Natural Mosquito Repellent for Babies

How to Kill a Mosquito Before it Bites

Mosquitoes are a challenging pest to conquer, causing discomfort, isolated swelling and itching when they bite. For those who are allergic to mosquitoes, this becomes much more than a minor annoyance. It can actually become a medical emergency. Mosquitoes around the world carry diseases such as malaria and West Nile virus. Targeting larvae is the most-effective method of mosquito population control. It becomes more difficult, however, as mosquitoes move to adulthood. Attacking mosquitoes with multiple control methods is your best bet to killing the pests before they have the opportunity to bite.

Natural Mosquito Repellent for Babies

The buzz of mosquitoes is a sure, though unwelcome, sign of summer. With warm days and sunshine comes the pain and annoyance of mosquito bites, something you don't want your baby to endure. If you're uncomfortable with the idea of slathering your infant with chemicals, all-natural insect repellents are an effective alternative.

Baby walk

Print article

Walking

From bottom shuffle to wobbly totter, around now your baby’s likely to start learning how to walk. Child development expert Eileen Hayes explains what to expect as your baby starts to find her feet.

 On average, most babies take their first steps between 13 and 15 months old

How old should your baby be?

Walking, like all other developmental stages that your baby achieves, has quite a wide age variation that is entirely normal. Some babies may take a few unassisted steps as early as nine months, while others are still happily shuffling around on their bottoms at 18 months, though both of these are less common. On average, most babies take their first steps between 13 and 15 months old.

Don't panic

It can be tempting for parents to boast about early walking, talking and other skills. However, most late walkers soon catch up, and walking early doesn’t predict in any way how intelligent a baby is. It involves muscular development, not brain power, and this may occur more slowly in some babies.

Babies on the move

Learning to walk happens in stages. First, it’s likely your baby will start to try to pull herself to standing while holding on tightly to furniture. Once she’s mastered that, after a few weeks she’ll start to “cruise” – moving around upright, still holding on. She may be able to let go and stand still without any support. Finally she’ll let go to take her first unsupported steps.

Should you encourage walking?

Babies who have started early will need little encouragement! But there is no harm in helping your older baby practice the necessary skills. This might mean:
• holding her hands while pulling her up gently, and encouraging her to ‘walk’ while holding on
• placing her hands to grip the edges of a piece of low furniture, with her in an upright position
• leaving her barefoot as much as possible for a better, safer grip
• holding out a tempting toy: this encourages many babies to take the first few steps to grab hold of it
• choosing push-along toys with sturdy, stable handles, as these help many babies move around
• giving your baby time out of the playpen, cot or pushchair to get around.

Baby Walkers

Most experts don’t advise the use of baby walkers, and don’t believe they speed the process up in any way. Health visitor Christine Bidmead says, “Walking independently is so different from reliance on a baby walker. Pulling to stand and learning about balance is an important stage before letting go. Baby walkers can be fun, but should be used sparingly so that your baby can learn what she needs to know about moving through her own efforts.”

Shoes on, shoes off?

Buying first shoes is always exciting, though the thrill often wears off when you see the price and realise how quickly they are outgrown! Don’t be in too much of a rush. Most experts believe that barefoot is best when your baby’s learning to walk. This might not be practical outdoors or if it’s really cold, but you should let your new toddler toddle around as much as possible barefoot.

Baby's Eyes

by: Lawrence M. Kaufman, MD, PhD
Associate Professor

Vision contributes a great deal to an infant’s perception of the world. Many parents naturally are concerned about their child’s vision. Fortunately, serious eye conditions and blindness are rare in infants. Babies can, however have eye problems, so an eye checkup is still an important part of well-baby care. This issue of “Eye Facts” describes some eye problems that occur.

How and When Do a Baby’s Eyes Develop?
The eyes begin developing two weeks after conception. Over the next four weeks all of the major eye structures form. During this time the eye is particularly vulnerable to injury. For example, if the mother takes drugs or becomes infected with German measles, the eye can be malformed or damaged. During the last seven months of pregnancy the eye continues to grow and mature, and the nerve that connects the eye to the brain (optic nerve) is formed.
At birth a baby’s eye is about 75 percent of the size of an adult eye. During the first two years of life, the optic nerve, visual function and internal eye structures continue to develop.

What Can a Baby See?
The newborn’s visual acuity (sharpness of vision) is approximately 20/400. This is equivalent to seeing only the big letter “E” on an eye chart. Vision slowly improves to 20/20 by age 2 years. Color vision is present at birth.
Newborns at first don’t pay much attention to the visual world but normally will blink when light shines in their eye. By 6 to 8 weeks of age, infants will fix their gaze on an object and follow its movement.
A baby’s eyes should be well aligned (working as a team) by 4 months of age (see “strabismus” below). As the eyes become aligned, three-dimensional vision develops.

How Are a Baby’s Eyes Examined?
The first eye exam takes place in the newborn nursery. The pediatrician performs a screening eye exam to check for infections or structural problems with the eyes: malformed eyelids, cataracts, glaucoma or other abnormalities. When the baby is 6 months old, the pediatrician should check the baby’s eye alignment and visual fixation (how it focuses its gaze).
Pediatricians can treat simple eye problems such as pinkeye (conjunctivitis). If you or your pediatrician believes your baby has a more serious eye problem, which may require medical or surgical treatment, the infant should be referred to an ophthalmologist. No child is too young for a complete eye exam.
An eye doctor’s examination of a baby is similar to that performed on adults. The doctor evaluates the baby’s medical history, vision, eye muscles and eye structures.
The doctor assesses the baby’s vision by observing the following. Does the infant react to light shone in the eyes? Will the baby look at a face or follow a moving toy? Other, more sophisticated vision tests may be used if needed.
Eye drops are used to temporarily enlarge (dilate) the pupils for closer examination of the eyes. The drops may take 30 to 90 minutes to work. The eye doctor then uses an instrument to test the baby’s eye for a refractive error, such as nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism. Most children are farsighted at birth but usually not to a degree requiring glasses. However, a baby –even a newborn- can wear glasses if needed.
Finally, the eye doctor uses a lighted instrument with a magnifying glass (ophthalmoscope) to look inside the eye.

Which Eye Problems Occur in Infants?
Infections - Some newborns may catch conjunctivitis as they pass through the birth canal. Older babies can get this eye infection through exposure to persons infected with it. Infected eyes appear red and puffy and have a sticky discharge. Antibiotic eye drops may be given as treatment.
Blocked tear ducts - Tears drain from the eye through a duct, leading from the inside corner of the eyelid, and into the nose. Some babies are born with a blocked tear duct, which causes tears to back up and overflow. As these infants are prone to eye infections, antibiotics may need to be prescribed. In most cases, the tear ducts open on their own by 1 year of age. Sometimes massage therapy of the duct may be needed. Occasionally the ophthalmologist must perform a surgical procedure to unblock the tear duct.
Cataracts - Inside the eye is a lens that helps it focus, similar to the lens on a camera. The eye’s lens normally is crystal clear. Rarely, babies are born with a cataract- cloudiness of the lens that keeps light from passing through. Cataracts in infants usually are found by the pediatrician during newborn or well-baby exams. If the cataract is severe, the pupil appears white; surgery may be required to remove the cataract.
Strabismus - Strabismus means that the eyes are misaligned. For instance, one eye may be turned in- esotropia (crossed eye)- or turned out- exotropia (walleye). There are actually many forms of strabismus. Eye alignment is normally unsteady at birth but by 4 months of age the eyes should be straight. Any infant who continues to show an eye misalignment after 4 months of age or a child who later acquires strabismus should have a complete eye exam. Untreated strabismus may lead to amblyopia (see below). It is a myth that kids outgrow strabismus.


