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10 Amazing Extracurricular Activities for Kids
Despite the long day at school, your child is not going to be satisfied if that is all she has to stimulate her throughout the day. Here is where extracurricular activities come into play. After a snack and some rest, your child will benefit greatly from a non-academic activity that she has an interest in. She can choose something like sports, chess clubs, dance clubs, book clubs, music clubs, and so on. Your child is bound to find something she likes!
Importance of Extracurricular Activities for Children
Academic activities are often not aimed at all-round development, and this is why every child needs to be involved in one extracurricular activity. Kids often also learn other important life skills such as teamwork, problem-solving skills and other things they will need to grow up into well-balanced adults.
Schools have made attempts to make such environments for children, and so there are different options for your child to choose from, such as school bands, dance teams, and sports teams. They can even join the school paper team and hone their skill in writing. It is most often during extracurricular activities that children find others their ages that have common interests and lifelong friendships are forged.
10 Best Extracurricular Activities Your Child Should Try
Every child has a different personality, and those personalities need to be nurtured in a positive way. When children do not have anything constructive to do, they tend to make mischief, which is something that can be avoided with proper guidance. Here we have a list of extracurricular activities for kids and what your child can learn from them to help you make your decision.
1. Music
Some children learn to play instruments, while others prefer to sing. There are some who are good at doing both. There are so many instruments to choose from that you are bound to find something that fits your child and that she will enjoy.
What Your Child Will Learn
There is a certain freedom in music, and a lot of children find joy in it because of this reason. Not just that, children also tend to learn a lot about history and culture while learning something like playing a musical instrument or singing, especially if it is in the classical genre.
2. Dance
Even among dance, there are so many types to choose from that your child is sure to find the perfect fit. She may prefer classical folk dances, or she may want to learn the more contemporary styles like hip-hop or lyrical dance styles.
What Your Child Will Learn
This is another activity that teaches children about culture if they opt for the more classical genres of dance. Dance is something that will help your child develop physically and mentally, as most forms of dance require discipline and endurance.
3. Sports
Sports such as football, basketball, cricket and softball require teamwork and a lot of energy, but if this type of sport doesn’t sound like it suits your child, there are other options like tennis, badminton and golf that your child can try.
What Your Child Will Learn
In sports like basketball and football, children learn how to work well in a team, how to strategise, and also build endurance. Every sport has something good to offer your child, whether they are played in teams or individually. Sports are great for competitive children.
4. Painting and Sketching
Perhaps your child is a blossoming artist. Playing with colours is a lot of fun and creating different works of art may be something your child would prefer over more boisterous activities.
What Your Child Will Learn
Your child will improve her creative skills, as her brain will begin to develop the areas associated with creativity the more she is exposed to and works with creative things. Painting and drawing can also help develop problem-solving skills.
5. Crafts, Pottery and Sculpting
Working with clay and creating something with their hands can give children a sense of satisfaction that is not found through just any activity. Clay can have a therapeutic effect and is capable of keeping your child occupied for hours.
What Your Child Will Learn
Your child is going to develop her sensory and motor skills through creative works. Children learn about shapes, the three-dimensional world and patience to see a good end result.
6. Martial Arts
Though the varied styles of mixed martial arts like judo, Tae Kwan Do, karate and others may make one think of violence, what these really teach is discipline and how to control your strength, rather than wielding it for violence.
What Your Child Will Learn
Martial Arts teach self-control and self-discipline, aspects which will benefit those children suffering from ADHD, as these are the very skills that are underdeveloped in them. They also help in improving socialisation skills and physical development in your child.
7. Sewing Classes
Sewing may not be something that crosses many people’s minds for an extracurricular activity, but it is a skill that is very handy indeed. Many children grow up with a passion for fashion, and this may be a very handy first step for them for their future.
What Your Child Will Learn
Children will develop their creative abilities and also build their self-esteem. Sewing is as creative a field as painting or sculpting, and it is to be noted that it can be very educational for those children who want to be future designers.
8. Book Club
Book clubs are a great way for little bookworms to have their fun and socialise with other book lovers.
What Your Child Will Learn
Many things can be gained from a book club. Not only will the literature itself teach your child a lot about the world, the way it works and so much more, but it will also help them to develop their reading skills and vocabulary, which will have a tremendous impact on their writing skills.
9. Cooking Class
Cooking classes are great for children as they are not only an essential skill but another area where they can express their creativity.
What Your Child Will Learn
There are quite a few benefits to this, as cooking food is something that will help children develop focus, creativity and also teach them useful skills like how to handle sharp knives. It also teaches them about different ingredients and how to prepare healthy and balanced meals, all with the company of others their age.
