PUTTING YOUR KIDS ON A PATH TO GOOD NUTRITION

For many parents, nothing is as stressful as getting your kids to eat all the food on their plate, especially when it comes to veggies. Eating a variety of healthy foods is essential for your children’s wellbeing. Here are some tips on how to get your kids to eat better. 

Introduce new foods

For infants, offer new foods every few days- this way you will be able to monitor their initial reaction or check whether they experience any health complications such as allergies. This means that when your child is a year old they will have been exposed to a varied diet of fruit, vegetables, grains and proteins. 

Toddlers will start to eat on their own, so it is important for you to have a set meal time to monitor and introduce new foods at the same time.

Control consumption of sugar and salt

Feeding babies, toddlers and young children food that contains high levels of sugar, salt and fat may lead to serious health and weight issues later in life. Limit your child’s sugar intake to avoid them developing health complications – such as heart disease and diabetes – later in life.

Eat more fruit and vegetables

Vitamins, minerals and fibre are just some of the benefits that fruit offers Consuming a moderate amount of fresh produce also helps reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as stroke, diabetes and different types of cancer.

Encourage your kids to play with their food

Yes, food play can aid your child’s perception of the health benefits of produce. Fruits like bananas, peaches or apples (that can easily be cut) can be used to decorate a bowl of oats, muesli or yoghurt.

Be your child’s role model

You need to set a good example for your kids when it comes to diet and nutrition. Make a point of eating healthy around your children or, better still, eat healthy meals and snacks together, to encourage them to do the same.

Cook together

Children love shopping with their parents, it’s an ideal time to help select items for their lunch box and deciding on dinner menus.  Use this shopping time to teach them about nutrition and why you make the food choices you do.  Allow them to prepare easy dishes or simply get involved by helping plate up or adorn food with condiments, fruits and veggies to make them feel like a chef.

Preparing a meal will help get kids excited about food especially when they sit down at a family dinner table and eat the meals they helped create.  

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Unpacking common myths around child drowning

Whether you have a pool or have small children in your family or social circle, everyone needs to learn about pool safety. Being able to identify a drowning in progress and acting fast can make a real difference to the child making a full recovery after a drowning incident. 

Most people imagine that picture A is an accurate depiction of a drowning in progress. In reality, B and C are more accurate – mouth at water level, head bobbing, body upright, little to no splashing and sometimes the appearance of doing doggie paddle.

Familiarise yourself with these drowning behaviours: 

  • Head low in the water, mouth at water level 
  • Head tilted back with mouth open
  • Trying to roll over onto the back to float
  • Hair falling over the forehead or eyes
  • Body is vertical/ upright 
  • Eyes glassy & empty, unable to focus
  • Eyes open, with fear evident on the face
  • Hyperventilating or gasping
  • Trying to swim in one direction but without progress

Common Drowning Myths

Myth: Drowning children will shout for help

Drowning children are physiologically unable to call out. The respiratory system is designed for breathing – speech is the secondary function. Drowning children’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface but while their mouth is above the surface, they need to exhale and inhale before they sink again. There is not enough time to cry out. 

Myth: Drowning children are unsupervised children

50% of all child drownings will occur 25 metres or less from an adult who was distracted for only a few seconds. 

Myth: Drowning children wave their arms to attract attention or will thrash in the water

Drowning children cannot wave for help. Physiologically, a person who is drowning cannot perform voluntary movements such as waving or moving towards a rescuer. Envisage the surface of the water as a platform. Someone who is drowning often presses down on the surface and tries to use it as leverage to get their mouth above the water’s surface to breathe. So what the onlooker sees are arm movements that can appear to be playful swimming. Children will not kick wildly either. They remain upright in the water with no evidence of a supporting kick. They are quiet, focused only on breathing and show no signs of violent struggle. The child’s struggle is quick — 20 seconds, whereas an adult struggles for 60 seconds.

Myth: My child has had swimming lessons so he / she won’t drown

No child is ever drown-proof, no matter how good their swimming skills. A few swimming lessons are no guarantee when it comes to drowning prevention. 

Myth: Water wings and flotation aids will prevent drowning

Water wings give a dangerous and false sense of security, often making children think they are stronger swimmers than they actually are. Flotation aids can also suddenly deflate.

