– Somnath Das The World Bank estimates that India is one of the biggest generators of waste in the world — 277.1 million tonnes of waste generated in 2016; estimated to touch 387.8 million tonnes in 2030. In this context, it is imperative that we make efforts to educate children about the three R’s of waste management: reduce, reuse and recycle. Moreover, to break away from the use-and-throw culture, teach children to go beyond recycling to upcylcing i.e, recycling discarded objects/materials to create products of higher quality or value than the original. Upcycling, put simply, is recycling with chic. During the lockdown, many households upcycled used objects — for instance old CDs into coasters, tyres into sofas, saris into quilts, old clothes into bags, and the like. Not everyone wants to discard an object associated with happy memories. In upcycling, you get to keep your possession, transforming it into something useful. DIY Penguin Organiser Use this craft activity to initiate your child into upcycling. Materials Tissue roll tube or any sturdy cardboard tube Scissors Craft glue Bright coloured paper – orange, red, black and white Newspaper Process Spread a sheet of newspaper and make sure you have a dust bin nearby, and all the raw materials. If your cardboard tube does not have a base, cut a circular piece of paper slightly bigger than the roll and paste the roll on it. Make slits on the edges, fold and paste. Take orange paper and cut enough to roll around the tube, with some excess paper sticking out above and below. Use fevicol to paste paper. Make small slits above and below, fold them inwards and paste inside the roll to give a neat finish. Cut white ovals as in the picture and paste them. Cut a small triangle for the nose and paste as shown. Cut black ovals for eyeballs and paste them within the white ovals for the eyes. Make two thin paper rolls from the orange paper and paste the edges as shown. Bend the end of the paper rolls and fix them to the tube. Your organiser is ready. Let it dry and use it to store rolls of gift wrapping sheets, a set of color pencils, or an assortment of stationery. Also read: Family bonding benefit
PW invited parents of Greenwood High International School, Bengaluru to share their New Year resolutions and their importance “Our family’s New Year resolution is to reduce screen time and invest in family time. The outbreak of the Covid-19 global pandemic forced teaching-learning to move online for my children — Parth (11) and Dhruv (6) — and restricted their movement outdoors since mid-March. This has resulted in excessive screen exposure. Therefore, we have all resolved to use digital devices minimally, spend more time with family and engage in activities such as cooking, helping with household chores and playing board games. I believe our resolution will help us stay together and strengthen family bonds.” — Neelu Agarwal, homemaker. “Our resolution is to spend much more unstructured time together, free of electronic screens. Since our busy lives leave us little time to spend with family and friends, we intend to replace the hollowness and superficiality of the considerable time my daughter — Thejaswini S.V. (class VIII) — spends onscreen, with family chats and banter. We believe conversation strengthens the mind’s ability to draw meaning from conversations, and helps us understand each other better. We are confident it will help our daughter develop valuable life skills as well.” — Santosh Thangavelu, founder and principal consultant, Ubermensch. “This year, our family comprising my three children — Ishan (class VII) and twins Arin and Ahaan (class III) — collectively decided against making one specific resolution and enjoy every day as it comes. We have also decided to reinforce some basic values — to be kind to people around us, take extra care of our health, learn to share and show gratitude for things we are blessed with. Every day, we will remind ourselves and each other to live up to these values in our daily prayers, do a good deed every day, help around the house and spend at least an hour outdoors playing a sport.” — Bhavna Ganjoo, homemaker. “New Year resolutions are promises to ourselves that we will do things differently. 2021 is an exciting year as we have all come out stronger with our varied experiences of 2020 including the novel experience of our children — Sairaja Arjun (11) Aadya (7) — adjusting to the new normal of online learning. We made a resolution to step into 2021 with positive minds. With teaching-learning moving online, we are making conscious efforts to reduce television watching to make family time. Also on our agenda is to introduce our children to the joys of sharing and caring for the needy.” — Achuta Ramayya, Business Head, Trade2online Pvt. Ltd.
