Advice Column - Parenting Hub

Advice from the experts

A Healthy Lifestyle is a Must for Your Unborn Baby

Becoming a new mom is a thrilling, yet daunting experience! From the moment, you find out you’re expecting a little bundle of joy, you need to make numerous life changing decisions – even before the big arrival. Choices need to be made – everything from what colour to make the baby’s room, to who will take care of your baby once (if) you return to work, and of course, one of the most important decisions – choosing a name. However, despite all these important choices you need to consider, often it’s the moments ‘in between’ that really count – like your health and lifestyle choices, which could direct affect your unborn child. If you have been taking your health for granted, well then now is the time to assess your current lifestyle – to see if any changes must be made. Your unborn baby will rely on you for all essential nutrients, which are important for his/her development, and by eating well, exercising and taking your prenatal vitamins you can decrease your risk of a complicated pregnancy. It is for this reason, that as an expectant mom, you should prioritise your health and looking at an exercise and eating plan can go a long way here. The importance of exercising How long can I jog for? Am I able to lift weights? These are some of the questions that a lot of pregnant women are unsure of when it comes to exercise. Many expectant moms want to jump in and exercise to ensure to keep the extra weight off, but sometimes its not a good idea to start something your body isn’t used to. Despite all the myths around exercising during pregnancy, health practitioners encourage moderate exercise, as it is highly beneficial for both mom and growing baby. So, how will exercise benefit you and baby? Increases your energy levels Improves sleep Strengthens muscles and builds endurance Reduces backaches Relieves constipation Eating right – for you and the baby There will always be contradicting ideas from friends and family on what an expecting mother should eat or drink, however, it is always important to do personal research and get advice from your doctor or clinic. Of course, there are certain foods that should be completely avoided by a pregnant mother, like raw meat and uncooked seafood. Ideally, expectant moms should aim to eat foods that are high in calcium, antioxidants and nutrients, as regularly as possible. And, before you get carried away and utter the words “I’m eating for two” – remember that eating too many calories is also harmful to you and baby. You might even struggle to lose the post pregnancy weight, which can leave you frustrated. In terms of the food you eat, make sure you get enough: Vitamin D – which helps with the absorption of calcium Iron – is vital for creating the baby’s blood supply Vitamin C – improves the uptake of iron from non-meat sources Omega 3 fats – are important to ensure optimal brain development of the baby Calcium – which helps developing the baby’s bones and teeth Ante natal visits and appointments As soon as you find out that you are pregnant, schedule appointments with a reputable gynaecologist/mid-wife, who can help you plan your antenatal care. This will ensure that you are getting the right advice for a healthy pregnancy, right from the get go. Ante natal care is an essential part of pregnancy, and on days where you are tempted to skip your appointment and rather relax on the couch – remember that sticking to appointments is essential in assessing your unborn baby’s health, and to examine whether the pregnancy is progressing well. And of course, the absolute best part of an antenatal visit is when hearing the heartbeat and getting a visual ‘sneak peek’ of your growing little one during an ultrasound. Of course you hormones are a factor during your pregnancy, but with moderate exercise, plenty of sleep, healthy eating and making use of your support system, you can help ensure that your pregnancy is healthy and that you give your baby the healthiest start. Enjoy this time – it’s the start of a truly wonderful journey.

February 27, 2018

First Years: With great opportunity comes great responsibility

As thousands of First Year students head off to varsity in coming weeks, education experts say they should embrace the excitement and opportunity, but also ensure they start off on the right track to ensure they make a success of their studies right from the get-go. “The demands of school and the demands of higher education are worlds apart, and new students need to understand what new challenges will come their way, and how to handle these,” says Dr Gillian Mooney, Dean: Academic Development and Support at The Independent Institute of Education, SA’s largest private higher education provider. “Most importantly, and especially for those students who excelled at school with not too much effort, they need to understand that ‘winging it’ is no longer an option,” she says. “Some people managed to attain good marks at school with very little work, but this will not be possible at university. There is a big jump up from high school in the expectations on students in terms of the volume and complexity of the work, and there is simply no substitute for long hours spent in the library.” Tshidi Mathibe, Head of Programme: IIE Faculty of Commerce, says going to university is an opportunity for amazing growth and there will be no other time in life when a person has such freedom to discover who they are and where they want to go in life. “However your higher education experience is unlikely to be like anything that you have seen on television and in films. Yet while this new world can be intimidating, there are a few things you can almost certainly expect, and being prepared to respond to these in an informed and mature manner will dramatically increase your chances of success.” Mathibe says to make the most of the opportunity, First Years should take note of the following: It is important to attend Orientation Week Orientation Week, or O-Week, is typically held a week before classes start. It is not compulsory to attend O-Week, but it is a great chance to meet new people, obtain information about your campus and all the activities offered, and just have some fun. Every new student is just as anxious as you are to make friends You can feel quite anxious when you are new to a campus and don’t know anyone. It may also seem like everybody else already has friends. This is probably not the case, and many students are in a similar boat. “You will meet lots of people who may be very different from you,” says Mathibe. “There will be people from different cultures, economic backgrounds and academic levels. This is an opportunity for you to have new experiences, and broaden your frame of reference.” Make a friend in every class It is a very good idea to make a friend in each class that you have. This will allow you to discuss the course material and have someone to take notes for you if you have to miss a class (but don’t make a habit of it). Understand the difference between lectures and tutorials Lectures are generally large classes, often with hundreds of people in large venues, particularly if you are attending a public university. “In lectures, you may feel like you are just a lonely student in a vast sea of bodies. Tutorials however are generally smaller classes, and students often feel less intimidated in tutorials which means they are a good opportunity to ask questions and make new friends. Make an effort to attend every lecture and tutorial, as lecturers and tutors are there to explain difficult concepts and to assist you with your learning,” says Mooney. You may feel anonymous At school, your teacher knew your name – and probably a lot more – about you. At a university with large classes it will not be possible for the lecturer to learn all the names of hundreds of students, or to have insight into their unique circumstances. In private higher education institutions, the situation may be different because of smaller class sizes. Whatever the case may be, ensure you get to know your student number by heart, as this is the way you will be identified. “The most important thing to remember as you enter higher education, is that there will be no spoon-feeding and that you are in charge of your own learning,” says Mooney. “If you miss a lecture, or do not submit an assignment, no-one will care. Teachers at school would nag you about your homework, but at university you need to know when assignments are due, and when and where tests are being written. So right from the start, commit to taking responsibility for yourself, your learning and success.” Finally, do not be afraid to ask for help, Mathibe says. “A good higher education institution will always have support structures in place, such as student guidance and career centres. Make use of these support structures, as they will have trained and experienced counsellors to guide you and help you make a success of your studies.”