To prevent a tragedy, be vigilant about pool safety and cover your pool with the leading safety cover from PowerPlastics Pool Covers – The PowerPlastics Solid Safety Cover which also complies with local safety regulations. This cover also saves water, power and chemical input, giving you safety as well as savings, and it brings a beautiful finish to the outdoor living area. Learn more and shop online at www.powerplastics.co.za 

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Understanding the Differences between Hearing Loss and Auditory Processing in Children

Hearing loss and auditory processing issues are two distinct conditions affecting children’s ability to understand and interpret sounds in their environment. While they may share some similarities, such as difficulty with speech and language development, they require different approaches to diagnosis, intervention, and management.

Hearing Loss vs. Auditory Processing Disorder

Hearing loss refers to a reduced ability to hear sounds and can range from mild to profound. This can be caused by various factors, including:

  • Genetics
  • Conditions that occur in utero 
  • Infections
  • Exposure to loud noises
  • Structural abnormalities in the ear

Children with hearing loss may have difficulty detecting soft sounds, understanding speech, and localising where sounds are coming from.

On the other hand, auditory processing disorder (APD) involves difficulty processing and interpreting auditory information in parts of the auditory system in or after the ear, despite having normal hearing sensitivity. Children with APD may struggle with tasks such as following directions, understanding speech in noisy environments, and discriminating between similar sounds.

Challenges and Implications

Both hearing loss and APD can impact a child’s language development, academic performance, social interactions, and overall quality of life. Without appropriate intervention, these challenges can persist into adulthood and affect various aspects of functioning.

Diagnosis

Diagnosing hearing loss typically involves a comprehensive diagnostic hearing test, which includes tests to assess hearing sensitivity and the type and degree of hearing loss. In contrast, diagnosing APD is more complex. Audiologists use a test battery that isolates certain skills, such as being able to separate or join sounds, being able to identify rhythm and pitch sequences, being able to associate sounds with their meanings, and being able to fill in missing information when sound is incomplete or distorted, to mention a few. 

Early Intervention and Management:

Early intervention is crucial for children with hearing loss or APD to maximise their potential for speech and language development. For children with hearing loss, intervention may include hearing aids, cochlear implants, auditory-verbal therapy, or sign language instruction, depending on the degree and type of hearing loss.

For children with APD, intervention focuses on improving auditory processing skills and compensating for deficits. This may involve auditory training exercises and auditory processing therapy with an audiologist, environmental modifications to reduce background noise, and strategies to improve listening comprehension and academic performance. Sometimes, help may extend to speech-language therapy or occupational therapy to help with skills that have been impacted by the underlying auditory processing challenges. 

Whether It’s Hearing Loss or APD, We Can Help

While hearing loss and auditory processing disorders present unique challenges, early detection, diagnosis, and intervention are key to minimising the impact on children’s development and functioning. At NB Hearing and Balance, our team of professional audiologists can help children with hearing-related difficulties thrive and reach their full potential by implementing appropriate support and management strategies for parents, educators, and other healthcare professionals.

Contact any of our Cape Town offices, conveniently located in Sea Point, Durbanville, Hout Bay, Wynberg, and Noordhoek (Fish Hoek area) on 021 203 4327.

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Quick tips for a safe pool

So you have a pool and you have small kids that you watch like hawks when outside. But do you really have total peace of mind? Could you get there in time if your toddler made it out to the pool while you were distracted for a moment? Drownings happen in seconds. 

To lower the statistics pool safety is now regulated by way of SANS 10134 – the recommended Standard for swimming pools. It is every home owner’s duty to understand and comply with this much-needed pool safety regulation. 

Quick tips for a safe pool:

  • Cover the pool with the PowerPlastics Solid Safety Cover as soon as swimming is over. 
  • Always have an adult supervising. Use the Safety Monitor tag from PowerPlastics Pool Covers and request the free child drowning prevention guide. www.powerplastics.co.za 
  • Know what drowning looks like. It really isn’t like in movies with splashing and loud calls for help. In a drowning, the child can be upright and look like he/she is just treading water.
  • Start CPR as soon as you find the child and don’t stop until paramedics get there.
  • Always use a SABS-compliant safety cover such as the PowerPlastics Solid Safety Cover, which comes with certification.
  • Thermal pool covers or ‘bubble’ covers that lie directly on the water should never be considered as child safety pool covers as they do not bear weight.

Request a quote today or shop online. www.powerplastics.co.za [email protected]

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