Child care Health Feed

1000 calories need to be consumed by your child everyday after turning 12 months old. It is easily dividable into 3 meals and 2 snacks.

Psychological assessment-
Psychologist deal with the assessments and testing of children to know the root cause of the problem. The testing protocol doesn’t involve any invasive procedure. They are just the paper-pen tests or questionnaires to be filled by the parents or the caregivers. Assessments will be carried out in a playful manner.
The psychologist also deals with psychotherapy and counseling for children as well as the family.

Early intervention-
Early detection of developmental problems provides an opportunity for early intervention to shift a child’s developmental trajectory to the optimum level and maximize their potential.
Early intervention help these children perform age-appropriate activities and to be on par with their peers.

Pediatric physiotherapy-
Physiotherapists perform a standardized neurological and physical assessment to assess the present condition of the child. They deal with musculoskeletal problems, neuromuscular problems and work on the gross and fine motor skills. They aim at improving the muscle tone, muscle strength, range of motion, posture, gait, balance and coordination of the kids who exhibit any motor problem.

Occupational therapy-
Occupational therapists are trained in performing the neurological assessment and sensory profiles for the children with sensory processing disorder. They help in providing sensory integration therapy for the kids with sensory dysfunction, also aim at improving the fine motor skills and work upon various areas to make the child functional in his/ her activities of daily living.

Speech therapy-
Speech therapists assess the speech problems in children with the administration of standardized tests and tools to provide an accurate diagnosis. Speech therapists deal with kids who have language delays and other speech disorders including misarticulation, stammering and hearing impairment. Blossom clinic also has an expert team of speech therapists who work exclusively with kids with a cochlear implant and are trained in auditory-verbal therapy pre and postoperatively.

Special education-
Special educators perform formal and informal educational assessments to know the current grade of the child in which he/ she is performing. They help in improving the scholastic performance of the kids. They also deal with children who need special care including learning disability, mental retardation and hearing impairment.

Behavior modification and counseling-
Psychologists deal with behavioral modification therapy for kids who exhibit any behavioral issues. They also conduct individualized counseling sessions for children as well as parents. They have their expertise in providing psychotherapies.

Poor scholastic performance management-
Scholastic performance assessment through formal and informal assessments and its management through various techniques making the study easier for children and by giving individual attention to each child.

From terrorism to natural disasters, there are a number of traumatic events constantly hurling themselves at us. Given the amount of stress it causes an adult, imagine how a child can process this information. Often traumatic events that occur in childhood can trigger phobias and anxiety disorders that last a lifetime if not dealt with correctly.

Each child responds to trauma in a different way depending on the circumstances and their age and personality. What is common is that all children turn towards their parents and teachers for support in these situations. Hence, it is important to understand how to help your child deal with traumatic events. Here are a few steps you should follow.

Provide comfort

The first thing to do in a traumatic event is to reassure and comfort the child. Reinforce your child's sense of security by following a normal schedule and maintaining regular eating and sleeping habits. Encourage your child to talk and ask questions and discuss the situation with them in a way appropriate to your child's age and concerns.

Accept their needs

Children show the need for reassurance in different ways. For some, it may be the need for extra physical contact in the form of hugs while for others it may be ensuring that their favourite teddy bear is with them constantly. Be patient with children and indulge their needs in such situations.

Limit the amount of information available

Media often magnifies a traumatic event making it all the more difficult for a child to apprehend. Children can often be mislead or frustrated by media coverage of a traumatic event. Thus, it is a good idea to limit the use of television, radios and internet. As far as possible do not let your child watch the news alone.

Stay in touch

If your child goes to school, his or her teacher is the parent figure at school. Stay connected with your child's teachers and the other adults in their life to monitor changes in behavioral patterns.

Create distractions

If left alone with nothing to do, a child's mind will dwell on the trauma. Encourage them to find a hobby to cope with the negative emotions. Music and art are two good outlets for stress. You could also play board games, read or play outdoors to distract them.

Get professional help

Sometimes you may need help to deal with a traumatic event in your child's life. If your child shows signs of behavioral changes, academic problems, emotional outbursts, anxiety, depression, insomnia or social withdrawal; you should consult a professional counselor

Child care is often one of the crucial aspects that have to be given due consideration during the growth of a child. Children now are susceptible to a variety of impairments, and even though there are medications and treatments to take care of their needs, they would still require a personal touch. This is where pediatric physiotherapists come in. Their primary job is to work with people of different ages from premature babies to young adolescents to ensure that they interact optimally and address their development stages. Like any physiotherapist, they are also concerned with the movements of the child, their postures and their coordination with the outside world. Let us have a look at their profession in depth.

