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Your 3 Months Old Baby Growth and Development
Isn’t it a bit hard to believe that your tiny little baby is already three months old now? Single-handedly she has managed to transform your life and has given it a new meaning altogether. Not only is she growing at a rapid pace but springs so many surprises every single day. You will be completely glued to every single milestone your little one achieves since it provides a reliable graph of your child’s growth. To understand infant development at 3 months in a better way, read on to find out the various parameters mentioned in this article.
Growth of Baby
At three months in its new world, your baby has now grown in length and seems larger too. Shopping for a larger size of baby clothes will become a priority for most mothers as your visibly-round baby won’t seem to fit in new-born clothes anymore. Indian summers, however, can spare you these expenses as a nappy and a soft singlet can be the perfect attire for your baby. Remember that your baby will grow in weight and length, so make sure you use all those clothes you’ve bought instead of saving them for later.
Baby Development
Below are some of the weekly developments your baby goes through:
12 Week Old Baby Development
Your 12 week old will be sleeping more and wake up only once or twice, and there is a pattern emerging slowly but surely. Make sure your baby sleeps for a few hours during the day as this will help her to sleep well at night. Her eyes will be well-coordinated, and depth perception will be better too. If your baby seems like squinting, take your doctor’s advice since it could mean vision issues later.
13 Week Old Baby Development
A steadily improving vision helps your child to track movement up to 20 feet and makes her perceptive to colour. It is the right time to give your baby a whiff of fresh flowers or a sweet-smelling fruit. She will turn her head towards music and other interesting sounds. At week 13, your baby will learn the use of her hands to pull, grab and grip at things near her, your hair included. Her motor-skills and hand-eye coordination will get better when she enters week 13. Shrieking sounds will be common at this stage, and you will often find your little one cooing to herself.
14 Week Old Baby Development
Your baby’s world is now at its fullest, colourful glory as she can now differentiate between hues and bold colours. Her world is suddenly a new one with fresh and vibrant colours being infused into it. She will begin to respond more enthusiastically to your presence in the room and give a more pronounced reaction to your voice. She will smile more when she spots another baby in her favourite storybook and will love to stare into the mirror. She may probably not understand that it is her image she is looking at, but she will love the kid who is smiling back at her.
15 Week Old Baby Development
Expect your little infant to roll over. This is a major milestone for her, though she will need support to come back to her original position. As the neck and abdominal muscles grow stronger, she will do the back-to-belly flip, but that is still some time away. Help your baby to strengthen these muscles by propping up pillows behind her or by adopting a slightly-upright position in the stroller. Expect a few cries during the night when she attempts to roll over, and gets stuck doing so. It is best to put your baby on her tummy as early as possible so that she gets used to it.
Baby Health
Adults can always communicate to the doctor when they are afflicted with a disease. With a 3-month-old baby, this is obviously difficult. However, they have another way of communicating with people: crying. Always be on the lookout for unwarranted crying. If this is followed by weakness and reduced mobility, take them to a paediatrician immediately.
Baby Milestones - 3 Months
Your baby’s development at three months will revolve around three areas viz. physical, cognitive and emotional. These milestones will signify the baby’s growth and can be measured accordingly.
Improvement in gross motor skills: The baby will be able to lift her head up to a 45 degree angle and the growing strength in the baby's neck muscles allows her to lift her head when she is on her tummy.
Response to sounds: Your baby will start to turn her head towards a source of sound which indicates that the baby’s capability of using its audio senses are developing. Familiar sounds, like your voice or the phone rings, will elicit such responses.
Increase in vocal communication: During this phase, watch out as your baby babbles in response to what she hears. Although the babbling and actions will not resemble the real thing, this will be an important milestone for your baby.
Behaviour
Your bundle of joy will surely live up to this moniker at 3 months and announce her presence in the house with squeals and high-pitched sounds. Her sounds of delight will keep the entire household on its toes as she will try out newer (and not necessarily pleasant) vocal skills. Your baby may be slightly scared of her own voice so ensure your feedback is a positive one that says those sounds are okay.
3 Months Old Baby Activities
If you want to know what activities to do when your baby is growing up, check the following ideas for a great time with your child:
Provide toys: Put your baby on her back or tummy and let her reach out for toys that you hold out for her. Provide toys of various shapes and sizes that she can hold and grip. Remember that your little one will put these toys in her mouth, so choose accordingly.
Practice head support: Put your baby on your lap in such a manner that she faces you, while ensuring enough support to her back and neck region. Attract her attention by making noises, giggling, and calling out to her, so she looks up to you.
