Family & Home

By the World Health Organization's definition, self-care means taking all the steps you can to take care of your physical health and well-being, including hygiene, nutrition, managing stressors, and seeking medical care if needed. Being active during pregnancy will improve your energy levels, alleviate pain and discomfort, and lower your risk of pregnancy complications. And if that's not motivation enough, staying fit during pregnancy also prepares your body for giving birth. Engaging in a self-care routine has been clinically proven to reduce or eliminate anxiety and depression, reduce stress, improve concentration, minimize frustration and anger, increase happiness, improve energy, and more. Self-care is the practice of caring for one's own health, well-being, and happiness. It is an essential component of stress relief and wellness. Making time for yourself may feel indulgent or selfish, but that is far from the truth.   Practice Self-Care During Pregnancy Nourish Your Body. Food is medicine, and the right choices can bolster your mood, deliver key nutrients and help your baby grow.  Get Moving.  Permission to Pause.  Spend Time Outdoors.  Clean Up Your Beauty Routine.  Unplug One Full Day a Week.   Staying active is a key part of pregnancy self-care. It should be a part of your self-care routine whether or not you're pregnant. Eating healthily during pregnancy will help your baby develop and grow, and it'll help keep you fit and well too. Reduce stress. A pregnant mom's stress can be harmful to the baby's brain development and sometimes lead to premature birth. Exercise during your pregnancy. Exercise is always important, especially during pregnancy. Regular, daily walks are an easy way to keep moving. Regular exercise in pregnancy can reduce the risk of developing complications such as gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia.   Pregnant mothers need: Prenatal Vitamins. Morning Sickness Remedies. A Good Moisturizer. Belly Support Band. Body Pillow. Supportive Bra. Maternity Clothing. Pregnancy Books.   Both emotionally and physically, a pregnant mom needs someone to look up to. To ask for advice, to make important decisions, and to share her future plans, she needs someone to count on. Having a child changes her life forever. Right from the first day of her pregnancy, her life is preoccupied with her child. Read blogs about Expecting A Baby To Turn Head Down During Pregnancy and Using A Disposable Nursing Pad During Breastfeed

In the first 1,000 days of a baby's life - from conception to age 2 - many things can happen that will affect their health and wellbeing throughout their lives. In the first 1,000 days of a child's life, their brain, body and immune system grow and develop significantly from the moment they are conceived until they are 2 years old (24 months). According to research, a pregnant mother's health, nutrition and stress levels can have a significant impact on her baby's future health and well-being. As the baby grows up, so can the child's physical environment, nutrition and relationships, all of which can affect the baby's health and wellbeing for the rest of their lives. As a baby grows, they need: Healthy environments - even in the womb Relationships full of love A safe and secure environment Nutritional food Playtime First 1,000 days of your baby's brain: During the first 1,000 days of a baby's life, its brain develops at a rapid rate unlike any other time in a baby's life. The way the baby's brain molds and adapts to the environment in which the baby lives, therefore, determines the sort of person the baby will be. A baby's learning capacity, physical skills, and emotional development will be facilitated when the right diet (nutrition) is consumed during pregnancy and in early childhood.  A child's development can be affected lifelong if he or she is starved or exposed to stress or abuse during this time. An unsafe or unhealthy environment in the first 1,000 days of life can affect a child's physical health later in life as well since the brain is closely linked to the rest of the body. A healthy diet during the first 1,000 days of life: A child's future health depends on receiving adequate nutrition in the womb and throughout their early years. The research shows that the diet, weight, and lifestyle of the mother can influence how the baby's metabolism, immune system, and organs develop when the mother eats well, weighs well, and has a healthy lifestyle. In the future, poor nutrition during pregnancy and early life could result in obesity, heart disease, and strokes. It is important to eat a healthy diet during your pregnancy so that you can give your baby the best possible start to life. You should also nurse your baby for at least six months if you can so that he or she can develop healthy eating habits for the rest of their lives.   