Hygienic Independence

Hygienic Independence

SOME EARLY LESSONS IN HYGIENE AND CLEANLINESS

As you watch your child grow, you are fascinated by her learning process and the little achievements that she makes every day. She learns through imitation as she observes the adult world around her. Her main purpose is to achieve independence in her life. All she needs is a little bit of guidance to help her understand some little intricacies of her daily chores. An ability to take care of her own hygiene and personal cleanliness will give your child a feeling of accomplishment and self-confidence that come with independence.

Gentle Encouragement

When your child shows the first inclination towards wanting to do something by herself, it will be a good idea to let her, even though you think she is not competent enough. When she shows a desire to partake in her ablutions and cleaning up, use it as an opportunity to give her the first lesson in personal hygiene. Allowing her to do it the way she can, and then, pitching in to complete the task for her, will not only ensure that the job is thorough, it will also give her a feeling of participation and an early training in cleanliness and hygiene. Your allowing her to do a chore by herself is only a reiteration of your faith her as a capable little person who can achieve her own tasks. Showing her how she can achieve this thoroughly will ensure that the job has been complete. While you get into the practicalities of washing and cleaning, you can also keep a running commentary of why thorough cleanliness is so important for her. Little minds are very receptive to any information they receive. You can weave interesting facts in your conversation that inform her about germs that are invisible to the naked eye, but do exist and can be very hazardous to her health.

Keeping her hands clean is really an important early habit she will need to inculcate. So, when you tell her that these tiny germs and bacteria can be destroyed only through thorough cleaning, it is going to have a greater impact. Teaching her that her antiseptic soap will help her achieve this, will underline the importance of this cleanliness.

Early Accomplishments

When your toddler became potty-trained and began to tell you when she needed to use the pot, it marked a major milestone for her as well as you. It was also an initial and important rung in the ladder of independence. Saying bye-bye to the diaper days was great for mama, too. Now as she begins preschool, your concern is to get her into the habit of sitting on the pot in the morning, so that she does not face any problems at school owing to initial school-shyness. She will also observe how you clean her every time she is through with her job. If she feels the need to mimic you and try it on her own, you can let her- teaching her all the time why washing her hands thoroughly after the job, is an absolute must. Keeping a bottle of an antiseptic liquid soap is a good idea as it will be easier for her to get her hands thoroughly clean. Teach her all the steps of hand washing – wetting the hands, taking a specified quantity of liquid soap in her hands, building up a lather and then rinsing them thoroughly. If she finds it difficult to reach the basin, keeping a little foot-stool next to the basin will assist a thorough washing of hands.

As she learns to clean herself, keeping her nails, trimmed and clean, becomes even more imperative. As you trim her nails you can explain to her why her nails need to be so meticulously clean now that she has learnt to wash herself on her own.

Bath Basics

Toddlers love playing in the bath on their own, but they should still not be left by themselves as they can accidentally slip and hurt themselves and of course the risk of drowning also exists. But your preschooler is old enough to take a shower on her own. Since this gives her a feeling of being all grown-up, you can encourage her to bathe once a day. You can either come in towards the end of the bath to ensure it has been a thorough one, or give her another bath at the end of the day to ensure she is clean behind the ears and the knees. Using an antiseptic soap for your school-going child makes sense because she needs protection against the germs she is exposed to, as she steps out of the house. While you give her the formal bath of the day, you can teach her the basics of the bath- showing her the areas that need very thorough cleaning. Scrubbing the soap with a washcloth makes the job more easy and clean. Even though the bath is more of a fun affair at the pre-school age, show her that the groin, armpits, soles of the feet, space between her toes and the area behind the ears need to be cleaned. Once she builds a cleanliness regimen, these habits can be come a part of her life.

Little Jobs For Little Lands

Little JOBS for LITTLE Hands

Fostering Independence, self-reliance and dignity through play

1. Play

“Play is the child’s work”. The mother (or teacher) can make “Work the child’s play”.

Play is natural and fundamental to the child. Thus it is also through play that the mother/educator/care-giver can foster the development of independence, self-reliance and dignity-the essential facets of character. In the child’s mind there is no difference between ‘work’ and ‘play’. Children see what we consider ‘work’ to be ‘play’. It is this wonderful quality that can be manipulated by the mother into giving the child little jobs which in turn leads to the development of her character. The mother’s technique of getting children to do things for themselves is initially to create the sense of play. It then is ‘play’ and not ‘work’. Later on it will become a habit with him-we hope!

