Reuters reports that “Nearly a third of U.S. parents know surprisingly little about typical infant development, and this lack of understanding can rob their babies of much-needed mental stimulation, researchers said on Sunday.”

What an alarming statement! Parents are the first teachers of their children and if they do not have a good understanding of what babies need, then the babies will be on the losing side. It is true that there are no clear cut rules as to what a parent must do. Indeed, many say that there is really no way to ensure that you will be a good parent. It is something that comes with experience.

So how did the researchers come to the conclusion that a considerable number of American parents do not know enough about babies? Dr. Heather Paradis of the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York shares:

The study she conducted covered more than 10,000 parents with 9-month-old babies and asked questions such as:

-Should a 1-year-old child be able to tell between right from wrong?
-Should a 1-year-old child be ready to begin toilet-training?

The passing score is 5 out of 11. Those who got 4 and below are considered to have a lack of understanding of parenting with regard to babies.

Maybe we should all see a copy of the questionnaire and answer them ourselves.

When a woman gets pregnant, she gets cravings for the weirdest things. She just can’t help it. She feels the urge and she has to have it. Some people may never understand just what goes on during those times but WE know that those cravings are hard to resist.

Lucky for those women whose cravings lean towards that thick, creamy, brown bar of goodness called chocolate! Dr. Elizabeth Triche from Yale University and her group of researches have recently concluded a study wherein it was found that chocolate is GOOD for pregnant women.

The rationale behind this conclusion is that dark chocolate contains theobromine, a chemical that works in the following ways:

-stimulates the heart
-relaxes smooth muscle
-dilates blood vessels.

So what do these effects have to do with pregnancy? There is a condition called pre-eclampsia, which is actually a major concern for pregnant women. Though only about 8% get pre-eclampsia, those who do experience the complication also experience cardiovascular problems.

This is where chocolate comes in! The study found out that the women who consumed the most amount of chocolate and had the highest amount of theobromine in their blood were least likely to develop the complication. The catch? None, really, unless you do not like dark chocolate. This is because not all chocolates are the same. The milk chocolates and the extremely sweetened kinds will not have the same theobromine content. As such, they may not bring about the same benefits. More so, because of the high sugar content, it might bring about other complications.

So load up on that dark chocolate!

We hear about children having special needs a lot, but how do we really define what “specials needs” is? The truth is that this term covers a myriad of conditions, from allergies to learning disabilities to developmental delays. Within these categories, we also have a wide spectrum ranging from mild to severe. Though we may not want to box anyone into a certain category, it is quite important for the medical community to impart certain labels – this is in order to be able to provide the right kind of service and treatment, set goals for the child and the family, as well as to be able to provide the right kind of support for everyone involved.

I have a nephew with special needs, you may have a child in your family with special needs as well. However, the chances are that they would have very different situations even if they had some commonalities. Medical professionals have categorized special needs into general groups:

-medical
-behavioral
-developmental
-learning
-mental health.

Sometimes, the needs of a special child may fall under more than one of the categories mentioned above.

How is a child diagnosed with respect to being special? Normally, what is measured is what a child “cannot do.” For example, the food that he cannot eat, the milestones that he cannot achieve, and so on. It may seem to be a pessimistic way of handling things and it can even be more difficult for parents to deal with the situation. However, for some, it is something that makes their lives more challenging and each additional step that their child takes – no matter how small it may be – becomes a triumph that cannot be taken away from them.

In the next post, let’s look at how to deal with the situation after your child is diagnosed.

I think that is every expecting mother’s wish to have a beautiful healthy baby. From the time that a woman finds out that she is pregnant up to the time that she delivers her child, I know that her prayer every night is to have a perfectly healthy child. Yet there are times when our wishes are not granted in the exact manner that we ask them to be.

As that famous line in the movie Forrest Gump goes, “life is a box of chocolates, you never know what you will get next.” Some mothers get their wish and have perfectly healthy babies. Others, they get something else, something that I would say is perhaps even more special, for God has granted them a baby with something more.

Lori Borgman says it better than I do in her work “Some Mothers Get Babies With Something More.” You can read the whole thing in the blog Special Child. This really touched my heart as, even if I am not a mother who got something more, my nephew is special – in more ways than one. I never really though that we would have to deal with this but God has presented us with a special gift and our family has grown together as a result. That is why I thought of writing a series on special children, in the hopes that as I share our experiences, other families will become encouraged and inspired.