Tummy time: Turn your baby on to her stomach and place a few brightly coloured toys or objects in front of her. Encourage her to grasp them. You can lie in front of her so that she uses her arms to take a look at you. By doing so, you will help strengthen her upper body and your bond too.
Tracking toys: Put the baby on the floor and roll a ball or a toy car in front of her. This will encourage her to follow the toy and track its movement. Use a rattle to grab her attention if she doesn’t show any interest initially.
Using the baby’s name: Use your baby’s name as often as possible as her name will be the first word she will connect to. Use it while singing songs, lullabies and while having a conversation with her. While singing to her, vary your voice and pitch to keep her interested.
3 Months Old Baby Care
Follow the below-mentioned tips to keep your infant healthy and safe during this period:
Breastfeeding is essential: Breast milk is the most important part of a baby’s diet so make sure you continue breastfeeding your three-month-old. This will also help you create a feeding schedule. Avoid any kind of solid food, cow’s milk or juice, as breast milk is the healthiest food for your little one.
Sleep is important: Your baby will be sleeping for 4 to 5 hours at a stretch. Do not rock her if she is going off to sleep on her own. She will get up a couple of times in the night but will drift off to sleep on her own, or may need to be fed to get to sleep.
Communicate well: At three months, your baby’s responsiveness to sounds and gestures is high, and it will be more expressive too. Play peek-a-boo games with your child (all babies love it), use gestures to make your baby laugh, and smile and keep talking to her. Place soft toys or balls near her to encourage her to grab and play with them.
Use safety precautions: You will have to be extra careful regarding your baby's safety now, since her movements and activities have increased. She will be anxious to put all that is in her sight into her mouth, and this could be a risk. Keep the baby’s bed away from open windows and medicines, and ensure that pointed and small objects are out of her reach.
Promote development changes: Many important development changes like drooling, chewing and sucking will occur during the third month. Use teethers to good effect here since babies like to chomp on things and it can be an amusement for them. Spend some time outdoors in the park to give them a taste of their surroundings.
Feeding
By month three, you and your baby will have managed to create a fairly-settled feeding routine between yourselves. Your baby’s skills at feeding will have improved dramatically, and your ability too will have improved tremendously. As a mother, you will now be able to distinguish between your baby’s hunger cry and the cry that has boredom written all over it. Your baby’s sleep duration will increase so you will find a bit of relief if you are breastfeeding. If your baby is bottle-fed, expect the sleeping hours to increase slightly earlier.
Sleeping
Typically, your 3-month-old will sleep for 14-15 hours in the day, which includes the short naps during the day and night-time sleep. Since night-feeds have reduced to a minimum, expect your child to sleep for 4-5 hour stretches. This happens because your baby’s nervous system is maturing, which allows her stomach to accommodate a larger quantity of milk or baby food. However, don’t just expect her to sleep throughout the night just yet; you will still need to be available on-call for feeds a couple of times.
Tips for Parents
Parenting is a hands-on learning experience for most, although a bit of support from experienced and well-meaning friends and relatives is useful. Here are a few tips to go through this phase with ease:
Irrespective of all the advice you may hear, do not start with solids at this stage. Your baby should be at least 4-6 months old before you do it. Till that time, breast milk is the ideal food for your little one as she receives all the necessary nourishment through it.
Create a routine of feeding, sleeping and playtime with your baby. This ensures that your tiny tot will get used to a schedule and will fall off to sleep at night without much of a fuss. 7 pm to 9 pm will be the ideal time for your baby to sleep and this will encourage longer sleep durations during the night.
Get the baby's check-up done and schedule one for the next month as well.
Parents are often anxious about the ideal 3-month-old baby's weight. Though your doctor will be the right person to speak to, if it’s a boy, he should weigh between 6 and 6.5 kg while a baby girl should weigh between 5.5 to 5.8 kg.
It is important to understand that every baby will have his/her own development speed and milestones may come early or late. Your apprehensions about your baby’s growth are justified but can be easily put to rest. Keep a watch on the developments and report any abnormal activity to your doctor as that’s the best way of going forward.
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Banana Allergy in Babies - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
The first food that most parents introduce as the first food to their babies is the humble fruit banana. Babies love its sweet taste, and moreover, it is an extremely nutritious fruit packed with vitamins and nutrients. However, not all babies can eat bananas as they may have an allergic reaction to them. Let’s find out more about this allergy and how to deal with it.
What Is Banana Allergy?
A banana allergy is an allergy to certain proteins present in bananas. Your baby will have a banana allergy if his immune system is hypersensitive towards a specific protein found in it. If he is allergic to bananas then this means that once he consumes it, his body will attack the food to protect the digestive system by sending out white blood cells. This can provoke an external allergic reaction in your baby. The symptoms of this allergy include a rash, diarrhoea, vomiting, or in severe cases, anaphylaxis. Most parents ask if a banana allergy is common in babies? The answer to this is that it depends on a child’s immune system. However, food allergies are quite common among young children.
