To moms of little boys

You are not only raising your son. You are raising someone else's husband and someone else's dad.

These words caught my attention while I was flipping through some posters.
These are one of the moments where we might have overlooked a glaring fact and realise it suddenly at some other time.
While raising gender neutral kids at home may not be easy especially if you are from a male dominated or conservative society, it's still possible to instill some basic values of gender equality in your son.
It's very true that the little efforts that you put in your son's habit and character is going to make him happy and someone is going to be really thankful for raising your son that way!

Here are few of my suggestions.

Teach your son to fold his sheets on waking up
Making bed before and after sleep is one of those annoying yet can't go without it job.
A clean bedroom posses great powers to alter you mood.
Teach your little son to fold his sheets and keep pillows in order once he wakes up.

Teach your son to sweep and mop the floor
Gone are the days where men find it a threat to their dignity if they hold a broom in hand.
This generation has progressed to an extent where cleaning your own home has nothing to do with gender.
Keep a separate broom and a mop that's convenient for your kid to use.He will be happy and excited to help around.

Teach your son to cook his own food.
Wheather cooking food is a passion or not, cooking skills are a necessity to every human being.
Encourage your son to do little chores like peeling carrots ,kneading dough.
You might come up with age appropriate jobs in kitchen for your son.You can teach your teenage son to cook a staple meal.

Teach your son to carry the baggages in travel.
A true gentleman cares for the women in his family.You can even encourage your toddle to help you with luggages.Older kids can be asked to move baggages to and from the car or in transit.
This gives them a sense of responsibility and they will be proud to do it for you.

Teach you son to hold the door for you and other people in the family
Ever time you go to a supermarket or even at home, let your son hold the door for you and even for strangers when necessary.

Teach your son to keep his wardrobe organised.
Women complain in most households that it's just impossible for men to keep their wardrobe organised.
Teach your son to pick his clothes patiently and keep his wardrobe intact.

These are a few examples.
You can teach your son all the household chores that you do.
Expect Initial reluctance. But by not nagging them all the time and by using an affirming tone, it's best to make your kids do chores at home.In due course, these chores which where initially done with contempt, will become a part of their lifestyle.

Most importantly, teach your sons to respect women , to honour their dignity and to protect them whenever necessary.

How to cultivate reading habit in kids

Reading books is one of the best hobbies for anyone.The reasons may be obvious.
It improves imagination skills, improves language, vocabulary.
Kids who read don't turn to television and gadgets much.
Also reading habit promotes reasoning and thinking skills.

Let's first look at the common mistakes we do in the process of making kids read.

Never force kids to read books
Some kids are just not so impressed with books or they may have attached some stigma with reading. Whatever the reason is, forcing only makes them repel away books, otherwise they might explore.

Never choose books that you want them to read and impose it on them.
So you may want your kid to be a General knowledge expert and you decide to subscribe to a monthly GK mag.This only leaves a feeling of being forced and may them hate the subject forever!

If you have a toddler who refuses to touch books, let them go and try introducing books to them in a different manner and different time.

Here are the dos

Start a reading habit for yourself.
You may wonder at this if you never have the habit of reading, but it certainly pays.Action speak louder than words.If the kids see you enjoying your book they might try to imitate.As for improving your reading habit, you may not choose bulky novels and confusing titles. Just begin reading a magazine of your choice.

For babies as young as a month old, they are fascinated buy different sounds.Read out loud to them by making funny voices.They will begin associating book with fun.

Older babies love the touch and feel of books and letting them touch and turn pages looking at pictures are fine

Toddlers are challenging in every aspect and making them sit with books is even more challenging. You may want to buy simple,light weight books that are easy to hold. Begin by telling them stories in an animated way. Remember, your effort in making  the story interesting plays a huge part.Kids will truly love it if you make silly faces and funny noises while telling them a story from the book.

For toddlers and older children, take them to a library or a book store where they get to choose books they love. Guide them to choose books and avoid imposing on them ' a really nice book'

Keep renting or buying books periodically.Kids love new things everyday and giving them new books once they are done with the old one, cultivates the interest to read. It kills the boredom of using the same book again.

If you have budget constraints in buying books, you may rent them or even exchange books from family and friends who have kids of the same age group.They may even love the idea.

Finally, if your kid refuses to read, don't advise them on benefits of reading or try to force them into reading.This might create long time impact on them regarding books and the reading habit.
What did you do to make your kids read. Please share in the comments section!

