Tag: Child

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Small Steps: A Good-Health Guide

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PARENTING has never been an easy job, but mothers and fathers today face challenges in raising their children that their own parents may never have had to address.

While children have always been picky eaters, for instance, parents today are trying to supply healthful food in a world dominated by chicken nuggets, processed snacks and soft drinks. Bike riding and hopscotch have given way to video games and text messaging. And working parents have to juggle day care, jobs and family.

At the same time, the barrage of health information on the Internet and elsewhere has introduced a higher level of stress for parents. Web sites promote supplements that increase a child’s brain health while news organizations report on the latest scare from baby bottles or too much television.

All of this makes raising a healthy child feel overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be.

This Well guide offers small steps and simple strategies to improve a child’s well-being in four areas — nutrition, development, playtime and safety. Inside, there’s advice from experts on how to raise a healthy, active youngster: tips on diet and behavior, help for problems like insomnia, and the latest thinking on day care, discipline and other topics. It’s all designed to help kids stay well every day.

Sources: The New York Times

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Positive thinking

Today’s Parents are Poor Role Models’

Parents are usually considered to be a child’s first teachers and role models. But, a study has some dampening news for today’s generation of adults – you’re responsible for your kid’s lack of basic moral values.

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Researchers at the CIhildren’s Society in Britain have carried out the study and found that children aren’t acquiring basic moral values nowadays because today’s parents are actually poor role models.

For their study, the researchers questioned 1,176 people – they found that two thirds of adults believe that the moral values of young people have declined considerably since the time when they were young, the Times reported. According to the society, the rise of the celebrity culture and weakening family bonds are undermining traditional moral values among young people.

But it has also blamed adults for failing to engage with children and being too eager to criticise their behaviour rather than just intervening and helping them to navigate the challenges of modern life.

According to Bob Reitemeier, the chief executive of the society, adults need to take more responsibility for the young people around them. “We reap what we sow when it comes to teaching children values. Every adult plays a vital role, which we should nurture as much as we can.

“Unfortunately, it is easier to criticise children than to invest in them, and it is the children most in need of positive role models who are becoming disconnected from their communities and wider society.”

Sources: The Times Of India

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Ailmemts & Remedies Pediatric

Oh, that earache!

Ear infections frequently develop in children and is one of the commonest infections in childhood. A staggering 75 per cent of children have at least one episode of ear pain and infection by the time they reach the age of three.

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Most ear infections occur when the weather changes or if there is an infection going around in school.
Most ear infections are acute and are accompanied by excruciating pain, and occur when the weather changes or if there is an infection “going around” in school. Although the child may not to be able to accurately express or localise the discomfort, most parents suspect there is an earache because the child has fever and pulls or tugs at the ear. Sometimes, however, it manifests itself only with unexplained irritability or continuous nerve-wracking screaming. Hapless parents cannot localise the symptoms and are forced to seek emergency medical care.

Most ear infections start innocuously as a viral infection with fever, a runny nose and irritability. There is a three-pronged connection among the nose, throat and the middle ear. As long as all the connections are open, there is very little chance of an ear infection despite an upper respiratory infection. If any connection is blocked, pressure and secretions build up behind the ear drum, causing pain. Later, these secretions can remain stagnant in the middle ear and lead to an infection.

Ear infections often settle by themselves with symptomatic treatment. Frequent (two-hourly) administration of saline nose drops unblocks the nose. Paracetamol administered as dispersible tablets, drops or suspension (10-15mg/kg/dose) every four to six hours reduces the pain and fever. A mild anti-histamine syrup dries up the secretions. Sometimes, anaesthetic (not antibiotic) eardrops may be required to ease the pain. But the technique of administration is very important for the drops to be effective. The child should be placed on a flat surface, not on a pillow or on the lap. The affected ear should face upwards. The outer ear should then be gently pulled upwards and the drops administered. This will not help with the infection but will definitely ease the pain.

About 80 per cent of the antibiotics used worldwide are prescribed for “colds, coughs and ear infections”. They do not work against viral infections, nor do they shorten the course of the disease or prevent progress to a bacterial infection. A wait and watch policy for viral ear infections helps avoid the unnecessary use of antibiotics.