Zoomorphism is assigning animal-like qualities to humans, gods, and inanimate objects – Roopa Banerjee Spiderman, Spiderman! Does whatever a spider can. Spins a web any size, Catches thieves, just like flies. Look out! Here comes the Spiderman! Most of us are familiar with these catchy lines from the theme song of the cult Spiderman cartoon and movie series. But perhaps not so well known is that this song uses a popular literary device — zoomorphism — to attribute animal qualities to human beings. Zoomorphism is giving animal-like qualities to humans, gods, inanimate objects as well as assigning features of one animal to another. For instance when a cat in a cartoon strip says ‘woof,’ it’s zoomorphism. However, when gods shape-shift and take on an animal form as it often happens in Greek mythology, it’s not zoomorphism but its sub-set known as therianthropy. Some of us tend to get confused between zoomorphism and anthropomorphism (featured in PW June 2019). Whereas, they are exactly opposite. While anthropomorphism is assigning of human qualities to animals, zoomorphism does the reverse by giving animal qualities to humans. Comic book writers have had a field day with this literary device as they have liberally ideated characters that are human but with animal qualities. Catwoman, Batman, Antman, Black Panther and Spiderman are just a few examples of myriad superheroes that have flowed out of writers’ pens using zoomorphisms. Numerous authors have also used zoomorphism to emphasise danger and intimidation. In Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass, the capital of Lord Asriel is described as a wild animal in a cage, and his daemon, which is the character that represents him, is dangerous and intimidating. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has many characters that can shape shift and turn into animals. Sirius Black turns into a dog in order to accompany Harry unnoticed to the railway station while Professor McGonagall transforms into a tabby cat while teaching the class about Animagi (wizards who can transform at will into animals). In The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus and his men meet Circe the goddess of magic who lures them to a grand feast. The food is laced with deadly potions and the men transform into swine. Zoomorphism is often used in common parlance. For instance “she was barking up the wrong tree” by doubting him; “he was champing at the bit” at the beginning of the meeting; and the government “ruffled some feathers” by going ahead with the new resolution. Phrases such as ‘fluttering of the heart’ (bird) and ‘like the roar of the ocean’ (beast) are also zoomorphisms. Architecture has also taken a few leaves from the book of zoomorphism by creating buildings or cities bearing semblance to animals. For instance, the city of Juba in South Sudan resembles the shape of a rhinoceros. Exercise 1. Which of these is an example of zoomorphism? A. Wolverine B. Superman C. Thor 2. Which animal does James Potter transform into in the Harry Potter series? A Beetle B Stag C Horse 3.…
The Puducherry aka Pondicherry tourism board’s ubiquitous advertising campaign seems to be working. In 2019, 1.6 million domestic and international tourists visited this Union territory for rest and recreation First Goa did it. Next Kerala. Now the tiny Union territory of Puducherry (pop. 1.5 million) seems determined to impact its sun-sand-n-sea assets combined with its unique French heritage (Pondicherry was a France-governed enclave within independent India until 1954) upon domestic and transnational fun-seekers as an ideal get-away-from-it-all tourism destination. In 2019, 1.6 million tourists visited the Union territory for rest and recreation — an impressive inflow for a territory whose total population is just over a million. Actually the Union territory of Puducherry incorporates Puducherry and Karaikal in Tamil Nadu, Yanam in Andhra Pradesh and Mahe in Kerala. Indisputably the territory’s capital, Puducherry, 162 km south by road from Chennai overlooking the Bay of Bengal, offers a unique Francophone ambience not found anywhere else in India. Often described as the French Riviera of the east, Puducherry is a well-planned town — neatly laid roads with grid like streets aligned at right angles, sprawling white sand beaches, beautiful promenades, splendid churches, stately public buildings and statues of Joan of Arc and Joseph Francois Dupleix (the governor of the French colonies in India from 1742-54). Indeed, Pondicherry’s Gallic charm is ubiquitous with roads and squares bearing quaint French names, policemen sporting kepis and restaurants serving French cuisine. The history of Pondicherry dates back to the Roman era. Excavations at Arikamedu, 6 km from the town, have uncovered remains of a Roman settlement dating between 250 B.C. and 200 A.D. In circa 400 A.D Pondicherry was absorbed into the Pallava kingdom of Kanchipuram. Subsequently, the Cholas of Tanjavur conquered it in over in 1000 A.D and the Pandyas in the 13th century. After a brief period under the Vijayanagar Empire during the late 15th century, Pondicherry attracted the attention of the European maritime powers — first the Portuguese, then the Danes, followed by the Dutch and English and later the French who captured it in 1673. In 1674 Francois Martin, the first French governor transformed Pondicherry from a small fishing village into a flourishing port town. By the 18th century, Pondicherry was a large and prosperous town thanks to the efforts of able governors like Lenoir, Dumas and Dupleix. But their ambitions clashed with the interests of the British and other local kingdoms of India resulting in skirmishes and political disturbances which continued for a long period. After several fierce Anglo-French battles, sieges and peace treaties, the French acquired permanent control of Pondicherry in 1816 and continued to rule the territory for the next 138 years until 1954, when it was ceded to independent India. Pondicherry The diverse cultural influences which characterise Pondicherry are manifested in its splendid architecture and pleasing streetscapes. Its French legacy is reflected in majestic colonial buildings with French windows and long compound walls. Today people of diverse languages live together in harmony in urban Pondicherry. Not surprisingly,…