2. Keep it simple

The child, like an adult, glories in conquest. So the keynote is to give him tasks he is able to perform. Assess his physical and mental limits before giving him little jobs.

“Now let’s see if you can put both your shoes side by side here. This is your shoes’ bed. This is where they will rest when you take them off. So they must come here every time you take them off.” Then the shoes and the task take on an aura of magic.

3. He should not get bored.

The child’s nature is to move on once he has mastered a task. Once he does the simple ones with ease, involve him in more challenging tasks. He gets a tremendous sense of self-esteem once he ‘delivers the goods’ asked of him. This in turn leads to confidence and self-respect.

4. There should be a caring adult nearby while he does a task.

This is important in the beginning. He then comes to understand that the adult considers him an important companion and this give him self-confidence and pride in being part of a team. He can also get help over difficulties.

5. Praise him lavishly for his achievements.

A child thrives on praise-genuine praise. By the time he is at school he is becoming more astute and may sense insincerity. Point out specific aspects that he has done well and lead him into improving the less praise-worthy one. Never condemn outright any work done by the child-it will only stunt his desire to do it again. Assess is gently and lead him into better patterns of work. It is natural for a child to want to please the adult. The adult should appreciate that.

6. Be specific

When giving him tasks do not be vague or general. Instructions and requests should be clear and in simple language. It is little use saying: “help me clean this place.” Give instructions one at a time. A little later, give him two together. For instance, “please put these clothes in the wash-basket. After you have done that, put away all toys in the box.” The child is then able to do exactly what is expected to him.

7. Give him small responsibilities by the time he is four or five.

“I need you to help me. Can you see that all these shoes are arranged in a neat line?” There is a game in everything. “Daddy likes his shoes to be first. So could you arrange all his first because they are the biggest! They look good that way, don’t they?” The silent lesson in spatial and numerical development are invaluable. He can be given the responsibility of looking after his own things. He can put away his shoes, his toys, his books.

He can help out at mealtimes and family functions. “What can I do?” The wail is actually begging Play! He can do the simple jobs: Put out the plates and cutlery, put away the newspapers, arrange the shoes out of sight. As long as you have the patience to let the job be a little lopsided, junior will be happy doing chores. Children love sorting and arranging jobs. Once a week he can be asked to sort and arrange the cutlery drawer.

8. By the way of this Play, how all those motor, sensory, problem-solving, creative and other faculties are being developed! What starts out as a game for the child will become the Game of Life in his adulthood. Perhaps he will bring to his ‘Work’ the same sense of ‘Play’ challenging, intriguing, and interesting. If he does, there goes a happy human being and Mother’s work would have been done!

The Brave Baby Duckling

The Brave Baby Duckling

On one comer of the lake lived a family of ducks. A father-pa-duck, mother-Ma-duck, sister-Sa-duck and a baby boy- Ba-duck. They all loved each other very much. But there was one problem. Ba-duck did not want to swim! Every time, anyone tried to teach him he would just stand there and look at them. “I don’t want to swim, I feel scared”.

“there is nothing to be scared of,” Ma-duck hugged him and tried to convince him. But no, he would refused to learn. He did move his feet up and down which made him very happy. “Ah ha, I can move my feet. Look, look!

Pitter, patter, pitter, patter

He would go on and on. But no swimming. They gave up.

One day, early in the morning, his parents decided to visit their parents, who lived on the other end of the lake. Perhaps, they thought, they could advise them as to how to teach Ba-duck to swim. So the parents left their children after taking a promise from Sa-duck that she would protect her little brother and that they would stay near the shore. Ba-duck was sleeping when they left. On waking up he began to cry for Ma-duck. “where is Mama? I want to go to her”.

Boo Hoo Boo Hoo

Boo Hoo Boo Hoo

His big, black eyes looked so sad.

“don’t cry, they will be back soon. They have gone to visit our grandparents,” Sa-duck tried to comfort Ba-duck. but the kept wailing and she played all sorts of games with him to cheer him up. She would dive down into the water and then come up from behind, sending him into peels and peels of laughter.