© University of Illinois Board of Trustees
Usage without written permission is prohibited.
Amblyopia - Amblyopia (commonly called lazy eye) is the medical term for a loss of vision in an apparently healthy eye. This occurs in babies and young children if there is an imbalance between the eyes. In these cases, the child may subconsciously use one eye more often. The other eye will then lose vision due to disuse. An eye imbalance can occur when there is cataract, strabismus, ptosis (droopy eyelid), eye injury or a refractive error that is worse in one eye. Amblyopia usually does not have symptoms and often is discovered at a school vision screening. It is ideally treated by an eye doctor before the child is 6 to 10 years old, or the vision loss will be permanent. Treatment encourages the child to use the lazy eye by wearing glasses, and/or wearing a patch over the “good” eye or instilling an eye drop to the good eye.
Ptosis - In a few children, the muscle that raises the upper eyelid fails to develop properly in one or both eyes. This muscle weakness, which causes the upper eyelid to droop, is called ptosis. When an eyelid droops and covers half the eye, that eye may mistakenly appear smaller than the other. Ptosis sometimes may result in amblyopia. If the ptosis is severe, surgery is required to lift the eyelid.

© University of Illinois Board of Trustees
Usage without written permission is prohibited.
Retinopathy of Prematurity - If a baby is born prematurely, the blood vessels in the eye that supply the retina are not fully developed. Sometimes these blood vessels develop abnormally and may damage the inside of the eye. Retinopathy of prematurity can be detected only during an ophthalmic exam, which should be performed in premature babies during the first few weeks of life. If the disease is advanced, the eye can be treated to prevent blindness.
Visual inattention - Sometimes an infant does not begin to pay attention to visual stimuli by 6 to 8 weeks of age, as is normal. This may be due to delayed development of the visual system, common in premature infants and also occurring in some full-term babies. Often the visual system will mature normally with time. However, visual inattention can also be a sign of eye disease and may result in permanent and/or progressive vision loss. A complete eye exam is in order if a full-term, healthy baby appears visually inattentive after 3 months of age.

10 principles of Raising a happy, healthy child

Raising a happy, healthy child is one of the most challenging jobs a parent can have -- and also one of the most rewarding. Yet many of us don't approach parenting with the same focus we would use for a job. We may act on our gut reactions or just use the same parenting techniques our own parents used, whether or not these were effective parenting skills.
Parenting is one of the most researched areas in the field of social science. No matter what your parenting style or what your parenting questions or concerns may be, from helping your child avoid becoming part of America's child obesity epidemic to dealing with behavior problems, experts can help.
In his book, The Ten Basic Principles of Good Parenting, Laurence Steinberg, PhD, provides tips and guidelines based on some 75 years of social science research. Follow them and you can avert all sorts of child behavior problems, he says.
Good parenting helps foster empathy, honesty, self-reliance, self-control, kindness, cooperation, and cheerfulness, says Steinberg, a distinguished professor of psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia. It also promotes intellectual curiosity, motivation, and encourages a desire to achieve. Good parenting also helps protect children from developing anxiety, depression, eating disorders, antisocial behavior, and alcohol and drug abuse.

What are the 10 principles of good parenting?

1. What you do matters. Whether it's your own health behaviors or the way you treat other people, your children are learning from what you do. "This is one of the most important principles," Steinberg explains. "What you do makes a difference...Don't just react on the spur of the moment. Ask yourself, What do I want to accomplish, and is this likely to produce that result?"
2. You cannot be too loving. "It is simply not possible to spoil a child with love," Steinberg writes. "What we often think of as the product of spoiling a child is never the result of showing a child too much love. It is usually the consequence of giving a child things in place of love -- things like leniency, lowered expectations, or material possessions."
3. Be involved in your child's life. "Being an involved parent takes time and is hard work, and it often means rethinking and rearranging your priorities. It frequently means sacrificing what you want to do for what your child needs to do. Be there mentally as well as physically."
Being involved does not mean doing a child's homework -- or correcting it. "Homework is a tool for teachers to know whether the child is learning or not," Steinberg says. "If you do the homework, you're not letting the teacher know what the child is learning."
4. Adapt your parenting to fit your child. Keep pace with your child's development. Your child is growing up. Consider how age is affecting the child's behavior.
"The same drive for independence that is making your 3-year-old say 'no' all the time is what's motivating him to be toilet trained," writes Steinberg. "The same intellectual growth spurt that is making your 13-year-old curious and inquisitive in the classroom also is making her argumentative at the dinner table."
5. Establish and set rules. "If you don't manage your child's behavior when he is young, he will have a hard time learning how to manage himself when he is older and you aren't around. Any time of the day or night, you should always be able to answer these three questions: Where is my child? Who is with my child? What is my child doing? The rules your child has learned from you are going to shape the rules he applies to himself.
"But you can't micromanage your child," Steinberg notes. "Once they're in middle school, you need to let the child do their own homework, make their own choices and not intervene."
6. Foster your child's independence. "Setting limits helps your child develop a sense of self-control. Encouraging independence helps her develop a sense of self-direction. To be successful in life, she's going to need both."
It's normal for children to push for autonomy, says Steinberg. "Many parents mistakenly equate their child's independence with rebelliousness or disobedience. Children push for independence because it is part of human nature to want to feel in control rather than to feel controlled by someone else."
7. Be consistent. "If your rules vary from day to day in an unpredictable fashion or if you enforce them only intermittently, your child's misbehavior is your fault, not his. Your most important disciplinary tool is consistency. Identify your non-negotiables. The more your authority is based on wisdom and not on power, the less your child will challenge it."
8. Avoid harsh discipline. Parents should never hit a child, under any circumstances, Steinberg says. "Children who are spanked, hit, or slapped are more prone to fighting with other children," he writes. "They are more likely to be bullies and more likely to use aggression to solve disputes with others."
"There are many other ways to discipline a child -- including 'time out' -- which work better and do not involve aggression."
9. Explain your rules and decisions. "Good parents have expectations they want their child to live up to," he writes. "Generally, parents overexplain to young children and underexplain to adolescents. What is obvious to you may not be evident to a 12-year-old. He doesn't have the priorities, judgment, or experience that you have."
10. Treat your child with respect. "The best way to get respectful treatment from your child is to treat him respectfully," Steinberg writes. "You should give your child the same courtesies you would give to anyone else. Speak to him politely. Respect his opinion. Pay attention when he is speaking to you. Treat him kindly. Try to please him when you can. Children treat others the way their parents treat them. Your relationship with your child is the foundation for her relationships with others."
For example, if your child is a picky eater: "I personally don't think parents should make a big deal about eating," Steinberg says. "Children develop food preferences. They often go through them in stages. You don't want to turn mealtimes into unpleasant occasions. Just don't make the mistake of substituting unhealthy foods. If you don't keep junk food in the house, they won't eat it."

