Infants communicate by crying. They are new to the world, and every sensation, every feeling is something new. New parents often have a hard time determining what an infant needs when he cries.

There are some basic needs that the new parent can check when an infant is crying, to be sure that they are met. Any one of them, or a combination, can be the reason the infant is crying. Read the rest of this entry »

If your child has hard stools that are painful to pass or they have to strain, they’re probably constipated.

This is a common problem especially amongst younger children and usually happens because they aren’t eating enough fibre or drinking enough fluid.

A change of diet should sort it out in a few days. However, some children resist opening their bowels because they don’t enjoy the sensation or have found it painful in the past. Read the rest of this entry »

Vigorous exercise may be an especially good way to keep kids lean, but sitting around, in and of itself, doesn’t appear to have a major role in making them fat, new research shows.

Nevertheless, there are still plenty of reasons to avoid too much sedentary “screen time,” Dr. Ulf Ekelund of the MRC Epidemiology Unit in Cambridge, UK and colleagues say, given potential negatives including “violence and aggressive behavior, poor academic performance, and poor body image.” Read the rest of this entry »

It is a common issue…we want our kids to spend their non-school time wisely, but they often watch more TV than then we would prefer. In spite of activities to structure their time we have to look at other ways to keep kids busy so they are not caught in the TV trap.

Parents are wise to limit kid’s TV watching to a couple of hours each day. It’s a difficult limit to stick to, but if parents can establish this habit early on, it’s easier. Selective TV watching prevents children (and adults) from turning into couch potatoes with withered brain cells. Read the rest of this entry »

The best time to do this is while he’s sleeping. (You may want to leave nail utensils in the car so you can do the job while your baby’s asleep in his car seat.) Another good time is right after a bath, when your baby’s nails are at their softest.

Make sure you have enough light to see what you’re doing. Use a pair of baby scissors or clippers made especially for the purpose. Press the finger pad away from the nail to avoid nicking the skin, and keep a firm hold on your baby’s hand as you clip. Read the rest of this entry »

Parent’s have an important role to play in the case of obese children. Children learn from their parents. Parents should be an example to them by displaying discipline, being physically active, taking part in games with them, encouraging them to go out and play, eat a healthy diet, avoid eating fast foods.

Great  number of children growing in the United States are obese. How can parents keep their kids from becoming obese without triggering an eating disorder, particularly in young girls? Read the rest of this entry »

Parents should take extra care in selecting toys for young children and supervising their play during the holidays, according to a leading eye surgeon.

According to Dr. Mark Borchert, director, The Vision Center at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, certain toys, such as BB guns, pose a particular danger for young children. “While a BB gun pellet may not break the skin of a young child, it can puncture his eye very easily. Unfortunately, every Christmas I see young children in our emergency room who have had an eye destroyed by a BB pellet.” Read the rest of this entry »