10. Drama Club
Your little drama kings and queens will love this one as it is a fun and productive way to use up their dramatic energies.
What Your Child Will Learn
Drama club helps your child develop physical, artistic, social and public speaking skills. It also helps to improve a child’s memory and improvisation skills. Often, shy children who have a talent for acting become more confident and social through drama club.
11. Chess Club
A great extra-curricular activity for kids, once your child gets a hang of chess, there's no going back. Many schools have chess clubs and there may even be chess clubs in your locality. If not, teach your child and her friends the game, and they can practice among themselves. You'll often see her practice and play chess in her free time.
What Your Child Will Learn
Children learn strategy, patience, and timing by playing this game. Chess will also hone her skill in deduction, as she tries to deduce her opponent's strategy and beat it.
12. Learning a Language
As a person becomes older, the more difficult it becomes to grasp a new language. Children's brains are still developing, which is the perfect opportunity to introduce them to foreign languages. Sign your child up for weekend or evening language classes, which can even help kick-start a career in translation or interpretation.
What Your Child Will Learn
Learning a new language always proves useful. Children are exposed to new cultures and it is easier for them to pick up the language better than adults. A new language will broaden your child's mind.
How to Choose After-School or Extra-Curricular Activities for Your Child
There are many options for after-school activities for kids. Talk to your child about her interests and see what she may like. High energy children may prefer sports or dance, while children who are low key tend to prefer calmer activities like book clubs, cooking class or perhaps pottery.
When you have a general idea of what your child wants, you can do some research to see who provides these classes in your area and then take the time to visit the place with your child while a class is in session and see if she finds it to be a stimulating and comfortable environment.
Here are a few things to look out for:
A space that is clean and big enough to accommodate all the kids.
Proper facilities like proper ventilation if there is a painting class going on, as the fumes from the turpentine can be harmful; or enough sewing machines in a sewing class.
The staff should be friendly and enthusiastic. It is always best to send them to someone who is properly certified.
See if the children who are in the class are happy and look like they are not just having fun but learning something.
While education is important, all work and no play is no way for a child to stay. Children’s extracurricular activities provide a way for them to drain some energy while also being educational and beneficial to their development. The place that you choose to send your child to is very important, as you should never send them anywhere they may be exposed to anything that may damage their creativity instead of nurture it.
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Pyloric Stenosis (Forceful Vomiting) in Babies
Nearly all infants throw up when they are small, either in a small burp that’s a little wet, or a little vomit occasionally. But if your baby vomits frequently, and forcefully, that’s a clear sign of pyloric stenosis.
What is Pyloric Stenosis or 'Forceful Vomiting' in Infants?
Termed either as infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, or congenital hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, it is unmistakable vomiting that emerges out in a gush, causing immense trouble for the baby. This usually happens when the pylorus passage connecting the stomach to the intestine cramps up and stops any food from proceeding further. In the absence of digestion, the stomach has no option but to push out the feeding via vomiting.
How Common is Forceful Vomiting in Infants?
Pyloric stenosis is a condition that’s generally observed a few weeks after birth. Hence, its presence in infants that are older than 24 weeks is a rarity. Amongst the younger ones, around one baby in every 500 babies seems to have pyloric stenosis.
Causes of Pyloric Stenosis in Infants
There doesn’t seem to be any certain reason behind the occurrence of pyloric stenosis in infants. It does have a hereditary trail, bringing a higher probability of its likelihood to occur in a baby, if the parent had a similar condition, too.
There’s also a connection of its occurrence with medication administered to the baby, either directly or indirectly. Babies who are given any antibiotics in the first couple of weeks right after birth, or given to mothers in later months of pregnancy and early months of breastfeeding, seem to have displayed this condition more often than not.
Pyloric Stenosis Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of the presence of pyloric stenosis can be clearly observed when the baby is approximately at the 3 week age mark. The most evident of them are:
Projectile vomiting - The baby vomits undigested food in a forceful gushing projectile manner. It’s usually a mixture of undigested milk and stomach acid, that’s thrown out at quite a distance. Right after vomiting, the baby won’t necessarily look ill and will very often be hungry right after vomiting and want for food.
Minor pooping – Since pyloric stenosis prevents food from reaching the intestine, the baby’s poop is made of small few lumps, barely present. This condition also results in constipation in the babies, leading to pooping with the presence of some mucus, too.
Weight loss – Given the growth stage they are at, the absence of food and digestion leads primarily to dehydration, and incapability of gaining mass. Babies with this condition are less active, have a sunken face, and wet their diapers less than usual.