(4 servings) Made from roasted sesame seeds, jaggery, dry fruits and coconut, this traditional sweet is light and healthy. Ingredients 250 gms (2 cups) sesame seeds 250 gms jaggery ½ cup desiccated coconut ½ cup roasted peanuts, crushed 1 tsp cardamom powder 2 tbsp ghee Preparation guide Heat a flat nonstick pan. Add sesame seeds and dry roast them till they change colour. Keep aside. Add in the peanuts and dry roast them till brown. Cool and grind into a coarse mixture. In the same pan, dry roast the desiccated coconut till golden brown, then keep aside. Now, mix all the three ingredients together along with cardamom powder and keep aside. To prepare jaggery syrup, heat the pan, add in powdered jaggery with ½ cup water and stir until the lumps are gone. Keep stirring till it boils and thickens (when you add a drop of jaggery syrup on a plate, it should not spread). At this point turn off the flame, add the dry roasted mixture carefully and mix well. Apply some ghee to your palm and start making small balls. Health benefits: Sesame seeds are rich in calcium, fibre and vitamin B and promote healthy bones and control blood pressure levels. Also read: Five ways to make your family stay healthy
(4 servings) This traditional winter food is a healthy mix of greens such as mustard and spinach leaves. Ingredients 500 gms mustard leaves, roughly chopped 250 gms spinach leaves (palak), roughly chopped 1 tsp cornmeal flour 2 inch finely chopped ginger 4 finely chopped garlic cloves 1 thinly sliced onion 3 green chillies, slit sideways ½ tsp red chilli powder ½ tsp garam masala powder ½ tsp coriander powder Salt to taste 4 tbsp ghee Preparation guide Steam the mustard and spinach leaves in a steamer/cooker along with a little salt until soft. Now place the leaves in a pressure cooker, add salt and 3 tablespoons of water. Cover and cook until you hear one whistle. Turn off the heat. Place the pressure cooker under running water to release the pressure (this keeps the leaves green). Now add the cornmeal. Allow to cool, then puree the saag or spinach mix. Heat a teaspoon of ghee in a pan. Add ginger, garlic, onions and green chillies. Saute on low heat until the onions are lightly browned. Now stir in the steamed sarson ka saag, red chilli powder, garam masala powder and coriander powder. Turn the heat to high and give the mixture a quick boil for a couple of minutes, to enable the greens to absorb the flavours from the spices and onions. Health benefits: Mustard leaves are rich in vitamins and lower cholesterol levels. The high iron content in saag fights anaemia. Other recipes:
(4 servings) Pindi chole is made without onion, garlic and tomatoes. Ingredients 1 tsp dry mango powder 2 green chillies, slit in half ½ tsp red chilli powder 2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder ½ tsp garam masala 1 tsp black salt ¼ tsp asafoetida 1 tsp kasoori methi 2 inch ginger, julienned Salt to taste ¼ cup ghee ¼ cup oil Lemon wedges 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves For boiling 1 cup chickpeas (kabuli chana) 2 tea bags (or 1 tsp tea leaves) 1 tsp amla pieces ½ tsp baking soda 2 brown cardamom 3 cloves 1 cinnamom 1 bay leaf 3 green cardamom 1 tsp salt To dry roast 1 tbsp pomegranate seeds 1 tbsp cumin seeds 2 tbsp coriander seeds ½ tsp ajwain Preparation guide Soak chickpeas in water overnight. Boil all the ingredients listed under the ‘For boiling’ section in a pressure cooker. Add 4 cups of water and cook on high flame for 6-7 whistles. If using tea leaves, remember to tie them in a cheesecloth. Dry roast on low flame the ingredients mentioned under this head. Keep stirring to avoid burning. Cool and grind to a fine powder. Now, remove the amla, tea leaves and dry khada masala from the pressure cooker. Strain the chole in a separate vessel but reserve the water for later use. Mix the boiled chickpeas, 2 tbsp of the ground masala, coriander powder, garam masala, mango powder, black salt, asafoetida, crushed kasoori methi and red chilli powder in a bowl. Add the slit chillies and ginger. Heat oil and ghee in a kadai, and then add the chole mixture. Let it simmer until the oil separates. Garnish with coriander leaves, shredded ginger and lemon wedges. Health benefits: Chole are high in c Amla is rich in vitamin C and a great immunity booster. Other recipes: Recipe for Sarson ka saag (mustard leaves)
The Lohri festival is celebrated in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu in mid-January every year to mark the culmination of winter. People gather with friends and families, dance to the beats of the dhol and rustle up a feast. Here are some special Lohri recipes. – Parvathy Menon Makki ki roti (4 servings) This classic Punjabi corn meal flat bread can be made plain or flavored with ajwain, green chillies and ginger. Ingredients 2 cups makki ka atta (cornmeal flour) ½ tsp ajwain Salt to taste Pinch of jaggery Lukewarm water 2 green chillies 1 inch ginger Small bunch of coriander leaves Unsalted butter or ghee for serving Preparation guide Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Add warm water to make a soft dough. It is important to knead the ingredients well for 3-4 minutes to get a smooth dough. Divide the dough into large lemon size portions, cover and keep aside. Preheat an iron skillet; place a wet muslin cloth on the working surface; wet the palms of your hands and place a dough portion on the wet cloth and pat the makki roti dough with your fingers to make a flat circle. Invert the muslin cloth over the preheated skillet and place the rolled out makki roti on the skillet. Cook the roti on medium heat, flipping over to cook on both sides. Cook until you see brown spots on the makki roti. Once you notice brown spots, flip the roti over direct flame until it is completely cooked. Now smear some butter on the makki roti and serve hot. Health benefits: A gluten-free source of fibre and protein, cornmeal is rich in carotenoids and low in fat. Also read: Recipe for Sarson ka saag (mustard leaves)
The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has caused diagnostic delays and made it challenging for medical practitioners to deliver timely cancer treatment to children – Dr. Stalin Ramprakash is a paediatric haematology, oncology and BMT consultant at Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru Childhood cancer comprises almost 3-5 percent of the total cancer cases in India. If diagnosed early, 75-90 percent of cancer in children can be treated successfully. Unfortunately, research shows that one of two children with cancer dies undiagnosed and untreated. Lack of awareness of commonality of childhood cancer and late detection brings down the survival rate. Sadly, the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has caused further diagnostic delays and made it challenging for medical practitioners to deliver timely cancer treatment. Moreover, it also increases the chances of relapse as follow-ups are compromised. Children suffering cancer have weak immune systems which makes them more vulnerable to the Covid-19 virus and therefore they need extra care and attention. Children’s