Teens and Pre-Teens Concerns

This is the excerpt of a discussion pre-teen and teen behavior and I love what this buddy had to say and agree totally with it.

Here it goes..

The bond what we make with our kids during baby time, toddler age , early school age is different......... if we think we had made an awesome bond and it will work for the whole life , we are fooling ourselves.

Pre teen is one more stage where a parent has to establish a new bond with the kid. I personally feel this is a very important stage for a parent and kid relationship.  We cannot ignore that at this time the uniqueness of that individual also starts forming ... kids start their own thinking patterns forming their own opinions...parent have to find a way where their and kids thoughts meet or if not meet then disagreeing peacefully ... at this a GAP may appear in terms of thoughts.........if care is not taken the GAP widens and the kids start drifting away mentally.

At this time a parent has to again make a palce in their lives... Talk talk talk with the kid as much as possible... and pls dont talk as if u r doing a job , a parent shd enjoy tlaking with the kid.. then only they open up..when we give them trust, we get it back too.

Sex is a very important issue...... we cannot simply say '' adi paapam, adi cheeykoodadu ''.. I have always shown sex as a natural thing to my kid.... we talk openely abt sex...he is free to ask me any Questions on the topic... being a parent we hv to give them proper answers which are close to reality and at the same time appropriate for their age.  At 11 there is nothing which they shldn't know honestly.. my son knows everything .... more than sex its the emotional changes which a parent shld not ignore...they experience the first feeling of love... if ur child comes to u and tlak abt his/ her interest then as a parent, you can pat ur back and think that u hv passed a small test in wining a small amount of trust.

Courtesy:  Sunita M.

Some Summer Activities - 2013

The workshops in Lowe's (2 weekend days as per store calender schedule) and Home Depot (first Saturday every month) are definitely the activities that the kid would look forward to this Summer apart from the routine camps and activities... and to say that it is FREE, too good!!

Micheals, Passport to Imagination is also another good program in progress 7 weeks, Monday, Wednesday Friday 10 to 12 a good 2- hour in class engaging kids... !

Taekwondo/Martial - A few parental concerns/myths

Back in US, life of Desi parents revolves around the number of activities the kid are into, when, where, what, how and all that...  Well, not to say, yours truly has fallen into that trap too.. but here are my 2 cents about the martial arts activities.

A lot of my friends when listen to it say... oh we have our handful already, the kid who hits, pushes, screams, do not want him to get more ideas than he already has, especially from the parents of boy kids and I am really really surprised because martial arts drill discipline, focus, etc. in an individual and it is just not something for self-defense or trophied activity..

The first thing they teach out there is manners, good manners... the courtesy words.
Confidence - Believe in yourself, You can do it.. erasing negativity.
Being bold, raising your voice when needed, precision, confidence to speak up, be punctual, be attentive, yearn for more.
Word of the week, working on how to behave at home, learning about discipline, keeping our things in order, listening to parents, getting it right the first time...

I find it very good, not just the karate moves, the championships, the belts but a complete wholesome well-rounded physical, emotional, and personal development activity much needed for kids today.  So, if your only concern is the screaming and running around with punches, just rest it aside and give it a chance.

Goat Kheema Recipe

Another non-veg recipe, yummy for the tummy...

Been to our cousin's place for a while and there the kid liked it very much, and here is the recipe just in case your kid might too..

Ingredients
 Cloves
Elachi
Shajeera
 Onions
 Green Chillies
 Tomatoes
 Dosakai(optional)

Procedure:
Heat oil in a pressure pan.
Add all the whole spices after they splutter add the onions , green chillies , mint fry for 2 minutes.
Add 2 tbsp fresh ginger garlic paste to the onions.
 Fry for a minute then add Kheema tomatoes,(cucumber), salt, red chilli powder mix well and pressure cook for 3 whistles on medium flame.
 Let the pressure release from the cooker put on flame and then add garam masala put the lid on and cook for minute.
 Add coriander leaves. Yummy Kheema curry ready.