Role of Pediatric physiotherapists
The major role of the pediatric physiotherapist would be to assess the child and make a detailed physiotherapy plan according to his/her needs. They are also required to work in close collaboration with parents, teachers, doctors and other health care professionals. Based on the length and the gravity of the treatment, it can either be done at home or at the designated health care centers. Some of the conditions they address can include:

1. Cerebral palsy
2. Developmental delay
3. Visual handicaps
4. Premature babies
5. Postural problems
6. Respiratory problems such as asthma

They also give across treatments in older children for:

1. Brain injury and spinal injury
2. Neurological diseases
3. Post trauma injuries, such as fractures, sports injuries
4. Burns and plastic surgery
5. Limb deficiency conditions
6. Chronic pain

The Challenges:
Their major focus would be in imparting guidance for the movement that the child might be hampered with. Since children would not be having the necessary control to fight a disease, they can also focus on strength training in a child. They can also slowly groom up your child to let them feel at ease with the physical world. Most of the exercises and session would focus on one critical issue their confidence level. Pediatric physiotherapists would always concentrate on this aspect, apart from the training. They always encourage the children to take part in a wide variety of activities and will also groom them to be independent. Also in older children when they have the capacity to understand, the pediatric physiotherapist should always inform the child about his/her physical nature and that there is nothing wrong with him. The more open they are to the child, the more the child would reciprocate.

There are also many medications and physical treatment plans that can be given when the child is undergoing the therapy. These can include wheelchair assist, walkers or canes. Most of the children who are affected by the conditions may also have a poor development of their vision. The pediatric physiotherapist should liaise with the ophthalmologist to take care of their needs as a sense of right vision can sometimes go a long way in how the child responds to a treatment. They also have an added commitment of making the child respond to a treatment in which he/she is comfortable in.

Method 1 – ways they move

• Ear grabbing – except if constantly contacting their ears, ear-getting is basically passing on child investigating their infant highlights. On the off chance that you see this as a diligent development, counsel your paediatrician.
• Arm jerking – at the point when babies are surprised by noisy commotions, brilliant lights, or unexpected arousing, jolting their arms demonstrates that they essentially got terrified.
• Leg lifting – this development is characteristic of colic and belly pain. This movement enables infants to attempt and facilitate pain.
• Head rotation – for most infants, this is a quieting development. Regardless of whether they are going to nod off, or are hoping to quiet themselves, they will use this head turn.
• Back arching – explicitly for infants under 2 months old, this development is made when babies are encountering pain or colic. On the off chance that this development is made in the wake of eating, this movement implies they are full. Be that as it may, if this development is made while they are eating, it might mean they have reflux. On the off chance that the infant is more seasoned than 2 months, this feasible demonstrates cantankerous demeanour and tiredness.
• Fist clenching – at the point when babies are ravenous, you’ll see their clench hands grasping. On the off chance that you happen to see the clench hands gripping in time-you might almost certainly keep away from an upheaval of yearning cries.

Method 2 – the way they cry

• Environmental cry – the most troublesome cry of all, this cry can speak to a few distinct things. Be that as it may, if your infant is discontent with where they are or are out and out exhausted, they will have no issue crying to pass on their dissatisfactions.
• Physiological cry – this whiny squeaky cry is because of physical distress likely from gas, swelling, pee, or poop.
• Discomfort cry – at the point when a child’s cry is aggravated and discontinuous they might be excessively hot, excessively cold, or need a diaper change. They may thrash and curve their bodies or squirm wildly.
• Pain cry – a pain cry is more consistent and boisterous than different cries. The more pain a child is in, the crazier their cries can turn into. At the point when a child has depleted themselves and has no more vitality to cry, their cry may wind up tedious and calm.
• Sleepy cry – we as a whole get some additional whiny when we are overtired, and babies are the same! when they need to rest yet can’t nod off, their cry will be whinily combined with eye and additionally ear scouring.
• Calling cry – in the event that you’ve at any point seen your child crying between 5-6 times, ceasing, at that point holding up an extra 20 seconds just to rehash the way toward crying, these feasible methods your infant is hanging tight to have somebody lift them up. At the point when nobody comes to get them, this cycle of crying will probably proceed.
• Hunger cry – while this cry may start as a calling cry, when the cry isn’t replied or if the child isn’t bolstered. This cry can move toward becoming insanity. In the event that you see your child turning their head while making smacking sounds with their mouth, it can mean a yearning cry.

Method 3 – general sounds they make

• “heh” – sentiments of uneasiness can be passed on with this sound. At the point when babies feel awkward or experience disappointing sensations, they will make this sound while moving and twitching their hands and feet.
• “eairh” – at the point when an infant is not comfortable, for example, pain from swelling and gas, this sound is likely made as they are attempting to breathe out to facilitate their bothering.
• “eh” – at the point when an infant is going to burp, this sound is discharged as abundance air leaves their throat.
• “owh” – infants will overlap their lips before yawning making this sound to show when they are worn out and languid.
• “neh” – by pushing their tongues to the top of their mouth, babies utilize this sound to pass on that they are ravenous. The sound they make is activated by the sucking reflex.

These movements, sounds and cries may not be very easy to recognize in certain circumstances. But, if you know how to understand your baby and learn all these things, you can really communicate with your baby, without the baby saying a single word to you, you’ll be able to fully understand their language.
 

