- Sudden
infant death syndrome or SIDS is not a large problem in India
because our family system ensures that there is always someone
with the baby.
- Infants
prefer sharp contrasting colours, rather than the pastels generally
preferred by mothers!
-
Toys hung for your baby should be hung slightly on the side
rather than straight above him. Also think how these toys will
look to the baby who is going to see them from below. Most such
toys are not made keeping in mind the requirement of babies.
They may look nice to the parents but all that is visible to
the prime audience, is the unattractive bottom of the toy.
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Soft toys are not the ideal toys for infants, contrary to popular
belief. They not only attract dust and are therefore a source
of infection but also tend to lose fur, which is not good for
the baby. Also there is the danger of these toys inadvertently
smothering the baby.
-
Honey is harmful to babies
- it
is viscous and thick could choke a small baby
-
it is unsterilized and therefore a source of infection
-
it also contains spores that are harmless to adults but
cause botulism in children.
These dangers remain even if honey is only touched to the
tongue.
-
The stomach capacity of a newborn is small and the body digests
milk in 2-2 ½ hours. Hence the 3 hour feeding schedule.
Also breast milk is digested faster than bottle-feed.
-
The massage oil is not important. It is the act of touching
gently and singing or talking to your child (as you message)
that brings maximum benefit to both of you.
-
One year olds tend to be somewhat farsighted and have limited
depth perception. This improves by age two but it is not till
roughly 10 years that vision reaches 20-20.
-
Walkers encourage frequent accidents and walker dependent babies
often take longer to learn to walk independently.
-
The bladder up to the age of 21 months, can't hold urine for
longer than a few seconds, so it is wrong to expect the child
to be toilet trained. It is only once the child is 3 years old
that his bladder begins to hold urine for more than 2-3 hours
at a time.
-
Don't save a bowl of food the baby has eaten from for the next
meal, since enzymes and bacteria from baby's saliva will begin
"Digesting" the food, turning it watery and causing
it to spoil more quickly.
-
It is common practice to warm orange juice before giving it
to the child. This not only destroys the Vitamin C in it, but,
being acidic, can also cause irritation to the stomach.
-
Minimize the damaging effects of sugary foods by giving a small
piece of cheese at the end of the meal. Cheese has been shown
to counteract the acid producing effects of sugar.
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Even if the toothbrush still looks new, change it after six
or eight weeks because over time bacteria from the mouth accumulate
on the brush.
-
When visiting the doctor with your child take plenty of toys,
games and books for your child to occupy him in the waiting
room.
-
The first three years of a child's life largely determines future
development in the fields of personality, health, emotional
development, educational attainment, social competence, self-confidence
and self-reliance.
-
Children by and large grow in spurts. A toddler may remain the
same height for a couple of months and then suddenly shoot up
an inch virtually overnight.
-
Tired of toddler scribbles on your walls?
- Try
and sit him down to draw with you on a large sheet of paper.
Then frame it or hang it somewhere visible and praise it
to everyone who comes. Simultaneously every time he scribbles
on the wall, make him help you clean it and tell him (without
anger) that walls are not the right place for art work..
- Cover
one wall with sheets of brown paper, upto the level of the
child's reach. Tell your child that this is his drawing
board and let him run wild!
-
Afraid of taking plane trips with your child for fear of what
pressurization and depressurization will do to her ears?
- Try
hot towels. Check that they aren't too hot and then place
over the ears. The heat expands the air in the middle ear,
relieving pressure on the eardrum.
-
Try making the child suck on something. A lollipop is ideal
for this purpose.
-
To minimize risk of eyestrain because of TV, keep the room lighted,
adjust the lighting to minimize glare from the screen, insist
on breaks every half hour and make sure the child sits at a
distance atleast 5 times the width of the screen.
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Tobacco smoke increases the risk of ear infection. So keep smokers
away from the child.
-
3-4 is the right age to start swimming lessons for a child.
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Dental checkups should begin by the time a child is 2 ½
-3 years old.
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Did you know that tense, anxious mothers tend to have tense,
cranky children?
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