Home To School The First Jitters: How I'm Helping My Little Baby Transition

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Oh the first time school days have till today been an epic fail....an absolute epic fail....

Going through this experience the second time, I was quite sure it would be easier to help the younger one transition from home to regular school. The elder one had also had her share of tears, and that time I wasn't this prepared. This time, Debo mommy was absolutely ready.

And failed !!!!! Ya it's kind of funny actually.

The fact that my kids never went to a playschool means that once they start school, it's an absolutely new experience for them. For the younger one who just started kindergarten about 3 weeks back, it's been an absolute nightmare for now.

She's been waking up in the middle of the night crying and howling, looking around for her teddy bear that's her constant source of comfort, and hugging me to say she never wants to let go. I am blessed, yes, but I feel so much for her right now.

8 Ways to feed your picky eaters

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(*this post is in association with Yellow Giraffe, a cute online store for kids' toys. If you haven't dropped by yet, do check them out at Yellow Giraffe)

Are you one of the many parents facing a mealtime struggle? Well, help is on the way. Here are 8 ways to tame and feed your picky eaters.

1. Do not force the need: It’s time to stop the feed if your little one turns his/her head away from the spoon. That’s a tell-tale sign that he/she’s full for the time being so what if the quantity might have been little. Toddlers will eat exactly according to need and force feeding will lead to the building up of tension and discomfort in the little one. This will only cause the child to be more of a fussy eater.

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.”

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?

Change Is Good

We are shifting houses this weekend, and with all the packing, moving, cleaning, et al – my kids are sometimes troubled.

• Will you pack all my toys?
• Will we have TV in the new house?
• Don’t forget Teddy!
• Will we have beds to sleep in?

Chalk And Cheese

I was told this many times over by older, wiser and ‘been-there-done-that’ parents – that my children will have very little in common when it comes to preferences, habits, personalities and attitudes. Despite being mentally prepared, I am quite taken aback as my children grow, and the differences show up. After all, sharing the same roof, environment, and adults for bulk of their days (and not to forget at least 50% of their genes), should my daughter and son not resemble each other more? But no, on some counts, they are so markedly different, that they are at opposite ends of the spectrum – sample this :

Keeping Your Kids Safe Online

Recently, my son’s school had to deal with an episode of cyber-bullying. A list of photos was being circulated via Instagram, asking readers to vote for the ‘school’s ugliest among the list.’ Luckily, it reached the school authorities, who took swift action, not only contacting the police and Instagram to get details about the perpetrators, but also launching into a series of school-wide initiatives to talking to students about the consequences of cyber-bullying, and setting up ways in which a student could report any such activity. The school also had a meeting with parents, where we learnt how to recognize the signs of a child being bullied, and how to encourage our children to report to authorities if either they or their friends were being bullied.

Is Your Baby Sleeping Enough?

For new mothers, and even for mothers whose kids have grown up a bit, understanding if your child is getting enough sleep or not is quite tricky. While many kids will immediately start showing the tell-tale signs of feeling sleepy, some kids, especially those who are hyper-active, may not immediately start showing easy signs that tell you your baby isn't getting adequate sleep time.

Here are a few signs you may look out for to understand if your baby is lacking in sleep and help them with better and extra bed time.

The Power Of Family Meals

Being a nutritionist I have always paid attention to what my family eats. But until recently, I was not aware
that how they eat is equally important. Research has shown that eating together as a family is key to inculcating healthy eating habits in children.

Researchers at Rutgers University have looked at 68 studies that have examined relationship between family meals, eating habits and children’s health. Amazingly all studies pointed to a similar trend – families who had “meals together” during the growing years had children and teens who ate more fruits and vegetables, other nutrient rich foods and less of soft drinks. The research also indicated that they had a lower BMI (body mass index) than kids whose families did not eat together! Of course, this is not a magic bullet but with so many studies confirming this trend it will be good to pay attention to these findings.

Yet Another Parenting Dilemma

As a parent of a five-year old growing up outside of India, far away from the environment that influenced my childhood – I worry about a lot of things.

Importantly, how to ensure that I bring up a child who is well-mannered and polite? Not that good manners are exclusive to Indian kids brought up in India, but cultural differences do account a lot for the way in which we perceive things; and to me, being well-mannered is the traditional Indian definition that we have of it – saying please and thank you, being respectful to elders, standing up when talking to a teacher, etc.

How Do You Define Caring Enough For Your Little One?

Few days back someone in the family mentioned that I care too much for my daughter, that my hubby and I care too much for her, more than enough, and that, in a way, we are spoiling her.

I didn't really answer back then, as it would have been a tricky situation - I'm always super-defensive, angry and irritated when someone talks this kind of senseless talk.

I mean, how do you define 'caring enough' for your kids? As a parent, isn't that what you're actually supposed to do?

I've prided myself in making my daughter a sensible, independent, smart, compassionate and understanding human being. She may be all of 5, but her sensibility, sense of compassion and understanding of the world and people around her are outstanding, something other parents and even her teachers have time and again told us about.

So what does someone mean by 'caring enough' for your little one?

Times today are changing and so is parenthood, by leaps and bounds. What our parents did a generation ago may have worked perfectly then, but put that in today's

Meeting The Tiger Mom Amy Chua 'Battle Hymn of The Tiger Mom'

I recently attended a talk by Amy Chua, the author of the book, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.’ A year ago, a provocative review of her book by Wall Street Journal propelled her into the list of mosttalked-about and most-vilified people, as parents (mainly in the West) collectively gasped in horror at her authoritative and harsh parenting methods.

For us in the East, such kind of parenting was something many of us have seen, heard about or even
experienced, although we might not subscribe to those methods any more.

Lines On Being A Mommy From The Book 'Daniel Isn't Talking' by Marti Leimbach

Am currently reading this touching book called 'Daniel Isn't Talking' by Marti Leimbach. As the name may be suggestive to many, the book is about a little boy who is autistic and how his mother, even while she doesn't really want to say it loud to herself in the beginning for fear of making it real, does begin reading the signs. 

I'm not going to make this a book review, for that, you can head over to my book blog The Book Worm and keep an eye for the review of this one.

As I was reading, I came across a few lines that I felt many mothers will familiarise with. I personally have a sleeping disorder, I can't sleep even though I have tried every single thing and remedy that's out there. But yes, one thing that's been a constant ever since I had my daughter is that I need to have her by my side - only then can I sleep comfortably for the bits and pieces that I sleep.

So yes, here are a few lines that I really thought touched a chord.

Life And Death?

 Even as I write this post, there is a big question in my mind that's nagging me crazy....will I be able to quench her fears and clear out her doubts?

The ones that are raging in her little mind and taking away her peace?

The ones that are worrying her so much that she's spending every before-going-to-bed ritual time crying and hugging me and begging for answers?

My little girl of 5 is experiencing the

School Diaries...Everyday

You probably already know that I am a huge chatterbox, that I can go on non-stop. My ma has always told me how I loved to talk to her about everything under the sun and moon, and now, the fun carries on as my little one jumps into my arms each day and tells me absolutely every single thing that made news for her!

As I send her off to school each morning, I tell her to have fun, to have a great day, to listen to her teachers and also to make sure that she does some masti ;-) School is also about fun, right? And as I wave her off in the morning, we make funny faces and blow kisses to each other, one from the bus stand and the other from the other side of the bus window....