How can parents avoid the dinnertime battle with their children?

Still, there are some gentle ways parents can nudge their kids toward more healthful eating habits. Here are a few thoughts from nationally known nutrition experts on how to get kids to go from being picky eaters to people with sound, varied diets:

• Avoid a mealtime power struggle. One of the surest ways to win the battle but lose the war is to engage in a power struggle with your child over food, says Jody Johnston Pawel, LSW, CFLE, author of The Parent's Toolshop. With power struggles, you're saying, "Do it because I'm the parent" and that's a rationale that won't work for long, she says. But if your child understands the why behind the rules, those values can lay the groundwork for a lifetime of sound food choices.
• Let kids participate. Get a stepstool and ask your kids to lend a hand with easy tasks in the kitchen, says Sal Severe, PhD, author of How to Behave So Your Children Will, Too. "If they participate in helping to make the meal, they are more likely to want to try it," he says. Older children and teens can begin to prepare special meals or dishes by themselves. Get teens started learning to prepare healthy foods before it's time to live on their own.
• Don't label. Severe reminds parents that, more often than not, kids under 5 are going to be selective eaters. "Being selective is actually normal," says Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD. She prefers the term "limited eater" to the more negative term "picky."
• Build on the positives. "When I sit down with parents, we'll often find that their child actually does eat two or three things from each food group," says Ward. Just as children can get comfort from reading the same story over and over, they enjoy having a set of "predictable" foods. "Even though they aren't getting a wide variety of foods, they are actually doing OK nutritionally," says Ward. When the child goes through a growth spurt and has a bigger appetite, use that opportunity to introduce new foods, she recommends.
• Expose, expose, expose. Ward says a child needs to be exposed to a new food 10 to 15 times before he or she will accept it. But many parents give up long before that. So, even if your child only plays with the strawberry on her plate, don't give up. One day, she just may surprise you by taking a bite. But don't go overboard, says Severe. Limit exposure to one or two new foods a week.
• Don't bribe. Avoid using sweets as a bribe to get kids to eat something else, says Pawel. That can send the message that doing the right thing should involve an external reward as well as reinforces the pattern that eating unhealthy foods is a good way to reward yourself . The real reward of sound nutrition is a healthy body, not a chocolate cupcake.
• Beware of oversnacking. Sometimes the problem isn't that the child doesn't like new foods but that they are already full, says Ward. "Kids can consume a lot of their calories as milk and juice." Encourage the kids to drink water rather than juice when they're thirsty. You can also create flavored waters by adding a splash of their favorite juice to sparkling or still water. The same goes for snacks that provide little more than calories, such as chips, sweets, and sodas. "If you are going to offer snacks, make sure they are supplementing meals, not sabotaging them," she says.
• Establish limits. Having a set of bottom-line limits can help a parent provide some consistency, says Pawel. For example, parents may require that kids eat nutritious foods before snack food. Or that they must at least try a new food before rejecting it. "Consistency only works if what you are doing in the first place is reasonable," she says. So, avoid overly controlling or overly permissive eating rules. If bottom-line limits are healthy, effective, and balanced, they'll pay off.
• Examine your role model. Make sure you aren't asking kids to "do as I say, not as I do," says Pawel. If your own diet is based mainly on fat, sugar, and salt, you can hardly expect your child to embrace a dinner salad over French fries.
• Defuse mealtimes. Don't make your child's eating habits part of the mealtime discussion, says Ward. Otherwise every meal becomes a stressful event, centered on what the child does and does not eat. Ward suggests that parents reserve talks about the importance of good eating for later, perhaps at bedtime or story time.
• Give it time. "I find that children become much more open to trying new foods after the age of 5," says Ward. "Most of the time, kids will simply grow out of limited eating."

• How can parents fit in family fitness?

  Children need at least an hour of moderate to strenuous physical activity every day to stay healthy, according to experts. But many kids just aren't getting that much exercise. And most groups are unanimous on the prime culprit: sedentary entertainment, meaning the temptations of the TV, computer, and video games.
  So, your first step toward encouraging a healthy level of physical exercise should be to limit your children's TV and screen time. Beyond that, here are some tips from the experts on how to help your children (and yourself) stay active:
  
• Make an exercise schedule. Exercise doesn't have to involve a rigid routine. But it's a good idea to schedule a regular time for exercise each day. You and your kids will be more likely to get up and get moving if you've set aside a specific time for physical activity. Many parents find that participation in after-school sports brings some needed relaxation and socialization time as well as fulfills the physical fitness requirement.
• Support physical-education programs in the schools, which may be reduced or receive less emphasis in some school systems. Communicate to your child's teachers and administrators your belief that physical education (PE) is an important part of the curriculum.
• Plan your vacations, weekends, and days off around fitness fun. Plan a bike ride, take an invigorating hike along nature trails, or pack a picnic lunch and head for the park for a family game of Frisbee.
• Make use of community resources. When it comes to finding fitness opportunities, take advantage of what your community has to offer. Join the local YMCA or sign up for tennis or other lessons through your Parks and Recreation Department. Look for water aerobics classes and golf lessons at local swimming pools and golf courses.
• Get the whole neighborhood involved. Organize neighborhood fitness activities for children and their parents. Softball games, soccer matches, and jump-rope contests are fun for kids and adults.
• Dance! Children of all ages love to dance. Crank up the music, show your kids the dances that were popular when you were a teen, and let them teach you their favorite dance moves.
• Expose your child to a variety of physical fitness activities and sports. Your child will likely find the combination of activities or sports that are most enjoyable for him or her and will not become bored of one activity.
• Let your kids take turns being the fitness director for your family. They'll have more fun when they're allowed to choose the activity, and they'll enjoy putting their parents and siblings through their paces.
• Good parenting helps foster empathy, honesty, self-reliance, self-control, kindness, cooperation, and cheerfulness, says Steinberg, a distinguished professor of psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia. It also promotes intellectual curiosity, motivation, and desire to achieve. It helps protect children from developing anxiety, depression, eating disorders, antisocial behavior, and alcohol and drug abuse.
•  

Food Poisoning Signs and Symptoms of Salmonella

Anyway, symptoms of salmonella food poisoning are stomach cramping, chills, vomiting, loss of appetite, fever and of course, diarrhea. Loose bowel movement can be bloody, mucoid, voluminous, or otherwise. The severity and the length of time these symptoms are experienced differently from case to case basis. The diarrhea associated with salmonella food poisoning may last for one to three days but there have been reports on nonspecific symptoms to lasts up to a week. Usually though, they say these are experienced three to seven days. 
The thing to be watched on someone suffering salmonella food poisoning is dehydration. This is especially important for children, older adults ageing 60 and above and those with compromised immune systems. For some patients, diarrhea and vomiting is so severe that they have to be admitted in the hospital to replace the salt and fluid that is lost inappropriately. Dehydration may be experienced hours after the onset of the first symptoms of salmonella food poisoning. This complication due to fast loss of fluid in the body may be recognized with the victim verbalizing that he is always thirsty, his skin becomes leathery and wrinkled.

