Magic Pot - A Manorama Group Publication

For parents in India,

Found this book at my regular book sellers where I go to buy my magazines for the month and weekly whenever I happen to go to Gudiwada.

Magic Pot a magazine for nursery/primary school children.. one of its kind, too many activities, big font, good stories, puzzles and a lot more to look for.. just loved it from cover to cover and the kid enjoyed me reading it to her too..

so, if you happen to be a parent of a pre/primary-schooler, then just go for it and you will not regret  :).

From the publishers of Manorama, Tell Me Why is another knowledge magazine for the kids.. just loved them both..

For more details

Log on to www.manoramaonline.com which also has English in its options though it comes up in Malayalam.

or call 1800-4255-002 or 04812564393

The Reluctant Tooth-Brusher!!!

Kid refusing to brush...!!!!

Well, my kid loves to eat up the paste than actually brush.. it is a struggle getting her to brush normally and properly.. like it is some kind of a power struggle at times.. well, after some point, one needs to put an end to reluctance and work towards making it a happy routine.. how, how, how...????

Target Happy Brushing...1,2,3...


Brushing twice a day happily... WE CAN DO IT!!!! (all is well style ;)).  Brushing is fun and let it be so!


Eating toothpaste is the most common things the kid love to do, considering the paste is sweet/minty flavored, etc. so the key is to give very little paste.. almost a pea size or less than that.

Make it exciting, pick up multiple brushes of her choice, the animated/toy ones, the musical/vibrating battery operated ones, her favorite colors.. whatever it takes her to brush happily..


**Let her have her choice of brush for the day, keep a couple of them handy.
**Let her have a pick of choice of toothpaste, keep a couple of flavors handy.

**Brush with the kid, in front of a mirror, teach the kid to do it on her, let them repeat the action.
**Name the teeth or let the kid name the teeth, tell them that it is like bathing them, clean them through and through, every single teeth, upwards, downwards, back and front, massage the gums, keep talking to them.
**Tell them the germ cycle, germ stories, how important is oral hygiene, how germs accumulate overnight and how not brushing just pushes them down the tummy and into the body, get into the tummy, eat it, bite it.. whatever that makes the child sit up and listen and actually see the need to do it.
**sick songs happily when the kid brush.. make up own words.. like brush, brush brush your teeth, washing the germs away.. spit, spit, spit the paste, whatever silly catchy things that come to your mind at that time.

Show them some brushing videos like Elmo brushing, etc.
HERE.
Rhymes on brushing before we actually get to brushing
HERE.
HERE
HERE

Brush, brush, brush your teeth, brush it every day
amma, daddy, Sreya, Chutki brush it every day... whatever, whatever that comes out of your mouth, set a tune and get them going!

Well, the kids truly bring out our creative/negotiating best!!!

Do not forget to share other tips that you might have successfully implemented!!

Head Lice

... and the school woes start, in what way.. lice!!! Eeeks!!!

If you happen to be from India, almost every one of us tend to have this experience of head lice, scratching and un-licing or whatever it is called in the hands of patient mothers and grandmothers... De-loused for the summer vacation only to be infested in the first week of school... and the result is

They are not harmful but highly infectious and scratchy and annoying and cranky kid is the result!!!

It is such a common phenomenon that once in school, it is almost expected :(.. sigh!!! and so my problems start... the kid goes to school for a week and is infested.

So bring out traditional lice combs oil the hair regularly, give head bath every 2 days or weekly twice and bring out (pela duvvenalu).

The problem gets worse during the rains with them drenching and the lice thriving in that fungus and moist head area.

Prevention methods
**Good hair care routine and hygiene, regular hair wash.
**No sharing of combs/hair brushes/caps/hair accessories, towels, clothing.
**A kid/individual infested, whole family infested :(!

Cure
We were prescribed Dimeticone solution, Hedrin.. a bottle of odorless/non-sticky solution applied from roots to the ends of each and every hair shaft.. treatment only for kids above 6 months of age kids under that age group need to be medically supervised.


Apply the lotion from the roots to the ends of each hair at night time, leave it on for 8 hrs. and rinse it off with normal regular shampoo.. repeat the same exactly a week later as any nits (lice eggs) that might have been left would have hatched in the meantime.  3/4 of the bottle for the mother and 1/4 for the kid!  or contact your doctor for exact details and suggestions pertaining to it.


I would suggest visiting a doctor rather than the over-the-counter lice drugs available, considering it is a medicated preparation and nothing un-supervised should get into kid's eyes or system by any chance.


Repeat the exact routine and keep watching closely for re-infestation...!!!

CHECK OUT GRANNY HOME REMEDIES HERE!

Ragi Recipe

this is recipe ucan use sugar or jaggery

2 heaped tbsps raagi powd

1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup water

2 tsps badam pwd

1 1/4 tbsps jaggery syrup (adjust)

a pinch of elachi

1 Add a little cold water to the ragi pwd
and make a smooth paste and keep aside. Heat water and milk in a
stainless steel vessel and when it begins to boil, add this paste and
stir continuously to avoid any lumps.
2 Add jaggery and badam pwd. Continue stirring
on medium flame and you will find that it thickens. After 3-4 mts, add
the cardamom pwd and continue stirring for a mt and remove from heat.

Courtesy:  Lakshmi

Homemade cough drops!

From an FB update!!!  Everything is natural in it, so no harm trying... I am yet to try it!

