Kid Stuf

A majority of children do not get adequate amounts of fruit and vegetable and thus lack vital vitamins and minerals. Such deficiencies depending on its intensity could affect children’s academic performance, growth levels, their health and sometimes even result in them overly aggressive behaviour patterns.

Here are a few items that MUST be included your child’s meals in order to ensure a ‘balanced diet’:

- Bread, rice, pasta and other such starchy foods
- Fruit and vegetables - the more they eat, the better
- Protein-rich food - fish, meat, eggs, lentils, beans
- Yoghurt, milk, cheese and dairy products - ensure that these are consumed daily

Here are the most essential vitamins and minerals that your child should be getting in his/her meals everyday:

Vitamin C - Synthesizing collagen and blood vessels, brain functions, effective antioxidant, iron absorption

Vitamin A - Healthy skin, teeth, production of pigment in the retina of the eye - good eyesight, antioxidant

Vitamin D - Absorption of calcium into the body Sunlight

Iron - Formation of blood cells which aid the transportation of oxygen in the body

Folate - Production of new cells

Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s) - Efficient functioning of the brain, mental health, functions of the immune system Oily fish, Flax oil
Calcium - Formation of bones and teeth, regulation of muscle contraction, assistance towards normal clotting of blood

Fibre - Healthy bowel movement patterns

Water - Prevents dehydration and constipation

Plastic is one of the most common materials in everyday life. From disposable packaging to display cases that show off our most valuable assets, plastic has an almost infinite range of uses. But what exactly is plastic composed of?

Scientifically speaking, all varieties of plastic are polymers. Modern plastics companies almost exclusively use synthetic polymers these days, although organic polymers also exist and were important in the early days of plastic’s history. A polymer is essentially a molecule in the form of a long chain, made up of smaller building blocks that are referred to as monomers. A polymer that is formed of only one type of monomer is referred to as a homopolymer. Polyethylene and PVC (polyvinyl chloride) are two very common types of homopolymers.

Plastics are not the only type of polymer that we use. Rubbers (often referred to as elastomers in today’s market) are also considered polymers.

Are your children fussy about what they wear to school? Is every morning a constant argument about what they wear? Perhaps your preschooler does not want you to pick his clothes for school and wants to pick them himself? This can be very stressful, especially if it happens every single day.

Now is the time to put a stop to it. Not only does it stress you out, but also your children. Eliminating this issue will not only keep your mornings stress free but also help your children understand that they are not mature enough to make such decisions.

First, re-organize your child’s cupboard and ensure that t-shirts, shoes, jeans, and other accessories are easily accessible. Next, start a routine and make sure you stick to it. Do not even consider letting your child make clothing decisions as it is just not a good plan. Choose your kid’s clothes the night before and do not change your mind the next morning. Keep everything ready for the next morning, all ironed and wrinkle-free.
If getting your child dressed is another difficult task, perhaps you can tell them that they can have some ‘play’ time if they get dressed on time every morning. This should be initiative enough to get them to stick to your schedule.

This is the opportunity for you to exercise your control as a parent. If you do and your child respects that, then things will get much easier around the house. You can keep making choices concerning your child’s clothing until you think they are old enough to make them on their own.
You can occasionally let your child perhaps wear her favorite pink T-shirt on Monday, but instill in him/her that the final decision is always yours. This is also a great way to teach them to color coordinate and match accessories as well.

First day jitters are normal and must be expected for children who are being initiated into a weekly routine at a day care center. As a parent, you must do what you can to prepare your child for this day. Start by having a little chat with your child about what it is going to be like at the daycare center. Do not worry, if your child is a little toddler, clear explanations can be understood. All the while, maintain a happy and positive tone in your voice, which will convey to your child that the change will be a good one.

Explain to your child, which days of the week will include him being in childcare. You could even use a calendar to show him the days you work, which would then be the days he would be at the day care center.
Try reading or watching programs about childcare. You might be able to find one that explains what a day at a childcare center is like, while others also address children’s feelings about being away from home and their parents.