For healthy victims of this food poisoning, the signs and symptoms of salmonella infection can go away on their own without the aid of medication or intravenous solutions. However, if dehydration strikes, the victims need to be admitted to a hospital for rehydration and monitoring. Surely, you have heard people going into shock and even death just because of dehydration so there is really a need for this to be addressed.



To avoid the fuss of suffering vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramping and fever just because of salmonella food poisoning, you have to be very careful of the food and water you take. Be sure that your food and drinks come from safe places.

The all time favorite prevention which is hand washing before eating is also effective in preventing salmonella food poisoning. However, disposing cracked and “old” eggs also helps. Ensuring that your food is well cooked is safer than going for the half-thingy.

Signs of Food Poisoning

Chances are you've experienced food poisoning symptoms at some point in your life. If you were lucky, the case was mild and ran its course in a day or two. In some people, though, food poisoning symptoms are severe or last for a longer period of time. And in rare cases, food poisoning can led to serious long-term health effects or even death. Children, seniors, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are especially vulnerable to food poisoning. Food poisoning symptoms vary depending on the source, but some more common symptoms of food poisoning include:

1. Diarrhea
2. Nausea and Vomiting
3. Loss of appetite
4. Fever
5. Abdominal cramps

Food poisoning symptoms can appear hours or even days after you eat contaminated food or drink. In most cases, food poisoning symptoms last for only 48 hours and can usually be treated by simply lying low for a few days. Severe symptoms such as blood in your stool or vomiting, persistent diarrhea, high fevers, severe abdominal pain or symptoms of dehydration warrant prompt medical attention.

Fun Games for Baby’s 1year old

• Fun baby games that can boost your child's skills and development don't need to be complicated. In fact, they shouldn't be. You may even find that many of the best games you can play with your child to help her learn about the world around her are what you already do naturally.
  To help you and baby get the most out of playtime, make sure that you recognize signs your little one is sending that indicate when it's time to play. These signals might include:
  
• Watching you or other people with interest
• Reaching out for you
• Smiling

It's also important to recognize when your infant has had enough baby games and needs a break. These signs might include:

• Crying
• Spitting up
• Looking away

To help your baby have fun, bond with you, and learn about the world, try playing the following 10 development games. You may also want to come up with your own variations or combine games when you sense baby is ready for an additional challenge.

Peek-a-Boo With Baby

One of the best baby games to play with infants is also one of the easiest. Simply hide your face behind your hands and then move your hands away while you say, "Peek-A-Boo!"
Until babies are around 9 months old, they don't realize that you're still there when your face is covered. So your child will be fascinated by your disappearing and reappearing act. This baby game may even help your child become more comfortable in the world when she realizes that you'll come back even when you "go away."
After your child begins to understand the game more, he may try to "find" you by reaching for your hands when you hide. Try playing this development boosting game to make tasks like changing diapers and getting dressed more fun for you and baby.

Mommy See, Mommy Do

Just as you can read baby's signals to know when to play baby games, you can take your lead on how to play from your little bundle of joy.
For example, if your baby is vocalizing with "coos" and "ga-gas," try imitating your baby's sounds. That will help your baby develop a foundation for conversation skills. Likewise, when baby smiles, smile back. This will help your baby develop self-confidence as he realizes that you're having fun and enjoying his company.

Dance Around

All babies need plenty of cuddling time to help them feel secure and build emotional attachments to the important people in their lives.
Try dancing around with baby to foster bonding and to respond to your baby's needs. If she's in a playful mood, do a gentle, silly jig together to get her laughing. If your baby's tired or upset, she might prefer a slow dance around the room to help her calm down with motion.
"Patty-cake, patty-cake, baker's man, bake me a cake as fast as you can. Pat it and roll it and mark it with 'B.' And put it in the oven for baby and me." This well-known clapping game may seem silly, but it's a great way to help your baby develop a number of important skills.
First, the rhythm and repetitiveness of the tune will help baby develop language skills. Additionally, the feel of your touch as you gently clap your hands against his in time to the rhyme will help stimulate his sense of touch. As baby gets older, he'll probably try to imitate the movements you're making with your hands, which will help him develop his large motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Where's Your Nose?

Want to work on developing language skills and make baby giggle at the same time? Then this silly, simple baby game is perfect for you.
To help boost your baby's development, ask, "Where's your nose?" in a singsong voice. Then gently touch your baby's nose as you say "There's your nose!" with great delight. Repeating this game and playing it with different parts of baby's body or nearby objects will help your baby start to learn the meaning of different words.

Fabric Fun With Baby

When baby is little, the world is a vast sea of new sensory experiences. The best development games provide ways for your infant to explore his environment safely.
Watch how your baby plays when you give him pieces of fabric with different textures -- such as burlap, corduroy, satin, and velvet -- to handle. The variety of textures will intrigue and interest him. At the same time, holding pieces of fabric and waving them around will help build muscle strength and coordination.

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

There's a reason baby rattles are so popular. Not only do they help baby develop, but they're great fun to play with, too.
When baby is little, try shaking her rattle as she watches you. You can then move it out of her sight and continue to rattle it after you're sure you have her attention. Pretty soon, she'll turn her head in an attempt to find the source of the rattling.

Rhyme Time

Babies love to listen to the voices of people they know, and they're also intrigued by repetitive sounds. Give your baby the opportunity to hear both by regularly saying nursery rhymes or other kid-friendly rhyming poems.
You can have rhyme time anytime -- in the bath, during snuggle time, or when you're riding in the car. These are all perfect opportunities to entertain baby and boost language skills.

Baby Has a Ball

Yes indeed, you can play ball with baby long before your newborn is able to catch and throw.
To keep things interesting, find a ball designed for infants that has different textures and colors to keep their interest. First, try giving the ball to your baby and see what she tries to do. You can show her different ways to play by gently rolling the ball or putting it in a container. As she develops muscle tone and learns more about how the world works, she'll start to imitate you and come up with her own games.

Sing-a-Song

Babies love music, from soothing lullabies to rhythmic drums and silly ditties. Even if you don't think you can carry a tune, baby will love for you to sing to him and it will help you deepen the parent-child bond.
Give your baby the opportunity to listen to a variety of different types of music. Based on how he responds (Does he coo? Wriggle around? Smile?), you'll probably be able to determine his favorite kind of music.
Songs don't even need to be "real" songs to make for a development boosting game. Make up a tune about what you're doing as you give baby a bath or walk through the park. The exposure to language will help your child build his vocabulary

Baby Food Menu Ideas for 12 to 14 Months

Photo Credit Kinderportrait image by Yvonne Bogdanski from Fotolia.com

Your 12-month old baby is ready to start eating more solid foods and relying less on breast milk or formula for nutrition, according to Kids Health from Nemours. Choose healthy foods full of beneficial vitamins and nutrients when feeding your 1-year-old to make sure she is getting the most nutrition out of every bite. Give your baby access to plenty of different foods at mealtimes, and let her use her fingers to pick and choose what she would like to eat and how much.