Here are some tips to make your baby's life as healthy as possible: Make sure you eat a healthy diet during pregnancy. Maintain a healthy diet for your baby. Breastfeed for at least six months, if possible. Smoking, drinking, and using drugs should be avoided. Consider seeking help if you have experienced violence or trauma. Love and attention are essential to making your baby feel safe.   The first 1,000 days of safety and security: In order to be able to think, understand, communicate, show emotions and behave properly, a child needs loving, secure relationships. It's through these relationships that babies learn to think, understand, communicate, show emotions and behave properly. Relationships have a profound impact on how they see the world and how they fit into society. There are a number of things that you can do to help your baby to feel safe and loved, such as playing, singing, reading to them and talking to them. The effects of stress and trauma during the first 1,000 days of life: It has been shown in research that if a pregnant woman has a lot of stress, as well as a lot of stress during pregnancy, this can affect the baby's nervous system and growth, which has been shown to lead to health problems later on in life, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.  ​​​​​​​ Violence in the family can have a damaging effect on a baby's development. Parents who are experiencing family (domestic) violence may find it difficult to form a loving attachment with their baby. I think we all agree that sometimes stress and trauma are unavoidable, it is not your fault, and there is help available. If you are pregnant or if you have a young child and you are experiencing a very stressful situation, please talk with your doctor or child health nurse. Read this related article: 30 Fun Facts About Babies, Understanding Typical And Atypical Developments In Babies and Understanding Your Baby's Brain

Our children are much more inclined to listen to a voice that sounds warm and encouraging than one that sounds harsh and judgmental. The tone of your voice is just as important as the volume. The tone of voice we use communicates how much we wish for an atmosphere of love, acceptance, and respect when it is caring and inviting. A baby may hear quick breathings, clipped words and extended pauses, these might indicate anxiety or upset. A slow, monotonous voice or a quieter tone than normal could imply exhaustion or illness. You might hear faster, slightly louder speech if you're excited. What is the reason for changing our voice when we are talking to kids? There is an emphasis on the rising pitch, greater pitch variation, and a more musical rhythm and tone. Research suggests this exaggerated emphasis may help infants learn speech patterns or increase attention when parents warn them of danger. Whenever caregivers yell, toddlers tend to focus on the emotion rather than the message. It is important to keep in mind that harsh or aggressive language can have a negative impact on a child's self-esteem, behavior, and communication skills. When disciplining a child, it is more effective to use positive, gentle, and calm tones as opposed to harsh ones. As a parent, one of the most important parts of communicating with your child is not only listening to them but actively listening too. That is because active listening shows your child that you care and are interested in what they are saying. Active listening can also help you learn and understand more about what is going on in your child's life. How do angry parents affect a child? A parent who is angry or stressed can make his or her children behave in a bad way or become physically ill. Children react to anxious, stressed parents by losing their concentration, having difficulty playing with other children, becoming silent and afraid, being rude and aggressive, or becoming sleep-deprived. In addition to causing anxiety, low self-esteem, and increased aggression in children, it can also make them more vulnerable to bullying due to their distorted understanding of healthy boundaries and the importance of self-respect.   What is the best way to communicate with kids without yelling at them?   Take the opposite tone. Ask questions. Make it fun.  Take a break. Be positive — and clear. Control the conversation.   What's the best way to communicate with kids?   Talk to kids clearly, respectfully, and considerately. Be realistic about what you can do at home. Deal with concerns in a problem-solving way. Work together with a positive attitude. As soon as concerns arise, talk about them.   You will be able to build your relationship with your child if you say "thanks" and "please" every time you speak to him. Spreading good manners and showing respect will bring you closer together; mean words and a harsh voice will alienate him. When parents use positive words with their children, their cognitive functioning will be improved. When parents use negative words, a child's brain functioning can be interrupted.   Read also: Hands-On Parenting: What Is It And How Can You Be One Traditional Parenting VS Modern Parenting: Which is better? Tantrums In Toddlers: How To Stop And Handle Them  