Heeeeeeee, heeeeeeee

Soon Sa-duck also got tired and told Ba-duck that she would go for a quick swim to stretch out her muscles and feathers. Ba-duck did not like the idea, but did not want to disappoint his lovely sister who took such good care of him. So he quietly nodded. Sa-duck patted his cheek, gave him a little kiss and off she went. Sa-duck swam away quickly towards the middle of the lake, where the water was the deepest. Soon she was out of sight.

Suddenly there was a loud sound!

Thadda,

Pit, Pit, Pit, Pit, Pit, Pit, Pit Pit, Pit

Thadda, sounded the thunder angrily. “where was Sa-duck?” Ba-duck thought worriedly? “she had been gone for such a long time. I hope she is fine. Please take care of my sister, she is fine. Please take care of my sister, god,” he prayed. But the rain just went on and on, and became faster, louder and louder till Ba-duck had to cover his ears to keep the sound out.

In the middle of the lake Sa-duck had lost her way. She was crying, “please some one help me. Please help me.”

HELP Meeeeeeee

Only thunder answered her back. But back on the shore, Ba-duck had heard his sister’s cries for help. He looked around wondering what to do and then without thinking he began to swim. Yes! He began to swim, as fast as his two little feet could allow him.

He swam, and soon reached his sister. He bravely caught hold of her hand and brought her back to the safety of the shore. Just then their parents also arrived.

Everyone had their mouths open, eyes wide in surprises Ba-duck had learnt to swim, and that too in a heavy storm, and saved his sister too. They all hugged him and congratulated him. They no longer had to worry about him not swimming. In fact he was so excited that now he swam all the time, took no rest except when he fell asleep!

C.E.O & Principal of Little Kingdom School

Eating Wise

EATING WISE

Some Food facts to keep in mind

when setting healthy food habits for your toddler

In planning your child’s diet, the basic nutritional needs have to be met. This is important for normal growth. All foods offer something by the way of nutrition. Therefore there is some good in all foods. The secret of success in a good diet lies in moderation. Keep in mind the following to set healthy eating practices-

· Regularize meal timings for your toddler. Offer them at a scheduled time everyday.

· Children seem to be born with a sweet tooth, do not encourage this existing fondness for all things sweet.

· Introduce and give a variety of foods to make it interesting for the child.

· If the child is overnight and is past two years of age, gradually substitute whole milk with skimmed milk.

· Practice what you preach! Don’t say no more chips to him and eat them yourself. Not only is it setting a bad example, it can also probably be categorized as cruelty to children.

· If the child seems to enjoy only junk food, prepare these also in a healthy way. Take brown bread, arrange mashed peas or boiled chicken along with a little cheese on top and grill it. Serve with a dot of ketchup.

· Always check with the nutritionist and pediatrician before putting the child on any kind of diet.

Healthy Food Habits

· Encourage snacking of fruits instead of unhealthy snacking.

· If the child tends to overeat at meal times, give small pieces of carrot or cucumber just before the meal to cut down on the quantity of the main meal.

· Yoghurt has been advocated for children and adults alike.

Include it in your child’s daily diet.

· Sprouted gram is a healthy option for a meal along with yoghurt and a vegetable salad.

· Regularize meal timing.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence

or

EQ

The foundation for EQ starts at birth.

· Newborns- When his eyes follow you, you know he’s engaged. That you tune in to him and he tunes in to you giving him a secure bases to build on.

· Two to six months- Tickles, grins and other pleasurable interactions woo your baby into feeling trust and intimacy.

· Four to ten months- Two-way communication through simple imitative games through which they learn emotional signaling. You wave and he waves back. This is also the basis for intellectual skills such as cause and effect and it also marks the beginning of social interactions.

· Ten to 18 months- As interaction get purposeful, a sense of self begins to emerge. He might point out to the refrigerator to show you that he wants juice. The more you point out the various objects, the better for your child’s understanding.

· Eighteen to thirty months- Toddlers act out emotions in play. When you label feelings for him, he can connect them to his own behaviour.

· Three years plus- Children are better able to make the link between feelings and ideas when ideas and concepts are embedded in an emotional context. Instead of “show me the blue car,” try, “which colour car do you like better, red or blue.”

· As the child grows up, it’s important to include emotional awareness alongside his growing sense of physical and intellectual competence.

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