Tasty, sametime loaded with Sugar. Research has found that when pre-school age children consume sweetened beverages between meals, this more than doubles their risk of obesity. A typical Soda can contains upto 8 tablespoons of sugar. Hence beverages, even when named as Diet Soda are not good for anyone. Mothers generally feel fruit juice is better than these drinks, however, ready made fruit juices still contain artificial ingredients/ loads of sugar. Preparing fresh fruit juice at home is precious. Eating a fruit directly is even better. If you are travelling or find a ready to drink fruit juice for rescue, then diluting the juice with equal quantities of water will do the job. Babies who have been weened to Cow/ Buffalo milk should drink only whole/full fat milk upto the age of 2 years. School-age children and teens should drink low- fat or skim milk..this was not the story years ago, but due to other high-calorie junk food intake, even good fat intake is forced to be controlled. - Prathyusha Talluri More articles from this author..... YOUR ATTITUDE COUNTS SAY NO AT TIMES
YOUR ATTITUDE COUNTS We spoke about being able to say NO to a child at times, when there is no other way to discipline them. As you sent your limits, let the child know what she/he is permitted to do. Saying "No playing with mud inside the house" might frustrate them, instead say "lets play outside" and you take them with you. Beyond this, almost anything you might tell your child NOT TO DO, can be rephrased as a positive instruction and they will tend to obey. Instead of saying "No standing on the Chair", you can say "Chairs are for sitting, Dear" and Sometimes, repeatedly using the same kind of positive sentence might work if not the first time. If you sense a conflict developing, act as if you are on the same team as your child, behaving as your child's friend always. But if you break your own rule, make it very clear to them that you are angry and they have to follow. Hitting the child is definitely not a solution anyday, you will regret, if not today, you will...after 20 years, and that will be bitter. - Prathyusha Talluri More articles from this author..... SAY NO AT TIMES NEW MOMMY ME-TIME
SAY NO AT TIMES These days we see kids fidgeting with IPads, Cellphones, Laptops, and other devices, they are no more only for parents. Kids are so busy playing games and watching videos....Once gone are gone, once parents give those devices to the kids, they dont come back to us. Parents should not encourage these things. Never give them to a crying child to divert them. It becomes a habit slowly, they cry inorder to take the Ipad and play. And the result, they dont have any family time, they dont greet the guests when someone visits, which makes the guests comment on the parents and it becomes a talk of the town that you as a parent might not like atall, frequent complaint of boredomand headaches, problems with eyes. Make some rules: Parents dont have to keep saying No to everything but for a few, NO is the only word. When you dont introduce a thing to your child, the child will understand that its not something for him/her. Say "no screens at meals", there are parents who resort to Laptops, TVs, IPads just to make the child eat food. What follows, the child demands to have the TV turned on to eat. Let not you turn prey to the tricks. if your child does something good, dont reward them with ipads, instead buy a good book or take them to play. its the Era of Information Technology, they cant escape gadgets, but atleast save them when at home. "Multiple studies have shown that family meals help kids learn good nutrition and protect against weight problems as well as risky behaviours". Not just meal time, once they come home, they should be used to playing healthy with other kids and not sitting like couch potatoes and playing video games. - Prathyusha Talluri More articles from this author..... NEW MOMMY ME-TIME WRITE ON - FUN
Are you friendly ? Are you friendly?? Generally you are asked to question like this to yourself while dealing with your teenage kids. But have you ever noticed that your friendships and the way you deal with your friends are very effective to your kids while they are engaged with their friends? Yes, you read it right; it is very well known to us that, parents are the best role models to their children. But, now It is also proved that, parents still stand as role models for their kids while socialising too. Especially, when mother has friends, they observe their mother’s behaviour with her friends and try to adopt most of the patterns so very unconsciously. If you are jealous, attitude problem with your friends, kids will catch them and develop such behavioural patterns with their friends also. When you are kind to your friends, helpful and highly approachable, kids will surely learn this from parents and demonstrate such conduct in their friend circle. This means, knowingly or unknowingly you are deifying your child behaviour with their friends so as their circle. Hence try to be polite and warm with your friends and never try to find fault with your friends. This will help you and your children to be happy in life. - M.S.Bhavana