Sweet and squishy baby cheeks are hard to resist kissing, but doing so can cause serious health consequences. Though kissing an infant doesn't always cause RSV or other illnesses, it can spread germs that can lead to illnesses that newborn immune systems find it hard to fight. Infants are particularly vulnerable to the HSV-1, better known as the Herpes Simplex Virus. The virus causes sores around the mouth and lips in adults. While HPV type 1 infection is rare, it is always better to be safe than sorry. Make it a point that anyone who is unwell, should strictly stay away from the baby. One of the most serious risks that come from kissing babies is the transfer of fever blisters, also known as cold sores. HSV 1 causes fever blisters to form around the baby's mouth and can spread to other areas of the body, even their brain. Everyone who comes into contact with your baby should follow safe hygiene practices. You can also implement a no kissing rule till the time your baby is atleast six weeks old or develops a stronger immune system. You can ask politely to your friends or relatives, be firm and stick to your guns. Explain that your request for them to refrain from your baby isn't one that will last forever, just until they are older and their immune system is stronger.  Pediatrics states that infection with the herpes virus is uncommon for infants. But you can never be too safe. Keep the baby kisses at home and if you have cold sores or see someone with cold sores, then kissing the baby is strictly off-limits. A consultant paediatrician at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, Lagos, Dr. Agatha David, says kissing a newborn on the lips or any part of the face can lead to meningitis, a viral infection caused by herpes. You should not kiss a baby if you have a cold sore to reduce the risk of spreading infection. Cold sores and other blisters caused by the herpes virus are at their most contagious when they burst. They remain contagious until completely healed. Our baby's well-being took priority. A newborn baby's immune system is underdeveloped, and whilst they're not fully immunised, it makes them highly vulnerable to severe infections. Kissing, sharing drinks, or transferring things from mouth to mouth can transmit RSV. Washing your hands, covering your coughs and sneezes, and avoiding contact when you are sick will decrease the spread and help protect our littlest family members. Since kissing the baby is pretty important to many parents, kissing them is totally fine as long as they know they don't have a cold sore. But which grandparent, cousin or neighbor will be forgiven, if they made the new baby sick? Better safe than sorry. The even bigger challenge was that there are very affectionate people who love kissing babies, however it is not okay to let other people kiss your newborn baby. We don’t know where they've been and who they've kissed so don’t let them kiss your baby. They may have been recently exposed to some form of a cold or other respiratory disease that may not show symptoms of yet. You don’t want them passing this on to your newborn infant whose immune system is not fully up and working yet. Just tell them "PLEASE don't kiss my baby." It's better to hurt someone's feelings than possibly pass a harmful virus to your baby. Blow them a kiss from far. Babies love “human touch.” It doesn’t have to be actual kissing. That is how they relate to their external world. That need for human connection doesn’t suddenly go away. 

If all is well, most babies cry immediately after birth. Most then quietly gaze with large open eyes at their surroundings before falling asleep. But some might stay awake and want to feed. If your baby seems ready, you can try breastfeeding within a few minutes of birth. Enjoy these first wondrous cries, they signal that your baby's respiratory and circulatory systems are making a successful transition from life inside your womb to life outside it. Newborns may continue to cry because they're shocked by the transition to the outside world. Every baby is different. Some might feel hungry or cold but aren't able to express it by crying. If your pediatrician has determined everything is fine with your newborn, they may simply still be learning how to cry. Still, as long as your baby's needs are met, there's no issue with them not crying as much. Newborn crying jags are inevitable. On any given day, a newborn might cry for up to two hours or even longer. Babies do indeed feel pain, and that they process it similarly to adults. Until as recently as the 1980s, researchers assumed newborns did not have fully developed pain receptors, and believed that any responses babies had to pokes or pricks were merely muscular reactions.  