Written by Dr. Sanjana V.B Bhms,dbrm,cdn

Founder & medical director of siahmsr wellness.in

All rights reserved with siahmsr digital healthcare[siahmsr wellness]

Reviewed by SIAHMSR medical team

Parenting

   Parenting is the process of raising children and providing them with protection and care in order to ensure their healthy development into adulthood. Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical, emotional, social, spiritual and cognitive development of a child from infancy to adulthood.

   Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and it is more than a biological relationship between parents and offspring. Parenting skills and behaviors help parents in leading children into healthy adulthood and development of the child's social skills.

Parenting includes the physical, mental and social development of children into adulthood. The cognitive potential, social skills, and behavioral functioning a child acquires during the early years are positively correlated with the quality of their interactions with their parents.

   "Positive parenting” is a buzzword now, that is used often to describe parenting practices. Positive parenting is defined by many people. One definition is as follows:

A parent-child relationship that is “responsive to child’s needs and feelings and combines warmth and thoughtful, firm limit setting consistently over time” (Schor, 2003).

Positive parenting

Positive parenting has many benefits. Various evidence based studies throw light into this matter.

·       Research finds that positive parenting has positive influence on child’s behavior. It helps to lower the levels of aggression and other forms of challenging behavior in children.

·       Positive parenting gives respect to your child’s  independence. It gives the child freedom to make choices, to make their own mistakes, understand it and learn to rectify it. For example, let them choose the clothes they want to wear, games they want to play etc.  It allows them to decide the order of tasks in their daily routines.

 Positive parenting tips

    According to Centers for disease control and prevention  [CDC] certain parenting practices listed below may help child development & behavior effectively.

·       Provide your child every appropriate opportunity for playing and learning so that they can develop their skills.  Improve their linguistic skill teaching new words.

·        Currently, it is very important to teach children about emotions and how to manage their emotions and feelings. Emotional intelligence is a new buzzword now in areas related to career and parenting. Emotional intelligence or how to deal with emotions is equally important as IQ or intelligence quotient.

·        Express your willingness to answer queries from children. Try to be sensitive to cues from your child and responsive to their emotions. Childhood is associated with curiosity to know new things and you have to respond consistently  well to any attempt of communication from your children.

·         A healthy warm and loving approach towards your child is important.  Show them your affection, care and love towards them. Children need appreciation for each effort they make. Praise and encourage their efforts and hard work in every good tasks.

·         Effective communication or interaction between children and parents is crucial. Practice or spend  quality time with your child every day. (that is, spend about 15 minutes per day with your child with minimal distractions )

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Parenting - infants & toddlers[0-3 years]

  Communication has significant role in child development. Talk to your baby and responds to any sound your baby makes. You may repeat the same sound or teach new words. This will help him learn to use language.

Read or say simple stories to your baby which may help to develop and understand language and sounds.

  Music has some role in child development. Sing to your baby and play music. This will help your baby develop a love for music and will help his or her brain development.

  Spend time cuddling and holding your baby. This will help him feel cared for and secure. Praise and show your happiness to your baby when your baby learns new skills such as picking toys, dress, feeding bottle etc.

Play simple games with your baby using toys your baby likes.

Play only when your baby is alert and relaxed. Do not do it when baby is tired and weak.

Let your child play in a safe place. When your baby moves to unsafe areas [such as electrical devices, breakable glassware items etc.] distract the attention of your baby using toys and move him to safe areas.

Take care of yourself as a parent

Your mental, physical and emotional health is equally important. Parenting can be a tiring work. Only when you are feeling good, you may be able to give better care, attention and love to your baby. Therefore take care of your health also.

Safety of your baby

 Support the head of your baby while playing with the infant baby. Babies have very weak neck muscles that are not yet able to support their heads. If you shake your baby, you can damage his brain or even cause his death. Play with your baby supporting baby’s head and neck with your hands.

 Make sure you always put your baby to sleep on her back to prevent sudden infant death syndrome (commonly known as SIDS).Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden death of an infant under 1 year of age that cannot be explained following a thorough case investigation.

Protect your baby and family from passive smoke. Do not allow anyone to smoke in your home. It can be injurious to the health of your baby. 

Place your baby in a rear-facing car seat in the back seat while riding in a car.

 Do not overfeed your baby hastily. Prevent your baby from choking by cutting her food into small bites.

 Keep small toys away from infants. Don’t let your baby play with small toys and other things that might be easy for her to swallow. Prevent your baby from choking. 

Don’t put anything near your child which can cover the face of  your baby while playing with it. 

DO not keep hot liquids or foods near your baby  as it can fall on the baby causing mild to severe burns.

Vaccination of your baby 

Vaccines (shots) are important for protecting from infections. It is important that your child get the right shots at the right time. Consult a doctor to know more details about vaccination schedule of children. All the hospitals and neonatologists provide this information to the mother and family in the visits following childbirth.

Healthy food for your baby

Breast milk is the major food for your baby for the first 6 months of life. Between 6 and 12 months of age healthy solid food should be introduced but breast milk should still be an important source of nutrition. Feed your baby slowly and patiently.

Keep your baby active.

Let the baby’s little arms and legs  keep moving  frequently during the day. Getting down on the floor to move and play helps your baby become strong, learn, and explore.

Do not keep your baby always in swings, strollers, bouncer seats, and exercise saucers for too long. Allow your baby play on a baby mat spread on the floor. Physical activity helps to boost health as well as growth.

Limit screen time

Reduce the screen time for your children. For children younger than 18 months of age, the American Academy of Pediatrics  recommends that it would be the best decision for infants and toddlers if they do not use any screen media other than video chatting [only if unavoidable].

Ensure adequate amount of sleep each night for the baby: For infants of 4-12 months age, 12–16 hours per 24 hours (including naps) is recommended.

Brain exercises for your baby

Read something to your toddler everyday.

Ask your baby to recognize objects for you or name body parts and objects.

Play short games and simple puzzles with your baby to help brain development.

Encourage your baby to explore and try new things every day.

Help language development of your baby through regular communication or talking.

Promote the quality of independence in your baby by letting him help with dressing himself and feeding himself. 

Preschool children – parenting

Promote the relationship of your child with other children and encourage plays involving physical activity. This helps him to learn the value of sharing and friendship. This will also boost physical activity and will get benefits of being active.

While you consider instilling disciplinary practices in your child, first you may show the behavior that you expect from your child. Explain it in detail in the way your baby understands it .Avoid unnecessary punishments.

 Good language skills can be developed at this stage by improving your way of talking to the child ; use complete sentences and using  a little tough words suitable to the age. Help your child to use the right words and phrases.

Improve the problem solving capacity of your child by talking to your child when your baby is emotionally upset. This is a very important thing during developmental stage of the child.

Let your child learn independence. Give your child a limited number of simple choices regarding their dress, food etc. But parents should ensure that the children are consuming healthy foods which are not harmful to health. But asking their choices regarding food is a good practice. If they choose wrong things talk to them about the harmful effects and help them in choosing good things according to taste.

Inculcate the habit of reading in your child by reading books to them.  Nurture the love for books by familiarizing with bookstore. This may help to increase the linguistic skill of your child.

Written by dr sanjana vb bhms dbrm cdn[ copyright]

References

1.    https://www.britannica.com/topic/parenting

2.    https://www.apa.org/topics/parenting

3.    https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/positiveparenting/index.html

4.    https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/positiveparenting/infants.html

5.    https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2017/09/positive-parenting