Gadgets have made life easier than we could ever imagine. They help us reach people, across the world, through calls/email, serve as great navigators when we are in someplace new, house apps which have transformed the way eat, dress and socialise! But most of all, gadgets have given us new forms of entertainment. Entertainment which is great, as long as we don’t get too carried away and forget the outside world – This is exactly what is happening with our children.
Exam time is, indeed, a stressful period in a child’s life. With pressures mounting with each generation, about getting admissions into a prestigious college or getting a seat in the degree which the child wants to pursue, children undergo immense tension and stress. Apart from physical health issues, children are psychologically affected and even go into depression. As parents, you must ensure your child has a stress-free student life.
Here are a few tips:
Dangerous gaming apps like the Blue Whale Challenge have taken the world by shock. The game designed by a Russian has resulted in 130 children suicides in Russia and 3 casualties in India. The game gives children (generally teens are the victims) tasks to do, tasks as risky as, cutting a body part. The 50th and last challenge is the winning challenge, which is death by suicide. Experts warn parents of this contagious and addictive game and share steps for prevention
Technology is necessary and inevitable in this world of growing distances and diminishing time, but once it starts dominating our spaces, relationships, and lifestyles, it becomes a dangerous addiction.Speaking of dominating relationships, gadgets have increasingly started replacing parenting. Demanding jobs are making it difficult for parents to spend time with children, thus making phones the go-to device for keeping children entertained and occupied. Tabs and phones are infested with games, which children get hooked on to, giving them no opportunity to explore the outside world, learn something new or just have a simple conversation with someone.
Following are some of the ways in which parents can give more time to their young ones:
Whenever you can, make sure you pick and drop your children to school or any other activity class they go to. This commute gives you more time with them. Gadgets are going to be there everywhere, but be stern about not using them while having a conversation. That also means as parents you too should refrain from doing so!
When you pick them up from school, instead of coaxing your child to talk, why don’t you begin sharing your day’s experience with them? Tell them something interesting about your work, something funny that happened in office that day, or something new you ate or did. The child will automatically want to share his/her day in school.
Make sure they eat at the table without any gadget near them. It is important for the family to sit together at least for one meal a day. Again, a good place to strike up a conversation, the dining table often leads to great sharing.
Independence Day is celebrated every year on 15th August. This was the day when India was freed from the British Rule. It is a national festival and has equal importance for every Indian regardless of religion, class, creed or race. The way of celebration is also the same throughout the country and that is the day when you will find whole India celebrating and rejoicing. Many cultural programs are organized and children love to watch them and participate in them.
Different types of celebrations on Independence Day
Children have a different perspective. They like this day because they get sweets and holiday after flag hoisting in their schools. The National Flag is hoisted by the Prime Minister of India on the ramparts of the Red Fort, Delhi after which his speech is followed. Other politicians hoist the flag in their constituencies. Not only this, private organizations celebrate & declare holiday on Independence Day. Everywhere there is a scene of joy, pride and rejoice. No rituals but only festivities are to be seen.
Some people fly kites to express their feeling for the freedom that we have received from the British Rule. You can see hundreds of colourful kites in the sky that day and some of them in the colour of the National Flag. Some people and celebrities leave balloons of saffron, white and green colours, the colours of the Indian Tricolour, in the air.
The Monsoons hit the south western coast of India right on time this year, making the whole country heave a collective sigh of relief.
Now that our biggest preoccupation has been addressed, the country hopes, the rains will continue their reign over all parts of India until at least October.
The rains bring cheer for the most part, but they also bring misery (Chennai and Mumbai floods come readily to mind). However, they can hardly be held responsible for our bad civic planning, callous land encroachments and mindless destruction of environment.
For parents, the season poses twin challenges: first is getting the kids ready for school and the second is worrying about flooded roads, falling tree branches, severed power lines and careless drivers when they are away at school.
Wet uniform, soggy socks and sodden school bags do their bit to add to the misery and the grim picture about life during the monsoons we have been trying to paint is complete! Well, almost, save for the most important of them all—how to keep monsoon diseases at bay! [Read more…]
Parents of toddlers are at an interesting juncture in their life right now: on the one hand, they feel that their precious little baby is too young to be at school, but on the other they—especially when both parents are working professionals— feel a little outside help with the kid would not be unwelcome.