As quickly as possible, a new baby is placed in your arms. Often, the baby is placed skin-to-skin on your chest right after birth. Some babies will breastfeed right away. In the first hour or 2 after birth, most babies are in an alert, wide awake phase. Abstract. Vociferous, shrill, and piercing-the first cry of the newborn infant signals that a new and separate life has begun. Separated from the body of the mother, the newborn cry serves to call for care, support, and protection. Developing babies need oxygen beginning early in pregnancy. But a baby won't take their first breath until after birth. This means that babies don't truly breathe in the womb. Instead, the umbilical cord provides the baby with oxygen until the first breath. There are no nerve endings in your baby's cord, so it doesn't hurt when it is cut. What's left attached to your baby is called the umbilical stump, and it will soon fall off to reveal an adorable belly button. Your baby may have some of your blood on their skin and perhaps vernix, the greasy white substance that protects your baby's skin in the womb. If you prefer, you can ask the midwife to dry your baby and wrap them in a blanket before your cuddle. Mucus may need to be cleared out of your baby's nose and mouth. The first cry is critical to initiate successful transition from fetal circulation, where the baby is completely dependent on the mother and placenta for gas exchange, to life outside the womb where the baby must use its own lungs to sustain life. Read related article: Do's And Don'ts When Taking Care Of A Newborn Baby What New Parents Need To Know About Natural Childbirth What New Parents Need To Know About Natural Childbirth

For newborns, a visitation schedule should be set up so that the noncustodial parent can visit frequently, often and for a short period of time. It is more beneficial to your child to make a few short visits per week than an eight-hour visit every week. You can extend the visits as the baby grows to provide him/her with a better chance of bonding with the other parent. You need to take good care of a new baby and get to know him if you are going to have him. It takes relatively little to take care of a baby, so you should be able to do it. You need to feed them, interact with them, comfort them when they're upset, keep them clean, and make sure that they sleep in a safe, comfortable place. The pick-up and visitation times you arrange should not conflict with naps or be in the middle of a wind-down routine, so that they do not conflict with naps. Over the first two years, experts recommend that a child should not be separated from either parent for very long periods; this will ensure the child's bond with both parents grows stronger.  As a result, for most new babies, the best arrangement is to live entirely with Parent A and have frequent daytime visits with Parent B throughout the first few months of life. Once your baby gets to the age when they are a little bit more adaptable, then you can begin overnight visitation. In any case, it is well known that by the time a child reaches the age of three or four, he or she is much more adept at communicating their needs and therefore, able to express themselves more clearly. Due to this, they ought to be more equipped to spend time away from their primary caregiver, and as such spend more time with the other parent overnight. A child's maturity, along with the relationship between them and their parents, are equally important as their age when it comes to determining a child's future success. It can be observed that 7 year old kids or even 11 year old kids will handle a week on / week off schedule better than certain 11 year old children. Due to this, one blanket approach is not going to work for everyone. There is a common misconception that mothers have greater rights when it comes to child custody than fathers. However, the truth is that there are no laws in the U.S. that guarantee mothers a preference or additional rights when it comes to child custody.  Sadly, it is very common for mothers to block the father from seeing his child simply by refusing to allow him to see him at all. However, fathers do not often recognize that they have the same rights as mothers do when it comes to child contact. They have the same right to access to the child as the mother, so they have as much access as the mother does when it comes to child contact. There is no doubt that co-parenting can provide additional comfort and stability for young children after a divorce, but experts suggest that spending too much time together after a divorce can also have some potentially negative effects on children and parents.   There is nothing more important than being nice to each other in front of the child. Children hear and see what is happening, and they learn how to treat others through the actions of their parents. If parents treat each other respectfully, that will teach the child to treat others respectfully as well.   Read also: Traditional Parenting VS Modern Parenting: Which is better? The 10 Most Effective Ways For Moms To Practice Self-Care