February 26, 2018

Planning to Become a Mom?

Here’s the financially savvy stuff you should be thinking about With Hollywood booming with pregnant celebrities like Beyoncé, Amal Clooney, Ciara and Natalie Portman – just to name a few – expectant moms and those planning a family may be dreaming about their future bundle of joy. The cuddles, the smiles, the giggles, the bibs and the booties. A new baby will capture your heart. It will also capture a fair portion of your family’s budget! Danelle van Heerde, head of advice processes and tools for Sanlam Personal Finance, says “Pregnancy and parenting is costly and there are many financial unknowns. Going into this new life stage with your eyes wide open is therefore important. A financial plan that spans each stage of your pregnancy as well as the months and years that follow will go a long way to help you cope well with the financial side of this exciting life journey.” A plan – drawn up in consultation with a partner, employer, medical aid provider and financial planner – should cover the following costs and considerations. Pre-pregnancy Make sure your medical scheme’s maternity benefits offer sufficient cover. If you are not a member of a medical scheme, sign up before you fall pregnant. Most schemes won’t sign you up once you are already pregnant. First trimester Find a competitively priced gynaecologist with an excellent reputation. Your first antenatal consultationmay cost between R700 and R1 000 and after that expect to pay approximately R700 per appointment. Start saving for big items, a new pram and baby cot can cost between R500 and R10 000. Second trimester Now that the morning sickness has passed, use the second trimester to review your long-term financial plans with your financial planner. Start thinking about updating your will, appointing a guardian, revisiting your estate planning, increasing your life cover and emergency fund, and starting an education fund. Meet with your HR manager to understand your maternity benefits. You are legally entitled to four months maternityleave, but this could be unpaid. Prepare to claim for UIF. You can expect to receive between 38% and 60% of your gross salary, capped amount at R 14 872 per month salary for a maximum of four months (there are agencies that can help with the admin for your UIF for around R500). Third trimester Start to gently whisper to your bestie that you’d like to set up a registry for your baby shower so that you don’t end up with 20 teddies and no white vests! Keep receipts for all purchases – you can exchange items like nappies for a bigger size if your baby outgrows them. Look for specials – you could save a fortune on nappies! During this period your budget will have to accommodate your maternity leave, living needs, savings, insurance, medical aid and essentials required for the baby. Antenatal classes will cost on average R300 each over 6 to 8 weeks. Buy a car seat (R600 – R6000) and get used to using it (the first trip back from hospital will have you rattled enough without having to battle with buckles). Birth If you don’t have medical scheme cover, prepare for an average cost of R21 000 to R26 050 for a caesareanand R16 000 to R19 000 for natural birth at a private hospital. Additional professional fees can add R10 000 to R20 000 to the overall bill. Gap covercan help make up for this deficit, but it depends on the policy you take out. However, gap cover is relatively inexpensive and your financial planner should be able to help. Add your new baby to your medical scheme immediately and expect a premium increase as a result of the additional dependent. After your baby has arrived Budget for check-up consultations with your paediatrician – these range from R500 to R1000 per visit. Vaccinations are free in a government health clinic, but can cost up to R5000 in a private baby clinic. Childcare expenses start at R1500p/m and can climb to R8000p/m should you require a fulltime nanny. Nappies will cost you about R300p/m, while toiletries can come to R400p/m. Remember, your work situation might change. If you’ve decided to stop working or reduce your working hours, then you need to take your adjusted income into account and adapt your budget accordingly.

February 23, 2018

Playing with Purpose

Children need to play. Do you ever wonder whether your child plays too much, or maybe not enough? When your child plays is it even educational or beneficial? As experts in Early Childhood Development, we at Skidz can tell you that children learn through play and that playing is extremely beneficial for your child. According to the American Academy of Paediatrics play contributes to the physical, emotional, cognitive and social skills of your child. It also gives the parent or caregiver the time to be fully engaged with the child. There are two types of play namely structured play and unstructured play. Structured play also known as play with purpose, combines a learning objective with an enjoyable activity. This is the foundation of learning. So, if you want your child to learn some life skills, numbers and letters, sitting down with crayons, workbooks and flashcards is not going to cut it. To really engage in learning these skills should be taught through structured play. The benefits of structured play are endless, so let’s look at a few. It introduces young children to physical activity. Starting a pattern of being active and teaching body awareness. It develops motor skills and coordination. Reinforces the bond between a child and caregiver. Sharpens listening skills as they learn new vocabulary and to follow instructions. There is a whole new world to discover. Boosts self-esteem as they get praised for attempting and mastering new skills. Unstructured play, also known as free play, is not led by an adult but gives the child the freedom to decide what to do. This is beneficial for the child as they get a chance to be creative and use their imagination. It also gives them freedom to explore. At Skidz we are passionate about play as means of early childhood development. That is why we have set up the Skidz Clever Activity Boxes. Each box comes with over 100 activities as well as the equipment for each activity. Here you are given the tools needed to engage your child in structured play, with a daily curriculum. This curriculum makes it easy for a working parent or full time caregiver to spend quality time with their child while playing and having fun, without having to do a lot of preparation. The boxes start from birth up to 5 years and is not a subscription service. For more information or to order your box of fun go to http://skidz.co.za or follow us on facebook for some awesome ideas of what to do at home www.facebook.com/skidzsa