Causes of Banana Allergy in Infants
If you see your baby vomiting or having a red rash on his face soon after eating a banana, it may be because of a banana allergy. This might happen due to the below causes:
1. Protein Intolerance
There is a protein found in bananas which is called 'chitinase'. Your baby’s immune system may be intolerant to this protein and hence become hypersensitive causing an allergic reaction to bananas.
2. Vasoactive Amines
Bananas contain a substance known as 'vasoactive amines'. Vasoactive amines are similar to histamines and occur naturally. If your baby’s metabolic system cannot oxidise enzymes, then vasoactive amines may lead to an allergy to bananas in babies.
Symptoms of Banana Allergy in Babies
When you feed your baby mashed banana for the first time, watch out for the following symptoms of banana allergy in him. These symptoms can happen immediately or within a few hours of consuming the fruit.
1. Gastrointestinal Symptoms
A banana allergy causes a baby to vomit due to various gastrointestinal issues. The other symptoms are as follows:
Diarrhoea
Nausea
Gas
Loose Bowels
Stomach ache
2. Respiratory Symptoms
Your baby may have a few problems while breathing if he has a banana allergy, such as -
Stuffed nose
A cough
Wheezing
Panting
A runny nose
Fainting
Tightness of chest
3. Skin Problems
The most common indication of a banana allergy are the symptoms on the skin, such as
Itching sensation
Tongue inflammation
Swelling on the face
Red bumps
Hives
Inflammation of the mouth
A banana allergy may also lead to diaper rashes and eczema, so stay alert parents.
How to Deal with Banana Allergy in Babies?
As parents, no doubt you will be worried if your baby has a food allergy. But there is no need to panic. Here is how you can deal with it.
1. Follow the 3-Day Wait Rule
Once you introduce banana (or any solid food for that matter) to your baby, wait for at least 3 days to see whether he is showing any signs of an allergy. This will let you know what foods are safe for your baby and the foods that should be avoided. You can also inform your doctor about the foods you are planning to introduce your baby beforehand so that he can diagnose any allergic reaction more efficiently and with lesser tests.
2. Other Tips to Deal with Banana Allergy
If your baby is allergic to bananas, here are a few tips that you can follow to combat that allergy.
If your baby has only a slight allergic reaction to bananas, your doctor will suggest that you feed your baby smaller pieces of banana every time you feed this fruit.
Instead of introducing bananas, you can start with foods like steamed carrots as carrots make a safe baby food.
Cooked bananas are much safer than raw bananas, so you can give your baby small pieces of cooked bananas.
If your baby has a severe allergy towards bananas, make sure that whatever you buy in the grocery has zero traces of banana in it, as it can cause cardiovascular complications or extreme face swelling.
When to Call a Doctor
If you notice any mild symptoms like hives or a rash on your baby’s face, stop feeding him bananas and get in touch with your doctor. If you notice any symptoms of a serious reaction like severe diarrhoea or vomiting, trouble breathing, severe wheezing or swelling of face or lips, call an ambulance immediately and your doctor following that. A baby’s allergic reaction to bananas should not be taken lightly.
Sometimes, a breastfed baby may also develop an allergic reaction to bananas if his mother is allergic to the same. So make sure to keep your own food allergies in mind so that the doctor can better diagnose your baby.
Also Read: Causes of Egg Allergy in Babies & Its Treatment Read more
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How to Deal with Aggressive Behaviour in Toddlers
Like most aspects of development, aggressive behaviour in toddlers is a natural phase that requires a bit of help from parents and child psychologists to correct. You may find your child showcasing its emotions expressively rather than verbalizing them. Your toddler may be hitting others, taking things away, throwing things or pointing at objects whenever they want it. Around the age of 8 months to 3 years old, your toddler's identity begins shaping as they realize that they are separate beings from their parents and others around them. While this makes them more independent, it may also make them aggressively expressive.
Children with aggressive behavioural tendencies have a difficult time "cooling down" and have trouble managing their emotions. As a parent, your job is to understand what makes your toddler tick and communicate their feelings in a calm and non-aggressive ways. Resolving toddler biting and hitting for good requires a lot of time and patience but with the right support and encouragement, your toddler will learn to overcome its problems within a few months or a years' time. Keep reading to learn more about toddler aggression and what you can to help an angry toddler.
What can you Expect from Birth to Age 3?