What does "hands-on" mean exactly? A hands-on “mom” is someone who spends purposeful quality time with their children. It's spending time, engaging in activities, and creating memories with them. It doesn’t matter whether you are a dad or a grandma, preschool teacher, caregiver, au pair or nanny, anyone can be a hands-on “mom”.  Having a hands-on approach to parenting always involves spending lots of time with the children. According to William Mattox Jr.'s article "The Parent Trap," Harvard University child psychiatrist Robert Cole stated that children's frenzied desire to have possessions is not only a result of the television ads they see. A recent study conducted at Columbia University found that parents who exert their parental authority by taking a "hands-on" approach to raise their children tend to have a much more positive relationship with their children, as well as a reduced risk of harming themselves with drugs and alcohol.   Ways of Hands-on Parents:   Monitoring what the kids are watching on the television: It is possible for you to monitor what your children watch with the help of the TV Parental Guidelines and V-chip. TV Parental Guidelines. Based on the movie rating system, this system has been developed to provide an age-group rating system for television shows. You can find these ratings in TV guides and local listings, as well as on the screen when viewing your cable program guide. Keeping track of what kids are doing on the internet: It is essential to have parental controls in place if you have young children using the internet. These controls are necessary to protect the cren from the many threats that can be seen online, such as predators, cybercyber criminalserbullying, and inappropriate access to the internet. Expecting their kids to tell the truth: A child must learn the importance of telling the truth, as well as the importance of being honest. It is important to remember that lying can cause damage to your relationships as well as your self-esteem. It is important to strike a balance between feeling guilty and ashamed that you are caught lying and taking responsibility for fixing it. Eating dinner together with the kids most of the time: Eating together tends to promote more sensible eating habits, which in turn helps members of the family manage their weight more easily and, in turn, makes life more comfortable. When a family sits down together and eats together, it helps them to handle the stresses of everyday life and the hassles of day-to-day existence. Requiring kids to do household chores: Chores enable children to gain valuable experience and skills that they will use in adult life to take care of themselves, their home, and their family. Whether it's preparing meals, cleaning, organizing or maintaining a garden, chores help children to gain responsibility for their lives. Regularly reviewing the kid's academic performance: Children are expected to spend much of their time on their education and need to graduate with good academic results in order to receive a good education. Children who have excellent academic skills are more likely to get employment benefits, higher income, greater self-esteem and confidence, lower anxiety and depression levels. Monitoring where their kids at after school or during weekends: After school ends up for the day, kids are usually forced to spend a lot of time inside at home. However, parents don't have to worry about this too much. Just simply monitor what your child does after school, in the evenings and on weekends. Monitoring their kids' phones: The law permits parents to track their child's phone without them knowing because they install a parental control app, such as mSpy, on the device they want to monitor. However, parents can monitor only their kids who are under the age of thirteen. The mSpy monitoring app allows you to spy on your child's online activities without them knowing. Having curfew hours for older kids: Teenagers can sometimes be forgetful and irresponsible. Curfews should be given to keep them safe and help to teach them to follow instructions in order to become more responsible and responsible adults. Teenagers should be given the opportunity to be responsible adults by being given curfews. Knowing their kid's friends and parents: PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) analyses show that students who attend schools where their parents know their children's friends, as well as their families, do better in school, have more positive attitudes toward collaboration, and feel happier and more secure at school.   A hands-on parent is one who invests time, energy, and effort into multiple aspects of the life of his or her child. Here's what it means to be one: Hands-on dads share responsibilities – He knows that leaving everything up to mom or the family since you are the breadwinner isn't a good way to raise your child.