February 23, 2018

A Gender-Neutral Approach to Pregnancy

Finding out the baby’s gender is one of the highlights of pregnancy for many parents, as this serves as their starting point to prepare the things their child will need when they enter the world. After all, how do parents know if they should get blue or pink items without knowing what their baby’s gender is in the first place? Today, however, more parents are opting for a more unisex approach. Their reason? To make sure that their offspring aren’t tied to the gender stereotypes imposed by society. Thanks in part to celebrities such as Pink and Angelina Jolie who said that they are bringing up their offspring in a gender-neutral environment, this parenting method has become a trendy approach to raising children. This strategy though, is actually backed up by science. Health journalist Helen Thomson noted that taking on a gendered approach may be harmful to kids in the long run. A BBC documentary showed that children developed better behaviour and self-esteem when they attended a school that promoted gender neutrality. The mounting evidence supporting a unisex approach to parenting has led to an increasing number of parents following this method. If you’re considering raising your offspring in a gender-neutral environment, the good news is that you can actually take certain steps to promote this even before your child is born. Here are some strategies that you can apply: Pick a unisex name If you’re serious about using a gender-neutral approach to raise your child, a good first step would be to choose a unisex name such as Alex, Jamie, or Sam. If you want a more off-beat choice, you can choose a name that is traditionally identified with the opposite sex of your baby. For instance, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds had no qualms about naming their daughter James. Decorate your nursery properly If you want to make your child’s room as gender-neutral as possible, you can follow the advice given in ‘Decorating Your Baby’s Nursery’ and choose a neutral shade for the walls and flooring. Gender-neutral shades include yellow, green, grey, and cream. A neutral-toned room doesn’t necessarily mean boring, because you can pair the neutral backdrop with brightly-coloured decorations. For instance, What to Expect suggests hanging a multi-coloured mobile as part of the decor. Alternatively, you can style the room following a gender-neutral theme such as woodlands or the beach or a carnival. Shopping for clothes The type of clothes you choose may not only affect how children see themselves later on in life, these items can also have an impact on how other people interact with them. In effect, biases are formed towards them even before they are able to walk and talk. In the case of newborns, you can get onesies that come in all colours. It isn’t necessary to avoid blues and pinks, so long as you mix them up with other shades such as green, yellow, purple, and red. Choosing toys Shopping for toys shouldn’t be too difficult, as the concept of taking on a gender-neutral approach means allowing children to have different types of playthings, from cars to dolls. What’s more important is to get toys that will teach them to learn developmental skills and allow them to exercise their creativity and imagination.

February 23, 2018

TIPS FOR THOSE LAST FEW WEEKS OF PREGNANCY

Birth is such an awesome and exciting event. As pregnancy progresses into its final stages once can be faced with various physical challenges where just standing up has become a process on its own. Therefore, it is important to always take care of your health, fitness levels and continuing to prepare for the arrival of your baby. There is nothing as amazing as knowing that you have prepared well ahead for the birth of your precious miracle and breastfeeding moments you will have together. A few tips for those last few weeks and days of pregnancy: Make sure you are eating healthily to keep up your energy levels for the hard work of labour ahead. Similac Mom provides you with all the special nutrients that you need for this time Keep Similac Mom close at hand for those days ahead when you will be breastfeeding. While you are breastfeeding, have a glass of Similac Mom next to you not only to quench the extra breastfeeding thirst, but to also make sure you have the correct nutrition for both you and your baby during these precious times Rest during the day- you never know when you might go into labour so never let yourself get really tired because that is the day you probably will go into labour. If you are tired when labour starts, you start at such a disadvantage, rather start labour feeling refreshed and with high energy levels Stay active so you keep up your fitness levels Make sure your bags are packed and ready for labour. Keep them with you if you go far from home Make sure you have discussed your birth plan with the doctor/midwife and the hospital where you will be delivering to ensure everyone is on the same page as you Practice your skills learnt at childbirth education classes together with your birth partner Make sure you have a lactation consultant’s number saved in your phone in case you need one in those early days of breastfeeding Ensure you do a breastfeeding course. Knowledge is very empowering and helpful for this new skill that will be required of you Know your baby’s normal movements. Be aware your baby should move nicely every day. Your baby should move 10 times in less than 2 hours. A quicker but as reliable method, is 3 kicks in an hour. You know your baby is fit and healthy by feeling him move. He has times of sleeping as well so won’t be moving 24/7. If you cannot feel your baby moving, have something sweets to eat and drink and then do what generally gets your baby moving – for some it is to take a bath, others to lie down. If you are concerned your baby isn’t moving as well as usual or is moving far more than normal – contact your caregiver or the labour ward at the hospital. Towards the end of pregnancy, your baby may move differently, fewer but bigger movements. Spend lots of time communicating with your partner as you prepare for labour together as well as your new journey together as parents Enjoy this time! Your pregnancy will soon be over and you will have lots of new skills to learn! By Lynne Bluff About Abbott Nutrition As a division of Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Nutrition is recognized as one of the world’s trusted names in children, adult, and healthy living products, including Ensure®, PediaSure® Complete and Similac® Mom. Abbott Nutrition South Africa first opened its doors in 1940 and for more than 75 years, has remained committed to the highest standards of quality, excellence, and innovation and as leaders in science-based nutrition, they continue to support people’s nutritional needs throughout their life stages.

February 22, 2018

Nutrition in pregnancy: Giving your baby the healthiest possible start

With so many myths out there about diet and pregnancy, no wonder new mothers-to-be feel confused about the do’s and don’ts of their own diets. To eat appropriately is the one thing a mother have a lot of control over, and wants to get 100% right, but is so afraid of getting it wrong. We are regularly told that our weight, nutritional status and health during pregnancy and breastfeeding have effect on a baby’s risk of developing disease in future, birth risks, the baby’s health and growth both in the uterus and after birth. Scary as it may sound, with the right dietary advice and support it can actually be quite easy to get your diet right with a few easy tips. Keep reading. Will my pregnancy cravings influence my child’s eating habits? Want your child to love veggies? Start early. Very early! New research shows that WHAT a woman eats during pregnancy not only nourishes her baby in the womb, but can influence a baby’s palate and food memories before he/she is born. The study found that a mother’s diet shapes her baby’s food preferences and acceptance later in life. Flavour perception develops as early as in the unborn infant and taste and smell continues to develop once they are born. In the womb, a fetus is surrounded and nourished on amniotic fluids, which is filled with the flavours of what the mom has eaten in the last few hours. The fetus starts to swallow large amounts of amniotic fluid from about 12 week’s gestation. By the time a women reaches her third trimester the fetus’s brain starts to communicate with the taste and smell receptors – for the baby to start to associate with certain flavours and odours in the amniotic fluid. A baby therefore already starts to build a memory bank of tastes and flavours during pregnancy. Amniotic fluid is therefore the first food for the baby to feast on and contains protein, sugars, fat and different flavours of the food that the mother eats. The fetus can detect these tastes and flavours – forming memories of these flavours and will prefer flavours that were previously experienced in the amniotic fluid. It was shown that if mothers who consumed carrot, anise or garlic flavoured food during pregnancy, their infants would be more accepting to flavours later in life. The flavour learning continues when infants experience the flavours of mother’s diet transmitted in breast milk, especially flavours such as anise, garlic, carrot, mint, vanilla. When babies start solids they showed greater liking for and acceptance of flavours to which they had early exposure. This means you can teach your baby to like broccoli from an early age! This varied experiences with food flavours increase food acceptance and may help explain why children who are breastfed are less picky during childhood. Formula tastes the same day-in and day-out. If you plan to formula feed your infant, and worry about the lack of variants in flavours just make sure you introduce your baby to the largest variety of solid food and flavours early on in the weaning period. To conclude, if you want your children to eat a healthy diet (e.g. their broccoli) or more adventurous diet, you should expose them to all the right, healthy flavours early on. Will WHAT I eat during pregnancy affect what diseases my child may have in later life? There are some studies that show that the mother’s diet may affect whether children have the risk for developing diabetes, heart disease, obesity or high blood pressure later in life. During the war, when pregnant women were exposed to very little food, especially in the first trimester, their children were more likely to be born heavier, taller and develop heart disease in adulthood. Some studies suggest that when an expectant mother has too little protein and too many carbohydrates in her diet, the child may have a risk of high blood pressure later in life. This also applies to when you do not supplement your diet with the recommended vitamin and mineral supplements e.g. folic acid, iron calcium and vitamin D. “Over nutrition” during pregnancy also has detrimental effects and may cause the fetus to grow faster than the fetus’s organs and can lead to liver, heart and kidney disease in adulthood. There is also a suggestion in research that if your diet is rich in omega 3 fatty acids (mainly available in oily fish and seeds) during pregnancy it can protect the baby against ailments such as high blood pressure and heart disease in adult life. Should I avoid certain foods during pregnancy to prevent my child from having food allergies? Many scientific studies have been done to investigate whether mothers who avoid certain foods in the diet during pregnancy can control the presence of allergies and eczema in their babies once they are born. They all concluded that babies might or might not present with food allergies and eczema, regardless of the mother’s diet, especially when there is a strong family history of food allergies. They also concluded that avoiding certain food in the pregnant mother’s diet have shown to affect the mother and the baby’s nutritional status. Both may run the risk of missing out on essential vitamin and minerals contributing to an inadequate nutritional intake and is therefore not recommended. You can actually do more harm than good by avoiding anything in the diet for instance nuts, fish, eggs, milk, citrus fruits to prevent allergies in your baby. If you as expectant mother do suffer from food allergies and need to avoid certain foods it would be of benefit to consult a dietitian who would be able to provide you with a nutritionally balanced diet and ensure both you and your baby get all the nutrients you require. Super foods for pregnancy Eggs: It contains choline that helps to reduce the risk of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida. In addition, studies suggest that choline is key to the

