Dr. Sanjay Wadhwa

Bedwetting or nocturnal eneuresis as it medically is quite common in children. Generally, bed-wetting before age 7 isn't a concern. At this age, your child may still be developing nighttime bladder control.

Bed-wetting is involuntary urination while asleep after the age at which staying dry at night can be reasonably expected.

Most kids are fully toilet trained by age 5, but there's really no target date for developing complete bladder control. Between the ages of 5 and 7, bed-wetting remains a problem for some children. But if it still continues after 7 its a matter of concern this means the nervous control over the bladder is not yet reached.

Causes of bed wetting:

Commonest of all is habits. Many children habitually ignore the urge to urinate and put off urinating as long as they possibly can

Urinary tract infection: the resulting bladder irritation can cause pain or irritation with urination, a strongeurge to urinate (urgency), and frequent urination (frequency).

Inability to recognize a full bladder. If the nerves that control the bladder are slow to mature, a full bladder may not wake your child — especially if your child is a deep sleeper.

Stress and Stressful events — such as becoming a big brother or sister, starting a new school, or sleeping away from home — may trigger bed-wetting.

Role of homoeopathy in bedwetting:

Homoeopathy works on the immune system. Homeopathic medicine will increase the muscle or nervous control and hence can cure it in a months time.

If your child has become increasingly addicted to sweets and other sugary items, this addiction can lead to certain behavioral problems (like mood swings, irritability, anger, etc) in children. Moreover, a high sugar intake can lead to your child falling prey to serious diseases and conditions, including diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases. 

Here's what you can do to break your child's indulgent habits and wean him from ill-health causing culprits like cakes, ice creams, candies, chocolates and rich and creamy desserts etc.

1. Practice what you preach -
In order to develop healthy eating habits in your child, it is imperative for you as a parent to lead by example. When it comes to weaning your child from sugary foods and sweets, you yourself should limit your intake. So, if you tell your child to avoid sweets but love sweets yourself, you'd be setting a bad example by eating them yourself and not letting your child have them. The best thing to do is to be a role model to your child as children learn everything from their parents. 

2. Curb consumption of sugar by deferring intake to a later date -
Instead of depriving your child completely, it would prove to be more useful to tell them that they could have sweets on some other day. This is because if you deny him his indulgence, your child would invariably go on an eating spree the moment an opportunity arises. A study on a group of restrained eaters and non-diet individuals revealed that restrained eaters were found to consume more food than the non-dieting individuals. Not knowing when they could have their favourite foods again, they went on an eating spree.
Make frequent yet small offerings of sweets while explaining to him the importance of moderation and why he/she shouldn't overindulge but space out sugar intake.

3. Try the 90/10 rule - 
Teaching older children the 90/10 principle is another sure-shot way of breaking your child?'s addiction to sweets. The rule calls for 90% of the diet to be made up of healthy food with the remaining 10% being devoted to foods your child wants to indulge in such as junk food, sweets or foods with high sugar content. The total calorie intake that arises from consumption of about 10% or 1-2 fun foods is only about 100-200 calories everyday. 

4. Present your child with healthy alternatives to sugary items -
The next time your child wants to indulge in his sugar craving, instead of giving a processed sugary food, give healthier sweet foods like dates, honey or a fresh sweet fruit. 

'Consult'.

It is sad to hear of a loved one suffering, but it is downright painful if that someone is your own child. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition which was not paid much attention to for many years. The fact remains, however, that ADHD is something that can adversely affect the life of your child and their relationships. One example is Olympian Michael Phelps, who had been diagnosed with this disorder. In order to know if a child does suffer from it, it is important to pay attention to a few signs.

Signs You Must Not Ignore

1. To start off, if a child seems to be fidgety all the time, it is a good sign that there is a chance that he or she may have ADHD. While it is true that children often display feelings of excitement as well as a degree of restlessness most of the time, the ability of a child suffering from ADHD to sit still, quite literally, surpasses any normal standards for even a very restless child who does not have ADHD.
2. As a matter of fact, most children who are diagnosed with the disorder are diagnosed by the time they are 7 or 8 years old. For many kids, this has something to do with the signs that are displayed once they join school, which are related to their behavioural habits. For example, children who have ADHD are likely to show their inability to await their turn in a group activity. As a result, they are likely to interrupt not only their peers, but also their teachers to say express their thoughts.
3. For those who are not well versed with this issue that so many children face, the behaviour of a child with ADHD come across as being outright selfish. However, this is really not the case. In many cases, since children with ADHD find it difficult to follow plans and set out tasks, their inability to do so is often considered as lack of intelligence. Such judgements can lower the morale of the child and make him or her feel inadequate, insecure and left out.

Many children who have ADHD are not loud and usually do not stand out in a group. Rather, they are more likely to be the quiet ones who daydream. All this can have major effects on the academic record of the child, and it is fair to say that he or she is quite likely to under perform compared to the rest of the students in the class.

If you see any of these signs, do not be alarmed. However, do seek a doctor’s opinion to know for sure if your child has ADHD. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Psychiatrist.

Since ancient times, our ancestors passed their best practices of holistic lifestyle to their next generations. Over a period of time they became a ritual that got integrated into their day to day life. These series of rituals are known as samskaras. They are connected with the major events of life such as pregnancy, childbirth, naming ceremony, education, marriage, etc. These samskaras enables us to live a complete fulfilling physical and spiritual life.
Swarna prashana is one of sixteen samskaras mentioned in ancient texts for paediatrics. It is an unique method to build long lasting health and intellect naturally without leaving any harmful side effects.

Swarna prashana is an unique method of giving swarna bhasma (gold ash) mixed with honey and ghee that is fortified with arka, an herbal extracts like vacha, brahmi, shankupushpi, etc. To children orally.

This process promotes overall growth in a natural way. Due to its broader benefits, it is not only useful for normal children, its much more beneficial for children with special needs such as autism, learning difficulties, attention deficit disorder, hyper activity, delayed milestones, etc.

Swarna prashana is one of sixteen samskaras mentioned in the ancient texts for pediatrics.

Benefits:

Benefits of swarna prashana is elaborated in “kashyapa samhita” that was written before 600 bc.

“Suwarnaprashanam hyetanmedagni balavardhanam ayushyam mangalam punyam vrushyam varnyam grahapaham”- ka. Su. 18/ 4-5

It means the following benefits can be achieved:

• Medha (intellect)
• Agni (digestive and metabolic power)
• Bala (strength)
• Aayush (gives long life)
• Mangalam (is auspicious)
• Punyam (virtuous)
• Vrushyam (aphrodisiac)
• Varnya (increases complexion)
• Grahapaham (eliminates the evil effects of planets) 
• Vaidya vikas nagi is leading in swaran prashana