A firstborn is the first child born to in the birth order of a couple through childbirth. Historically, the role of the firstborn child has been socially significant, particularly for a firstborn son in patriarchal societies. (Wikipedia) First-borns aren't just healthier or smarter, but also they score higher on emotional stability, persistence, social outgoingness, willingness to assume responsibility and ability to take initiative. Research published in the Journal of Human Resources found that firstborn children outperform their younger siblings on cognitive tests starting from infancy. They are better set up for academic and intellectual success thanks to the type of parenting they experience.  A research has put to rest all this confusion and shown how parents favour one child over the other. According to a study published by the Journal of Marriage and Family, 75 per cent of mothers report feeling closer to the eldest child, her first born. Firstborns tend to possess psychological characteristics related to leadership, including responsibility, creativity, obedience and dominance. They are also more likely to have higher academic abilities and levels of intelligence than their younger siblings. Parents are usually hardest on their first borns in terms of discipline and they loosen up as they move further down the family. First borns usually don't react well to the arrival of the second born. To parents, the arrival of another child means a playmate for their eldest. There's an old theory that says first-born babies were genetically predispositioned to look more like their father. It was believed this was so the father accepted the child was his and would provide and care for them. However, several studies since then have shown that most infants resemble both parents equally. Your baby's looks are all part of their genetic make-up and the various combinations of DNA that are working to make your baby who they are. As the genes mix together, some are dominant, while others are suppressed, and other genes will never be at all. Most parents have a favourite child, and it's probably the eldest, according to researchers. A study conducted at the University of California shows that out of 768 parents surveyed, 70 per cent of mothers and 74 per cent of fathers admitted to having a favourite child. If the parents were hurt in their developmental years, they will have problems accepting love and intimacy from their children. Faced with the emotional pain that it causes them, parents will unconsciously distance themselves from their children. Parents have unresolved trauma in their own lives. The firstborn of a mother is referred to in the Bible (Exodus 13:2) as one who "opens the womb" of his mother. Because of all of the attention they receive from their parents as an infant, firstborn children tend to be responsible, well behaved, and possess strong leadership qualities. The oldest children are often held to a higher standard. They are the only children who have their parents exclusive focus, time and energy. Are you a first born child? Let us know in the comment section below! Read also related article such as Do's And Don'ts When Taking Care Of A Newborn Baby, Sons Versus Daughters and Five Challenges Of A New Mom And How To Deal With Them

Emotional development involves learning what feelings and emotions are, understanding how and why they occur, recognising your own feelings and those of others, and developing effective ways for managing those feelings. As well as physical needs, infants (0- 3 years olds) have basic emotional needs. These emotional needs lay the foundation for their adult lives; their future relationships, autonomy, resilience, self-confidence and emotional stability. Infants begin showing a spontaneous "social smile" around age 2 to 3 months, and begin to laugh spontaneously around age 4 months. In addition, between ages 2 and 6 months, infants express other feelings such as anger, sadness, surprise, and fear. Between ages 5 and 6 months, babies begin to exhibit stranger anxiety. Infants' social-emotional development includes an emerging awareness of self and others. Infants demonstrate this foundation in a number of ways. For example, they can respond to their names, point to their body parts when asked, or name members of their families. Between the ages of 3-6 months, your baby will cry when upset and seek comfort. Show excitement by waving arms and legs. Notice a difference between two people based on the way they look, sound, or feel. Smile at herself in the mirror. The first five years are especially crucial for physical, intellectual, and social-emotional development. Responding to your baby's smiling and crying validates their communicative intent and encourages them to communicate more. Some babies cry to release tension or burn off excess energy and some just need to cry themselves to sleep. Even easy-going babies may get frustrated and angry when they start to explore their surroundings but aren't quite capable of doing what they want. Through early relationships with nurturing and responsive adults, infants and toddlers learn how to be in relationships, how to get their needs and wants met, and how to identify and regulate emotions. Since these skills develop together, this area of development is referred to as social-emotional development. Parents can meet baby's emotional need by making sure they feel heard and noticed. Listen to them and make eye contact. Ask questions and let them know you're paying attention. Engage in conversation with them and you can also get involved in their playing! Play is the natural way that toddlers learn and develop. It's important for all areas of development, including emotional development. Toddlers are little people with big emotions that they don't always have the words for. Play gives them a chance to explore and express their emotions and also practise managing them Emotional well-being during the early years has a powerful impact on social relationships. Children who are emotionally healthy are better able to establish and maintain positive relationships with adults as well as with peers. Social-emotional development is essential to a young child's sense of well-being. Social and emotional development in the early years, also referred to as early childhood mental health, refers to children's emerging capacity to: Experience, regulate and express a range of emotions. Develop close, satisfying relationships with other children and adults.  Research has shown that, during pregnancy, your baby feels what you feel and with the same intensity. That means if you're crying, your baby feels the same emotion, as if it's their own. Babies can and do feel pain. It can affect them immediately and have long lasting effects. Babies can even become bored. They can be affected by a lack of stimulation and interaction with caregivers. Unconditional love and a strong bond with parents are absolutely vital for a good foundation in life. Feeling loved is the most important emotional need of a child. Babies need lots of hugs and kisses and they also need to be told that they are loved.