Thinking about weaning baby?

If your baby is lesser than six months old, dear mom, go ahead and breast feed.No hurry to wean him right now.

Weaning your baby for the first time can be confusing.All this time your baby was on breastmilk.That means no sterilization,no storage ,no preparations and no fear of contamination!! Its just easy!

From my own experience with my two children, babies who are exclusively breastfed for first 6 months ( no water too.Breast milk is watery in the beginning, then gets thicker) hardly get any stomach disorders like indigestion and loose stools.The baby's digestive system is mature by about 6 months of age and added to that, you must have supplied your bub all the antibodies in form of Brest milk.

So do not fear and go ahead with solids.

The general rules for any food is as below. 

1. Start with simple starchy foods that are easy to digest.

2. Give one type of food for a couple of days to check if it suits your child.For instance if you have given dal and potato on the same day and your child has gastric issues, then you won't be able to make out which one caused the issue.

3.Avoid cow's milk until the baby is one year old.Cow's milk has fat and protein suitable for calves and not human babies! Mother's milk is best for your baby.

4.Avoid packaged food even if it says no preservatives and additives. One common sense fact is that no food can exist in store shelf for so long without processing

5.Do not use mixie to puree foods as it will destroy the taste,texture and nutritive value of food .Use a Blancher instead.Or even your fingers.

Fruits

 I have fed my kids all kinds of raw indian fruits except very fiberous and sour fruits.Prefer sweet and fleshy fruits.They can be given raw.

Bananas are excellent source of potassium and carbohydrate for your baby.Choose sweet varieties.

Vegetables

All vegetables as soup.

Mashed sweet potato , potato ( be very careful with sweet potatoes and potatoes.As they might contain a greenish tinge on their skin.Will create severe stomach ailments when consumed.Yes, I did that mistake of accidentally feeding it to my kid.)

Mashed carrots,sweet pumpkin, blended greens.

Lentis

All lentis without skin until the baby is a year old.Example, giving green gram or urad dhal with skin might cause loose stools in some babies that might last for even two weeks.

Try to add some tomatoes, hing  or garlic,turmeric powder while you Cook lentils for easy digestion.Avoid Rajma as this is very hard on stomach for babies

Kanji's or porridges

Multigrain kanji is prepared by roasting and grinding creals,nuts,spices .It is ready available in store. I buy organic multi grain porridge mix.

You can feed you child just plain ragi porridge too.It is one of the trusted and well know health food for babies.ragi can be finely ground with skin and must be cooked well for at least ten minutes.Ragi does take time to cook.

Water

Feed you baby with jeera water everyday.This improves digestion and keeps baby healthy.

Why you should tell stories to your kids everyday

Remember the stories which your mum and grandmother told you?

The stories that were full of magic and surprises, the stories which were full of awe and inspiration, the stories that provoked your thoughts and stories that pulled you into a world of imagination.
Do we tell stories to our kids?
If your answer is yes, then thumbs up to you.
If not,then why don't you begin today?

Here's why?

You can kindle creativity and curiosity in you kids

Television presents everything in an 'as is' form. There's no room for imagination.When your child sees a flower on television, he sees its colour and form as it is captured.
But when you tell a story you describe a flower like this 'The rose flower that the princess adored on her locks was a beautiful red rose.It has tiny petals in the middle and a bud in its centre,The outer petals had bloomed and were much bigger.
The rose flower was soft and smelled great.It has a green stem and nice big green leaves.The princess liked it a lot'

Imagine, this could take you the kid to a visual tour. He imagines how the rose looks like.The image of the rose he creates is a product of her brain's capacity to imagine and create things rather than presenting a ready-made picture of the rose.

You can cut screen time

Whenever you child is bored and asks the regular question 'What next?', instead of switching on the TV for them, try telling them a story.
This way you can both benefit from a wonderful bonding time together.
Eventually, there's a greater chance you kid loses interest in Tv/gadgets and would like to listen to stories instead.

You can give value education to you kids

Remember moral stories from Pancha-tantra,Jataka tales and Vikram aur Bethaal or any other regional stories you might have listened to as kids?
They are all infused with basic morals that are building blocks of our children's character.
Giving value education through moral stories is the best way to get your child's attention to good values in life.