It is advisable, however, to consult a paediatrician immediately if the child is less than six months old, or has some other complicating illness.

If the pain and fever persist even after 72 hours, a secondary bacterial infection may have occurred. This needs appropriate antibiotics in the correct dose and duration. The medication should not be stopped just because the child looks better. Nor should the same antibiotic be purchased OTC (over the counter) and be self administered for a subsequent infection.

Children are more likely to develop recurrent ear infection

* If the early feeding is improper. Breast milk protects from infection, especially during the first six months of life.

* If the head is not raised while feeding. A prone position or placing a bottle of milk in a sleeping baby’s mouth may lead to an ear infection.

* If solids are force fed to an uncooperative child while lying down.

There is also a marked increase in the number of ear infections in children exposed to cigarette smoke. Most ear infections subside with no sequalae.

Certain cases of acute infection require urgent attention —

* When there is a suspicion of short-term mild hearing loss. This can persist if the fluid in the ear does not clear.

* If the infection becomes chronic, leading to damage to the bones and other structures in the middle ear. This can lead to permanent hearing loss.

* If the infection spreads to the mastoid, a bone behind the ear.

* Eventually, pus may extend into the brain and cause abscesses.

Surgery may have to be considered if the infection becomes chronic, with persistent effusions from both ears for three months or from one ear for six months. There are two procedures — myringectomy or tympanostomy, whereby a tube may have to be inserted into the ear drum.

A hole in the ear drum may need to be closed with a skin patch. Eventually, the tonsils and adenoids may need to be removed.

Two of the common bacteria causing ear infections belong to the Pneumococcal and H Influenzae groups. The Hib and pneumococcal vaccines, if administered to children, reduce the incidence of ear infections.

This is because the vaccine incidentally lends immunity against 55 per cent of the organisms that cause an ear infection. These vaccines also have a multiplier effect — they increase herd immunity, that is, they protect other children and elders in the community against bronchitis, pneumonia and ear infections caused by these common organisms.

From: Dr Gita Mathai’s writing (Telegraph ,Kolkata,India)

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Ailmemts & Remedies Pediatric

Laryngomalacia: A noisy problem!

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Laryngomalacia is the most common cause of “noisy breathing” in babies after the newborn period. This disorder may become obvious as early as the first two weeks of life, with noisy, raspy breathing while taking a breath in . At first the noise simply sounds like nasal congestion, but it occurs without nasal secretions. This type of “noisy breathing” is known as stridor and has a high pitched, harsh quality. The stridor is usually absent with the child is at rest and becomes more prominent when the infant is lying on his/her back, crying, feeding,excited or has a cold. The stridor usually is at it’s worst around six months and then gradually improves. Most children are symptom free by 24 months.

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The cause of laryngomalacia is not clearly understood. What is known about the condition is that the epiglottits which protects the airway when the child feeds also partially obstructs the airway during breathing. The partial obstruction is the source of “noise” with breathing.

Children with laryngomalacia will do better at a 30 degree angle, or by positioning their heads to relieve or reduce the obstruction. The child should also be held in an upright position for 30 minutes after feeding and never fed lying down. Crying exacerbates the obstruction and work of breathing; a pacifier may be useful to calm an agitated infant.

Characteristics of laryngomalacia include:

Starts in the first two months of life (but not at birth)
Occurs when the child is breathing in
Becomes worse with crying, upper respiratory tract infections, laying in the supine (on back) position*
Usually gets worse before it gets better
Child may have retractions (sucking in of the skin above or below the ribs when breathing in)
There is no cyanosis (blue color of the skin)
The baby is otherwise happy and thriving
Treatment is simple but nerve-racking — waiting for the child to out grow the condition while explaining to family, friends, and passerbys that there is really nothing wrong with your noisy breathing baby. It is rare that this abnormality causes any serious problems. The stress is on the parent listening to this noisy breathing as the infant is experiencing little problems. In time, the cartilage that supports tissues around the throat and airway become stronger which helps resolve the problem. Most children grow out of laryngomalacia by one year of age and nearly all children eventually outgrow the condition.