cancers are different from adult cancers in type and treatment. They are generally aggressive and need intensive treatment, but have a much higher success rate than adult cancers. But early detection is critical for success in treating childhood cancers. This requires accurate diagnosis, adhering to treatment protocols and procedures, providing high-quality supportive care and anticipating and managing complications swiftly. Childhood cancer causes In children, cancer is usually caused by damage in the DNA. Unlike adult cancers where lifestyle changes — increased junk foods intake, reduced physical activity, obesity, alcoholism, tobacco abuse, and environmental pollution — result in increased risk of contracting this deadly disease. Some studies have shown that smoking in front of children might increase the risk of their contracting cancer. Also, environmental factors such as radiation exposure, pollution, or environmental disasters such as the Bhopal gas tragedy have been linked to childhood cancers. Very rarely, a family history of cancer could predispose future generations to increased risk. Yet, most childhood cancers don’t have a known cause. Common types of cancer in children According to the World Health Organisation, the most common type of childhood cancer is leukaemia, which accounts for around 40 percent of the cases. Others include brain tumours, lymphoma, kidney tumours, and tumours arising from left-over primitive cells such as neuroblastoma and retinoblastoma, which is a type of eye cancer. Childhood cancer symptoms Unexplained fever lasting for more than three weeks Unexplained bone or joints pain Bleeding under the skin, gum or nose bleeding Inability to urinate, or blood discharge during urination Unexplained lump, firmness or swelling anywhere in the body, which is increasing in size Persistent headaches, abdominal and/or back pain Persistent vomiting Sudden unexplained seizures or change of behaviour or gait disturbance Onset of squint or double vision or head tilt Breathlessness and/or breathing heavily Frequent infections or flu-like symptoms Chronic fatigue and listlessness Unexplained weight loss Blurring or dimming vision It’s hugely upsetting for parents to learn that their child is diagnosed with cancer as treatment entails long, arduous, grueling, and heart-wrenching therapy with the dreaded…
With a diabetes-related death occurring every 10 seconds, this silent epidemic has transformed into a global healthcare emergency Alarming but true! According to the World Health Organisation, of the 220 million people afflicted with diabetes worldwide, 30 million are Indian citizens. With a diabetes-related death occurring every 10 seconds, this silent epidemic has transformed into a global healthcare emergency. Unsurprisingly, medical practitioners specialising in treating this killer disease (aka diabetologists), are in great demand with medical students rushing to qualify in this field. Essentially, a diabetologist is a physician specialising in the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes. However to qualify as a super specialist, one has to first qualify as an endocrinologist with specialised training in metabolic disorders. Diabetologists work with patients to control high blood sugar levels through diet, exercise and medication. Their advice is vital to confront the many problems caused by high blood sugar levels — diabetic retinopathy, kidney damage and diabetic neuropathy. Diabetologists also have a role to play as counselors in the outpatient departments of hospitals. They provide dietary, personal and skin care advice and even teach patients to self-monitor their condition and adjust medication dosages appropriately. Study Programmes. To enroll in a diabetology programme, an MBBS degree from any recognised medical college is mandatory, followed by a three-year MD/DNB specialisation in internal medicine. And to qualify as a super specialist in diabetology, you need to sign up for an additional three-year DM/DNB endocrinology programme offered by some universities and/or tertiary care hospitals. Since there’s a huge demand for diabetologists, some MBBS graduates opt for a diploma programme in diabetology which qualifies them for entry into smaller hospitals or to set up their own clinics. Among the well-known colleges offering two-year postgraduate diploma courses in diabetology, are Christian Medical College, Vellore; Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre, Chennai; Topiwala Medical College, Mumbai University; Madras Medical College, Chennai; and the India Diabetes Research Foundation in collaboration with the directorate of distance education, Annamalai University. Employment Opportunities. With the population of diabetics skyrocketing, there’s no dearth of employment options for qualified diabetologists in government, private and municipal hospitals where they can acquire the experience to start their own clinics. Work opportunities are also available in labs and pharma companies. Remuneration packages tend to be good — Rs.50,000 per month in a hospital for starters to several lakhs per month raked in by private practitioners. “People of Indian and Asian ethnicities tend to be high-risk categories for diabetes. In particular Indians are susceptible to diabetes because of their carbo-centric diet, geneology and lack of exercise. The number of qualified diabetologists needed has to multiply exponentially to keep pace with the galloping diabetic population. Ideally, there should be a vast explosion of MBBS plus MD/DNB (internal medicine) and DNB/DM (endocrinology) medical practitioners,” says Dr. Altamash Shaikh, an eminent Mumbai-based diabetologist, endocrinologist, and metabolic physician. A top-ranked student with impeccable academic credentials, Dr. Shaikh was awarded his MBBS degree by the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore in 2001. Thereafter,…