Spiritual time for Kids

If you are a person who is religiously inclined, then you may wish to tell  them stories from  scriptures  that could cultivate spiritual thoughts on your kids

You can have a special time together

If you are a working parent and are on a constant guilt that you are not spending enough time with your kid, then this is a fun and easy way to bond with you  child.A beautiful story at bedtime can make up for the entire day you have missed with your child

It can benefit you too

It's hard to sanctify a child's growing curiosity and you make have to come up with new stories or even cook up you own story.This will positively benefit your mood and may help you become more creative and relaxed.

Let's begin storytelling today!

How to tie a Jhoola for your baby

The Indian cradle/Jhoola/thooli in Tamil is one of the ancient ways to put the baby to sleep.Indian mothers and grandmas swear by it and are still widely used as the only means of a cradle for the baby.

What is a Jhoola cradle?
It's a piece of cloth tied in a particular fashion and hung mostly from the ceiling to put the baby to rest or to sleep.
What equipment do I need for the Jhoola?

• A hook in the ceiling
• A nice piece of cotton cloth of about 5 to 6 foot in length 
• A Spring
• A nylon rope
• A rod made of wood or steel with a hole on either ends that allows the rope to pass through

In the above list, 1 and 2 are absolutely necessary and 3,4,5 are optional but useful There are two methods of making the Jhoola with all 5 things and another method with just a cloth and the hook. 

Method one:

Fix the spring onto the ceiling hook
Put the rope onto the bottom end of the hook
Thread the rod through one end of the rope and do the same with the other end of the rod and make a knot below the rod so that the rod does not move.
Gather one end of the cloth and tie it to one loose end of the rope
Gather the other  end of the cloth and tie it to the other end of the rope.
Meanwhile, adjust the length of rope and cloth so that the whole setup is not too high.
If your baby tends to get down from the Jhoola, then tying it lower so that it's not far from the floor is the safest option.
Your Jhoola for the baby is ready.

 Method two:
This is a simpler method which just needs a long piece of cloth like a saree and no other special  equipment.
This can be very useful in case you are travelling or in someone else's  home.
Gather one end of the cloth and insert the same through the ceiling hook.
This can be done standing on a tall stool or with the help of a stick.
Pull down the cloth and gather the other end.
Tie them both together.
Pull up the knot so that you make a nice cradle for your baby.
Things to remember
The Jhoola tends to drop further lower with the weight of the baby.Adjust the length keeping this in mind.

Make sure the Jhoola is closer to the floor.This is in case your baby is old enough to get down from it.

Why do we need a Jhoola while there are cribs, cots, and bassinets and why not Co-sleeping  with the baby? Read more on Jhoola

What's so special about the Indian Cradle

Why is Jhoola the best for your baby?

Cribs, cots, bassinets  and what more.There are plenty of options available to put the baby to sleep. But why do we need the less glamorous Jhoola? Read on.

What are the advantages of Jhoola for the baby?

• A Jhoola needs no big investment.
• A Jhoola is hung from the ceiling, that means no pests or insects can touch the baby.The baby is safe and away from the floor.
• A Jhoola is the cleanest bed for your baby to sleep since it's a cloth and can be washed very frequently.
• A Jhoola is very suitable for hot and arid temperatures since it allows a free flow of air on all sides including the bottom.
• A Jhoola can be rocked, which is loved by a baby and calms him instantly.
• Reduced risk of SIDS since baby's bed has air flow on all sides. It's not dangerous, even if your baby has a habit of sleeping face down.
• Even a novice can rock a baby to sleep.That will be of great help to the mum.

Do I need to buy one?

No. All you need to make a Jhoola is a hook on the ceiling of your room.
It's not necessary that the hook must be fixed while the house is built.
If you don't have one, you can always get it fixed wherever you want.

Can I Use a mosquito net with the Jhoola?

Yes, you can tie a mosquito net that specially available to fix in Jhoolas.

Now, are you all set to give a peaceful sleep to your baby?

DIY cloth diaper for new born with no stitching

Things you need

• Cloth nappies with a semipermeable cover. Remember membranes, which allow water to pass through are also considerably breathable and best for your baby's skin.
• Cotton and similar highly absorbent cloths
• Diaper liner.

Lay a cloth nappy

Place absorbent material over the nappy.The absorbent material can be any old cotton or such soft material that can absorb a baby's urine pretty well. Prefer white cloth to coloured ones and if using coloured make sure the cloth is used and washed multiple times to prevent colour bleeding from the cloth onto the baby's bottom.

