January 27, 2011
Filed under: baby development — Alan @ 6:50 am
Generally speaking, “toddler” indicates the stage of development from the ages of 1 to 3 years old. If we examine the word, though, it comes from the term “toddle”, which means to walk unevenly. So we could say that a toddler is a child who is learning to walk.
During these years, the toddler is developing their muscular coordination as their muscles are also growing. The child is learning and trying to step continuously in a fluid manner. The first stage of being a toddler requires the child to hold onto something for support. It aid in the balance while moving and prevents falling.
A child is usually a toddler between the ages of 9 and 14 months. It differs from child to child, based on their natural ability.
The toddler stage includes important events that the parents will want to capture for future memories. One of the most important of these is the development of communication through language.
The toddler typically speaks his first words at around 12 months of age. By the age of 18 months they are normally spitting out words or even phrases, limited to certain vocab. This is when parents must begin speaking normally, skipping any more baby chatter. The parents will be helping the toddler integrate words and phrases during this phase, into their repertoire.
This is the stage where the child triggers emotional cues. It is another highly significant milestone in the developmental growth of the child. Actions, cues and tantrums will be the tools of the toddler’s emotions, quite a bit after one year old.
Psychological gains are a parallel development for the toddler. The child will try to manipulate psychologically, by crying to acquire the object of his desire or turning grumpy to gain the spotlight.
The parents must learn to control themselves during these times and show patience at first, but discipline where patience is met with persistence.
January 21, 2011
Filed under: Baby public health — Alan @ 6:27 am
Baby carriers can offer many advantages over other means of baby transport, such as strollers and traditional prams.
Chances are, first and foremost in your considerations is safety. In much the same way as hands-free phone facilities in cars, baby carriers allow you to do what you need to do safely, very useful for you multi-taskers to do the housework (unless you’re fortunate enough to have a good husband who does it), shopping, and so on. You can even carry your baby while not carrying your baby as carriers strap around your upper body. This can also help if your baby is particularly clingy or fussy.
You can bond better with your baby as many baby carriers face the adult carrier, so you can look each other in the eye. Your baby will feel comforted being so close to you and your heartbeat will remind them of the womb. It will also be easier for you to keep your eye on your little bundle of joy, and their dummy is much less likely to fall on the floor. Your baby’s eyesight is also still poor as it develops, so the closer you are the better. Going from darkness (like the womb) to bright lights is a problem for adults sometimes, let alone babies. The position of the baby carrier helps the transition to be smooth.
Practicality on the move sling carriers can often be better than strollers for moving your little one around. Your house can often become cluttered with toys, or simply because of the existing layout and furniture, in which case a carrier may be much easier. Also, in busy public places, a stroller can get in the way and vice versa.
Whatever the situation and wherever you are, consider a baby carrier as a practical solution to the impracticalities of life.
January 15, 2011
Filed under: Child Birth — Alan @ 9:54 pm
Giving birth and having a newborn is an experience that just about every women would like to have. Having a newborn can be very challenging for some new mums a new study states. Many women do not feel like themselves until at least 18 months after the birth. A fashion website for new mums carried out the study. There are so many pressures and responsibilities for a new mum that they feel very overwhelmed.
One of the pressures that women face includes getting back to their old weight. Many feel they should lose it a lot faster than they do because of celebrities and other mums. Other women also do not feel that they would excel at their job again or did not feel that they could leave their newborns. When they do return to work they do not feel like part of the crowd anymore for almost a year.
With the new responsibilities that a new mum has some will let themselves go. They do not realize all of the new responsibilities that they would have and cannot complete everything in a day. They understand the sleepless nights are what comes with having a newborn. New mums take the priorities of their child first and foremost and everything else is secondary. They come to terms with their new life and embrace it. A lack of routine is very common in the early months, which does not help them make it through the day. Their self-assurance due to hormone-driven emotions disappears.
New mums love the new life that they have. They do need to understand the new routine will take a while to fall into place.
January 10, 2011
Filed under: Baby items — admin @ 9:45 am
One of the greatest challenges that will ever confront a parent is the preparation for their first child. This is partially because it is an incredibly daunting tasks, and also because there is so much to do in such a busy time. Things like running around buying baby clothes, and toys like Fisher Price Little People will keep you very busy. There are a few things you need to focus on in your preparations though.
Your newborn child may not initially sleep in its own room, but it’s still very important to set up a nursery. Get the crucial items like a crib, appropriate blankets and a baby-changing table. It’s also fun to decorate the room in an appropriate manner – this involves painting and some nice, simple decorations. This will also help you emotionally prepare for the baby’s arrival.
You also need to do a fair bit of reading before your child arrives. There are lots of good books out there, so take a peak around your local store and find one that appeals to you. These books can’t teach you how to be a parent, yet they can give you a general framework of what to do and give you an idea of what those first few months are going to be like. Make sure to read a fair number of books, but be prepared to follow your instincts when the baby arrives – it’s your child so you should raise it in your own individual way.
Finally, you need to baby proof your home. You may not realise it, but there are dozens of things around your house that are hazardous to children; they can range from sharp edges on tables to clutter lying around that can be easily swallowed. Be sure to take a very good look around your house to see what items could potentially be a hazard to your new child – this is a very important step.
These three tips should help you get ready for your first child – but in truth nothing can truly prepare you for this incredible experience. All you can do is prepare as much as possible and then hang on for a wild, fun, tiring ride which is sure to change your life forever.
January 6, 2011
Filed under: Sudden Infant Death — Alan @ 4:00 am
The infant mortality rate is a demographic indicator that indicates the number of child deaths in a population of every thousand live births registered during the first year of its life. Although the infant mortality rate is measured on children under 1 year, it is also measured sometimes in children under 5 years.
Consideration of the first year to establish the child mortality indicator is that the first year of life is the most critical in the survival of human beings: when they exceed the first birthday, the chances of survival increase dramatically.
This is an indicator directly related to poverty levels (the higher poverty, the higher the infant mortality rate) and is the subject of one of the eight Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations.
Infant mortality rate = (Deaths children <1 year / Total number of live births per year) x 1000
“In recent decades, innovations in medicine, progress in basic health care and enabling social policies have produced large increases in life expectancy and sharp declines in child mortality” (Kofi A. Annan, We the villages, 20002).
However, the inequalities are so large in the various regions of the planet; this has led to the United Nations to include it as one of the eight Millennium Development Goals of reducing child mortality (under 5 years) by two thirds between 1990 and 2015.
The countries with the lowest infant mortality in the world (2003) are Norway and Iceland, with 3% of children under 1 year and 4% for children under 5 years, respectively.
In Latin America, Cuba has the lowest rate of around 4.7% (2008). The 20 countries with the worst infant mortality rates all belong to Africa, with Niger, recording the worst in the world with 154% and 262% respectively. In Latin America, Haiti is the country with the worst records (76% and 118%), and Yemen in Asia (82% and 113%).