Courtesy:  Vijitha. G

Saadu Bottu

Homemade black paste for using on kid's face.. Doctors these days do not recommend using kaajal, kaatuka, etc on infant's faces for the fear of infections.  In good old days ammammalu used to make it and keep it ready for the new baby's arrival but now, neither do we know the procedure nor we actually feel the need to.  Even in the village I could not get someone to make that bottu for me, so I used to the normal Eyetex kaatuka.. apply a small dot with match-stick and apply powder on it :-p...

Procedure 1
Biyyam ni iron mukudu lo nallaga maada petti, daanni fine powder gaa grind cheyyali.
Thin cloth tho fine powder ni separate chesi, malli grind cheyyandi.
Aa powder ni koncham water lo vesi, thick paste la chesi, malli iron mukudu ki vepandi.
Thick paste laaga avutundi.
Transfer it into a cup and let it cool.

Meeru eppudu vaadalante appudu koncham water vesi, bottu ayye varuku aragadeesi, bottu laaga vaadandi. Idi chemicals unna readymade bottulakante chinna pillala skin ki chaala safe. Dont keep it closed when it is wet, as it might let fungus grow and might lead to infections.

Procedure 2
roast sabudana(normal size,not the nylon sago) on a very low flame in an iron kadhai till it turns dark brown.
then,light a matchstick and put it in the sabudana kadha.then once it becomes one mass(in just about a couple of seconds)
pour a little water into it,just enough so that it becomes a thick paste.because the lighted matchstick has been put in,the whole mass will turn coal black, cut sort of dry,so adding water helps to get the mass together.
then,boil till thick and pour into a steel bowl(old one,which you don't use anymore).
let it dry in the sun,it will shrink.

How to use:
put a few drops of water on the surface of the container and rub with your fingers, the black mass will begin to melt.
gather a small size on your finger, and rub it between your fingers to eliminate excess water,then when you gather the mass on your finger,it should be thick and viscous.immediately just put on the baby's forehead.
Once it dries,it turns hard and shiny.It comes off easily too -just rub it with some water when bathing baby.

Procedure 3
Deep fry saggubiyyam in an iron skillet until it turns black.
Once it is black, pour a little water and keep stirring it without forming lumps or layers at the bottom on medium flame.
Stir it until the consistency of saggubiyyam is very thick, when all the sago is melted and the paste is thick, add some castor oil to it, few drops.
After it cools off put it in a container.

When applying just take a little bit of water and take it out with finger and apply on face, forehead, cheeks wherever.

It is important to note that when making this there will be lot of fumes so keep the doors and windows open and if in US, the fire alarm off!

Courtesy: Indus Ladies

India Shopping for New Moms and Babies

some things moms would like to get from back home with parents visiting for delivery

Black molathadu
Silver items
 Sambrani
Sunnipindi
 Katuka
Baby hair oil
 Bed lo veyataniki silver krishnudu
 Feeding Nighties
 New born traditional Wear
 Gripe Water
 Hinge/Pala Inguva
Saadhu bottu (homemade bottu made by some elders)
dishti poosalu
home made kaatuka (again only few elders remember making it)
Saana (gandham or karakkaaya) aragateeyataaniki

will keep adding as and when something comes up.. and also please feel free to add it up, 'cos it would help others...

Egg and Yellow

Getting us to eat egg yellow must have the toughest task our parents had, well maybe one of the toughest.  Realize this 'cos my little one is like that.. she does not like the yellow sticking on to the tongue and hence the white is over and yellow is left to be eaten for 1 hr. if left unattended or maybe even mostly untouched...

Omlette, scrambled egg is an option but when one of my cooks cousins did this... I just loveddddddd it!!

Boil some water in a bowl, after about 3 minutes break the egg empty the contents being careful not to put in any shells, slightly stir with a spoon and let it boil for 3 to 5 minutes... white and non-sticky yellow are ready... ting tong!  no more messy egg times!