Breakfast

For breakfast, WholesomeBabyFood.com recommends offering your 1-year-old a small variety of foods from which to choose. Offer a small portion of cereal, such as rice cereal specially formulated for infants. Baby cereals are fortified with extra iron to help your baby develop properly, according to BabyCenter. Alongside, give your 12-month-old two small servings of fruit or vegetables, such as applesauce or soft-cooked carrots. If your child's pediatrician says that you can start offering your 1-year-old dairy, you can provide a small amount of yogurt or full-fat milk in a sippy cup along with breakfast.

Everyday Indian Recipes Traditional Spicy Indian Cooking recipes with amazing Pictures www.talimpu.com

Sponsored Links

Lunch

At lunch time, offer your 1-year-old a well-cooked grain such as soft rice or pasta. Provide some high-protein options for your child to keep her energy levels up. Choose from soft tofu, pureed or ground meats, scrambled eggs or mashed beans. Offer some soft cooked vegetables or soft fruit, such as bananas, and dairy such as soft cheese or more milk. You can mix the grains with the vegetables to provide new and interesting combinations, such as peas with rice or pasta with steamed green beans. Your baby can start to chew on more solid foods at this point, such as lightly toasted bread cut into strips.

Snacks

Your 1-year-old needs two or three small snacks per day, according to Kids Health. Offer finger foods such as o-shaped cereals or teething biscuits designed for babies. Dairy foods, such as cottage cheese or yogurt, make good high-calcium snacks as well.

Dinner

Continue to provide a variety of proteins, grains, fruits, vegetables and dairy items to your 1-year-old at dinner. Kids Health states that it is normal for small children to occasionally skip meals. Offer your child three meals a day plus snacks, but don't be worried if he often skips a meal or two. To try something different at dinner, AskDrSears.com suggests giving your 12-month-old a cooked chicken bone to chew on. Make sure all the small bone slivers and hard pieces have been removed and leave just a small amount of cooked meat attached to the bone. Babies over 9-months-old may enjoy the sensation and new experience of chewing food right off the bone.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/245873-baby-food-menu-ideas-for-12-months/#ixzz1wkCjQL1n

THE SLOW POISONING OF YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN

At the beginning of the 20th century the US ranked 1st in health among the major industrial nations. US spending per capita on health is currently the highest in the world yet the US now ranks 37th in actual health statistics in the top industrial countries and has the highest infant mortality rate. The US also rates 24th in life expectancy.

So what happened in the last century to cause this dramatic reversal? This website will detail the exact causes of this breakdown in American health.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that there is something seriously wrong with the current medical model which mostly consists of suppressing symptoms rather than finding true causes. But there's more to it than that.

If you look into the field of natural alternative cures, especially nutrition, you can be immediately struck by the fact that it is a very confused field full of contrary data.

You can read books extolling the virtues of various herbs or minerals and then books warning of the harm from the exact same substances. Some books promote eating certain foods and others recommend avoiding those same foods. You can see a lot of fads and a mixture of seemingly sensible ideas and some quite bizarre ones.
When you come across contrary data, it is unlikely that both are wholly true. The question is, which if any are true, and why.
Sometimes certain supplements will work on one person but not another or they will work at first and then stop working. So how do you really optimally handle a body? Since you have one and maybe plan to have it for awhile and since there is no owner's manual it might behoove you to find out : )
Fortunately, over the last many decades there has been a great deal of research into this and there have been some very major breakthroughs. Some of this research may be very interesting to you and also some may be quite shocking. Some will no doubt be familiar to you and some will not.

There is an actual sequence of events that currently most often leads to serious illness and disease as well as a number of major barriers that now exist to people getting well even if they take the right treatments and supplements and fortunately, there are also solutions to these.
This site will also cover how and why you are putting your future quality of life at enormous risk when you eat foods bought at a typical US supermarket and just what exactly you are condemning your kids to when you let them eat at fast food establishments or drink the highly toxic soft drinks, especially so-called "diet" drinks.

The information at the site will be the result of more than a century of research by others and will only be data that has been broadly substantiated. It will bear little relation to the unbelievable barrage of false data that is spouted daily by magazines, TV ads  and TV news and magazine shows.
Even if you pay no attention to this information for yourself at least pay attention to it for the sake of your children and their children.

Tips for Getting Your Baby on a Healthy Sleep Schedule

Many parents find it challenging to get their babies onto a healthy baby sleep schedule. When parents face difficulties with infant and child sleep issues, they can often feel helpless and alone. Although it seems like everyone has advice to give, it seems like nobody offers a definitive plan as to how to get your child to sleep through the night.
The topic of infant sleep and baby sleep schedules is foremost in every new parent’s mind, and the information available on the subject is highly varied. Some books recommend getting up with your baby a dozen times a night, while others suggest letting them cry until they throw up! With contradictory advice like this, its no wonder parents are confused.
Although most parents can appreciate that their infant needs to sleep and have a good baby sleep schedule in order to grow and develop, many are unaware of the important sleep associations children acquire along the way. If a child is not given the opportunity to develop strategies to fall and stay asleep on their own, they may become dependent on outside stimuli to assist them. Consider these tips below for helping your child get the sleep they need…
1. The single most important skill you can teach children is how to fall asleep on their own without any external help. It is a life skill that is just as important as learning healthy eating habits or the benefits of daily exercise.
2. Consistency is the key. Whatever your method, you need to stick to it. Bedtime and naptime have to be non-negotiable. Sleep is just as important to a child’s health as a nutritious meal.
3. A predictable bedtime routine is an important cue to let the child’s body know that bedtime is near and its time to relax and prepare for nighttime sleep.
4. A short naptime routine will help in creating a relaxing environment that will prepare a child’s mind and body toward the idea of naptime and ease the transition.
5. An early bedtime is the key to avoiding overtiredness and hyperactivity in the evening. Any time between 6 and 8 pm is ideal for most infants and toddlers to be heading for bed.
6. Think of sleep as a continuous 24-hour cycle. Whatever happens at each stage of the day has a direct impact on what happens for the next 24 hours. Think twice about skipping naps and allowing late night bedtimes. It will affect what happens at the next stage of the 24-hour cycle.
7. If possible, avoid letting your child fall asleep while feeding. Infants who are allowed to fall asleep while breastfeeding or bottle-feeding often require this routine when they wake during the night.
Those sleepless nights aren’t good for you or your baby – and a gentle, effective baby sleep routine is a lot easier than you’re probably thinking. In fact, most babies will learn to soothe themselves into a deep and peaceful sleep within just a few nights!

The Causes of Weeping Eye in Babies?

When a baby's eyes produce a sticky, yellowish discharge, they are considered to be weeping. Weeping eyes sometimes produce tears despite the absence of crying, as well. Weeping eyes are commonly seen in newborns for the first few weeks or months of life, notes pediatrician and University of California-Irvine School of Medicine associate clinical professor of pediatrics Dr. William Sears on his website AskDrSears.com.

Blocked Tear Ducts

Blocked tear ducts are the most common cause of weeping eyes in babies, particularly newborns, according to AskDrSears.com. Tear ducts should drain through the nasal passages, but newborns have a thin membrane sealing off the natural drainage system. This membrane usually breaks open shortly after birth. However, when it doesn't, the fluid that doesn't drain eventually becomes infected, and weeping eyes result. Tears may also accumulate and dry out in the eyes, leaving yellowish clumps.