– Sue Atkins is a UK-based internationally recognised parenting expert, broadcaster, speaker and author of Parenting Made Easy — How to Raise Happy Children (2012) My son is 11 years old and still wets his bed during night time. I ensure that he goes to the toilet before he sleeps and have also made him decrease his water intake after 6 p.m. Is this a psychological problem? — Ajith Kumar, Chennai Coping with bedwetting can be exhausting, frustrating and difficult for parents and children. In some cases, a child’s bladder is not physically developed enough to store urine for an entire night. In others, a child has not yet developed the ability to recognise when her bladder is full, wake up, and get to the toilet in time. And some children are deep sleepers. Here are some dos and don’ts to cope with bedwetting: Do • Encourage your child to drink water through the day • Ensure your son goes to the toilet regularly, around four-seven times a day, including just before bedtime • Mutually agree on rewards for positive action, such as stars for every time he uses the toilet before bedtime • Use waterproof covers on the mattress and duvet • Ensure he has easy and safe access to a toilet at night; keep a night light on if requested. Don’t • Don’t punish your child for bedwetting • Avoid drinks containing caffeine, colas, tea and coffee • Don’t wake your child during the night to use the toilet Bedwetting aka enuresis is a treatable medical condition. Don’t humiliate, blame or damage your child’s self-esteem. You can manage and stop bedwetting with patience, kindness and love. Children eventually grow out of it. Over the past few months since closure of schools, I have noticed that my son is losing interest in academics. He doesn’t pay attention during online classes nor does he self-study. He is in class X and has to write the board exams soon. Why is he demotivated? — Reijo Jay, Bengaluru The almost nine-month schools closure and switch to online learning is an unprecedentedly challenging time for children world over. Here are seven practical tips to enable your child to improve concentration and focus: • Determine what type of learning activities work best for your son. • Encourage regular study breaks. • Reduce distractions. • Adjust your working schedule to support him in his studies. • Provide immediate positive feedback. Something as simple as putting a check tick, star, or sticker on a school assignment, or saying a few encouraging words will go a long way in motivating him. Also, please note that we are living through a deadly pandemic that is killing millions of people worldwide, so as parents understand the bigger picture, relax and don’t foist unreasonable expectations upon children. My 14-year-old daughter is exhibiting anxiety symptoms. She is aloof, does not want to talk to friends, and makes minimum conversation with us. How do we get her to open up and share…
– Dr. Piyush Shah is a consultant, neonatologist & pediatrician at Cloudnine Hospital, Mumbai I expect to deliver my baby in two months time. After delivery, I’m worried about taking my infant frequently to the hospital for administering the vaccines prescribed for infants because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Can I postpone the infant vaccinations to a later date? — Rashmi Dev, Bengaluru The National Immunisation Programme for infants and children has been carefully prepared to protect them from six preventable diseases — diptheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, hemophilus influenza, and hepatitis B as well as pneumonia and diarrhoea. These are life-threatening diseases and often lead to morbidities including neurodisability in children. Vaccination is critical to prevent these diseases in children. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised all countries to continue their vaccination programmes as an essential service during the pandemic. Paediatricians are well-equipped to vaccinate infants during the pandemic while maintaining social distancing norms. Ditto government and municipal corporation vaccine centres are mandated to follow Covid-19 safety protocols. Delaying vaccination of infants is not advisable. My two-month-old cries incessantly when we have visitors. She is calm when it is just my husband and me in the house, but gets startled on seeing guests. Please advise. — Divya Nair, Kochi A two-month-old getting startled is normal. Startle reflex is an inherited newborn response that is normal until four months of life. Persistence beyond this time milestone is abnormal. Swaddling the child, playing light music, and avoiding bright flashy lights will calm her. Skin-to-skin contact between mother and child is also comforting to a newborn. My three-week-old infant’s neck is not yet steady. Being a first time mom, I’m afraid of letting his neck fall while giving him a bath. I would like to use a baby tub to bathe him. Relatives have many other recommendations. What is the right way to bathe him? Do I need the help of a doula (caregiver)? — Srimathi K, Chennai Some infants require neck holding and support until four months of age. While bathing your infant, let him lie on your lap, or on a flat table or baby tub. Ensure that the end where the head rests is higher to avoid accidents. With experience, you will become comfortable bathing him. If needed, your husband or another family member could assist you. It’s not necessary to get outside help. My one-month infant often gets hiccups. I would like to exclusively breastfeed her for six months. I know that a breastfed baby should not be fed water. Why is he hiccupping so often? What should I do when it happens? — Dolly Mathur, Mumbai Infants tend to swallow air when they breastfeed. When gas is released, the infant hiccups. This is normal and self-resolving. It requires no intervention. Burping the child and then continuing to breastfeed will help. Don’t feed the child water or antacids. Talk to your pediatrician if you need further assistance. Also read: Covid-19: Rash, masks & more
– Oluwasevi Dolapo Somefun is postdoctoral fellow & Marisa Casale, extraordinary professor, University of the Western Cape, Australia People often depend on companionship and support from others to cope with the stresses of daily life. Social networks and support are linked to better mental and physical wellbeing. These networks are particularly important in adolescence — the period between childhood and adulthood. This is when peers become an important part of life and have greater impact, while parental supervision usually decreases. But Covid-19 disrupted this social interaction. Lockdowns, school closures, social distancing and self-isolation have kept young people apart. The need to maintain physical distance conflicts with adolescents’ natural desire to connect with friends and with other important people in their lives. This disconnection may deepen the loneliness that’s been growing among young people in Africa and beyond. It can also deprive young people of various kinds of support. These include tangible support with items such as food or medicines, emotional support and guidance, and social protection provided by schools. Social distancing measures affect people differently. But it is especially important to focus on adolescents because this is a life stage characterised by anxiety and uncertainty. They struggle more with the absence of structure and disruption in their usual routine. Over the years we’ve done research looking at the role of social support for adolescent development and mental