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is an illness caused by a virus. It causes a rash on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. Small blisters also occur in the mouth, often at the back of the throat. The rash may also occur in the diaper area, and on the legs and arms. Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is usually a minor illness. These sores usually start as small red spots, often on the tongue and insides of the mouth, that blister and can become painful. Signs that swallowing might be painful for your child like not eating or drinking. Studies conducted in China and Korea have identified risk factors for HFMD, including low socioeconomic status, the existence of open-air defecation, poor sewage treatment, poor hand-washing and other poor personal hygienic habits (such as biting fingers). You should help children clean their bodies daily, bathe them cleanly to remove the adhesion of bacteria and viruses and help prevent superinfection. However, when bathing children with hand, foot and mouth disease, it should be handled gently to avoid breaking the blisters on the child's skin. Hand foot and mouth disease is extremely contagious – you can catch and spread it easily. It often spreads through groups of children in nurseries and schools. The viruses that cause the disease are usually spread in droplets of mucus or saliva in the air from coughs or sneezes. The coxsackie virus that causes hand, foot, and mouth disease is mainly spread through saliva and stool. This is why it often affects toddlers. Kids in this age group often touch other children or share toys and then put their hands in their mouths. There's no treatment for hand, foot and mouth disease. But most children get better quickly by themselves without any problems. Paracetamol or ibuprofen can help ease discomfort and pain. It's important for your child to drink fluids to avoid dehydration. You can give or do this to relieve discomfort: Ibuprofen or acetaminophen to relieve discomfort. Topical ointments, such as zinc oxide or petroleum jelly, to protect and heal blisters. Cold drinks, ice or frozen fruit popsicles to soothe mouth and throat.  Plenty of fluids to keep your child from getting dehydrated.   There's no specific treatment for hand-foot-and-mouth disease. Symptoms of hand-foot-and-mouth disease usually clear up in 7 to 10 days. A topical oral anesthetic may help relieve the pain of mouth sores. You should help children clean their bodies daily, bathe them cleanly to remove the adhesion of bacteria and viruses, and help prevent superinfection. However, when bathing children with hand, foot and mouth disease, it should be handled gently to avoid breaking the blisters on the child's skin. The blisters caused by HFM are red with a small bubble of fluid on top. They often peel, leaving an ulcer, which is a sore with a reddish base. The soles of the feet and the palms of the hands may have a rash that can look like flat red spots or red blisters.It typically only causes fever and mild symptoms for a few days. Call your health care provider if your child is younger than six months, has a weakened immune system, or has mouth sores or a sore throat that makes it painful to drink fluids.  Read also these related article: Why You Should Not Let Other People Kiss Your Baby and Crusty, Flaky Patches On Your Baby's Skin: Eczema - How To Get Rid Of It Does your baby experienced HMFD? How did you deal with it? Let us know in the comment section below!

