Raising a smart kid at home

Posted on May 3, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Last week was my nephew’s birthday. Along with cup-cakes (that I made myself), I decided to take some educational gift for Saurabh (my nephew) that will keep this lil hyper-active kid engaged and also add to his creativity. So, I decided to buy a set of construction blocks plus puzzle toys.

The choice of educational toys over the regular ones was a no brainer considering that these toys help kids develop cognitive, analytical skills among others. In fact, some of my friends only prefer educational toys for their kids. According to them, they encourage creativity and is better than watching television or playing video games.

Try using a colorful sock as a puppet and you can involve your kid in a role-play-kind-of-scenario right at home. Additionally, educational toys foster open-mindedness in kids, which is a pre-requisite for creativity. A tea set or a play farm can inspire your child to spend a whole day pretending to run a tea party or harvest crops in a farm. Solving puzzles also enables them develop problem-solving skills. Give your kids a piece of clay and see what they come up with.

I also read in one of the community sites that kids who are encouraged to play with their toys and keep them organized turn out to be more responsible.

So while my nephew is whaling his time away with his new gifts, Rubic’s cube is next on my list for Ananya. What’s yours?

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Posted in Celebrations, Toys

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Put your baby to sound sleep

Posted on April 25, 2012 by | Leave a comment

baby sleep babyoyeBefore Ananya was born, life was very different for both me and my husband. We used to party till late. Go for long drives. However, as soon as Ananya arrived, our lives took a U-turn as for continuous days and nights, all we did was baby-sitting. If my husband had some social occasion to attend, I stayed back at the home looking after the baby and vice versa. This went on for a while until we realised that we need to find a solution for this.

We decided to set a sleeping pattern for Ananya so that she could enjoy a sound sleep as we go out to complete our social obligations. So, whenever we have a plan at night, I ensure that Ananya is engaged in a lot of activities throughout the day, so that by night, she is tired enough to sleep on her own. With Ananya, I have observed that when she doesn’t get proper sleep, apart from being irritable, her appetite is also disturbed.

For the healthy well-being of your baby, it is important that she gets an average of 14-15 hours of sleep per day. I usually play soft music, lullabies and read her stories so she could easily fall asleep. I also ensure that her room is dark enough to avoid any distractions.

baby massage babyoyeSome of my friends massage their babies, which they say helps them sleep easily. Good options are Johnson’s Baby Oil and Chicco Massage Oil Pure. In addition to improving sleeping pattern, regular massages also reduce the discomfort of teething, congestion or gas in babies. It also strengthens their digestive, circulatory and gastrointestinal systems. Most importantly, it leads to better emotional bonding between the parent and the baby. So, from now on, massages for my baby will be my department, not my mother-in-law’s.

I want to share another product – Chicco Moon Musical Box, which has been quite helpful in putting my baby to sleep. It produces sweet and soothing sounds that Ananya is really fond of. I also pat her head sometimes along with this music so she could sleep easily.

What’s your bedtime story with your baby? Do share your tips. Look forward to your responses. Till then, Happy Parenting!

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Posted in Baby Care, Editors Choice, Expert Advice

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Kids going gaga for gadgets!

Posted on April 23, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The other day I saw Ananya playing with my Android phone. She is quite comfortable playing few games like Angry Birds and Fruity Fun. She even scribbles broken lines and sometimes not-so-known shapes. Seeing her play, I am often reminded of my childhood days, where I used to run in open gardens with breeze all over my face. Making sand castles with friends was another childhood game that I enjoyed a lot.

Few days back, I also read in a children’s magazine that early exposure to technology leads to smarter and brighter kids. It helps them develop problem-solving and lateral thinking skills. Interactive games and other applications motivate kids to explore newer concepts and make them more independent. Plus, multi-media technology, where a kid is exposed to audio, video and other musical toys encourages learning.

Post reading that, I was quite convinced that usage of technology can aid better learning for Ananya. In fact, a friend talking from her personal experience said that such children are better with oral communication skills. So, now I intend to use these learning toys to teach her alphabets, numbers and colours. I am very eager to see how she will respond to learning that comes loaded with fun.

But, sometimes I feel that in this technology age, kids are missing on a lot of fun. Instead of going outdoors, today’s kids prefer playing computer games. Interaction also seems to be getting limited, though I make it a point to take my lil one downstairs to meet other kids in the apartment.

Some of my friends have given full access of their ipads, ipods, netbooks etc to their little ones. This often puts me in a dilemma that how much is too much. I would like to hear more of your experiences and initiatives that you use to introduce new concepts to kids.

Happy Parenting to all!

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Posted in Editors Choice, Toys

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