February 22, 2018

Hearing in the young child

Hearing ability is crucial for development of speech and language in the young child. In South Africa especially, hearing loss in children often goes undetected until the child has passed the critical period of language and speech development. The hearing loss is usually only picked up when the child is about to enter school and has no little communication skills. Even a mild hearing loss can inhibit a child’s ability to development communication and language skills severely! Late detection has detrimental problems on the child’s mental, cognitive, developmental and social aspects of life. The key to avoid late detection is awareness of the fatal implications of undetected hearing loss and the signs and symptoms that parents and care giver should look out for in a child’s early life. There are many factors that put a child at risk for hearing loss. These factors can be categorized into: hearing loss that is present at birth (congenital) or hearing loss that developed after birth (acquired hearing loss). Parents and caregivers should be vigilant if the following risk factors are identified: Indicators for a high risk of hearing loss present at birth (Congenital Hearing loss) Family history of permanent hearing loss in childhood Maternal infections during pregnancy or delivery these include: Toxoplasmosis, Syphilis, HIV, Hepatitis B, Rubella, CMV, Herpes simplex. Physical problems of the head, face, ears, or neck (cleft lip/palate, ear pits/tags, atresia) Ototoxic medications given in the neonatal period Born with any Syndrome associated with hearing loss (Pendred, Usher, Waardenburg, neurofibromatosis) Admission to a neonatal intensive care unit greater than 5 days Prematurity (< 37 weeks) Hyperbilirubinemia Low Agar score (0-3) Disorder of the brain or nervous system Indicators for a high risk for acquired hearing loss after birth: Childhood diseases such as mumps or measles Untreated middle ear infections Perforated eardrum Excessive loud noise such as gunshots, fireworks or loud music Severe injury to the head Ototoxic medication Otitis media / Ear infections (explained later in article) With these risk factors there are also many signs and symptoms that parents and caregivers can look out for: Child isn’t startled by loud sounds Child is inattentive during interactions Doesn’t respond to parents voice Doesn’t make babble sounds Doesn’t imitate sounds or words like ”bye-bye”, “mama” Fails to respond to their name Fails to turn his/her head to a sound source Fails to follow simple instructions With these signs and symptoms it is also important for parents and caregivers to take note of speech and development milestones from 12 – 36 months which are related to receptive language ( ability to understand words and speech) and expressive language ( ability to use speech and gestures to make meaningful communication) Age groups Receptive Language Expressive Language 12 – 24 months Recognize names of family members and familiar objects Use hand gestures to signal something such as finger pointing to toys Understand simple phrases e.g. ‘give me’ , ‘no’, ‘ all gone’ Make one-two syllable sounds that stands for something they want e.g. ‘nana’ for a bottle By 18months know names of body parts , objects and places By 18 months – use of made up language- mixture of made up and understandable words Follow simples instructions like ‘ put the ball down’ or ‘come to mommy’ Between 1-2 years old has a vocabulary of at least 20-50 words which are understood by family members 24-36 Months Know and point to at least 7 body parts Tend to start speaking a lot and questioning surroundings and environment Follow simple requests like ‘ pick up the shoes’ Use pronouns such as ‘ me, you, yours’ but often get it mixed up Understand questions and points to pictures when asked what it is e.g. where is the rabbit or show me the balloon Make simple phrases such as ‘ want more food’ or ‘ no sleep time’ By age 3 should have 150-200 words in vocabulary and stranger should be able to comprehend their speech Another major risk factor that parents should be on alert for is Otitis Media with Effusion (OME) or better known as ‘glue ear’. It is described as build-up of non-infected fluid in the middle ear. OME is common among children between 6 months and 3 years of age. The fluid could sometimes resolve itself however if OME is left untreated or last more than 6 days it can to fluid becoming infected and causes a temporary decrease in hearing. OME can sometimes go undetected due to the lack of obvious or acute symptoms. OME is usually caused by a poor functioning Eustachian tube (ET), this tube is a link between the middle ear and the throat. The ET helps us to equalize the pressure between the air around you and the middle ear. When the ET doesn’t function correctly it stops normal drainage from the middle ear causing an accumulation of fluid behind the child’s eardrum The following are also risk factors for your child developing OME: Drinking from a bottle while lying on their back- this causes milk to seep into child’s ears Developing a common cold 2nd hand smoke Not breastfeeding Craniofacial abnormalities ( cleft palate , cleft lip ) OME can be very subtle and sometimes hard to detect however your child may show the following signs: Continued tagging of ear Hearing difficulties Loss of balance Delayed speech development The only way to correctly diagnose an OME is to visit an Audiologist. The Audiologist will perform a Tympanometry test. This test will reveal findings of the status of the middle ear, giving information about any fluid present in the ear, mobility of the middle ear and volume of fluid in the ear. Tympanograms can be read off graphs and normative data of pressure and volume, the Audiologist can make a diagnosis from any abnormalities in the results. If a fluid build-up in the middle ear is detected it should be monitored to determine whether it clears up by itself. Should the fluid build-up not