Your child goes through various modes or stages of aggression from birth to the age of 3. Here's what you need to understand about them.
1. Birth to 12-months Old
Rickey wants a square of chocolate for dessert but instead gets a bowl of banana slices. Out goes those slices flying across the room and land splat on the floor. When his mother tries to feed him directly, he swings his hands across her face, gets angry and fidgety. His mother feels frustrated.
This is a typical example of a sign of aggression during this stage. It is important to realize that your little one is learning to explore the world through his senses which often translate to big or huge reactions. Biting, grabbing, yanking, shaking and dropping or even swatting are completely normal and they expect to see what happens. Don't feed the fuel with fire. Children even bite you during breastfeeding but don't lose your cool. He doesn't mean to hurt you or cause harm. Be gentle, patient and understanding. After all, they're only exploring and seeing what happens.
2. One To Two Years Old
Timmy, aged 18 months, is exploring his mother's cell phone and browsing funny cat videos on YouTube. While mashing a few buttons on the phone, mysterious or inappropriate pictures pop up. His mother, Sarah, takes away the cell phone in a flash and Timmy begins to cry and throw things around in the house.
Toddler aggression peaks between one to two year old. During this time, they tend to develop strong feelings but at the same time are slowly developing their sense of empathy. Since they don't fully comprehend empathy and are in the learning stages, they may resort to aggressive behaviour or exhibit a lack of self-control from expressing their feelings through actions. If another child steals a toy car from your kid, your child may end up bopping on that kid's head instead of asking back for it.
3. Two To Three Years Old
It's Morty's first day at the daycare, and he feels sad that his mom had left him all alone. When other kids try to come and comfort or play with him, he simply pushes them away. Rosy, the daycare teacher approaches him closely and tries to encourage him, only to be responded with a thrashing of his fists. She doesn't lose her calm and simply approaches him again explaining why playing with others will make him feel better and how his mommy will come back to pick him up after a few hours. Morty calms down and slowly begins to participate in the group.
When toddlers are overwhelmed with emotions that arise from distressing situations, they resort to punching and kicking or more. This proves to be a challenge to parents and daycare teachers alike because it feels awful to experience them. You may think that as your child's thinking skills develop, his emotional responses will be regulated but the truth is, between the age of two to three years, your child lacks the impulse control to stop themselves from doing things they want. This is why parents and daycare givers need to be calm and responsive during episodes of 2-year old to 3-year old aggressive behaviour rather than feel frustrated since impulse control is still developing and they don't have total control over the situation or their actions.
What Causes Aggressiveness in Toddlers?
All children and families are not alike. Think about this before you dive any deeper into analysing your toddler's aggressive tendencies. Here's what you need to think about to learn how to stop a toddler from hitting others
Does your child act aggressively only in certain situations?
When your child behaves aggressively with you, how do you react?
Is the so-called reaction your child shows helpful or hurtful to their own wellbeing or situation?
The causes of aggression in toddlers are linked to common signs and medical symptoms. They are-
Mood Disorders - Bipolar kids tend to become aggressive when they enter their manic stages. When they get depressed, they become irritable, moody and sometimes lash out based on these.
Psychosis - Various psychotic illnesses are linked to episodes of aggression in kids. Schizophrenia-prone kids respond to their internal stimuli by being fearful, paranoid, suspicious and tend to lash out in their own defence.
Frustration - Kids who have cognitive or communication problems become frustrated due to their lack of said-developed skills. As a result, they are unable to verbalize how they feel and lash out.
Impulsivity - Disruptive behaviour disorders like ADHD and ODD are linked to poor decision-making skills and impulsivity. Children with these disorders often times don't think about what they're doing and act impulsively with defiance and aggression.
Conduct Disorder (CD) - In this case, kids become intentionally hurtful, malicious and defiant. They don't consider the consequences of their actions and proceed anyway. A different prognosis and mode of treatment are required for this illness.
Injury - From episodes of epilepsy to sustaining frontal lobe injuries, there are no explainable circumstances towards their episodes of aggression since they may be a result of a component of injury.
Trauma - Although this is very rare, stressors induced due to trauma lead to aggression in kids. If the aggressive behaviour continues to crop up frequently, then that could represent underlying emotions coming to the surface with regard to the trauma/situation.
Responding to the Aggression in your Toddler
It's natural to feel angry, frustrated or jealous or when your toddler goes from happy to moody or taking sides with someone for no reason. How you respond to their aggression matters and here are the three stages (or steps) to responding to aggression in your toddler.
Stage 1. Analyze And Try To Understand Your Toddler
The first step to responding to your child's aggression or dealing with biting toddlers is by simply observing and trying to understand it. Analyze the underlying reasons behind his aggression. Where does it come from? Does he react aggressively on in certain places or situations? Is it happening in a particular environment or is he reacting to triggers in different environments?