Place nappy liner over the absorbent material. Nappy liners are soft tissue-like sheets which allow water in only one direction. It allows the urine to pass through it inside the absorbent layer but does not let it seep back. This prevents the baby's bottom from getting in contact with wetness.

You can bundle this up onto your baby.This diaper is free of chemicals and toxins that may potentially enter your baby's skin.Plus a satisfaction hat you made it for your baby with minimal effort.

This nappy works well with babies up to 7 months of age.Best suited for newborns and with older babies if they don't roll over much during sleep time.
If you are confident that your baby can't undo this you can try it on older babies too.

I was able to use this nappy with my children, especially when they are asleep and do not move much.

Cloth diapering basics for new moms

What is a cloth diaper?
Cloth Diaper is a modern solution for moms who do not want to use disposable diapers for their children.
It consists of an outer cover with an inner layer of absorbent material.

What are the Types of cloth diaper?
There are may type of cloth diapers in the market and the choices can be overwhelming.

For enthusiastic new mothers who want to try new diapers and are confused, here is a quick idea on what to choose.

Pocket diapers are diapers with an outer layer of waterproof material and an inner pocket where an insert can be used The insert can be bought ready made or any household fabric can be used.

Pros:
- Greater absorbency as an insert including home made inserts can be used.
- Nappy pads can also be used inside the pockets if you are unable to wash the inserts.
- If using disposable nappy pads inside the pocket,  an advantage is that your baby's bottom will not come in contact with the pad.



Diapers with inserts/reusable pads that can be snapped onto the outer cover
You can easily check if the liner is wet and keep changing the inserts, provided the outer cover does not get wet.

Even otherwise the outer covers can be wiped clean with a cloth.

You can buy a dozen of these diapers online or at any baby store and  most of them give one to two inserts with the pack.
That way you will be able to manage if you do laundry with a washing machine every day.


You can make your own diapers at home for your newborn.No stitching skills required! Click here to read more

Do you use disposable Diapers?

Disposable diapers are a boon to new age mothers who are busy and can't change their baby's diapers too frequently.
Our moms and grand moms never used diapers probably and we can't imagine a life without them.

Why Do we need Diapers?
Obviously, we don't expect little babies to walk to the toilet and finish the job !
We have a busy lifestyle and we don't want to spend the entire day checking to see if the baby has wet his diaper.
We may also be concerned about rashes that might develop in baby's sensitive skin.
Happy and convinced about enough reasons?
Here's more on diapers.

If you are a mom who uses disposable diapers on babies most of the time day and night here are things for you to consider.

Disposable diapers are a bag of  chemicals that may harm your baby.you might have already read enough of the list of chemicals used in diapers for absorbency (Dioxins and Sodium Polyacrylate are the most common ones).

Researches have been conducted on their negative effects on your baby's health.
If you are too skeptical to believe this, you may consider the below points,

- Not enough real time evidence is available to prove that diapers do not cause long-term health benefits on individuals who have used them as children because the diaper is a relatively new invention.
R ember our moms and grandmoms relied on cloth nappies.

- Imagine wearing a sanitary napkin 24/7 for 3 years!

We may not want to test the products on our child.
The safest bet is to use diapers wisely and only when absolutely necessary.

The scenarios might be when your child is unwell, or the child's caregiver is unwell and cannot check the nappies for wetness regularly.
-When you are traveling and cannot wash or store soiled nappies.

After all, kids are precious and spending time for their wellness is worth it.

Mom's guide to baby diapering

When it comes to diapering your baby, you may be overwhelmed with the number of options available for diapering.

The cost of diapers, the ever wetting wriggly baby and a lot more things maybe on your mind and leave you clueless on which one to choose.

This post is to help you choose the best diapering system based on your baby’s needs and your preferences.

Here’s a quick list of all the diapering options available.

Cloth nappies
Disposable diapers
Cloth diapers
Homemade cloth diapers

Let’s check out all the options one by one

Cloth nappies 

cloth nappies are the most comfortable for you baby's skin and maybe the best Eco-friendly choice.
On simple terms, a cloth nappy is nothing more piece of cotton or blended cloth that has the below fastening options

Diaper Pins
Snappies
Velcro
Loops and knot types
Triangles

Diaper pins are not regular safety pins but they are specially designed to prevent it from opening up accidentally or deliberately by a curious toddler .
Added bonus, these pins come in pretty designs.
Pins come handy when you have lots of nappy clothes at home in various shapes and sizes and the pins can be fastened if you learn the right way to.
Cons, using nappies at night time with pins may be a clumsy job and you could accidentally poke your little one or your finger.