February 22, 2018

Words can make or break

What you say, and how you say it Your words, (and how you say them), are being absorbed by your kids all the time. Neuroscientist, Louis Cozolino, tells us that the amygdala (that part of our brain that is activated in fear situations) pays special attention to anger signals, while positive, warm encouragement increases serotonin (a feel-good hormone). This means that simply through words (and how we say them), we literally have the power to change everything! Words can build your child up, or break him down. It takes much more effort to undo the negative effects of our words, than it does to start speaking positively. So why not give positivity a go. Remember : young children take words literally – their logic and reasoning isn’t well developed yet kids take things personally and misinterpret – often making wrong assumptions they believe what we tell them – adults are powerful, be careful of sarcasm they remember negative comments easily – in comparison to praise children become what you tell them – be encouraging and speak “as if” they’re already co-operating (e.g. “nice listening”) “yes” motivates – “no” makes kids defensive (e.g. “Yes, you can have that after supper”) Speaking consciously is an ongoing learning in self-awareness. Yet words can change lives, so be patient with yourself and watch how your new way of talking easily wins their co-operation and starts to change how they view themselves.

February 21, 2018

Alcohol Myth Buster

How much alcohol is recommended for a person (women) a day? For many people drinking alcohol is a pleasant social activity. Alcohol has long been an integral part of celebrations and other happy social gatherings for centuries. However, it should be done in moderation. The South African Heart Association recommends a maximum of 2 drinks per day for males and 1 drink per day for females. The South African Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG) recommends that if you drink alcohol, drink sensibly and define low risk drinking as no more than 4 units of alcohol per day for men and no more than 2 units for women, with at least 2 alcohol-free days per week. However, people who do not drink alcohol are not advised to start drinking in an attempt to gain any health benefits. Many experts are of opinion that this recommendation is still too high and should be changed. New international guidelines (UK Chief Medical Officers’ Low risk drinking guidelines, August 2016) for both men and women to keep health risks from alcohol to a low level – is safest not to drink more than 14 units a week – equivalent to six glasses (175ml) of wine or fourteen (25ml) shots of spirits per week. Ideally women should be having up to a maximum of 1 drink per day. An additional recommendation is not to ‘save up’ the 14 units for 1 or 2 days, but to spread them over 3 or more days. People who have 1 or 2 heavy drinking sessions each week increase the risk of death from long term illnesses, accidents and injuries. A good way to reduce alcohol intake is to have several alcohol free days a week. These new guidelines for alcohol consumption, warn that drinking any level of alcohol carries a health risk for anyone and increases the risk of a range of cancers and liver disease. This is supported by a new review from the Committee on Carcinogenicity (CoC) on alcohol and cancer risk. The guidelines for pregnant women have also been updated to clarify that no level of alcohol is safe to drink in pregnancy. The previous advice for pregnant women to limit themselves to no more than 1 to 2 units of alcohol once or twice per week has been removed to provide greater clarity as a precaution. Although the risk of harm to the baby is low if they have drunk small amounts of alcohol before becoming aware of the pregnancy, there is no ‘safe’ level of alcohol to drink when you are pregnant. So what does 1 unit of alcohol look like? 218ml cider or 76ml wine or 25ml whiskey or 250ml beer or 250ml alcopop. What type of alcohol is the best option for a person? Individual reactions to alcohol vary, and are influenced by many factors, such as age, gender, race or ethnicity, physical condition (e.g. weight, fitness level), amount of food consumed before drinking, how quickly the alcohol was consumed, use of drugs or prescription medicines and family history of alcohol problems. The intensity of the effect of alcohol on the body is directly related to the amount consumed and how fast the alcohol was consumed. For example one 340ml beer has about the same amount of alcohol as one 150ml glass of wine. The faster you drink the higher blood alcohol levels. There are some similarities in how alcohol affects men and women, but there are differences too. If a woman and a man drink the same amount, the woman’s blood alcohol level will almost always be higher than the man’s. There are several reasons for this…. Women tend to be smaller than men. That means, the same amount of alcohol is going into a smaller body. Even if a woman is the same weight as a man, she will have a higher blood alcohol level if she drinks the same amount as that man. Alcohol is held in the body in body water, not in body fat. Women generally have a higher proportion of body fat than men, so have less body water. That means the alcohol is more concentrated. Other factors have also been reported that can make women more sensitive to alcohol, such as enzyme differences. So to answer the question….. It is the amount of alcohol consumed that affects a person most, not the type of alcoholic drink. Does alcohol make ones blood glucose drop? If yes, what does it mean? Yes, alcohol affects blood glucose levels each time it’s consumed, regardless of the frequency of consumption. The primary hormones involved in maintaining a healthy blood glucose level are insulin and glucagon. Normally, when your blood sugar begins to drop, your body can respond by making more blood sugar or burning up stored sugar. And when your blood sugar begins to rise, additional insulin is secreted to bring your levels back to a healthy range. When a person drinks alcohol, it is considered a poison or toxin by the body and the body channels all energy into expelling it. This means that other processes are interrupted – including the production of glucose and the hormones needed to regulate healthy blood glucose levels. Alcohol consumption causes an increase in insulin secretion, which leads to low blood sugar (otherwise known as hypoglycaemia). It can also impair the hormonal response that would normally rectify the low blood sugar. This causes light headedness and fatigue, and is also responsible for a host of longer-term alcohol-related health problems Should one eat in between the drinking? Yes, to prevent your blood glucose levels from dropping to low. We know eating is cheating, but you will be cheating your body and depriving it from much needed glucose and nutrients as well. Is it important to eat before drinking alcohol? If so, why? And what should one eat? Eating limits the effects of the alcohol. Research has shown that alcohol consumption increases insulin secretion, causing low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Drinking as little as 60ml of alcohol on an empty