Other questions you could ask yourself for better analysis are-
Whether or not the behaviour is towards a person or a group of people
Whether or not the behaviour is directed towards related/relevant people in circles around him
Is the behaviour is normal according to his age and developmental stages?
Is the aggressive behaviour directed solely towards strangers?
Is the behaviour affecting only you due to your personal past events and life experiences?
Stage 2. Respond Your Toddler As Per Your Learning
Here are a couple of ways on how to deal with toddler hitting based on your own observations.
Preventive Tips- Your child may be shy while meeting new people or encountering relatives in events. Before you take her to said events, try to get photos of new people he/she is about to meet with and introduce them by pointing your finger at their photos and describing them in a friendly way. Another good way to reinforce this is to play imitation games like pretending to go to a picnic with said relatives or members in the house to prep your child mentally to connect with them when the time comes. Whenever you bring your child to family gatherings or events, tell your friends and extended family members to not rush in for hugs but rather, allow them to give your child the time they need to warm up to them.
Notify About An Upcoming Event - If you're planning to take your child to the daycare, let them know early and give them options like, "Which music do you want to play in the car?" or "What book do you want to read while driving to the daycare?"
Help Them Manage Their Emotions And Feelings - A little self-awareness will help your child manage their emotions and feelings in healthy and positive ways. For example, if you have a child who has a tough time shifting between activities such as stopping what he's playing to go to the car for daycare, give them options for doing something else as a transitional aid. Like reading a book in the car or playing with a fidget spinner on the way to daycare. Sometimes when kids cling to something, you have to offer something equally more fun to get them moving and in this way, gently enable them to transition to the next activity without feeling anger or frustration.
Stage 3. Help Your Toddler To Learn From His Actions
Your toddler is developing his logical and rational thinking skills at this age. Help them associate their thoughts with their actions. Here's how-
Show The Consequences of Their Actions - If your child hits another child. Show them that the other kid is crying and doesn't want to play with them anymore because they're sad from being hurt.
Encourage Better Choices- Teach your child that there are better ways of resolving problems than by hitting. Brainstorm different solutions and ask them to use words over actions whenever they want something.
Be Open To Helping- Let your child know that you're always there for them whenever they feel bad or need advice. Tell them that they can always come to you for more ideas or whenever they go through bad experiences to share and talk about them.
Key Strategies for Dealing with Aggression
Be Calm - The key point is to stay calm and not blow your lid when a tantrum blazes across the room. Your child takes you like your first role model, and the best way to model healthy acceptable behavioural patterns is by modelling them yourself. Take time-outs or meditate whenever you feel frustrated or listen to your favourite tunes when you think that the situation is spiralling out of control and you need a break.
Recognize Your Child's Intentions- Your child may wreak havoc when misunderstood. Make sure that you understand what they want to do and gently reaffirm that they cannot repeat bad behaviours simply because they're hurtful or unacceptable.
Give Options - If your child loves throwing things, let them throw softballs in a basket. If he loves playing with fluids, let him splash all the water he wants in the bathtub. Direct his bustling energy through different channels.
Let Them Take a Break - Have a quiet corner in your house filled with soft toys, comic books, and favourite plushies. Name this the cosy corner and allow your children to take timeouts whenever they feel they need to take a break. Once them calm down, congratulate them for managing their feelings in a healthy way and be positive about it.
Minimizing Toddler Anger Issues
Here are 4 ways you can minimize toddler anger issues
1. Maintain Consistency
Enforce ground rules and do not give in to your child's demands. Give options and be consistent where modelling responsive behaviours to their aggression are concerned.
2. Give Them a Chance To Resolve Problems
Take a step back and give them space and time to fix their problems. You can always pitch in to help if you see things going awry on the way.
3. Do Not Negotiate
This is a heartbreaking decision for some parents, but we believe setting ground rules at home and not negotiating helps. Have rules set in stone and create a structure/hierarchy at home where behaving and working through daily events are concerned. Their routines are their rituals.
4. Give Positive Feedback
Encourage them, make them feel happy and sometimes reward hem whenever they do an outstanding job. Positive feedback is what will keep them improving and shape their personality for the better in the long haul.
When to Seek Medical Advice?
If you think things are getting out of hand and you can't seem to help out, then it may be time to seek medical advice. Consider visiting a doctor or a child psychologist if you feel:
You have an overly aggressive toddler who is reckless and handles situations with no regards to consequences
Acts aggressively without a purpose or reason
Prefers aggressive themed-plays during pretend play-times
Behaves aggressively after a huge life event or has undergone trauma
Every child is unique and different which is why it's important to keep in mind that the above strategies and ways are not prescription-fixes to your child's behavioural problems. Teach your children empathy, model good behaviours and set an example by enacting acceptable behaviours and responses yourself and your child will soon follow suit.