Remember, that you also must be prepared. It is important that you choose a good childcare center for your son or daughter. Meet the workers there and ensure that they will treat your child well and be attentive to their needs.

Before your child’s first day at the childcare center, here are a few things you should do:

-Visit the childcare center with your child. Give him a little tour of the place.

-Show him where the other children eat, take a nap and play.

-Give him some time with his childcare provider. You could also invite him/her home so your child can get to know him/her.

-Another method of acclimatizing your child to the change would be to invite one of the children at the childcare center for a ‘play’ session with your child. This way, the first day will not be so bad.

Childcare professionals use the term ‘developmentally appropriate care’ quite frequently. The term referred to 360° childcare considers development on many levels including social, emotional, physical and intellectual.

Caring for children in a uniform manner is not sufficient. Guidelines on how to best take care of a child do exist, as do those that refer to different levels of care, depending on the different stages of development. These are merely guidelines, to assist parents and care providers in understanding children better while helping them towards development in all aspects of their lives.

Listed below are guidelines which focus on developmental appropriateness:

1. Age appropriateness - deals with growth and change which take place in children during the early stages of their lives

2. Individual appropriateness - each child has their own growth patterns and timing.

Developmentally appropriate care for infants and toddlers

The environment is the initial channel through which infants and toddlers learn basic things. By interacting with adults, their sense of trust is built. Adults who are consistently around the child must spend ample time with them, playing, talking to them and holding them. It is the adult who is an infant’s primary teacher. Simple things like toilet training, dressing, feeding must be taught, and the child must be allowed to carry out these tasks by themselves when ready.

Toddlers need a fair amount of resources to learn new things. Music, pictures, games are important towards their development as is space for them to run around and explore. Reading aloud to them and teaching them new words helps improve their language.

Developmentally appropriate care for three to five year olds
Blocks, puzzles, toys, story-telling are all ideal learning activities for three year olds. This will help enhance their language skills, motor skills and movement.

Four year olds are able to identify colours, shapes and objects. They will enjoy little projects like cutting paper, pasting, colouring, etc.
The memory and motor skills in five years olds are constantly developing, so adults must be willing and amiable to listen to them, encourage them on and build confidence.

Children can be absolutely honest to the point of being rude. However, keep in mind that they are not aware of making such ‘rude’ comments. They simply say what they think and feel. A good example is when a child receives a gift, they are quite likely to say something to the effect of “I already have this” or “This is not what I wanted”. By teaching them and instilling in them a sense of politeness, such ‘rude’ remarks can be prevented.

Perhaps you could try a mock gift-giving session with your child to ascertain what a likely response could be. Try different situations with a range of gifts asking the child what he would say. Trying taking him through possibilities such as getting a gift he already has, getting something he does not like and getting something he really likes. Help him with what he should say and should not. Your child’s comments sometimes can be somewhat embarrassing and sound rude and thoughtless. Remember: do not correct your child in front of others. This can be embarrassing for him. In the case of an impolite comment, take him aside and correct him privately. Point out the error and suggest something he could say to his ‘gift giver’.

After all this, if you child still is not aware that his comments are rude, this could be that you are not training him often enough. With children, once is just not enough. Make an extra effort to carry out constant training about manners and how to react politely in different situations.

Instilling good manners in children is not always easy nor is it fun. However, good manners will help your child have better friendships, happy family relationships as well as adjusting to societal changes. Children are not born with good manners, it has to be taught. Patience is needed as well as constant practice to help your child understand the value of good manners. Constant repetition over time and your child will begin to naturally repeat things taught at a young age.

Writing thank you notes is an often overlooked social grace. However, it is important that children learn from a young age that it is appropriate to write thank you notes every time they receive presents or have been guests at someone’s home. Here are a few ways of instilling the habit of writing thank you notes.