February 21, 2018

Understanding The Possibilities Of A High Risk Pregnancy

So you’ve reached the 12 week mark…phew! If you are like me you would have waited until now to ‘officially’ spread the news! I will never forget how excited I was…I AM PREGNANT! Besides the morning (and evening) sickness…I loved every minute of my pregnancy! I would read every new development from my trusted baby app, most mornings flooding my husband with all this new knowledge. In my opinion I was plain sailing and I couldn’t understand why some women complained about pregnancy. We made it to 20 weeks…yay half way! But this was also the beginning of my downfall. The dreaded word Pre-eclampsia was never mentioned during my pregnancy, but it’s presence was always the elephant in the room. I had become a high risk without even taking it seriously. Even after being warned I could give birth as early as 34 weeks, I still didn’t think about the risks I was going through or giving birth to a premature baby. The night I gave birth, the ‘condition that should be named’ hit a climax and my body was losing the battle. With a blood pressure reading of 200/120, our daughter was born at 30 weeks at 3:50 in the morning. We survived the night but the journey was far from over. What is high risk pregnancy? High risk pregnancy is defined as a condition that threatens the life of the mother and foetus. Besides Pre-eclampsia (1), there are a few other conditions that make it onto the high risk list. Namely, gestational diabetes (diabetes that develops during pregnancy), chromosomal abnormalities in the foetus, stillbirth, Placenta Previa, HELLP syndrome and multiple births just to name a few (2). There are a number of health factors that can promote a high risk pregnancy like obesity, stressful lifestyle, mature age, unhealthy lifestyle choices, and previous pregnancy problems. Now take a breath, if you have been told you may be high risk that doesn’t necessarily mean you will have problems during your pregnancy. Many women have gone on to have a healthy pregnancy with minimal birth complications. You will need special monitoring and perhaps extra treatment & medication provided by your OBGYN or Midwife. Serious conditions may result in preterm (3) birth where your little one/s will need to spend time in NICU care. What can I do? It is vital that all appointments with your OBGYN or Midwife are kept, eat a healthy diet, keep away from alcohol, cigarettes or drugs that are dangerous for the baby. Try and attend an antenatal course, the knowledge and support you will receive is priceless. You may be advised to limit your working hours (depending on your career) or be admitted to the hospital for monitoring. The main thing you can do is relax.

February 20, 2018

Pregnancy Education = Informed Choices

The thought of giving birth can be both scary and confusing; particularly with conflicting advice given by friends, health workers, family and the internet. Research* has shown that pregnancy education, also known as childbirth education or antenatal classes, is one of the most effective tools to minimise fear. “In this day and age getting information isn’t the problem,” says Pretoria-based neonatologist Professor Suzanne Delport, “it’s finding the right source of information.” The theme of this year’s Pregnancy Education Week campaign in February ‘Date and way of birth – what would baby choose?’ highlighted howchildbirth education enables parents to make informed choices about what is best for them and their baby. “Only about 5% of pregnant women attend formal antenatal classes,” says Lynne Bluff, national co-ordinator of the Childbirth Educators’ Professional Forum (CBEPF). Doctors would like to see that number increase, as the labour outcome for an educated parent is likely to be better. Recent research* has shown that pregnancy education is one of the most effective tools to minimise fear during birth. “You can tell during the birth whether or not parents have been to classes. They are more knowledgeable, less anxious and more relaxed,” says Bluff. Professor Delport has been sharing up-to-date research on the optimum date and method of birth with childbirth educators. “A full-term pregnancy used to be considered to be somewhere between 37 and 42 weeks. Newer research has shown that foetal brain development continues late into the last week of pregnancy. Full-term is now considered to be 39 to 40 completed weeks; birth prior to then is now considered early term and carries a risk of delivering a baby who may develop serious complications due to immaturity of organs, including the brain.” Delport says method of birth is another area where opinions can often outweigh factual information. “More than two-thirds of births in the private sector in South Africa are by caesarean section, yet evidence indicates no benefit, and increased immediate and long-term risks to both mother and infant. By sharing evidence-based, factual information childbirth educators allow expectant parents to confidently make informed decisions.” Johannesburg-based nurse-in-action Dumisile Mncwango has been giving childbirth education classes for the past three years. “I encourage partners to attend. In some communities people say birth is a ‘woman’s thing’ but it helps so much if both parents have the same understanding to deal with the many myths that do come up.” “We strongly recommend childbirth education,” says Lauren Macnab of Bio-Oil, official partner for Pregnancy Education Week. “It allows parents to make informed choices and gives expectant parents confidence and reassurance.” To find a childbirth educator in your area and visit www.expectantmothersguide.co.za or www.facebook.com/ExpectantMothersGuideZA or #WhatWouldBabyChoose. Additional Information Six good reasons to attend childbirth education classes: 1) Expertise – educators are experienced nursing sisters and midwives who have chosen to specialise in childbirth education because they passionately believe in it. 2) Knowledge – you learn about ALL the childbirth options available to you, and the pros and cons of each. 3) Tools – you’ll be given practical tips and techniques – such as breathing, relaxation, positions, massage and visualisation – that can help you have an easier birth. 4) Confidence – you and your partner will feel more confident knowing what to expect and how to manage it. 5) Preparation – you’ll be taught about all aspects of pregnancy and birth, from stretch marks to caring for your newborn. 6) Connections – you’ll meet other expectant parents from your area.

February 19, 2018

Raising Awareness about Mediation:

Divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage by a court or other competent body typically with an undesirable effect. A Divorce is a decision with emotional consequences that is, at its best, a difficult undertaking. Clients choose to go to attorneys with a variety of needs, only some of which are legal in nature. The end of a relationship is however much more than this. Whether your relationship was short or long, there is so much more than a legal dissolution which needs to be considered. A Divorce, realistically, entails 3 divorces: The Emotional Divorce The Financial Divorce The Legal Divorce And they ought to be addressed in this order. Mediation is a voluntary, interactive and solution focused process used in a way to assist and resolve dispute between 2 or more parties. Mediation keeps the focus on the needs and rights of the parties and helps them to negotiate an agreement in a solution focused approach. Mediation is broadly becoming recognised as a more peaceful and accepted solution to end conflict and therefore is best suited for Family law matters which are seldom fit to be litigated in court. Many times, divorcing clients feel stuck and unable to make critical decisions about their life, leaving the legal process unable to move forward. Mediation is different from going to an Attorney in that it will support the clients in the divorce process by guiding them to make decisions themselves. It will not tell them how to handle their legal, financial and personal affairs but it will guide both parties through the process, if not more amicably, then more efficiently. Co-Mediation The Co-Mediation model, involves the appointment of two mediators: A mediator with a mental health background and A mediator with a legal background. The two mediators work together as a team, to assist the parties in resolving all of their disputes upon separation or divorce. The mental health mediator focuses on the mental, emotional and psychological well being of both parties and the best interests of any minor children, while the parties are conducting their negotiations. The legal mediator, facilitate and guide the parties, to ensure that all of their negotiations and possible solutions found during the mediation process are within the ambit of the law. In this manner, divorce Co-Mediation is able to provide broader guidance to the parties, accelerate the process of the divorce once an agreement has been reached and assist to keep legal costs down, by being less time consuming. It must however be noted that the legal mediator does not in any way act as the legal representative of either party during the mediation process. The recommended time span required to complete unopposed divorce co-mediation is 2 – 3 sessions of 2 hours each, depending on the nature and complexity of the matter. ~ The Law doesn’t raise children, Parents do & Love is not court ordered ~ For more info: [email protected]