Also Read: Ways to Deal with Stubborn Child Read more
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Doctors Recommend 6 New Tricks to Make Your Baby's Brain Sharp and Strong!
With competition growing tougher by the day, parents need to be focused on raising smart kids... right from birth! Brain power is a very essential skill for your child to have, as it dictates everything else in his life, including how fast he learns things, his memory, his relationships with other people, and his future career. And guess what, it is never too early to get serious about your child's overall growth and development.
We have brought you some scientifically proven ways to boost the cognitive development of your baby. These are simple things you and your family members can do at home to make your baby's brain sharp and strong!
1. Naps for Memory
What you have to do: Put your baby down for a nap just after teaching her something new. This could be anything from teaching her to play with a new toy, showing her how to roll over, or practising a simple hand movement. Doing this will actually help her remember it better as sleeping helps her little brain absorb the new learning and imbibe it. In fact, this has also been shown to help babies develop a stronger memory over time.
Why this works: As per a recent study published in the National Academy of Sciences journal, babies who slept remembered things much better than those who didn't. The study involved showing some babies the working of a device built of a puppet, a mitten, and a bell. Then, the babies were divided into two groups. One group was allowed to sleep, while the other was not. And the group that slept showed a remarkable ability to remember the details!
Now you might think that maybe the babies who were not allowed to sleep were just tired and hence couldn't remember. But the authors of the study actually have reason to believe that the actual act of sleeping played a role in the babies remembering the device mechanism. Please note that this does not work if the sleep is disturbed, or if the baby is uncomfortable while sleeping. It is very important to choose the correct bedding for a comfortable snooze and ensure that your little one is relaxed.
2. Language for Problem Solving
What you have to do: Around the age of 11-months, which is the average age at which babies start talking, start conversing with the baby in more than one language. If you and your husband speak different Indian languages, you can put them both to use. English and your mother tongue are also good options to use together. Don't worry that this will confuse your baby; babies are very smart and quick learners!
Why this works: The reason is simple. Languages help develop the executive function of the brain – or the brain's central control room – and this deals primarily with the brain's problem solving capacity! It is also linked to learning abilities and memory. Check out the amazing findings of a study conducted by the University of Washington in Seattle: they suggest that babies growing in multilingual households grow up to become people with far greater problem-solving skills! The study showed that the executive function was much better developed in babies who grew up in bilingual households.
Did you know that most Alzheimer's patients showing early symptoms are asked to learn new languages and solve puzzles to keep their brain from deteriorating? Our guess is – this is probably also why Indian children are so smart! The average Indian knows at least 2 languages, and some know upto 5 or more even!
3. Exercise for Vocabulary
What you have to do: Very simple! Depending on your baby's age, just make sure he gets some exercise every day! For young babies, rolling over, practising hand movements and muscle stretching exercises work very well. If your little one can now crawl and be mobile, guide him along to move his hands and legs and take baby steps to exercise.
Why this works: This trick has been proved to work without doubt. Several studies have indicated that exercising on a regular basis will definitely help your child build his vocabulary better. This is mainly because physical activity improves blood circulation and your little one is fresher and more alert. This is why picking up newer words is 20% faster after you've just had a run, or spent some time on the field. Apart from this, there are a lot of other reasons too, to indulge in regular physical activity with your child. Exercising helps fight most common infections and health ailments, makes the muscles and bones strong, and also ensures emotional well-being.
Watch what exercises you can do to help your baby's brain development below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW-SuV73wOA
4. Music for Pattern Recognition and Speech
What you have to do: You just have to ensure that your child spends some time being exposed to music every day. A great way to do this is to invest in a few music-CDs for kids and play them to your child every once in a while. You can also encourage your baby to play with musical toys that make sounds when moved. And yes, that lullaby you sing to him at bed time is also excellent for brain power!
Why this works: Speech and language have a certain pattern. And music is also a collection of sounds made with periodicity. This is why being exposed to music helps develop better speech and communication skills in the baby. A study was recently carried out by the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences. This was carried out in two groups: one group of babies was given music classes, where parents sat with the babies and played a simple instrument like a drum, to the particular pattern and beat of a song. The other group of babies was given a similar social exposure and experience – but no music. When the brains of the babies in the music group were scanned, they showed better brain responses as compared to the other group! This clearly suggests that music helps babies get better at recognising patterns. Pattern recognition is a key skill that helps your little one's brain get sharper.