Snappies are fasteners that can be hooked onto any  cloth nappy.They are convenient to use and safer since they do not contain any sharp edges like pins.You can buy them in any online store.

Velcro may be the easy option if you are looking to change your baby's nappy quickly. It might be best suited for a newborn who wets nappies very frequently.
I personally use Velcro nappies for my babies since they are easy to use.
Loops and knot types
These nappies are pre-cut  and a string with loop attached.But tying a string to a wriggly baby can be frustrating.
An advantage is that, if your baby has hyper sensitive skin, this might be the best option since it does not irritate on contact like a Velcro.
Especially if your baby’s umbilical cord has not fallen off, this might be the best option for you if you are planning to use cloth nappies.

Cotton squares or triangles are best if you are planning not to shell down a lot of money on nappies.
Old cotton cloths can be reused.All you need to know is the right technique to fasten them onto your baby.
One disadvantage is that, if you baby has begun to practice kicking or cycling in the air, he might get rid of his nappy fast!

There's one thing to keep in mind while using cloth nappies.
They are not suitable if you are a very busy mom who juggles between work and home.
You may need to change the nappies very often until the baby is six months and is exclusively breastfed.
They may not be suitable if you leave your child in daycare.
They may not be suitable if you have a very cold weather and you have a limited set of nappies.

Click here to read on disposable diapers and why you should/shouldn't be using them.

Why do parents choose pre-school?

Sending kids to school is the top priority on everyone’s mind. What’s so different about it is what you might wonder. There is an increasing trend in sending kids to school earlier than they are really ready for school.
Here’s a top 5 list on why we send kids to school earlier

We think kids are lonely at home

Nuclear families are increasing in rate where there are only parents to take care of kids. In some homes, there might be grandparents who are actually clueless on this age parenting!
Not many kids have siblings and if they, not more than one.
We want our kids to socialise and have fun. School might give an opportunity for kids to socialise.

We think our kids will be inadequate

Survival of the fittest is the single phase that can describe our fears of inadequacy.
Lots of parents want their kids to be top in school ranking systems and performance and they wish to coach them a bit earlier

We are afraid we can’t give quality time to kids

With workings mums and dads, it’s true that lots of homes don’t get much time with their kids. Such parents may feel that school is a distraction to their kid’s loneliness.

Peer pressure

The minute we meet up with mums or dads whose kids are of the same age groups, questions on whether the kid is in arises.
Even the most determined parents have their hearts sink when the other kids are at so-called top school and feel guilty as a parent.

We try to give the best to our kids

With not too many kids in every home, our entire focus is on our kids and as parents, we try to give the best we can afford, from shoes to schools.
As parents what do you think about early school?

Breastfeeding Myths to be busted

Breast milk is the best gift you can give your baby as soon as she is born. Here are the common myths about breastfeeding that you can break.

I don’t make enough milk

Our bodies are wonderfully designed to make the type and quantity of milk our baby needs. It all works on demand and supply principle. The more we feed, the more milk we make.
Lots of mums worry about the quantity of milk and lots more are pulled down by their families too.
There might to members of the family or even friends who say that the baby is hungry and you don’t make enough.
A new mother needs complete assurance from veteran mums and knowledgeable friends who can encourage them to breastfeed.
Discouragements make mums stressed and stress in turns affects milk supply.
Due to this reason lots of mums try to supplement with formula and this, in turn, leads to decreased milk supply.

I got to eat lots and lots

Many families have a culture that feeds breastfeeding mums with too much food. Our bodies need just that extra 500 calories to keep up your health.
This forceful feeding on new mums makes them resent breastfeeding.
The extra calories we consume is just to keep our health intact while breastfeeding and we make milk no matter how much we eat. Poor eating habits rarely reduces our milk supply but surely deteriorates the mother’s health.

Formula is healthier

The formula might be necessary in rare cases where the mother is unable to feed her baby due to health issues, but all healthy mums can surely feed their babies and need not supplement with formula.
Formula milk is nothing more than processed food that is fortified with nutrients artificially synthesised.
Nothing I more wholesome that your milk for the baby.

I may lose my looks

Breastfeeding mums who love to breastfeed bond very well with their babies and this in turns affect your overall mental health positively.
Lots of research and even experience says that beauty is tied with your attitude and happiness.
So be a beautiful breastfeeding mum.