Make Your Kid's Bones Stronger
Life-shattering bone diseases such as osteoporosis can be avoided when parents take preventive measures right from the start of their child’s life. Are you doing what it takes to help your child develop strong bones for life?
Osteoporosis is a condition in which bones become weak and break easily from a minor fall, or in serious cases from a simple act like sneezing. While osteoporosis is often thought of as an older person’s disease, it can strike at any age.
This condition is particularly worrying in women, who are four times more likely to develop osteoporosis than men.
While millions suffer from this disease, it is known that osteoporosis is preventable, especially if the right measures are taken from as young as infancy. Ensure your child gets the recommended amounts of calcium, vitamin D and exercise today. After all, prevention is better than cure.
Why is Calcium important?
The human body does not produce calcium on its own, while each day our bodies lose calcium through our skin, nails, hair, sweat, urine, and faeces. So when we do not consume enough calcium for our body’s needs, it is taken from our bones to be used for other bodily functions such as enabling the nervous system to send messages and allowing muscles to contract.
Children aged one to three should consume at least 500mg of calcium daily, while four to eight-year-olds need at least 800mg.
Snow Brand SUPER KID-plus provides the amount of calcium needed for your child’s daily intake. Apart from calcium obtained from milk, introduce other calcium-rich food to your child’s diet in stages, such as cheese and yogurt.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. Severe deficiency can cause rickets in children – a rare bone softening disease that causes bowing of the legs, poor growth, and at times muscle pain. Our skin produces vitamin D from the ultra-violet light (UV rays) in sunlight, however it is difficult to gauge how much, if enough is produced. The recommended daily amount required for children aged three to seven is 400 I.U.
Exercise – Use it or lose it
Bones are living tissues that become stronger and denser when we make them work. It is recommended that children get at least 60 minutes of exercise everyday. It does not have to be done all at once – short 10 to 15-minute spurts of activity works well too. Limit TV, video games and computer time and set a good example by being active yourself.
Tips for stronger bones
To develop stronger bones, make time for weight-bearing exercises like walking, climbing stairs, bicycling or dancing, or even play fun games in the outdoors like catch or Simon Says.
Ensure Calcium and vitamin D are part of your child’s daily diet. Include food like milk, yogurt, spinach and salmon.
Superior nutrition for great kids
Generally, milk formulae formulated by various makers are not of the same quality. Snow Brand SUPPER KID-plus is about the most comprehensive nutrient-enhanced growing-up milk formula in the market today.
It features a balance of nutrients essential for the proper physical and mental development of a growing child such as Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA), Sialic Acid (SA), Oligosaccharide, Choline, Tryptophan, essential vitamins and minerals with a high content of Omega 3 and Omega 6. It also contains Nucleotides for stronger immune function as well as Taurine and Ferum for added nutritional value.
With no added sugar and flavouring, Snow Brand SUPPER KID-plus retains the all-natural taste and goodness of milk that children love.
Source: StarSpecial, the Star, August 27, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Helping Kids Deal With Separation Anxiety
Helping Kids Deal With Separation Anxiety
Separation anxiety from a parent is a stressful time for any child – just as much for parents, who may be experiencing the same for their child. This is something the child will eventually come to accept and grow out of – but how do you cope with it in the meantime? Here are a few tips.
During the first year of life, your newborn will develop a strong attachment to you. As young as six months old, your baby may start to become upset when you leave her at daycare, with a relative, or with the babysitter. Separation anxiety is a normal part of infant development. Most babies experience separation anxiety between 12 and 18 months, though early signs may be evident by six or seven months.
Toddlers usually experience separation anxiety when their parents leave them with a caregiver to go to work, run errands, or enjoy a night out. Although this normal stage in development typically only lasts a few months, it can be very frustrating and stressful for both parents and the little ones.
Some parents try to keep separation to a minimum as they wait for their child to outgrow the stage. But for many parents, returning to work is not an option. It may be easier to leave your little one with a friend or relative she is familiar with until she has resolved her separation anxieties. If you choose a caregiver that your baby doesn’t know, spend some time visiting the new environment prior to her first day. Separation may not be as difficult if your baby is at least somewhat familiar with her surroundings and the person she will be spending time with.
Parents need to spend some time away from their children, so leaving your little one with a relative or a care provider is usually inevitable. Make the separation as comfortable as possible for you and your baby. Always visit new care facilities with your child before leaving her alone.
Most childcare centers, will welcome a brief visit. Stay close but allow your child to play and interact without you.
On the first day, you and your baby may want to arrive at the location about 30 minutes early. Tell your baby where you will be while you are away and assure her you will be back to get her soon. Give her plenty of hugs and kisses, but try not to make your separation too big a deal. You may want to stay in the building, but out of sight, for a few minutes to give your little one a chance to settle in. Once you leave do not return until time to pick up her up to go home.
If your child is having an exceptionally hard time, try limiting the first stay to no more than an hour. If the provider’s rules allow it, a familiar toy, may ease her anxieties.
Separation anxieties are a troublesome time for most parents and their toddlers. Though your baby may scream and cry, her fears will typically subside within the first 15 to 30 minutes.
Remember this is a normal stage of development and do your best to help your child through it.
Source: 1klassifieds, New Straits Times, September 2, 2009
Separation anxiety from a parent is a stressful time for any child – just as much for parents, who may be experiencing the same for their child. This is something the child will eventually come to accept and grow out of – but how do you cope with it in the meantime? Here are a few tips.
During the first year of life, your newborn will develop a strong attachment to you. As young as six months old, your baby may start to become upset when you leave her at daycare, with a relative, or with the babysitter. Separation anxiety is a normal part of infant development. Most babies experience separation anxiety between 12 and 18 months, though early signs may be evident by six or seven months.
Toddlers usually experience separation anxiety when their parents leave them with a caregiver to go to work, run errands, or enjoy a night out. Although this normal stage in development typically only lasts a few months, it can be very frustrating and stressful for both parents and the little ones.
Some parents try to keep separation to a minimum as they wait for their child to outgrow the stage. But for many parents, returning to work is not an option. It may be easier to leave your little one with a friend or relative she is familiar with until she has resolved her separation anxieties. If you choose a caregiver that your baby doesn’t know, spend some time visiting the new environment prior to her first day. Separation may not be as difficult if your baby is at least somewhat familiar with her surroundings and the person she will be spending time with.
Parents need to spend some time away from their children, so leaving your little one with a relative or a care provider is usually inevitable. Make the separation as comfortable as possible for you and your baby. Always visit new care facilities with your child before leaving her alone.
Most childcare centers, will welcome a brief visit. Stay close but allow your child to play and interact without you.
On the first day, you and your baby may want to arrive at the location about 30 minutes early. Tell your baby where you will be while you are away and assure her you will be back to get her soon. Give her plenty of hugs and kisses, but try not to make your separation too big a deal. You may want to stay in the building, but out of sight, for a few minutes to give your little one a chance to settle in. Once you leave do not return until time to pick up her up to go home.
If your child is having an exceptionally hard time, try limiting the first stay to no more than an hour. If the provider’s rules allow it, a familiar toy, may ease her anxieties.
Separation anxieties are a troublesome time for most parents and their toddlers. Though your baby may scream and cry, her fears will typically subside within the first 15 to 30 minutes.
Remember this is a normal stage of development and do your best to help your child through it.
Source: 1klassifieds, New Straits Times, September 2, 2009
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