Visible peristalsis – This is where the stomach’s attempt to purge itself of the undigested food is visible on the outside. Generally noticed after feeding, as the stomach contracts to make the baby vomit, ripple-like waves can be seen on the baby’s stomach.
Hungry after vomiting – Right after the intense vomiting, the baby doesn’t seem to be ill and almost starts sucking and giving all the signs of extreme hunger. They would gladly take in another round of feeding since their stomach is entirely empty.
Fussy and sluggish – The baby experiences discomfort, and is usually slightly tired and irritated throughout, wanting another round of food and exhausted from the vomiting.
How is the Diagnosis Done?
Doctors may immediately ask you to carry out certain tests if the baby is found to vomit multiple times forcefully. Primary diagnosis usually involves the doctor looking for thickened muscle or a small lump, by feeling your baby’s stomach.
Conclusive diagnosis is obtained by carrying out a pyloric stenosis ultrasound, one of the most common techniques. Body imaging of the infant’s abdomen is undertaken to spot the cramped tract. At times, Barium’s x-ray test can be conducted, too. A chalk coloured liquid is given to the baby, which helps the x-ray light up the area of the digestive tract.
A general lab test to check your baby’s blood and electrolyte levels may also be conducted to ensure its well-being. All these tests help rule out any other reasons for vomiting, bringing the diagnosis closer to pyloric stenosis.
Treatment
The only way to treat this condition is via a surgical procedure called pyloromyotomy. It helps expand the connecting tract, so that food may enter the intestine and be digested. This decision is taken after factoring in the results of the radiology reports.
Before Surgery
Prior to commencing with the surgical procedure, the baby might be given intravenous fluids to maintain a healthy electrolyte balance. Various blood tests might be conducted before moving ahead.
Pyloric Stenosis Procedure
The surgery is conducted either via laparoscopy, involving a few small incisions or via an open surgery, which would be discussed with you by the surgeons themselves, who are specialists in infant surgery.
General anaesthesia is administered and your baby goes to sleep, so that the surgery can be conducted without pain. The surgery involves making an incision in the body to see the pylorus muscle, and then making another cut on the muscle to spread the muscle. The inner lining of the passage is not touched and no tissue removal is involved.
The entire surgery lasts anywhere between 15 minutes to an hour. Post-surgery, the baby will still be inside the recovery room, until it wakes up from the anesthesia. Babies are known to vomit for a couple of days after surgery, since their body is getting used to it. Medication to dull the pain is administered along with intravenous fluids.
Once the baby seems ready to take food orally, a watered-down formula initiates the feeding. The formula is gradually made stronger to the normal amount, based on the progress of your baby’s response. On observing that the baby can feed and digest properly, either via breastfeeding of formulaic intake, the doctor will discharge the baby and you can return home.
Care After Surgery
For a few days, your baby will feed slowly and burp more than usual. This is normal and the general routine can be resumed after that.
The doctors will advise you on various ways to keep the surgical incision hygienic and dry until it heals completely. Apart from that, your baby can be its full self and carry out all its activities without worry. The hospital will check with you after a week or so, and inquire about the progress. In case of any concerns felt by you or the hospital, they might advise you to come for a check-up.
The surgery does not increase any risks of stomach infection or gastrointestinal problems at all. Most babies are usually fine after the surgery, and return back to normal eating habits.
Who Are Most At Risk?
On a gender distribution scale, forceful vomiting is observed at a higher frequency in males that are firstborn, and less common in people from the Asian subcontinent.
Premature birth and smoking during pregnancy have been termed to be possible causes, too.
Complications
Pyloric stenosis surgery risks are rare and range from a minimum to negligible, in the probability of their occurrence. As with every surgery, small bleeding may occur in the course of the process, or after it. The bowel lining might be accidentally cut in the rarest of the rare cases, which can also be immediately corrected during the procedure itself. Anaesthetics carry their own risks and they are always checked for by conducting several tests before the surgery.
Does It Have Long-Term Effects?
Nearly all surgeries have had zero side effects on the babies. The pylorus allows passage of food to the intestine, and babies grow up in the most normal successful way.
When to Call a Doctor
After returning home from the surgery, it is best to contact your doctor immediately if your baby shows signs of:
Continued pain, despite pain relief medication
Continued vomiting
High temperature and fever, despite using paracetamol
Inflammation or oozing in the area of surgery
Pyloric stenosis is a rare and frightful condition at first sight but can be effectively and permanently treated with surgery. It doesn’t cause any side effects on your infant, and your baby can grow up healthy and fine and function as a normal individual later in life, without any problems.