Either way, the moment all parents have been dreading and looking forward to at the same time is here—your baby is fast growing up, and in most cases, a little too ‘faster’ than you would ideally like. After all, we humans have come to expect to have the best of both worlds.
Your toddler is ready to take the next giant stride—she is now considered “big” enough to be on her own, but just about. You hunt for a preschool, and after a round of tut-tutting about the various aspects you were made to cough up for admission, you are now ready for the big day. Or are you?
If this is your first time and you are labouring under the impression that depositing your kid at the preschool would be a cakewalk, you have got another think coming! After all, what can go wrong with as a simple task as driving her to school, planting a kiss or two on the kid and walking away whistling a jaunty little tune. [Read more…]
Nowadays when you see kids with their heads stuck on a gadget, you go into a mini flashback – Your mom shouting your name asking you to come home for lunch, and you wanting to finish that last over. You had your own collection of marbles; your skipping rope had the extra jingles attached. Ahh! Memories!
Before the invention of any electronic gadgets, the so called ‘80’s & 90’s’ kids have had their share of the best gala time. They were physically, socially & mentally active.
This century kids have a favourite question, “What did you do for entertainment during summer holidays in your younger days?”
This is a moment with a faraway look in your eyes and a happy smile playing on your lips, you begin…
‘We went to the library, you know, it’s a big building that houses rows of books,’ you begin on a sarcastic note, ‘and we researched our subject using many books. ‘As far as entertainment,’ you add, clearly warming to the subject, ‘we played many wonderful games all day.’
Impressed by the wicked gleam in your eyes, your kids cry in unison: ‘Tell us all about it.’ You send out a silent prayer for being bestowed upon moments like these that make parenthood worth all that trouble, and say, ‘OK, will tell you about the more popular ones; there were many, mind you… [Read more…]
Have you felt like screaming on top of your lungs when the food (which you took hours to make) gets spit out in a second? You can’t shout – You can’t show your anger anywhere, but smilingly cajole your kid to take another morsel.
Yes, it’s tiring – Yes, it’s demotivating and No, you can’t starve them!
How to then make them eat? Firstly, you relax! Here are some simple ways which can reduce (not eliminate) your troubles with a fussy eater.
Children who are fussy eaters (also known as picky eaters) are particular about what they will eat. Sometimes the child will eat a small portion of the food and may refuse to eat at all at other times. Another exasperating trait they exhibit is ‘food neophobia’ or refusal to eat new foods.
‘Food training’ should start at an early age–the earlier the better. This is because children display their aversion to food to every stage of growing up. For instance, toddlers they may refuse to eat lumpy food, while older children are known to develop a passionate dislike for vegetables.
Kids are fussy eaters and they are, by no means, an exception but rather the norm. But fear not, and try out these useful tips we have put together for you: [Read more…]
The word toddler is derived from the word ‘to toddle,’ meaning to walk unsteadily—which also means your little bundle of joy has just been empowered. In addition to her impressive lung power that regularly wakes up the neighbours at night and sends the resting stray dogs on the street outside scurrying for cover, she is now up on her feet and can take some unsteady steps.
The word ‘tantrum’ has a sinister ring to it because this handy tool is not just the privilege of disgruntled babies, but is known to be used effectively by grown-ups too, leaving considerable devastation in the households in its wake. But, by and large, young children tend to be associated with this ‘act of uncontrolled outburst of anger and frustration.’
So, why do children throw tantrum in the first place? Children usually figure out that the best way to draw parents’ attention is to make their presence felt—the louder the better—when they are a little older than a year. It is an age where their needs and wants are growing, but they are limited by not being able to express themselves about what they want, or what bothers them.
This limitation may result in the child being frustrated to the extent of resorting to obnoxious behaviour to gain attention. The tantrums may last for a short time, but are known to extend up to a good half hour or more, driving the harassed parents clean up the wall! Tantrums lasting longer than this need to be investigated further as it may be symptomatic of a larger problem.
Let’s look at the different flavours of temper tantrums in children and how to deal with the resultant behavioural issues associated with these outbursts: [Read more…]