A warm compress loosens the secretion, and parents can carefully wipe accumulation away with a clean, damp washcloth, according to Dr. Spock. Tear ducts are often opened with consistent, gentle massage of the area around the small bump located at the top sides of the nose beneath the eyes, according to AskDrSears.com. Rub away from the eyes, up toward the nose. Dr. Spock points out that in some cases, a minor surgical procedure is necessary to open the tear ducts.

Eye Floater Solutions Ophthalmology Specialists Laser Eye Floater Solution www.vitreousfloaters.com

Sponsored Links

Conjunctivitis

Weeping eyes are a symptom of conjunctivitis, otherwise known as pinkeye, states AskDrSears.com. The condition is most notable for producing a reddish tint in the whites of the eyes and on the upper and/or lower rims of eyelids.

Conjunctivitis results from viral infections, bacterial infections such as staphylococcus, streptococcus or hemophilus, or from inflammation from an allergen, notes the medical advisory board-reviewed website BabyCenter. A baby's pediatrician must determine the underlying cause and base treatment on the diagnosis. Viral infections resolve on their own, but parents should keep a baby's eyes clean with a damp washcloth. Bacterial conjunctivitis is treated with a course of topical or eye drop antibiotics. Allergic conjunctivitis requires identifying the irritant and isolating the baby from it.

Sinusitis

Sinus infections sometimes cause weeping eyes in a baby. Viral infections like the common cold cause sinusitis--an inflammation of the sinuses--as do bacterial infections in sinus cavities, explains pediatrician Dr. Alan Greene of DrGreene.com. In young children, other symptoms are generally akin to those of a prolonged cold, sometimes coupled with a chronic cough, states DrGreene.com.

Bacterial sinusitis calls for a regimen of oral antibiotics. Symptoms can be eased and treatment accelerated with use of a saline nose spray or drops. A baby's pediatrician may also recommend decongestants to remedy symptoms.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/231185-what-are-the-causes-of-weeping-eye-in-babies/#ixzz1wV6Lbekw

Some Tips To Cool Down Your Body in Summer

Its 114 degrees out there, and your skin seems to be sucking the heat in deeper into your body rather than helping you cool down. An occasional afternoon downpour brings more grief than relief for it layers on humidity that is thick enough to slice with a knife. Throw in a little pollution and each second becomes pure hell when you are outdoors.

The recently past heat wave seems to be consuming India and is probably indicative of an approaching hot summer, for brutal May, sizzling June and searing July and August are yet to come. 

Can certain foods help towards reversing some of this exchange of body heat? Yes, they most certainly can!

Why and how does this heat exchange happen?
On sultry, humid days, muscles compete with the skin for blood circulation. When it's hot outside, more blood flows near the skin to help dissipate body heat and cool the body down thereby keeping your body's temperature from rising to dangerous levels. But that can mean less blood reaches muscles, hence the lethargy.

At the same time, as when your body becomes hotter, muscle enzymes speed up and burn glycogen more rapidly, depleting stores of the sugar that your muscles use for fuel. Hence it's imperative to drink plenty of fluids that would help hydrate your muscles and skin adequately in order to maintain internal cooling down.

Is it a good idea to apply wet rags over your forehead, thereby reducing the heat entering your brain?
Not necessarily. Neither is it a good idea to wet your head down entirely, especially for kids who have just finished playing a sport. You have to make the heat move outwards. Too much water on the skin's surface inhibits sweat evaporation that helps cool the body down.

To handle this heat onslaught and ensure your body is as cool as it can possibly be, we suggest a few measures that are easy to follow:
1.    Eat light, small, frequent meals. Start the morning with a sweet, juicy fruit at breakfast. Ripe summer fruits - peaches, plums, melons and pears, are exactly what your skin craves for in the hot season. Citrus fruits are also very cooling. Eat whole or extract their juice, store in the refrigerator and sip often throughout the day.
2.    Include salads in your diet. Consuming leafy lettuce and summer greens, corn on cob and cucumbers, in salads are delicious ways to stay cool. These foods contain a significant amount of water and can actually thin the blood, which has a cooling effect. Onions too are great in the summer, because of their ability to beat the heat and provide relief from summer ailments. So, throw in some washed onion slices onto a sandwich, or in your salad.
3.    If you get burnt (sun stroke or heat stroke), seek relief by sipping on green tea or take a spoon of onion juice. They are potent antioxidants that can neutralize cellular damage caused by the sun's rays.
4.    To cool the body through sweating, add small amounts of hot spices to food while cooking. Hot peppers, fresh ginger, and black pepper are all great spices to make it really hot for you and then to cool you down.
5.    Hydrate your body. Drink at least 8-10 glasses of water a day. Water is the best drink as it doesn't contain any sugars that can add up to unnecessary calories. For a change, a lemon and honey drink can also instantly replenish your body's lost fluids and work as an energizer.  Drink fluids even if you are not yet thirsty. Once you have the feeling of being thirsty means you are already dehydrated.
6.    Wear loose, full-sleeved cotton clothes to protect the body from the sun and to aid evaporation of sweat.  Use a hat to protect your head from the sun you go out
7.     Stay indoors. Restrict outdoor activities to the cooler parts of the day - early mornings before 10.30am or late evenings after 530pm

The not so cool:

• If you're a non-vegetarian, you should limit red meat and instead go for fish and oysters.
• Avoid extreme cold foods and drinks - most of us normally pick these and they are actually known to interfere with digestion and sweating, thereby interfering with the body's natural cooling mechanisms. So, however tempting it may be to sit on your porch licking an ice cream cone or sipping a cool glass of tea, try a wedge of watermelon instead.

As the mercury rises, the last thing on one's mind is food - but if you eat smart, small & light meals and accompany it with plenty of fluids you will be a cool winner.

So go ahead and take these obvious precautions! But remember the best place to start the cooling process is in your body's core.

Food poisoning

Food poisoning occurs when you swallow food or water that has been contaminated with certain types of bacteria, parasites, viruses, or toxins.
Most cases of food poisoning are due to common bacteria such as Staphylococcus or Escherichia coli (E. coli).

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Food poisoning more commonly occurs after eating at picnics, school cafeterias, large social functions, or restaurants. One or more people may become sick.
Food poisoning is caused by certain bacteria, viruses, parasites, or toxins. Types of food poisoning include:

• Botulism (Clostridium botulinum)
• Campylobacter enteritis
• Cholera
• E. coli enteritis
• Fish poisoning
• Listeria
• Staphylococcus aureus
• Salmonella
• Shigella

Bacteria may get into your food in different ways:

• Meat or poultry may come into contact with intestinal bacteria when being processed
• Water that is used during growing or shipping may contain animal or human waste
• Improper food handling or preparation

Food poisoning often occurs from eating or drinking:

• Any food prepared by someone who did not wash their hands properly
• Any food prepared using unclean cooking utensils, cutting boards, or other tools
• Dairy products or food containing mayonnaise (such as coleslaw or potato salad) that have been out of the refrigerator too long
• Frozen or refrigerated foods that are not stored at the proper temperature or are not reheated properly
• Raw fish or oysters
• Raw fruits or vegetables that have not been washed well
• Raw vegetable or fruit juices and dairy
• Undercooked meats or eggs
• Water from a well or stream, or city or town water that has not been treated

Infants and elderly people are at the greatest risk for food poisoning. You are also at higher risk if:

• You have a serious medical condition, such as kidney disease or diabetes
• You have a weakened immune system
• You travel outside of the United States to areas where there is more exposure to germs that cause food poisoning

Pregnant and breastfeeding women have to be especially careful to avoid food poisoning.