Practice makes perfect: every time your child receives a gift, help her to write a thank you note. Initially you can start off by helping her with suggesting an opening line, but over time she should get used to the idea of writing notes of appreciation.
Use the computer: kids love to use the computer and are quite familiar with its applications. Let them use the computer to compose their thank-you notes. Perhaps a personal comment on the computer-generated note could add that personal touch.
Make it fun: tell your child that thank you notes do not have to be boring. Encourage them to be creative. They can make a collage, a drawing or anything else they like, as long as it says ‘thank you’.

At parties, children get so caught up in the moment and excitement that they tend to forget all the manners they’ve learnt, even to the point of embarrassment for you as the parent. Here are the four P’s to consider, in order to achieving model behaviour from your child:

Prepare: When invited to a party, take the time to review what kind of behaviour would be expected of your child. This kind of ‘preventative’ parenting is best at times like this. Make a list of party rules and explain them to your child in detail and the importance of abiding by them. Remember to refresh your child’s mind just before you leave for the party. Keep a close eye on him at the party. If his behaviour starts to wane, a simple reminder of the rules should do.

Pretend: ‘Role-play’ is a good tool to use to get your child to understand the importance of manners. This works especially with younger children. Throw a simple ‘pretend’ party that gives you the opportunity to help your child practise ‘good behaviour’ and their manners like they would at the real party. Exaggerating your manners during the role-play is a good idea in order to drive the point home.

Privacy: Do not scold or correct your child in front of other guests. Give them some privacy in a private room or bathroom. Discuss what happened, what was wrong. Remember to keep your chat with your child very brief. Point out what was done wrong and give out specific instructions and reminders about manners learnt and the kind of behaviour expected from him.

Pace: Sometimes the party either does not meet the expectations of your child, or he seems overwhelmed with all the activity, which might cause him to misbehave. It helps if you remove him from the party for a few minutes to recuperate. A glass of water, a hug and a kiss might just be the trick to encourage better behaviour.

Whether you plan on getting laser teeth whitening or you’re more interesting in the traditional methods of bleaching, there are some considerations to keep in mind. Not everyone will obtain the same results, and not everyone will necessarily be able to get the outcome they want.

- Your cosmetic dentist won’t be able to make your teeth look unnaturally white. This is probably a good thing, though!

- The full results of your treatment won’t be visible until approximately two weeks after the procedure. Keep this in mind if you’re having any other restoration work done that needs to match.

- Cosmetic dentists generally need to replace restorations after bleaching, as they will not match the new tooth color otherwise.

- If you have recessed gums, the yellowish root won’t be easy to bleach.

- If you are nursing or pregnant, you should wait to have your teeth whitened. Swallowed bleach could harm your child.

Children are always hungry and thus appreciative of any snack that comes their way. The tastier and more fun the snack is, the more popular it becomes. However, do not resort to store bought or commercial snacks, which tend to be low in nutrition and unhealthy for your child. Here are some snack ideas:

- Peanut Butter - rich in protein and fibre. Put together funny-shaped sandwiches
- Bake muffins or breads with fruit or vegetable sneaked into them. Banana bread, carrot bars are top favourites.
- Whole-grain cereal - coupled with milk and fruit, you’ve got a winner with vitamins, calcium and fibre.
- Cheese - keeps energy levels high. Serve with whole-wheat crackers or cut out shapes.
- Eggs - serve hardboiled or scrambled. Provides 4 year olds with almost 1/3 of protein requirements for a day
- Yogurt - dress it up with fruit preserves, honey, coloured sprinkles. An excellent source of calcium.
- Pears - rich in fibre, try slicing it or making pear pinwheels.
- Noodles - a fabulous source of complex carbohydrates. Pick your child’s favourite shape and serve with veggies, cooked chicken and tomato sauce.
- Smoothies - kids love smoothies, and most importantly, they are packed with nutrients. Use vanilla yoghurt, orange juice and a banana as the base, then experiment with fruit. This might be the only way to sneak in two to three servings of fruit into your child’s diet.
- Snack - mix together a combination of nuts, pretzels, whole-grain cereal, popcorn and banana chips for a fun, portable snack.