Ayurveda recommends to couples, contemplating babies to have a purification therapy or panchakarma (detoxification) to remove any doshic imbalance and certain dietary regimens and restrictions are also recommended. 
Men are to take milk, ghee, ashwagandha root, liquorice root and raisins and to avoid red meat, very spicy foods, eggplant (brinjal) and cold drinks.
Women are to have basmati rice, ghee, sesame oil, moong dal, Amalaki (gooseberry) and asparagus while avoiding poultry, red meat, green salads in excess garlic, and raw vegetables. 

Your child needs complete care whether it is emotional, psychological or physical. A thorough evaluation of your child's body and mind is vital at nascent stages. Childs growth should also be checked regularly and monitored. Weight, height and head circumference should be checked and plotted in standard recommended graphs to see if these are normal otherwise timely action can be taken. Childhood vaccinations should be given at right time. These are advised by Paediatrician. If you observe any complaints by your little one that may require medical help, such as:

1. Frequent headaches
Much like adults, children too can experience headaches that last from 30 minutes to 3 hours. A range of primary or secondary headaches like, migraine, meningitis, sinusitis or tension may affect children due to neurological issues.

2. Blurry vision
If you observe either a vision developmental delay or near-sightedness and farsightedness in your child, it might be related to neurological issues.

3. Slurred Speech
If your child is 7-8 months and is not responding to sounds or cannot babble non-sense words, it calls for a neurological check-up.

4. Motor and Co-ordination Delay
Sometimes babies are unable to perform motor skill activities like crawling, walking or using fingers to grip or hold, such delay requires attention of the parent.

5. Fatigue
Check if your kid has become lazy and decreased his physical activities due to fatigue and tiredness suddenly of late.

6. Abnormal Movements

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Is Child Obesity Normal?

In today’s life, we all work, we all think and we all are busy. If we talk about children, they do not get time for themselves as they are occupied with school works, friends, games and other stuffs. Aren’t this your, as a parent, job to teach your child mindfulness? Mindfulness activities for kids and emotional wellness activities are very important for their growth as it releases stress, and also relaxes mind and body.

Though children do not have much stress in comparison to adults but they are so busy in other different types of work that they forget to connect themselves about how they are feeling. Mindfulness is all about to live the present moment, so let’s help our kids acknowledge their emotions and needs with these mindfulness activities for kids.

Breathing Exercise: Let your child sit and feel his own breath. But, it is not an easy task for you to make your kid to stay idle, so you can try playing a soft music, create a calm and peaceful space and make your child indulge in some kind of fun activity. If this doesn’t work, ask your kid to pretend that they are smelling something yummy as they breathe and ask them to blow out a candle by exhaling. Ask them to try this for at least 10 times.

Nature's walk: Take your child for a walk close to nature. This will not only provide peace but also help them to learn to be in present. Ask your child to pick a few things from nature. When they find it, ask them to touch it, feel it and smell it. This creativity will help your child to live in present. Apart from this, these walks will also help in strengthening the parent-child bond.

Mindful posing: One of the activity for mindfulness is to involve your child in making funny poses. Ask your child to make pose of his/her favorite super man/woman. While making different poses, they will stretch out their arms, hip and neck. This will help them feel strong, brave and happy.

Now, here comes emotional wellness, which is a major part of our life. This is something more than managing your emotions and feelings. If we describe what is emotional wellness in a sentence, it is an attitude which reflects our lifestyle.

Here we have given some points which will help to maintain emotional wellness activities in your kids:

Learn to manage stress: Stress broke kids emotionally and physically. Children should learn to deal with stress by some kind of activities. It is must for children to take an eight-hour sleep, also they can try different workouts which will help in relaxing their minds. Also, ask your child to listen some soothing music. It will keep them calm.

Learn balancing: Everyday kids work in different directions which leads them to balance hard. If we think deeply, this somewhere affects their daily life. If you start noticing, they sometimes get irritated and confused, only because they fail in balancing their time schedule. Ask your kids to be attentive towards their responsibilities. Let them set their priorities and focus on achieving their goal.

Be positive: When children are social, they go through both negative and positive feelings. Teach your child that if they are being caught by negative feelings, then they must try to redirect themselves on the positive part of the situation. Being positive in life is very important for ourselves. Children must be surrounded by positive people and vibes as much as possible. No matter if your child is with someone who is providing negative vibes, ask him to ignore and mentally prepare himself for possible negativity. This will not affect your child’s mind and will also not upset their mood.

Learn accepting your mistakes: No one is perfect in his/her life. Everyone make mistakes if they are struggling. But, a few of them happily accept it and others ignore. As a child, what will make you different from others is when you will accept your mistake. The quicker you address your mistake, the sooner you learn it which is very important if you need success in your life. This also helps you to lead a stressless childhood phase.

Express your feelings: Children must share their feelings with someone who always makes them feel better; no matter whether he is a friend, senior or parents. Children should always try to spend tough time with someone they trust. If they start hiding feelings in their heart, this will fall them into depression which will worsen their lives. It is better to express before it’s too late.