5. Diapering for Brain's Emotional Quotient
What you have to do: Emotional quotient is one thing that many parents tend to overlook when it comes to brain development. But surprisingly, one of the activities that you can use to develop emotional quotient of your baby is diapering! While changing your baby's diaper, simply engage in activities that promote a healthy and positive self-image. Stroke your baby's hair, plant kisses on their cheeks... you may even blow raspberries on his tummy!
Why this works: Research indicates that the brains of babies who are not cuddled often or enough tend to remain smaller in size than the average brain size corresponding with their age! When you engage in this activity, your baby feels love and secure. This emotional development eventually helps his brain development. It also helps your baby grow up to be a loving, emotionally sound adult.
6. The Right Praise For Quick Learning
What you have to do: This brain boosting trick is completely in your hands. As a parent, you need to build your baby's brain as well as his heart. And to do this, you need to talk to him and praise him in a positive manner. While it may seem too early to start practicing this with a baby, truth is – the initial conversations you have with your child become integral to their self-dialogue. The things you say to children, become their inner voice.
It is thus never too early to seed your child with positive reinforcements in order to raise truly confident children. So, every day, have positive conversations with your baby and say little things about how good he was at bath-time and how he helped mom change his diapers. As your little one grows up to become a toddler, make sure you use a lot of positive reinforcement for his accomplishments, and not his abilities. For example, if you say to a child 'You are so smart!', the child is more like to feel frustrated and discouraged when he is not able to do something. In contrast, if you say to a child 'You solved that puzzle on your own! Well done!' the child is more like to be encouraged to take on more activities. The aim should be to place incentive on accomplishing tasks, rather than simply 'being' smart or intelligent or confident.
Why this works: Research has proven that kids who are praised for their accomplishments and not their abilities eventually grow up to be smarter and more confident. When you praise children for their abilities, it can in fact serve to demotivate them if they eventually fail to do well at something. This starts right from the time they are little as even babies are known to be very intuitive in figuring out when mom is happy with them.
As science makes more and more progress, we will keep on discovering new things about ourselves and our children. These little tricks are proactive steps that you should take towards the brain development of your baby. In no time, you will see him emerge into a successful person who also has his heart in the right place! Read more
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Beating the 'My Husband Snores and I can't Sleep' Blues
You love your man, you really do. Life together would have been perfect if only his bad sleeping habits weren't keeping you up all night. You can easily get your fair share of a good night's sleep by putting a stop to it with these tips.
You’ve just woken up bleary-eyed from yet another sleepless night while your partner is snoring his way into a deep sleep haven. Take steps into the right direction to change his sleeping habits and get your much-deserved sleep as well with these snore proof suggestions from experts.
"My Husband Snores and I Can’t Sleep"! Well, Now You Can!
1. Mind Your Sleep Pattern
The different sleeping patterns of men and women can be a cause for concern.Men sleep deeply while women are light sleepers. Experts suggest that women concentrate on their own sleep clock. Go to bed and wake up the next morning the same time every day. Don’t use your mobile phones or laptops as their glowing screens may leave you feeling wide awake.
2. Snuggling vs Sleeping
There is something incredibly intimate about snuggling with him while sleeping, but this can cause trouble in sleeping with your partner! Separate the pillow talk time from your sleeping hours. Once you’re done talking, claim your space and sleep in peace!
3. Sleeping Arrangements
While you look for help for a snoring husband, here’s something that you can try. If you’re making do with a small bed, get a bigger one so the effects of his snoring lessen over the extra space. Experts have also suggest sleeping in separate bedrooms for a few days till a solution is found. Don’t stress out sleeping apart, after a well-rested night, you’ll be less likely to get into fights anyway!
4. Mark your Territory
Women tend to have lower body temperature at night while the testosterone and thyroid activities of the male body keep them hot during their sleepy time. Unless you want to awaken to the feel of his sweat-drenched clothes place a pillow barrier to mark your LOC!
5. The Other Side of Things
Men sleeping on their backs are more likely to snore louder. You can easily fix this by asking him sleep on his side. A full-length pillow is a great solution for him to stop snoring and have something snuggle with too!
6. Treating Things Naturally
Try these natural remedies for sleeping problems to relieve your partner off his clogged nose. A hot shower before bedtime or even jala-neti (saline water treatment) helps in opening his blocked nasal cavity. If your man is allergic to dust, set your vacuum cleaner to work. Allergens could also be the reason why you’re spending sleepless nights.
