The Noisy Home

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Ya okay...so I absolutely hate noise....I HATE IT...especially the kinds that is made by kids....gosh I hate it so much!

It's also because of the fact that I have 2 kids of my own, that they have their own friends, that our friends have kids, their friends have kids, their kids have friends, relatives have kids, neighbours have kids !!!!! Gosh I don't even know what I am saying anymore...

The point is...there are so many kids out there and they ALL make sooo much noise!

Ufffff.....and then we as parents are supposed to still stay calm and composed and cool....ya whatever!!!

 - Debolina Raja Gupta

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And like I always believe in and say:
'Heal the world we live in
Save it for our children' - MJ
Happy Parenting!!!!

Be good to your little one, and to the millions of little ones out there who truly need every bit of love and compassion they can get.....Be a grown up...save the little ones.... Debolina Raja Gupta

Wish You All A Very Merry Christmas!!!!

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- Debolina Raja Gupta

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And like I always believe in and say:
'Heal the world we live in
Save it for our children' - MJ

Happy Parenting!!!!

Be good to your little one, and to the millions of little ones out there who truly need every bit of love and compassion they can get.....Be a grown up...save the little ones.... Debolina Raja Gupta

Celebrating Christmas: Of Santa and Gifts and Smiles :-)

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Christmas is here, that time of the year that is somehow quite magical and sweet, with twinkling bells and hopes of a new beginning with the New Year just round the corner. Christmas has always been special to me. While I was a little kid of the age my daughter is now, I was studying in a Christian school and obviously the celebrations for Christmas were huge. We would be involved in so many activities around the festival that it was one of the most beautiful times in the entire year for us all, and all us kids would wait eagerly for the next Christmas to arrive. 

At home, the celebrations were not that huge. We never had a Christmas tree, but that’s okay, as unlike these days, not most homes had one in those days, especially if they were not Christians. These days, you can see a Christmas tree almost in every home – and it’s a great way of welcoming more celebrations and rituals and festivities in your life. So for our childhood, though we didn’t have the Christmas tree, we did have the special Christmas cakes. While we were kids, my parents had modest means, and finances were always short, through the year, every year. Not that any of it affected me or my brother. Yes, there were various instances, but I feel, as does my brother, that in a way, it’s good we saw less money and less privileges and things as kids, as it has helped us remain grounded and understand and appreciate things much more than many kids those days did.

Sponsored Video: Domestos & UNICEF Present 'Dance and Be Happy & TELL A FRIEND'

My 6-year-old makes sure that the washroom is absolutely clean before she uses it each time.

Fact: There are 2.5 billion people in the world who live without access to safe toilets.

Any time my daughter has a mild fever I make sure she is comfortable and rested.

Fact: Every day 2,000 children die of diarrhoea, which is a preventable disease with proper sanitation.

4 Week Old Baby - What Your Baby's Doing Now: Diary of A New Mum

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Wow....so baby is almost 4 weeks now and you're readying to celebrate the milestone of reaching the 'month' tag....Congratulations mommy and daddy...you've been doing great!

There's been so many changes in the little one since you first looked into that most beautiful face, and each day is a new revelation, a new change....so much going on with this tiny little person! Whoa!!!

So what all does baby have in store for you to be surprised at as baby enters the 4th week?

What the 4-week old baby will be doing:

Christmas Nail Art: 20 Beautiful Festive Designs Your Nails Will Love To Flaunt!

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It's that time of the year when we are wrapping up the year that went by, awaiting Santa's visit and relishing those bakery smells of Christmas cakes and cookies!

While the whole world joins in on celebrating this cheerful and happy time, here are a few lovely designs (in no particular order) that you can sport on your nails to extend the festive feeling.

20 Christmas Nail Art Designs

1. Santa Nails

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2. Snowflakes

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You can read the entire article and check out the rest of the amazing designs here.

- Debolina Raja Gupta

**********************************************
And like I always believe in and say:
'Heal the world we live in
Save it for our children' - MJ
Happy Parenting!!!!

Be good to your little one, and to the millions of little ones out there who truly need every bit of love and compassion they can get.....Be a grown up...save the little ones.... Debolina Raja Gupta

Johnson & Johnson Admits: Our Baby Products Contain Cancer-Causing Formaldehyde

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So I've been hearing a lot about the Johnson & Johnson products of late, how they are bad for babies, how their formulation is actually one of the worst out there and something that should DEFINITELY NOT BE USED FOR BABIES.

As a parent, I was so scared after reading a few stories online that I decided to switch over to some other brand, one that is more natural and herbal. In fact, while I extensively used J&J products for my first born (which I'm now regretting after reading what I'm going to share here with you), I've become more sensible and changed the brand.

So today, I came across this article and absolutely had to share it here with all you parents......please read it carefully...I have nothing to write here, I am simply sharing it word for word...

Johnson & Johnson Admits: Our Baby Products Contain Cancer-Causing Formaldehyde

Posted on May 19, 2013 by peter

Today, the personal care giant announced that it would voluntarily (after consistent pressure from the public and groups like EWG) remove hidden formaldehyde from their baby products like baby shampoo and baby washes.  Don’t see formaldehyde listed on the back of your bottle of “no more tears” shampoo? Formaldehyde is “hidden” in these products in ingredient names like “DMDM hydantoin“, and “1,4 dioxane” (which is “hidden” in listed ingredients like “fragrance”.  It’s all a big fun game, you see.).