outcomes. We gained insights into the stress-buffering effects of social networks among adolescents. For example, we’ve found that adolescents who perceived they had a high degree of social support in their communities appeared to be more resilient than their peers. Having a social support system in place also had a positive impact on their mental health. Lockdown-associated risks The pandemic has changed the way people of all ages interact and socialise. This is likely to have lasting effects. The ‘social effects’ of Covid-19 come with particular risks for young people’s mental health. Recent research has highlighted how loneliness and disease containment efforts among adolescents might lead to post-traumatic stress and mental health problems — even in later years. Specific groups of young people are especially vulnerable. These include adolescents who are exposed to domestic violence in their homes. So are learners who depend on the protection they get at school. Then there are adolescents with pre-existing mental health conditions, socialisation or learning difficulties, whose counselling and support systems may have been interrupted. The family environment is critical for adolescents, especially now when many young people are likely to be confined to their homes more than usual. But this is a stressful time for caregivers and adults too. It may be hard for them to be empathetic, listen to adolescents and pick up worrying changes in behaviour. But help is available. One such programme is the Parenting for Lifelong Health project. The programme helps to improve parenting skills by building social support for parents, and reducing parental stress. This programme has proven to be effective and is now exploring ways to extend its reach…
For most NRI (non-resident Indian) parents, the experience of raising a child in foreign lands is unique, filled with contradictions, and cultural assimilation challenges. Dhanya Parthasarathy, a freelance writer and mother of Anand, who relocated from Chennai to Malaysia, shares her take on the experience of an NRI parent. The frustration and exasperation of raising a child in a foreign country • No one can pronounce your child’s name. They try only to fail. Over and over. “How do you say it — ‘Adnan,’ is it? Anann? Oh, you mean Annan!” And I thought Anand was simple enough. • You insist on using cloth nappies most of the time and getting your child fully toilet-trained before age three. And you are accused of being liar of the year or supermom nominee. • Your child sings “Twinkle Twinkle,” but he is singing it in Mandarin! Hooray for international preschools! After all, English is also not our mother tongue. • Your child can identify an auto-pay station before you can. • Your child thinks grandparents come only on Skype. • He hasn’t seen cows, buffaloes, and crows in a really, really long time. Not to mention autorickshaws. • You turn into a typical high society lady and grumble endlessly when you visit India and read a note that the electricity will shutdown for two hours, once every four months for maintenance work. Two hours!! Without electricity! How primitive! Why can’t maintenance be completed in 15 minutes? • Your 45-day-old is startled when a car honks. When I first came to Singapore, I couldn’t sleep because it was too quiet! • Even your toddler says, “Don’t say rupee any more amma. We don’t use rupees here.” • It could be Diwali, Navarathri, Buddha Poornima or any other festival, and you wouldn’t know it when you stepped out of your apartment. • You bring your newborn back from the hospital to a home without grandparents. A home that doesn’t smell of a seven-course feast complete with payasam and vada. • You child has a school bag that he can pull on wheels. He’s not ‘shouldering’ the burden of education like his peers in India. • But on the first day of school, his teacher can’t figure out what he’s saying when he’s sobbing over and over saying: “Amma yeppo varuvaa?” When will mom come to pick me up? Also read: Sufficient sleep critical for early childhood development
Iconic film-maker Satyajit Ray (1921-1992) was also a prolific writer, illustrator, calligrapher, and graphic designer. He authored several short stories and novels set in the Indian milieu for young readers. My Top 4 recommendations – Mini P. The Magic Moonlight Flower and Other Enchanting Stories Publisher: Red Turtle (Rupa); Price: Rs.295 In the title story ‘The Magic Moonlight Flower,’ a young boy sets out to search for the flower that will save his father’s life, but en route, he will need to fight a cruel king, rescue a prince, and slay a nasty serpent. In another story, young Sujan uses his unique talent of imitating the calls of birds and animals to defeat a bird-eating monster and win the heart of a princess. Set in the land of kings and monsters, this fantastical collection of stories — competently translated from Bengali to English by Arunava Sinha — offers exciting adventure tales for children. The Final Adventures of Prof. Shonku Publisher: Puffin India; Price: Rs.299 Prof. Trilokeshwar Shonku is Ray’s most popular literary character. Serialised in the Bengali children’s magazine Sandesh, it recounts the adventures of scientist Prof. Shonku as he travels around the world from Baghdad to Norway. In this last volume of Prof. Shonku’s escapades, translated by Indrani Majumdar, the brilliant scientist confronts near-death situations and nerve-wracking experiences during his travels. In particular, there’s an excellent account of how Prof. Shonku is outwitted by his own invention, the Tellus computer. The Diary of a Space Traveller and Other Stories Publisher: Puffin; Price: Rs.239 Ray was an avid reader of science fiction. This compendium of short stories is an ode to the mysteries of the galaxy. It begins with the fall of a meteorite and the crater it makes on earth. In its centre is a red notebook — the first of Prof. Trilokeshwar Shonku’s diaries. The scientist disappeared without a trace after he shot off into space with a rocket from his backyard in Giridih, accompanied by his loyal but-not-too-intelligent helper Prahlad, his cat Newton, and Bidhushekhar, a robot with attitude. What happened to the professor? Read this exciting book to find out. The Feluda Omnibus: Volume One (Adventures of Feluda) Publisher: Puffin Price: Rs.329 This omnibus edition is the perfect introduction to the exploits of intrepid detective Feluda and his assistant Topshe, as they solve thrilling mysteries across the country. For instance in ‘The Emperor’s Ring’, Feluda and Topshe are on holiday in Lucknow when an exquisite Mughal ring is stolen and Feluda sets on its trail. In ‘The Golden Fortress’, Feluda and Topshe head to Rajasthan in pursuit of Dr. Hajra, a parapsychologist, and Mukul, a young boy who claims to remember his previous life. Also read: 3 inspiring reads: Books depicting diverse cultures and lifestyles