Babies learn to speak by imitating the sounds they hear around them. So the more you talk to your baby, the faster they will acquire speech and language skills. Many adults use a special tone of voice when talking the baby talk; a high-pitched voice with an exaggerated expression. A new study suggests that when parent baby talks to their infants, they might be helping them learn to produce speech. The way we instinctively speak to babies — higher pitch, slower speed, exaggerated pronunciation — not only appeals to them but likely helps them learn to understand what we're saying. It's great to start talking with your baby as early as you can. In fact, from birth, your baby absorbs a huge amount of information about words and talking just from listening and watching you talk. Conversations with your baby might feel one-sided, to begin with. It is generally recommended that you speak your first language with your child. Your first language is not necessarily the first language you ever learned to speak. For instance, you might not have spoken the language since childhood and have, therefore, forgotten some or most of it. Talking to your baby is an important way to help him/her grow. It promotes communication and language development. It also supports social and emotional development. Even before your baby starts to talk, he/she communicates with you through facial expressions, body language and crying. Around 12 months, according to experts, common first words may be greetings ("hi" or "bye-bye") or they might be people ("mama" or "dada"), pets ("doggy" or "kitty"), or food ("cookie," "juice," or "milk"). Some infants heard fewer than 2000 words in a day, while some heard over 15,000. In addition, there were big differences in child-directed speech. Some families spoke fewer than 1000 words to their children in a day, while others spoke over 10,000 words to their children. Listen and respond to your child's sounds and words, including cooing and babbling. Imitate her sounds or words and add to them. Introduce vocabulary words during new routines and outings. You're teaching back-and-forth conversation skills. You can also help babies out by gently waving their hands for them when greeting or saying goodbye to someone. Make sure you pair the motion with a verbal cue, so your baby learns that the words “hi” or “hello” and “bye-bye” or “goodbye” mean it's time to start waving. A new study suggests talking to babies as young as 3 months old influences their cognitive development and helps the brain learn to form categories. Researchers found infants who learned to associate words rather than sounds with pictures of objects were better able to perform a simple categorization task. Babies communicate using sounds and gestures. In the first year of life, babies go from babbling to playing with sounds, copying sounds and putting sounds together. The first words might start at around 12 months. Introducing English to a baby is a matter of repetition and patience. It's best to gradually incorporate new words and sounds, just like it happens with their first language. The main focus should be oral expression and comprehension and, of course, positive reinforcement. Having one-way conversations with your infant might sound silly. But, talking to your little ones is actually beneficial and crucial to their development. In other words, baby talk is a good thing! Read Importance Of Socialization For Babies and The Importance Of Reading Book To Your Baby On Early Age Do you constantly talk to your babies? How was it? Let us know in the comment section below!

The welcome party, it's really quite the same as the baby shower! Well, it's almost the same except it's after the birth. A welcome baby party is similar to a baby shower, but with an interesting twist. The party takes place after the baby arrives instead of before. This is a neat idea if there are lots of relatives and friends who want to visit your new arrival. Everyone can get a glimpse of the newborn and welcome her home. A Sip & See is a party held after the birth of a baby to introduce the little one to friends and family members. It's usually a more casual event than the baby shower (with new parents often hosting it themselves), and it can be a fun way to celebrate a child's arrival. A sip and see is a party, usually planned by the parents, that invites friends and family to drop by, sip on some refreshments and meet the new baby. It's a perfect opportunity to introduce the newest family addition to all of your loved ones in a single go and on your own terms.  It's completely up to the guest of honor as to who is on the invite list, but the standard is to ask all family members, close friends, and other people who have expressed a desire to meet the new baby.  Protocol and etiquette for a baby sip and see: Party is set sometime between 1-6 months after birth. No gifts requested. (But some guest would bring some anyway.) Kept the party size small. Snacks and drinks may be served. ... You can request no kids if you want to. While gifts aren't required at a sip and see, some guests may choose to bring them. If you are a guest attending a sip and see, we recommend bringing something personalized for the baby. The Sip and See party is more like an open house to celebrate the new babe rather than an organized party. So, most Sip and See parties do not have games or activities. Most have themed finger foods, beverages, and decorations to celebrate the opportunity to meet the newest family member. Wondering What Gifts You Can Give To A Baby? Here's Our List! If you are a guest and would like to greet the new parents, you can say.. “So happy for you" “Congratulations on your new arrival." “Wishing you many congratulations on your new bundle of joy.” “What a very lucky baby!" “Well done on creating a mini human being." “Really happy for you both." If you are the one hosting the party, you can send the invitation like these.. Sip-and-See. Come toast with us to welcome our baby. At our home. Twinkle, twinkle, little star. Do you know how loved you are? Join us in welcoming. the new light of our lives. Please join us for a sip-and-see. To meet our little one.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​​​For most families, these baby parties is an opportunity to get together with friends and family with an additional little bundel of joy. But some believes it's a party society makes us feel obligated to have. And if we don't, we're seen as going against the status quo. But you must also remember that it's not against the law to not have a baby party, especially if you and your partner are having financial crisis, after all the baby itself is your biggest "gift".  Read Baby On A Budget: Ways To Save Money With A New Baby You can checkout baby party dresses at our store! Visit Ebaby's Marketplace!