“There’s a very lively public discussion going on about the safety of ingredients in personal care products,” said Susan Nettesheim, VP for product stewardship and toxicology for J & J.

Lively discussion?  If someone was selling you shampoo for your baby that had cancer causing agents hidden in it, I hardly think the discussion with that person would be “lively”.

About the known cancer causing (as listed on the US EPA carcinogen list) chemicals, Ms Nettesheim says, ““…as a scientist I will sit here and tell you these things are perfectly safe.”  (I wonder what shampoo she uses on her kids)

To J & J’s credit, they are also going to phase out other harmful chemicals like pthalates and parabens which have estrogen-like properties and are suspected to be linked to hormone related cancers.  They plan to phase these chemicals out in their adult brands as well.  Johnson & Johnson also operates under squeaky clean names like Neutrogena, Aveno, and Clean & Clear.

Hopefully this will have a domino effect and other big names will follow.  I would score this as a victory for everyone who wants to wash their kid’s hair without risk of exposing them to carcinogens.

I would advise you to wait to use the new J & J products until you see the big bright labels that say “No more carcinogens!”

The Savvy Sister says ” Your skin is a carrier…NOT a barrier!”

YOU CAN READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE AND THE COMMENTS HERE

- Debolina Raja Gupta

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And like I always believe in and say:
'Heal the world we live in
Save it for our children' - MJ
Happy Parenting!!!!

Be good to your little one, and to the millions of little ones out there who truly need every bit of love and compassion they can get.....Be a grown up...save the little ones.... Debolina Raja Gupta

Going Beyond the First Right Answer

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 My friend was telling me about his daughter and how she enjoys school. He told me about how her class
teacher teaches maths. Apparently one of her techniques is to help children discover different answers to the same problem.

Example: “In how many ways can you arrive at the number 75?” Children can use addition, subtraction, multiplication or division to arrive at the answer. He then mentioned how his daughter would come back every now and then and show him and his wife a new way in which she arrived at 75.

He then said something which set me thinking: “I never thought that in maths there could be more than one right answer. This has opened my eyes to new possibilities.”

10 Christmas Decoration Ideas To Do With Your Kids

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Do you hear that? Do your the jingling? The merry making? The ho ho ho? I can hear it almost! And both me and my daughter are super excited with all the fun that comes along with Christmas.....

Each year we set up our Christmas tree, and this year is no different...But if you don't have one at home, for whatever reasons, but would still like for your kids to feel this wonderful celebration, you can indulge in some cheerful bright decorations around the house instead!

So even as we are busy setting up some cute decorations around the house, here are some great ideas for you to try out with your children....Christmas tree or no Christmas tree, these decorations will still give your home that decked up, bright and cosy look!

1. Lots of sparkles....

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Sleep Deprivation in Parents of Newborns: Dealing With It

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A few days back, I came across a very disturbing and tragic piece of news. 

It was about this young mother who had 3 very young children at home - a toddler and a newborn twins. As you can imagine, she was severely sleep deprived. With no help available and no one in the house to look after the kids while she could rest for a while, she was a live ticking bomb. On the fateful day, when she could not bear the exhaustion any more, she took a can of beer, and asking her toddler to wake her up if the babies cried, went to doze off for a while.

To Push or Not to Push

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Parenting is all about pushing; it begins with labour, and after that, there’s really no getting away from it. Initially, it’s all about the little things – push in one more spoonful of food, make the child sleep, potty-train, that sort of thing. And of course, you tell yourself that you’re so not going to be a pushy parent; that once the child can understand reason, you will make him/her come around to your way of thinking without resorting to parental pressure and authority. All because you don’t want to be a pushy parent; all because there isn’t a word with more negative connotations than ‘pushy parent’, is there?

Our Experience at Bookaroo 2013 Pune

I first heard of Bookaroo when my lovely friend from Delhi told me how her daughters were enjoying the fest. Being a book worm and a mommy to a little book worm myself, my ears immediately perked up and I wanted to know all about it.

Last year, the festival was only held in Delhi, and us living in Mumbai weren't able to attend. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can visit Bookaroo to know more.

So this year, when it was announced that this hugely popular Children's Literature Festival was coming to Pune too, we immediately know where we would be on the weekend of 30th Nov - 01st Dec. Our daughter is 6 and she wanted to attend both the days of the fest. So we booked us all into a hotel near the venue.

Bookaroo 2013

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If you haven't heard about it yet and missed it this season, you should probably book your calendar for next year's November right now!

Bookaroo is a festival that celebrates children's literature. The festival started in the year 2008 and was originally held in New Delhi. This year, it was also held in Shrinagar and Pune, where we attended this weekend.

The festival is packed with events, story telling, activities, songs, dance, creative speaking and so much more. It's a fun place for kids and authors to mingle and share in some bookish fun....

Our 6-year old daughter absolutely enjoyed the entire day of fun-filled events.

Here are some images of the kind of activities that happens at Bookaroo (all images sourced online and are not meant for any commercial usage)

 
- Debolina Raja Gupta
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And like I always believe in and say:
'Heal the world we live in
Save it for our children' - MJ

Happy Parenting!!!!

Be good to your little one, and to the millions of little ones out there who truly need every bit of love and compassion they can get.....Be a grown up...save the little ones.... Debolina Raja Gupta