Also Read: Vomiting in Kids – Types, Causes & Treatment Read more
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Resolutions for Mothers on Mother's Day
Every mother has some things that she wishes to change in herself. Join the many moms out there who are making their Mother’s Day resolutions to become better mothers. Start your “new year of motherhood” from Mother’s Day with a firm resolve and positive changes.
There is hardly any person who doesn't draw up a long list of resolutions for the start of the New Year. This time make your Mother’s Day resolutions to mark the beginning of a new year of parenting. Think about all the blunders that you made in the year gone by and resolve to change them this time around. What’s your resolution for this Mother’s Day?
Choosing Your Resolutions for Mother’s Day
1. Talk Positive
Most of the times mothers find themselves repeating “no” or any other variation of the word to their children. It is always about what they should 'NOT' do. While it is important to make sure that the children learn the right way to go about life, the tactic for doing so can be improved. Instead of telling them what not to do, make a resolution to tell them more of what they should do.
2. Call it a Day
For working moms the biggest challenge is not to check e-mails constantly or bring work home from office. There is always much more work to do than they can manage with their limited time. However, it is important that you fix a time after which you devote all your time and attention only to your family. It will help you relax as well as bond with your family.
3. Pay Attention
While mothers find it irritating when their grown-up children spend more time on the phone, laptop or video games, you must take a pause and think whether you do the same. How many times do you check your phone when you are sitting with your child? This year putting the phone away should be one of the top five resolutions for mothers.
4. Juggling Between Baby and Me Time
One of the biggest change that happens in life once a child is born is that they monopolize all your attention and time. Everything you do is guided by the needs and wants of your child. While that is definitely a sign of being a good parent, at the end of the day you need to take care of yourself too. Resolve to strike a balance that gives you some time out to do what you need to do as well.
5. Hubby Time
After becoming a mother, the one person who takes the back seat is the husband. While you tend to remember him every time you are frustrated with the way things are with your life and baby, he might appreciate getting some attention from you. Spend time with him, go out for a surprise date night and you will love it too!
This Mother’s Day, give your family and yourself the gift of being a better mom and person by resolving to weed out all the things you dislike. You are doing a good job already, but you can improve it further by making these small changes. It is better to start off with your resolutions while your child is small. Read more
Santu has added a new answer
Expecting Mom due this month
11 hours ago
Q. #asktheexpert
1) till how many days after delivery baby needs to keep on uterus temperatures/warm temperature?
2) Can baby & mother both take bath after 24 hours of delivery?
Santu
Mom of 2 children
11 hours ago
A. It depends on moms and babys health I feel and suggest It's better to check with your doctor and follow their advise. That would be one of the best and safest option for your baby as of now. Take care.
shilpi Bhandari has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
11 hours ago
Q. dual marker test is for what purpose??
shilpi Bhandari
Mom of 2 children
10 hours ago
A. The double marker test helps determine whether the unborn baby has any risk of developing neurological abnormalities or mental disorders
Dr Sameer awadhiya has added a new answer
Mom of a 7 m old child
5 hours ago
Q. #asktheexperts
How to cure constipation in Babies
Dr Sameer awadhiya
Paediatrician
5 hours ago
A. Constipation in Babies less than 1 year is very common and more in formula fed babies and also when initially the semi solid food has been started after 6 months .
you can give bonnisan drops and some enzyme preparations in proper dose suggested by doctor angyd cow's milk should be avoided before 1 year of age . Medications are required but it shobuld be given only in medical supervision .
Rashmi has added a new answer
Trying To Conceive
5 hours ago
Q. Hello, I'm a hypothyroidism patients consumes 25mg tab,
can I take apple cider vinegar?
Rashmi
Mom of a 9 yr 8 m old girl
5 hours ago
A. I don’t think so ACv is going to be a problem but it would be better that you check with your doctor because Apple cider vinegar has couple of side-effects also also which a lot of people are not aware about so do not take it without your doctors advice and consent
Anitha S has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
4 hours ago
Q. #asktheexperts can i go for long trips with my 7 months old baby
Anitha S
Mom of a 7 m old boy
4 hours ago
A. if you want you may go by taking all the necessary things for baby but see through that your baby doesn't feel any discomfort
Dr Sameer awadhiya has added a new answer
Expecting Mom due in 4 months
2 hours ago
Q. #asktheexperts plz suggest me medicine for toothache
Dr Sameer awadhiya
Paediatrician
1 hour ago
A. A proper assessment is required here so regarding this it is vmore favourable to contact your local doctor and accordingly he will guide in a proper manner.
If any more queries you can tgake online consultation on the platform for a detailed discussion .
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