February 19, 2018

Chiropractic care for mothers during and after pregnancy

Chiropractic has typically included the care of pregnant patients to insure a comfortable pregnancy and to help facilitate in an uncomplicated labour and delivery process. Low back pain is often described as an inevitable complication of pregnancy. It has been reported that approximately 50 % of all pregnant women experience back pain during their pregnancy and 50 % to 75 % of women experience back pain during labour. However, only 21% of pregnant women with back pain seek consultation with medical practitioners. Therefore, it is important to have a look at some possible causes of low back pain during pregnancy. Biomechanical changes and stress to the neuro-musculoskeletal system are present during and immediately after pregnancy. Adaptations of the body structurally may be a contributory source of low back pain throughout the gestation period. As the foetus develops, its weight is projected forward and the lumbar lordosis is increased, placing extra stress on the intervertebral discs and joints of the spine. Spinal dysfunction related to the change in the load distributions are a factor in back pain. Hormonally an increase in circulating progesterone, estrogen, and relaxin (especially in the third trimester) cause hypermobility in the pelvis and a decrease in spinal stabilization. Physically strenuous work and previous low back pain are factors that may also be associated with an increased risk of developing low back pain during pregnancy. Common treatment techniques that chiropractors utilize include gentle myofascial relaxation of specific muscles, which can greatly aide in the reduction of pain and tension. Also, improving the strength of the core muscles is thought to prevent some of the typical postural alterations. Release of muscle spasm can be quite beneficial in relieving suboccipital headaches, cervicothoracic pain, thoracic outlet syndrome symptoms, or myofascial pain syndromes. Chiropractors can also help the pregnant patient manage an exercise routine compatible for her changing body throughout pregnancy. Research shows that approximately 75% of pregnant patients who received chiropractic care during their pregnancies stated that they found relief from pain. After delivery, the ligaments in the body are tightening up to help bring the joints back together, this process can take up to 8 months. Rehabilitative exercises should be used for weakened back and abdominal muscles. Regular chiropractic care is valuable during the post-partum recovery phase and is beneficial in assisting proper restoration of normal spinal biomechanics. SOURCES: Borggren, C.L. (2007). Pregnancy and Chiropractic: A Narrative Review of the Literature. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine. 6(2) p 70-74.

February 16, 2018

Should We Be Giving Our Teens Condoms?

I don’t think there is a parent on the planet who wouldn’t cringe at the thought of their 12 year old having sex. And so when, last year, our education department proposed to hand out condoms to kids aged 12 and up, without any parental consent needed, it made many parents feel a little uneasy. It is understandable that a lot of people oppose this idea, regardless of the thought processes behind it. And yet, just because kids having sex makes us uncomfortable does not mean that it isn’t happening. And I’m not just talking about lower class, uneducated youth either. Just last year there was a case in a very wealthy neighbourhood where a family tried to immigrate to Oz and on doing their final medicals discovered that their 11 year-old daughter was HIV positive. It turns out she and a group of her friends were having sex with the security guards in the complex where they lived. We like to assume it isn’t happening and if it is happening it isn’t in our neighbourhoods or our schools or with our children. We have to get our heads out of the sand. Teen pregnancies are on the increase in South Africa and we have one of the highest HIV rates in the world. Teenagers are sexual by their very nature and by making sex taboo or keeping it as an unspoken in our homes and schools, we are not helping them to deal with the very real pressures and dangers that they are going to face in the real world. I applaud this move by the education department. Around the world there is evidence that having more open, relaxed conversations with teens about sex, by supplying them with contraceptives and helping them to understand how and why to use them, and giving them the opportunity to explore their sexuality safely reduces teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and abortions. This completely contradicts the fears that most parents have that if they start handing condoms out to kids that there is going to be more teen sex and all the issues that go along with that. Nobody is running around encouraging children to get it on with each other. The department of education is simply looking at the facts and taking action. And the fact is… Kids are going to have sex whether we talk about it or not. Kids are going to have sex whether we want them to or not. Kids are going to have sex whether we educate them on it or not. Kids are going to have sex whether we supply them with condoms or not. Let’s do the right thing and make sure that if they have sex they are able to do this safely and that they understand the risks involved. Let us give our children both condoms and the education that goes along with that. An educated, aware child has a greater chance of survival than one who is kept in the dark. Handing a child a condom does not ensure that they are going to have sex. But not making condoms available ensures that if they do have sex the consequences are much more likely to be tragic. Let’s keep pregnancies for the adults!

February 16, 2018

Huggies® raises awareness around childbirth education this February

A very limited number of expectant mothers research their options before giving birth and as a result childbirth educators, hospitals, and baby product providers such as Huggies®, focus on childbirth education annually during the month of February where there is an emphasis on pregnancy awareness. The nine months leading up to childbirth can be one of the most exciting and fulfilling times in a woman’s life. However, choosing to have a baby is also one of the biggest decisions you will ever make. It is therefore vital that you become informed about the many facets of pregnancy. The experience of birth profoundly affects women and their families. One of the best ways for women to empower themselves before giving birth is to attend childbirth education classes, to consult a childbirth educator or read various online and printed guides that are available for expectant mothers. “We would like to encourage pregnant women to gain knowledge. Know your options. Get evidence based information. Know dad’s role. Make informed decisions. Question all aspects of pregnancy, labour, birth and parenting. Learn more about vaginal births and caesareans. Gain insight on breastfeeding options. Know about skin-to-skin for all moms and babies as well as self-help techniques,” says Nthabiseng Leso, Senior Brand Manager: Point of Market Entry (POME). Pregnant women need to know their rights, including: The right of a woman to choose her companion who will provide her with support during pregnancy and childbirth, and who will accompany her to the antenatal care clinic and help her through the labour The right of the woman to be treated with respect, dignity and confidentiality The right of the woman to ask questions and to get explanation about her condition To understand the importance of childbirth education, Huggies® introduced The Huggies® Club in 2016 at public clinics across the country. This program facilitates a number of heath talks which focus on a variety of topics that relate to pregnancy, birth and new born care. These talks are conducted by Huggies® Brand Mums. These Brand Mums are well-trained and knowledgeable. They work together with the Department of Health, public clinics and have been involved in several health-related campaigns. The talks cover topics that include: The opportunity to exclude and manage existing medical conditions which can be aggravated by the pregnancy, such as hypertension, diabetes, infections and anaemia Free HIV testing and voluntarily counselling (VCT) Early recognition of danger signs in pregnancy and post delivery Birth preparedness and complication readiness Self-care including nutrition and high standard of hygiene Information on the role of the father, the male partner and the family Lynne Bluff, a registered nurse and internationally recognised childbirth educator who is also the editor of the Expectant Mother’s Guide explains how important childbirth education classes are: “Proper childbirth education can help women become more confident and far less fearful about giving birth. We do what we do because we want moms to come out of labour and be able to say, “that was a wonderful experience,””. Being properly prepared both physically and emotionally, and becoming knowledgeable about the various options and considerations regarding childbirth is crucial for parents. This allows them to feel confident about giving birth and ensures that they will know how to provide the necessary care once their precious newborn arrives.