As the world welcomes 2021, your editors interviewed several lifestyle gurus who advise a reset of minds and attitudes to practice FRESH — Fitness, Return to minimalist living, Education, Slowing Down and Home Life — to restore the physical, social, emotional and educational well-being of parents and children in the post-pandemic era – Archana N, Mini P & Cynthia John Although officially mandated social distancing restrictions in countries around the world prevented people from publicly celebrating the end of 2020 — the worst annus horribilis in recent memory — publics worldwide were undoubtedly more than happy to witness the end of a year during which the Coronavirus aka Covid-19 pandemic rained disease and death — 82.6 million infections and 1.8 million fatalities worldwide (December 31). In India, thousands of MSMEs (micro small and medium enterprises) have closed shop, GDP is set to contract by 7.7 percent in the fiscal year ending March 31, adult unemployment has risen to 37 million and schools, colleges and universities with an aggregate enrolment of 290 million children and youth have been shuttered for over nine months. But, even as a second wave of Covid-19 infections has hit the UK, Europe and the US, the new year has signalled a new dawn. Several big pharma companies — Pfizer, Astra-Zeneca, Bharat Biotech among others — claim to have invented new anti-Covid vaccines and mass vaccination campaigns are being rolled out worldwide. In India, the first despatches of Astra-Zeneca’s Covishield, manufactured by the Pune-based private sector Serum Institute of India — reportedly the world’s largest serums producer — and Covaxin manufactured by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech have begun. India Inc expects business as usual with a bang to begin after presentation of the Union budget on February 1. Yet, though 2020 will be etched in millions of minds for the horrors of the pandemic, it also forced considerable introspection. Stay-at-home orders which forced families indoors enabled family members to spend quality time together; health, nutrition, fitness and mental well-being assumed great importance; and education changed radically with teachers, parents and students quickly adopting digital online technologies to maintain learning continuity. As the world welcomes 2021, your editors interviewed several lifestyle gurus who advise a reset of minds and attitudes to practice FRESH — Fitness, Return to minimalist living, Education, Slowing down and Home — to restore the physical, social, emotional and educational well-being of parents and children in the post-pandemic era. Fitness Fear of contracting the Covid-19 virus has focused the attention of the great Indian middle class on health and fitness as never before. Although gyms across the country remained closed for most part of 2020, living rooms, terraces, and bedrooms have transformed into makeshift workout hubs with parents and children logging on to television channels and Youtube exercise videos and signing up for health and fitness apps. Family workouts and parent-child exercise sessions have become the new normal. Lifestyle and mental health gurus are unanimous. To recover from the trauma of the prolonged national lockdown…
Pregnant women’s exposure to some metals can cause pre-term birth and low birth weight in infants, and pre-eclampsia in women, reveals a study published in Environment International (December). Conducted by Rutgers University, USA, this new research indicates that exposure to nickel, arsenic, cobalt and lead could disrupt the endocrine system by altering prenatal hormone concentrations during pregnancy. “A delicate hormonal balance orchestrates pregnancy from conception to delivery and perturbations of this balance may negatively impact mother and fetus,” says lead author Zorimar Rivera-Núnez, an assistant professor in the department of biostatistics and epidemiology at the Rutgers School of Public Health. The researchers analysed blood and urine samples of 815 women enrolled in the Puerto Rico Test site for Exploring Contamination Threats (PROTECT) study. Also read: Compassionate parenting linked to generosity in children
Young children who have experienced compassionate love and empathy from their mothers are more likely to be generous to others, says a study published in Frontiers in Psychology: Emotion Science (November). The study conducted by the University of California, Davis, surveyed 74 preschool-age children and their mothers. While mothers completed surveys that assessed how they display compassion to their offspring, the children completed various activities and received tokens after completion of each activity. Children who had experienced positive parenting showed more willingness to give up the tokens they had earned to fictional children in need. “Compassionate mothers tend to develop emotionally close relationships with their children while also providing an early example of prosocial orientation towards the needs of others,” says Paul Hastings, lead author and professor of psychology at UC Davis. The study also found that being generous had significant biological benefits for children. Based on their heart monitor readings, the researchers found the more tokens the children donated the less anxious and stressed they were at the end of the experiment. Also read: Men & women with higher body fat are better parents
Men and women with higher levels of body fat are better parents compared to those who are skinnier, says a study published in Evolutionary Psychological Science (December). Researchers at the University of Southern Mississippi surveyed 831 participants who were asked to view four male and four female computer-generated bodies that were dimensionally varied. After viewing each body, participants answered 36 questions about the person’s perceived parental qualities, such as: “This person seems like they would help their child with homework” and “This person thinks kids are annoying.” The researchers found that, for both male and female bodies, low body fat was associated with lower parenting capability; women are especially likely to associate high levels of female body fat with positive parenting. “People associate greater body fat composition with more positive and less negative parenting abilities. Thus, what we find sexy in a mate seems to somewhat differ from what we associate with a good parent,” says Donald Sacco, an associate professor at the University of Southern Mississippi and director of the Evolutionary Social Psychology Lab. Also read: Parents’ divorce can determine your ‘love hormone’ quotient