Symptoms

When you develop symptoms depends on the exact cause of the food poisoning. The most common types of food poisoning generally cause symptoms within 2 - 6 hours of eating the food.
Possible symptoms include:

• Abdominal cramps
• Diarrhea (may be bloody)
• Fever and chills
• Headache
• Nausea and vomiting
• Weakness (may be serious and lead to respiratory arrest, as in the case of botulism)

Signs and tests

Your health care provider will examine you for signs of food poisoning, such as pain in the stomach and signs your body does not have as much water and fluids as it should. This is called dehydration.
You will be asked about the foods you have eaten recently.
Tests may be done on your blood, stools, vomit, or the food you have eaten to determine the cause of your symptoms. However, tests may not be able to prove that you have food poisoning.
In rare but possibly serious cases, your health care provider may order a sigmoidoscopy, a procedure in which a thin tube placed in the anus to look for the source of bleeding or infection.

Treatment

You will usually recover from the most common types of food poisoning within a couple of days. The goal is to make you feel better and make sure your body maintains the proper amount of fluids.

• Don't eat solid foods until the diarrhea has passed, and avoid dairy products, which can worsen diarrhea (due to a temporary state of lactose intolerance).
• Drink any fluid (except milk or caffeinated beverages) to replace fluids lost by diarrhea and vomiting.
• Give children an electrolyte solution sold in drugstores.

If you have diarrhea and are unable to drink fluids (for example, due to nausea or vomiting), you may need medical attention and fluids given through a vein (by IV). This is especially true for young children.
If you take diuretics, you need to manage diarrhea carefully. Talk to your health care provider -- you may need to stop taking the diuretic while you have the diarrhea. Never stop or change medications without talking to your health care provider and getting specific instructions.
For the most common causes of food poisoning, your doctor would NOT prescribe antibiotics.
You can buy medicines at the drugstore that help slow diarrhea. Do not use these medicines without talking to your health care provider if you have bloody diarrhea or a fever. Do not give these medicines to children.
If you have eaten toxins from mushrooms or shellfish, you will need medical attention right away. The emergency room doctor will take steps to empty out your stomach and remove the toxin.

Expectations (prognosis)

Most people fully recover from the most common types of food poisoning within 12 - 48 hours. Serious complications can arise, however, from certain types of food poisoning.
Death from food poisoning in people who are otherwise healthy is rare in United States.

Complications

Dehydration is the most common complication. This can occur from any of the causes of food poisoning.
Less common but much more serious complications depend on the bacteria that is causing the food poisoning. These may include arthritis, bleeding problems, kidney problems, damage to the nervous system, and swelling or irritation in the tissue around the heart.

Calling your health care provider

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if you have:

• Blood or pus in your stools
• Black stools
• Stomach pain that does not go away after a bowel movement
• Symptoms of dehydration (thirst, dizziness, light-headedness)
• Diarrhea with a fever above 101°F (100.4°F in children)
• Recently traveled to a foreign country and developed diarrhea

Also call your doctor if:

• The diarrhea gets worse or does not get better in 2 days for an infant or child, or 5 days for adults
• A child over 3 months old has been vomiting for more than 12 hours; in younger babies, call as soon as vomiting or diarrhea begins

Go to the emergency room or call your local emergency number, such as 911, if:

• Bleeding is excessive or your stools are maroon or black
• You may have poisoning from mushrooms, fish, or botulism
• Your heart is racing, pounding, or skipping

Eye Disease in Children

School-age children rarely have serious eye diseases, but there are three types of minor eye infections that may occur: blepharitis, conjunctivitis and sties.

Blepharitis

Blepharitis is an inflammation of the eyelids. It is characterized by a yellowish crust found at the base of the eyelashes and is often accompanied by tiny, whitish gray flakes that resemble dandruff.
Blepharitis may be caused by seborrhea, bacteria, viruses or fungi. Poor health, inadequate nutrition or careless hygiene are other causes. It may be accompanied by conjunctivitis, skin ulceration, loss of or misdirected lashes and other complications. The child may experience itching, burning, tearing and sensitivity to light.
The common, mild form of blepharitis will clear up with proper cleaning each morning and night. The more serious form, which is extremely rare, may require medication.

Conjunctivitis

The most common form of conjunctivitis in children is often called “pink eye,” as the eye tissue turns pink during the acute stage of the infection.
Pink eye can be accompanied by a yellowish discharge, excessive tearing, an uncomfortable feeling around the eye, itching and sometimes a sensitivity to bright light.
Pink eye may be bacterial, viral or allergic in origin. It is highly contagious and can be passed via towels, washcloths or bed linen. Although it usually clears in about a week, medication is needed in some cases, so it is best to have the child examined. When light sensitivity is involved, the child may need to wear sunglasses outdoors while recovering.

Sty

While a sty should be treated carefully, it is not considered dangerous. A sty resembles a pimple and is located at the edge of the eyelids. To avoid complications, a sty should never be squeezed.  Instead, a hot compress should be applied to bring it to a head. It should then break by itself.
Although rare, sties can lead to severe infection and swelling of the eyelids which requires immediate medical intervention. Therefore, it is best to have the child examined if any unusual swelling occurs.

Games for one year baby

You and your one-year-old will have lots of fun playing these simple games, and they'll help her development, too. If you don't see your favourite toddler game below, why not scroll down to the parents' comments box, below, to share it with us.

12 to 16 months

• Coming to life
Pretend your baby's favourite teddy or doll is real -- make her walk, go to bed, jump across the room. Include her in everyday activities -- sitting her at the table for tea, for example, and putting a bib on her. Talking about what you are doing will help her understand language. Act out happy and sad times, too, so she can learn about feelings and emotions as well as developing her imagination.

• Push me, pull you
If your baby is pulling herself on to two feet and trying to walk, help her practise with a pushing and pulling game. Use a moveable object such as a child-size chair or plastic stacking box filled with soft toys. While she holds the edges for support you can hold the other side and keep it steady. Then slowly pull the box towards you side to encourage her to step forward. Soon she'll start to push while you gently pull. This will build her confidence ready for when she starts walking on her own.

• Clap happy
By now your baby will be able to hold her hands open, but it may be a while before she claps independently. For now, clap them together with her, or let her hold your hands and pat them together. Sit her facing you on the floor, or on your lap, and sing clapping songs together like 'Pat-a-cake, pat-a cake'. These will boost her language skills as well as her hand-eye co-ordination.