So for mothers who got something more, here is a tribute to you.

This morning, when I got back home from dropping N at kindergarten, I came home to find Jennyfer, our nanny, suddenly scream out and start weeping.

We rushed to her, only to find that she had received word from her sister, that her baby neice had died today. Tragic and sad, but whats worse is that the same sister had a four-year old who also passed away a few years ago, and the most likely reason for both deaths was poverty.

When I spoke to Jennyfer and asked her what had brought this tragedy about, she simply said that her sister and family simply did not have enough money to see a doctor, to buy medicine, and in recent weeks did not even have enough for rice.

I was mortified, asking her why didn’t she ask us for help? That of course we would help her family if only she has told us. In between sobs she just looked shyly at me, obviously grief-stricken and even a little ashamed.

Jennyfer’s family, you see, live in the province of Leyte in the Philippines, and she supports her 9 siblings and parents, being the only one with a job at 22 years of age. Jobs and affordable or free medical help are rare in the area, and sadly, many children and infants die an early death.

On the upside, infant mortality rates in the Philippines have declined a little, by around 2% since 2003 - with 22.81 deaths for every 1,000 births. Nevertheless, it was with a heavy heart that I gave her some money to send back to her sister this morning, money for the funeral and some rice, wishing that we could have somehow helped save this child’s life.

Upon hearing the unsettling news of my kids’s condition (my four-year-old was
also developing the rash and complaining of “owies” in her mouth), I dutifully rang my friend M, whose kids were scheduled to come to my place that afternoon for playgroup.

Funnily enough, she was really cool about the entire “Hand Foot Mouth” thing, and said her kids probably had it too by now so another day wouldnt make a difference anyway, so would it be ok if they came over as planned? Oh, ok then.

But for Moms who are probably more OC about hygene like I am ( and I can name a couple), it pays to know how to prevent this kind of thing from happening.

Here’s what I found, also useful for any other infectious disease our kids are exposed to in this big wide world of ours, courtesy of the National Center For Infectious Diseases:

“Specific prevention for HFMD or other non-polio enterovirus infections is not available, but the risk of infection can be lowered by good hygienic practices. Preventive measures include frequent handwashing, especially after diaper changes (see “Handwashing” in: An Ounce of Prevention: Keeps the Germs Away), cleaning of contaminated surfaces and soiled items first with soap and water, and then disinfecting them by diluted solution of chlorine-containing bleach (made by mixing approximately � cup of bleach with 1 gallon of water. Avoidance of close contact (kissing, hugging, sharing utensils, etc.) with children with HFMD may also help to reduce of the risk of infection to caregivers.”

[tags]Hand foot mouth disease,infectious diseases children, kids health, coxackie[/tags]

My sincere apologies for the disturbing images, but sadly this is what I’ve been faced with lately. You see, my two kids were just diagnosed with Coxackie virus, otherwise known as Hand Foot Mouth disease. And, NO it has nothing to do with the mad cow thing (Foot and Mouth)- which I had to reassure my husband of vehemently when I told him the news.

It all started when I noticed some strange, blistery, pimply spots on my son’s hands and feet. When it didn’t disappear in a day (as many of these rashes do), I dutifully visited our pediatrician Dr. J, thinking she might as well check it out since he was due for a shot anyway.

One look and she told me he had HFM disease, which was obvious as he also had another big symptom - losing his appetite lately with solid food and saying “owie” when he ate. When Dr.J that it was no big deal (in spite of its rather sketchy name), fairly common in babies and young children, and self-limiting (read: no meds necessary except for paracetamol in case of fever, which neither of my kids got), I honestly felt more “ICK” than anything else, especially when I realized that this icky virus was probably spreading among the kids at school, playgroup or even at Gymboree. Ick!!

Dr.J then advised me to tell the Moms and teachers that my kids had (gulp) “it”, and to keep them away from other kids for another 5 days or so as it was HIGHLY contagious. Although, contagious kids may never even develop symptoms, or just have some of them.

[tags]Hand foot mouth disease,coxackie virus,kids disease,kids health[/tags]

One of my 20-month-old son’s favourite words are “Fshhhh” (and he also gets into a near-hypnotic state with his Grandma’s fishtank), so when I saw this costume I was overwhelmed with “awwwww!!!” picturing him in full adorable goldfish glory.