The next time you or a family member have a sore throat, try this homemade cough drops remedy instead of running to the pharmacy.

Ingredients:
• 1 cup powdered jaggery
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• ¼ tsp black pepper powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• A pinch of salt

Method:
• Melt jaggery in a pan and add ginger powder, turmeric powder, salt and ghee. Mix well till bubbles start forming.
• Turn the flame off, once mixture is cool, divide into equal portions and roll into small circular shapes similar to cough drops.
• Store in an airtight container.

The turmeric and salt will help loosen the mucus. Children can take up to 2 tablets a day and adults can take 3 tablets.

Courtesy:  Swathi B.

ISP - Online Better Parenting Sessions - Rush!!

Extremely sorry for the late heads up guys,

Sri RaviJi, one from the first couple practicing SSY, Raviji and Gayathri Ma, has enabled us an online session featuring ISP for 9 weeks between 7 and 9 p.m. IST on Saturdays.

Dear wonderful parents of beautiful children!

We just started the new batch of ISP online classes on Saturday, i.e. 9th June 2012. We sent invitations to you from www.wiziq.com. I am not sure if you have noticed it!

Take this opportunity to give the best to your child!

Your child is growing faster than we imagine! What you cannot give now, cannot be given later easily!

With concern for your child, we remind you the last chance to join the present batch of ISP online course.

Be positive and offer your greatest gift to yourself and the child - ISP- Art of Joyful parenting!

Regards,
Raviji
M: 07569261234
M: 09392444251
Magicjack: 321-420-9091

The session had actually started on 9th June but for the sake of new entrants, we had a repeat introductory Session yesterday too 16, June 2012.

So, there is still chance for you to get into the program rather than wait up for the next chance.

HURRY NOW.. I have got some wonderful reviews and notes for the ISP posts done by Rekha here, so the parents really interested in one on one interaction and the course by the Guru himself, it is a golden chance, considering he is coming to her homes through WizIQ learning/web sessions.

The payment amount varies between India and US.. for parents in India it is 6,600 rs/-, the ISP course material would be sent home and due to shipping variance, the price for overseas is a bit more which needs to be confirmed over the phone.  Payment mode is money transfer through ICICI bank details that will be provided over the phone or Paypal which again can be gotten over the phone with the Guruji himself.

My experience with online class

Since I live in a remote area in AP, I have no option of attending any such courses or sessions but this one has been God sent and ever since Rekha suggested me this one and also my friends Bindu and Suraj practised it on their kid, I was like I must do this!!! I want my kid to have that kind of a parenting too, let me better myself as a person and a parent and experience that ecstatic feeling firsthand and enjoy my kid thoroughly!!!

The introduction to the thought of having a child, the way we want her/him to be as an adult or grow up, the reason we need to let them be, the priorities of what is what?  Why and When should we do What and Why and what we should not.  Yes, we know the best, but a little guidance wont really hurt.

IT was my first session with Wiziq, the master was in a panel through his webcam on the screen with an interactive window open below for us to type in our comments.  We can hear him and see him but unless we are given mike rights we wont be able to speak to him but interaction is through chat window which he responds to immediately... like there are questions posed to us by him and we type in there, we have queries, we put them forward and he replies.

There was a bit of lag maybe due to my connectivity but it was just right, no reason to complain.

The home plays (things to be practiced during this week at home) are

Vision - Writing down our vision for the kid on a sheet of paper along with the personality we have in mind while wanting him/her to be.

Say and Do - Running commentary of what we are doing, what is happening around him/her, talking and interacting and listening.

Talking in Sleep - Talking to the kid in her/his sleep, curing the kid, letting the kid know of something in that semi-sleep state (whispering clearly in the ear in a soothing voice) after the kid goes to sleep.

I had fun and knowledge dissemination, if you want to be there... pls. be there... not just for the heck of it but to reform your own self, understanding parenting as a concept as a study as an art and not just a mere responsibility.

and YES, we can replicate what guruji says here, like how Rekha has done it wonderfully for us or me after going through the session in my own words, my experiences but that was all when we had no such option of guruji doing it for us.. but Guruvu nerpina vidyani minchinadi inkoti untundaa?.. when we have him teaching it to us, learning from him is a different thing altogether.


The session happens completely in English, so regional/local language is not a barrier... 

Extremes of Constipation

It is quite natural for the kids to have constipation in early phases of life but one should ensure that it does not become a habit.  Good potty habits and food habits are must.  As we focus on nutrition intake for the kid, we also need to ensure that the toxic wastes get out of the body regularly and without much strain.

If it is a severe problem, like too much of straining happening in spite of all dietary measures, fiber intake, water intake and all the home remedies then please consult the doctors and ensure that at least stool softeners or laxatives are given.

Too much of straining and constipated state might result in rectal prolapse, though not really common in kids and toddlers and not a very painful condition is really scary.

So, MOMS, please ensure the kid does potty regularly, do not panic in the infant and newborn stage but once a toddler, ensure that you do everything possible to see that the stool passage and frequency is good and not a painful thing to the kids.

Also, when there is any condition diagnosed in the kid, please do not hesitate to take a second opinion and if need be third and then narrow down on the treatment.

Courtesy:  A concerned mom. Thank you C for giving me the heads up and asking me to write it here.!


I hope my sweet P baby grows out of it soon.


Also check here for Ayurvedic cure for rectal prolapse.