• Who's hiding here?
Just as she loved peek-a-boo as a baby, your toddler will love to play simple games of hide and seek. First thing in the morning take it in turns to hide under the bed sheets; at bath time, use a big towel to hide under, instead. For extra fun and giggles you can gently prod her as she hides, 'Is this a leg? Or is it an arm?' and so on. Games like this help teach your toddler that, just because she can't see something, it doesn't mean it isn't there. For a change, while she's wrapped up in the towel, carry her into another room. She'll be delighted when she's unveiled to discover she's moved location!

16 to 20 months

• Tea party
On a sunny day take a child-sized plastic tea set outdoors and fill a large plastic bowl with water. Pretend you've 'come to tea' and encourage your toddler to fill the teapot and pour out the tea. This fun game will challenge your baby's co-ordination skills and help her learn about the properties of water -- for example, that it always flows down, not up.

• Brick patterns
This requires a bit of concentration so is best played when your toddler's feeling refreshed. Use her building blocks to make simple patterns, such as three in a row or 'two up, two down' to make a square. Encourage her to use other blocks so she can copy your pattern. Then let her have a go at making her own pattern, which you have to copy. Sorting objects like this into shapes will help encourage your toddler's problem-solving skills.

• Roll it to me
Balls are popular toys for one-year-olds. Bouncy balls are best kept outside, but soft, foam balls make great indoor toys. The best ball game to start playing with your toddler is this easy version of 'catch'. Both of you sit on the ground facing each other with your legs apart and toes touching. You can now roll the ball backwards and forwards to each other without it going out of bounds. Fun for building arm muscles and hand-eye co-ordination.

• Young collector
Go for a walk together and take a bucket with you. Collect small objects that interest your toddler -- stones, leaves, pine cones. Your toddler will want to carry the bucket, but don't be surprised if she also dumps its contents and starts again. Toddlers at this age love to fill containers just so then can empty them again! Meanwhile, she's practising her hand movements and developing dexterity.

20-24 months

• Let's dance!
Play favourite bits of music that lend themselves to particular actions -- something with a big, loud beat so your child can stamp like an elephant or that's quiet so she can pretend that she's tiptoeing past a sleeping lion, trying not to wake it up. Marching to music is also great fun and easy enough for most toddlers to manage. These games will stretch her imagination and develop her sense of rhythm.

• Balloon fun
Balloons are great for indoor play. They move slowly enough to be chased and are relatively easy to catch. Blow one up -- watching this is half the fun -- and pat it up into the air. Count how long it takes to float down to the ground or let your toddler try to catch it. A good game for counting skills and hand-eye co-ordination.

• What can you hear?
Take a big towel or blanket out into the garden and lie down on it together. Ask your toddler to close her eyes and listen carefully. After a minute or so ask her what she could hear, and tell her what you heard: the wind in the trees, bird song, a car going past. This is a great game for helping your toddler develop her listening skills.

• Catch me if you can
Toddlers love to be chased -- and parents usually love chasing their toddlers! The object of this game is to be caught -- especially if your child knows he gets a big bear hug and slobbery kiss every time you manage to catch him. For variety, pretend to be different types of animals -- a roaring lion or a scuttling mouse. When your toddler catches you let him have a go, too. A great game for building up your toddler's stamina -- and yours, too!

SOLID FOODS TO YOUR BABY

advertisement

It's Time to Introduce Solid Foods - a wonderful milestone full of worry, fun and mess!

1 2 3 4

Introducing Solid Foods to Your Baby - Tips, Solid Food Charts For Babies and Other Useful Information about Starting Solids

Introducing solid foods to your baby is a really big milestone. This milestone is a lot of fun and a lot of worry as well. One of the most important things to keep in mind is that your baby has so many years of food experiences ahead that there is no need to rush things!
Remember, you are taking the first steps to helping your little one develop healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime. Here you will find pages of useful information and solid food charts for you to review and get a sense of what your baby may be eating at a certain age or stage. This information will help ease your mind as you are introducing solid foods and will also ease the transition to solid foods for your baby.

Current Recommendations for Introducing Solid Foods

Current recommendations indicate that breast milk or formula should be baby’s main source of nutrition until at least 6 months of age.  While many pediatricians recommend starting solid foods sometime between 4 and six months of age, the earlier introduction of solid foods may have certain risk factors; consult your pediatrician. For example, the "Introduction of complementary feedings [solid foods] before 6 months of age generally does not increase total caloric intake or rate of growth and only substitutes foods that lack needed nutrients and the protective components of human milk (and formula). AAP Policy Note - 194"

Is Your Baby Ready for Solid Food?

How do you know if your baby is ready for solid foods?  There are many signs to look for that will indicate that your little one may be ready to begin the journey into solid foods. Your baby may be 3 months old or 4 months old when you start to feel she may need "something more" than formula or breast milk. 

Maybe she is beginning to awaken more often at night or eat more often than "usual" and you wonder if introducing solid foods may be what she needs.Please keep in mind that a growth spurt will occur between 3-4 months of age. Your baby may begin to wake more frequently at night for a feeding and/or may being to eat non-stop (cluster feed) as she once did as a newborn. 
Read more at Is Your Baby Ready for Solid Foods?

 

Beginning Solid Foods

When you find that your baby is ready for solid foods, consider skipping the boxed cereal and starting out with avocado, sweet potato, banana or pear!

You should give your baby one new food at a time, and wait a a minimal of 2 to 3 days before starting another. Many parents follow the "4 day wait rule" and choose to wait 4 days between introducing new foods. After each new food, watch for any allergic reactions such as diarrhea, rash, or vomiting. If any of these occur, stop using the new food and consult with your child’s doctor.

Within a few months of starting solid foods, according to the AAP, you should offer your baby a variety of foods each day that may include the following:

Breast milk and/or formula
Meats
Cereal
Vegetables
Fruits
Eggs and fish

Introducing Allergenic Foods to Babies and Food Allergies

Changes to how to introduce allergenic foods to your baby are slowly taking place. "Many pediatricians recommend against giving eggs and fish in the first year of life because of allergic reactions, but there is no evidence that introducing these nutrient-dense foods after 4 to 6 months of age determines whether your baby will be allergic to them." view report

Visit the Allergies & Baby Food page to learn more about these changes as well as about allergenic foods.

Remember, the World Health Organisation, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Health Canada, Health Insite - Australia and the Department of Public Health (U.K.) as well as the CDC all recommend that babies receive nothing but breast milk and/or formula for the first 6 months of age. What does the WHO say?

"Complementary feeding should be timely, meaning that all infants should start receiving foods in addition to breast milk from 6 months onwards. It should be adequate, meaning that the nutritional value of complementary foods should parallel at least that of breast milk. Foods should be prepared and given in a safe manner, meaning that measures are taken to minimize the risk of contamination with pathogens. And they should be given in a way that is appropriate, meaning that foods are of appropriate texture and given in sufficient quantity." WHO Complementary Feeding

Further, the "WHO recommends that infants start receiving complementary foods at 6 months of age in addition to breast milk, initially 2-3 times a day between 6-8 months, increasing to 3-4 times daily between 9-11 months and 12-24 months with additional nutritious snacks offered 1-2 times per day, as desired." 

Remember, always consult with your pediatrician regarding introducing solid foods to your baby and specifically discuss any foods that may pose allergy risks for your baby.