Adults who were children when their parents were divorced, showed lower levels of oxytocin — the ‘love hormone‘ — than those whose parents remained married, says a study conducted by Baylor University, USA and published in the Journal of Comparative Psychology (December). Oxytocin is a hormone released by the brain during bonding experiences such as hugging, kissing, sexual interaction or nursing an infant. “We found that oxytocin was substantially lower in people who experienced parental divorce compared to those who did not and correlated with responses on several measures of attachment. These results suggest that oxytocin levels are adversely affected by parental divorce and may be related to other effects that have been documented in people who experience parental divorce,” says Maria Boccia, professor of child and family studies at Baylor University. Also read: Exposure to metals affects pregnancy and infant health
More than two decades ago, when the idea of a gap year was unknown in India, I took a one-year break after class XII. My parents disapproved of my decision but gave in on my insistence. During the gap year, I was a volunteer teacher in a NGO school as well as at an animal care shelter. It was a fulfilling experience. I also used this time to learn a foreign language — German. But, afterwards when I applied for admission into undergrad colleges in my city, my application was rejected because of the break in my education cycle. Several family friends suggested that I get a fake medical certificate stating that I was ill for a year, and then reapply to undergrad colleges. Instead I tried my luck by applying to universities in Germany. Fortunately I was admitted into a German university which greatly appreciated my volunteer work. Almost two decades later I was pleased to read your story that Indian parents, educators and universities are warming up to the idea of students taking a gap year. Saroja B. Bengaluru Immunity building foods I enjoy reading your Recipes section. It has easy-to-make and healthy food ideas. I was wondering if you can do a series on immunity boosting foods. With the Covid-19 pandemic still lurking around and schools reopening in some states, it’s important to keep children’s immunity levels high and strong. Also some advice on fitness activities for adolescent children and tips on avoiding stress would be greatly appreciated. Riyanshi Kishore Chennai Rethink education purpose Thank you for an excellent cover story on the benefits of school/college leavers taking a gap year (PW December). The pandemic has made us rethink the purpose of education and indeed life. Is the purpose of education to get good marks in exams and get a highly-paid job? Or should education prepare children with skill sets to confront life’s challenges and troubles with creativity, empathy and confidence. We need to teach our children to be resilient, confident and creative and be ready to unlearn, relearn and adapt to new situations. Unfortunately our exams-obsessed schools are not interested in teaching students these 21st century skills. Therefore it’s a good idea for children to take a sabbatical from school — it doesn’t have to be one year, it can be one month during the summer or winter holidays. During this break they can acquire real-world experiences by doing social work and/or learning new skills. Beela Thomas Kochi Wean children off digital devices Thank you for your timely ‘Replace gadgets with toys’ story (PW December). It’s common to see children as young as two-three years playing for hours on smart phones and iPads. More so, since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and preschools closed, children’s addiction to digital devices has increased manifold. Parents are to blame as they are using digital devices as babysitters. Child psychologist Dr. Dherandra Kumar is right when he says that it’s the responsibility of parents to take proactive steps to…
As 2020 faded away, the hashtag #2020worstyear was trending on social media. People the world over were happy to see the back of a pandemic year that wreaked havoc and misery upon humanity in every nook and corner of the world. The Coronavirus aka Covid-19 pandemic, which originated in Wuhan, China in November 2019, has exacted a heavy toll not just in terms of disease and death — 90 million infections and 1.9 million deaths worldwide and 10 million and 151,000 in India (January 1) — but also devastated lives and livelihoods. In India, the Central government mandated lockdown of industry and business is expected to shrink GDP by 7.7 percent in fiscal 2020-21 and expand the pool of unemployed to a record 37 million. Moreover, with preschools, schools, colleges and universities shuttered for almost a year, the education of 290 million children and youth has been severely disrupted. With the majority of India’s children and youth unable to afford Internet connectivity and digital devices, education of children has all but stopped with social activists estimating that 30 million children have dropped out of primary-secondary education. But though 2020 will go down as the worst year of the decade, perhaps the century, it had some positives. Closure of businesses, education institutions and stay-at-home orders forced families indoors giving parents, children and other family members opportunities to spend quality time together, reconnect and bond. It also pushed parents, children and youth to slow down from hectic work, academic and social schedules while opening up opportunities to learn, relearn and adapt latest digital technologies for maintaining learning continuity. Most importantly, it compelled families to focus on health, fitness and mental well-being. As we enter 2021 with the good news of India launching the world’s largest vaccination drive against Covid-19, in our first issue of the new year the PW editorial team presents the recommendations of several lifestyle gurus who advise reset of mindsets to practise FRESH — Fitness, Return to minimalist living, Education, Slowing down and Home — to restore the physical, social, emotional and educational well-being of parents and children in the post-pandemic era. There’s much else in this issue. Check out the Health essay by Dr. Stalin Ramprakash on how the Covid-19 outbreak has made it challenging for doctors to treat child cancer patients; and musings of an NRI (non-resident Indian) parent on raising a child in a foreign country. Moreover, our highly-qualified columnists, the UK-based parenting expert Sue Atkins and well-known pediatrician Dr. Piyush Shah answer parents’ queries ranging from coping with bedwetting to infant vaccination schedules.
