❖ Sleep rhythm: A newborn baby doesn’t have a fixed pattern of sleep. The baby may sleep too much in the daytime while during the night it may keep awake. A regular sleep rhythm is established by 3-4 months of age.
Month: February 2017
Child Care: Guidelines for Managing Colicky Babies
i. The parents are not to be blamed and their way of upbringing is not the cause for the baby’s crying. Thus they should not harbour feelings of guilt
ii. Colic has nothing to do with the type of feeding. Changing formulas or switching from breast milk to bottle feeds is not recommended. However if the baby is on cow’s milk, you may try to give the baby formula milk.
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Child Care: Common Causes for Crying in Children
1. Normal Crying Pattern of a Newborn
New-borns cry at night for the initial 4-6 weeks and sleep during the day. This is just the opposite of what adults do (called “circadian rhythm.”) It is very disturbing to the parents because they can’t get proper sleep during the night time. However they should realise that it is not the baby’s fault but just a continuation of the intra-uterine pattern. During fetal life, the mother’s activities during the daytime have a rocking effect on the fetus and thus lull him to sleep. During night the opposite happens. This pattern persists after the baby is born and only by 4-6 weeks is the baby able to change and fit its sleep rhythm to the adult pattern.
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Child Care: Making the Child Sleep Alone Without Parents
Some or most of the parents may have a desire to have some free time for themselves after dinner, after the daily baby care ritual. The pre-requisite for it is that the child should be asleep! But the child doesn’t sleep without the company of his parents. So, the child has to be encouraged and trained to sleep alone, without the parents.
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Child Care: Sleep Pattern of the Newborns
Sleeping problems are the most common complaint of mothers and fathers in the first few years. And more often than not, being a parent means having to get used to NOT sleeping fitfully almost every night. Let’s face it. You need your baby to sleep at night not just for her sake – you need sleep too to remain sane and function effectively. For this, it is important to know that there’s a great variability in babies’ sleep patterns and needs.
Child Care: When to Start Schooling for Your Child?
School readiness involves a physical, social and emotional capacity to cope up with an alien environment. The demands are many. The child should have bladder and bowel control, should be able to overcome stranger anxiety and be away from his mother at least for some time. He should have a fair expression of language, both receptive and expressive.
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Child Care: Sleeping Problems in Childhood
They can be divided into three broad categories:
1. Bedtime struggles: The child finding it difficult to fall asleep.
2. Night waking: The sleep of the child is interrupted during the night.
3. Parasomnias: Nightmares, night walking, night talking and night terrors.
Child Care: Which School to Prefer in Initial Stages of a Child’s Schooling and Should There Be Exams?
WHICH SCHOOL TO PREFER IN THE INITIAL STAGES?
The ideal school at the age of 3 years is one where there is a lot of fun and joy for the child, along with learning of the basic and elementary things like knowing A-Z, names of common things, animals, colours etc. This learning should be in the spirit of play and fun; and not disciplinary where the child is made to sit at one place in the classroom for 3-4 hours and then taught things formally. The teachers over there should have a genuine fondness and love for the children and should be able to interact with them at their level.
Child Care: Preparing A Child for Schooling
Two important issues to be addressed for preparing a child to start schooling are:
i. Separation Anxiety: The child has difficulty separating from the parents temporarily to spend some time alone in an alien place i.e. the school. This is a normal phenomenon occurring in many children. With time and firmness on the part of parents, this anxiety decreases as the child becomes acclimatised to the school environment.
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Child Care: Preparing A Child for Schooling
Two important issues to be addressed for preparing a child to start schooling are:
i. Separation Anxiety: The child has difficulty separating from the parents temporarily to spend some time alone in an alien place i.e. the school. This is a normal phenomenon occurring in many children. With time and firmness on the part of parents, this anxiety decreases as the child becomes acclimatised to the school environment.
Continue reading Child Care: Preparing A Child for Schooling