Just like all the other aspects of married life, sleeping together also requires compromises. However a few steps and changes can alleviate his snoring and you can catch up on your precious sleep too! Read more
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DIY Origami Jumping Frogs
Ribbit ribbit! Frogs are such adorable and cool creatures. Introduce your child to these fun jumping frogs!
These cute little jumping frogs will keep your little one engaged for a long time – and they're not dangerous either! This might even encourage your kid to take an interest in nature and the various fascinating creatures found in it.
What you’ll need
A square piece of Origami paper
Googly eyes (optional)
Step by step instructions
1. Take the square sheet of Origami paper and fold and unfold it diagonally (both diagonals) to form creases
2. Fold and unfold the paper in half horizontally to form creases. Make sure that the creases of the folds meet at the center of the paper
3. Using the ends of the center fold, push in the sides so that the paper folds into a triangle with four points - two on each side
4. Fold two of the four points towards the top of the triangle so that it forms a diamond in the middle of the triangle
5. Fold the bottom corners of the diamond inward and crease it
6. Fold the top corners of the diamond outwards and line it with the botton edge of the diamond to form the frog's legs. (The end result should look similar to a paper airplane on a triangle)
7. Flip the paper over to start working on the top part of the frog
8. Fold the two corners of the triangle towards the center of the triangle to form a diamond shape
9. Fold the inner edges outwards in a way that the edges line up with the ends of the paper
10. With the long back legs facing you fold the paper in half where the frog is narrowest and crease it
11. With the frog still folded, flip the frog over again
12. Leaving a little space, create another fold near the crease to make the legs face backward and crease it
13. Flip it over and your jumping frog is ready!
14. You can stick googly eyes if you wish.
15. To make the frog jump - just press and release the back of the frog!
Level of difficulty - high, medium, low
Medium
Parental involvement - high medium low
High
Skills enhanced
Fine motor skills, curiosity and interest in the natural world, cause and effect relationship Read more
Dr Ghouse has added a new answer
Trying To Conceive
4 hours ago
Q. Dr meri baby 12 month running hai uska weight 6 kg hai uska growth nahi ho pa Raha hai to kya kare or over active hai
Dr Ghouse
Paediatrician
4 hours ago
A. ok see c. if the baby is not having proper height and weight it means that baby is having failure to thrive baby needs investigations like TSH and other related test to find out the reason
Dr Sameer awadhiya has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
4 hours ago
Q. mere twins baby hai boy nd girl one month 8 days when I check eye and ear which month
Dr Sameer awadhiya
Paediatrician
4 hours ago
A. For the query asked needs consultation with doctor for proper guidance so it is better that the doctor will guide you the correct way .
Online consultation can also be taken jjand the expert will give you the proper answer .
Ankita Mehta has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
2 hours ago
Q. is white discharge in 8th month normal?
Ankita Mehta
Mom of a 8 yr 7 m old girl
2 hours ago
A. hi
yes
but if it is too thick or clear like water,if there other symptoms like itching, irritation, redness,foul smell from vagina, please visit your gynecologist
Dr Vandan H Kumar has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
2 hours ago
Q. My son is 5 months old is suffering from cough..what to do?
Dr Vandan H Kumar
Paediatrician
1 hour ago
A. give nasal saline drops every few hourly to the child in the nasal cavity.
try to prevent temperature variations around the child
you can go for indirect steam inhalation which will again help in decreasing both cough and cold
continue the regular diet of the child
if there is no improvement in few days then meet your doctoru
for fever and pain give paracetamol.u
anti-cold medicines at this age have got side effects so can be given only after medical consultation.
POOJA KOTHARI has added a new answer
Expecting Mom due in 6 months
2 hours ago
Q. hi. in Feb my period was last and I did pregnancy test in March its positive results but my belly is not being bigger
POOJA KOTHARI
Mom of a 7 yr 1 m old boy
2 hours ago
A. Typically, your bump becomes noticeable during your second trimester. Between 16-20 weeks, your body will start showing your baby's growth. For some women, their bump may not be noticeable until the end of the second trimester and even into the third trimester. The second trimester starts in the fourth month.
Rashmi has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
20 mins ago
Q. I am 7 weeks pregnant. Before pregnancy I used to take medicine named Cyra 20 mg for acidity. Now since the day when I got to know that I am pregnant I am not taking any medicine for acidity but daily I am suffering from it. After having breakfast it starts. I am not eating any spicy food , oily food etc. Please help on this
Read moreRashmi
Mom of a 9 yr 7 m old girl
16 mins ago
A. Start having chilled milk directly from the refrigerator that usually helps a lot in reducing down acidity and anyways when you take so much of medicine in the body gets addicted to it to check with your doctor if you need to do anything or any other medication would be friendly in cases of emergency
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