Laryngomalacia a not a dangerous condition and will not interfere with the child’s growth and development. No treatment is necessary, although some parents have found that cool visit from a vaporizer helps eases the child’s noisy breathing. Only in very severe (are rare) cases, or when there is a simultaneous upper respiratory infection, does the condition require treatment. Holding the child in the prone position (stomach down) and comforting and soothing him/her to slow the breathing are almost always sufficient to handle an episode. The most important thing is to calm the child, in order to stop the crying, as crying makes the problem much worse. If a parent is in doubt about their child’s noisy breathing, they should have him/her looked at, but hospitalization for Laryngomalacia is very rare.

*In some instances, doctors may recommend that babies with laryngomalacia be placed on their stomachs to sleep instead of their backs, as long as the bedding is not soft. Parents of children with laryngomalacia should always talk to the baby’s doctor if they are unsure about the best sleep position for their baby.

Source:kidsgrowth.com

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Exercise

Cycling

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Most people follow three paths to good health DOCTOR,DIET and EXERCISE. Some times normal people who decides to respond to health alert tend to go to overboard on neutrition and adopt the wrong exercise.

Rather than exortic neutrents,normal human being needs a diet consisting mainly of grains,fruits,and vegetables with reduced amount of meat and cheese. Rather than weightlifting, TV “aerobics” and so on.. We actually need true arobic exercise that help to strengthen the heart, such as fast walking,cycling,swmming,jogging etc.

I believe byclicing has several extra advantagse over the other exercises:-

A. Cycling exercises the heart better than walking without the pounding of jogging.

B. One can ride bicycle almost all the places,at any time of the year, and at a low cost.

C.A very little or no time has to be lost , as bike travel can be used to go to work,performe errands , or enjoy the out doors.(when the weather condition is favourable)
D.Commuting by bike reduces POLLUTION (which is today’s great concern )that causes several diseases like asthma,bronchitis etc.A commuting cyclist is also less exposed to air pollution than a commuting motorist.(ofcourse, one can do it as and when it is possible to do)

On the down side, cycling does involve some risk of injury which has been greatly exaggerated by fearmongers. Cycling actually has similar risks to traveling by automobile.

BUT ONE SHOULD ALWAYS TAKE PROPER SAFETY PRECAUTIONS WHILE CYCLING ,LIKE WEARING HELMET,FOLLOWING ROAD RULES ETC.

Children and teen agers enjoy riding bycycle. Every parent should encourage them to learn bycycle riding.

Between the ages of five and eight is the most popular time for kids to learn how to ride a bicycle. Make it the most popular time to learn safe riding skills, too.

At the time of teaching kids how to ride bycycle ,certain steps to taken care of.

Here are the steps:

  • First, teach them the four rules to avoid fatal crashes!
  • :1.Never ride out into the street without stopping first. 2. Always obay stop signs. 3.Check always before turing. 4. Never follow another rider without applying the rules.
  • Then, teach them to wear a helmet,
  • Then, help them learn to balance and ride according to the rules.

Many parents begin and end with teaching balance. But step one is the most important: teaching your child how to avoid the situations that produce hundreds of dead children every year. And you probably are aware already that a helmet is essential when they make a mistake. Teaching them to balance is the easiest part for most kids. Then you have to practice the basic safety rules in actual riding. It can take you an extra couple of hours, but the result is well worth the effort!

Now The Fun Part: Time to Ride and Practice the Rules

Start with a helmet, gloves to protect the skin on their hands and perhaps even skaters’ knee and elbow pads for the first rides. Adjust the bicycle for your child and be sure they can reach pedals, bars and brakes comfortably.Brakes first! Show your kid how to stop the bike. Hold them up and gently move them forward as they use the brakes to stop until you are sure they know how.

Balance: Run alongside the bike, holding it up by the seat with one hand on the handlebars to show how you turn them to keep the bike upright.

Riding: Nobody learns without practice. Riding with your child is probably the best way to practice the rules. Go over the rules, then ride, stopping occasionally to review what they have just done and praise their good performance,never shout much for little mistake,rather encourage for rectification. Notice that if they are behind you, your rule about not following automatically will be severely challenged, even if you ride through a red light or directly into the path of a car! As with almost any other skill, practice is required to ingrain techniques. More than one session will be needed. But the result is worth your time

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