But like I said, I have already purchased a costly Thomas number(again, drat!), so this will have to wait in the wings until baby #3 arrives (?). Martha (who else could concoct such perfect cuteness?) also recommends that this one only works with babies who dont walk yet, so my little O already missed the boat about a year ago!

MATERIALS
60-inch-long piece of kraft paper
1 1/2 yards of orange wool felt
1 yard of 1/4-inch-thick polyurethane foam or one bag of wool-blanket batting
4 sets of Velcro fastener dots, 1/2 yard of pink wool felt
Scraps of black and white felt
White craft glue.

1. To make patterns, draw a grid of 2-inch squares on kraft paper; copy templates by hand onto it. Using fish pattern, cut one piece of orange felt and foam with front scoop neckline and one piece orange felt and foam with back neckline. Use orange part of pattern to cut one front and one back from orange felt for lining. For the front, layer foam, then whole felt, then half felt; stitch around top from notch A to notch B, with 1/4-inch seam allowance. Turn right side out so foam is between felt pieces. Quilt front from top to bottom, making rows of 4 1/2-inch scallops 2 1/2 inches apart. Repeat with remaining pieces for back. Place front and back together, right sides facing. Sew around tail from notch A to notch B, with a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Turn right side out. Sew Velcro fastener dots at shoulders and underarms, as shown on template.

2. Use hat pattern to cut two pieces of felt, one orange and one pink, and one piece of foam. Layer pieces: foam, pink felt, and orange felt. Sew top, bottom, and one side closed with 1/4-inch seam allowance. Turn right side out. Quilt as above. Fold in half, pink side out; sew along short edge. Turn orange side out. Cut eye from black and white felt scraps. Glue on as shown.

[tags]Halloween,Halloween Costumes,Baby, Baby Costume,Goldfish Costume[/tags]

Playgroup is the lifeline of a lot of moms. New moms, old moms, expat moms, native moms…whatever. If you have kids who don’t go to “big school”(read:full time elementary), a playgroup is the answer to not just keeping the little ones busy, but the best way to spend time with kindered spirits of the “hood”.

The problem is, some members of the “hood” can’t help but take advantage of the situation. I just got an email from the coordinator mom of one of my kids playgroups with list of guidelines and rules. Very necessary, she said because of the certain way things were going lately. There were rules like:

“No leaving your kids without supervision. This is NOT a daycare. If you cannot be around, you must okay it with the host first”.

These new rules were especially pertinent when at a playgroup at my house the other day, one mom texted me at 5.00 pm (the set time for pick-up) and asked if it was ok if she left her 2 kids (4 years and 2 years) with us until “around” 8.30 pm because she and her husband had gone to some far-off place to buy fish for their aquarium and would “probably” be stuck in traffic. Grrrrr….

First of all, I didn’t know her that well (our kids are Kindergarten classmates), and second of all, anyone with young kids should know that from 6-9 pm is the “crunch” time of the day to get your kids fed,bathed and put to bed - and not still be in playgroup. I was seething. Probably because I knew in my heart that she probably could get them earlier if she wanted to, but decided to go shopping instead with the hubby. Double grrrr.

[tags]parenting,kids,playgroup,protocol,toddlers,kindergarten,moms[/tags]

What better reason to celebrate than the birth of a new baby? Of course, along with the celebration comes the gift-giving. Whether you opt for one of the classics � baby clothes, bedding, or a silver keepsake (rattle, spoon, frame, etc.) � or something a little more creative, the new arrival is sure to appreciate it, even if he may not be able to send you a thank-you note just yet. Here are some great gift ideas:

1. A personality write-up based on his zodiac sign or birth date will be a one-of-a-kind keepsake for his baby book

2. A kit filled with all the necessities. Just bundle a car seat with a sun shade, car toys, and a pair of baby-sized sunglasses, and she’ll be ready to go.

3. Create your own gift kit with a comforting nightlight, an entertaining mobile, and some soothing music made just for babies .

4. A good supply of soft, resilient chewable toys will let her explore safely with her mouth.

5. Baby-friendly board books in with the traditional hardcover variety � that way she can truly appreciate the sound of your gift and the taste as well!