February 15, 2018

Pregnancy: The First Trimester

If you missed the announcement last week Friday, then SUPRISE! Dan and I are expecting our first little bebe in April next year. We are so excited, so nervous and feel so incredibly blessed. But along with all the ooh-ing and aah-ing at the cute baby clothes at Cotton On Kids, I’ve been navigating my way through pregnancy and let me tell you, it’s been a crazy happy, overwhelming, exciting adventure so far. By all accounts, I had a really easy first trimester but since I’m a first time mom-to-be there were definitely some things that kind of blew me out of the water and so I thought I might as well tell you about it, even if it’s just for you to laugh at me, which I totally don’t mind! Pregnancy brain is real! In fact, this is how I just knew in my heart that I was pregnant, I hadn’t even missed my period yet. I started doing really stupid things because I wasn’t thinking properly. Things like putting a boiled egg into the microwave (BOOM!) and forgetting to put a bra on before I walked out of the house (seriously sexy). I got over the initial “stupid phase” after about 4 weeks but then the brain fog started. I would be speaking and then would literally stop mid sentence not knowing what I was actually talking about. A bit embarrassing when you’re in company. Thankfully that disappeared after about 8 weeks. Your first scan is internal. Oh yes, you read that right! I had all these beautiful pictures of my first ultrasound in my head… Well when we got there and my gynae whipped out this um, shall we call it a probe, a condom and some KY I got a bit of a fright. She must have seen my face because she explained everything really nicely and asked Dan to step out for a few minutes. Besides the initial “what the hell?!” reaction, it really isn’t uncomfortable or embarrassing – your gynae should cover you all up nicely so that you don’t feel exposed. Seeing and hearing that heartbeat for the first time will make you feel ALL the feels! It’s possibly the best sound and sight (even though I had to squint to see it) in the entire universe. There’s a kid in there, it’s alive and it’s yours! The week or so before your first scan can be the most nerve wrecking time. For me personally it was the absolute crippling fear that there would be no heartbeat (this was the case with our first pregnancy, you can read a bit about that here). The night before and the morning of our 8 week scan I was a complete mess and felt so guilty because I was trying so hard to stay positive. When I saw that heartbeat though, I could literally feel the hugest weight being lifted off my shoulders. Morning sickness…ha! Let’s not kid around, it’s all day sickness okay. Although mine wasn’t really that bad, it was certainly there. It felt like a very dull form of motion sickness and it just sits in your throat aaaaaalllllll day. Provitas and water got me through. You think you know what tired is, but you have NO idea. I thought I would be okay, I had stayed up late partying, working, watching series and managed to get through the next day. No, just no. This is like a supernatural kind of exhaustion. I could fall asleep at the drop of a hat and felt like a walking zombie most of the time. It made me feel very groggy, like I was only half awake. Makes sense though, you are growing a human! Luckily, like clockwork, the day I hit the second trimester I could feel that I had more energy. I started getting stretch marks in my first trimester. Yip, no exaggeration, I was devastated! And when people said to me “But you’re pregnant, give yourself a break” I would want to scream back “Stretch marks are forever you idiot!”. Yes, I was an absolute dream to be around. Look, I was aware stretch marks were inevitable but I didn’t expect them to rear their ugly head so quickly. Healthy eating and lots of stretch mark cream is what I’ve been doing to hopefully minimise the amount that I do get. Reading how your kiddeo is growing inside of you is so incredible. When we were trying to fall pregnant I was obsessed with P Tracker, now that I am pregnant, I am hooked on two apps: What to Expect and Pregnancy +. Every week both apps give you the approximate length and weight of your baby and a fruit or veg that is a similar size (you might find yourself scouring the aisles of Woolies to find this fruit to cradle – hormones hey…). It will also tell you what is developing in both baby and your body. The only reason I like Pregnancy + a tiny bit more is because you can see scans and 4D scans week by week (not of your baby of course), this really helps me to visualise because I really battle to connect with something that I can’t physically feel (yet) or see. Your nose will rule your life for a while. I could smell a smoker 20km away and for about 3 weeks I could not see, smell or eat red meat. This has also calmed down a bit and I can finally enjoy a steak again, even if it has to be well done…sigh. Your 12 week scan is even better than your 8 week scan, I think. I’m not sure why I expected baby to be lying still but I did. I almost fell off the bed when I saw the ultrasound! It wasn’t just a tiny pulsing blob anymore, you could see so much: little feet and legs kicking, a nose and eyes, tiny hands and fingers waving around and oh

February 15, 2018

Get a second chance at success

If you’ve recently completed Grade 12, you’ll know that your matric results can lead to many exciting opportunities. Your matric certificate can help you get into the university or course of your choice, it looks great on your CV and it can help you ace that job interview by showing that you have the necessary skills to do the job. But, what if your results were not what you hoped they would be and all these opportunities seem out of reach? You don’t have to be stuck with your less-than-great grades for the rest of your life. You can get a second chance at success. Impaq, an innovative education solution provider, can help. You can register to redo some of your Grade 12 subjects in order to improve your results. Plus, you don’t have to be an Impaq learner to qualify. If you went to a public or private high school or received your matric certificate through a distance learning provider, you can still apply to redo your matric subjects with Impaq. The only requirement is that you must have had a sitting for the final examination in order to qualify. Once you’ve applied and been accepted, Impaq will register you with the South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute (SACAI) to ensure that you receive your new (and improved) National Senior Certificate after passing the NSC Examination for the rewritten subjects. To see if you qualify, send an email to [email protected]. The final cut-off date for registrations is 15 February 2018.

February 15, 2018

Important stages of babies at play

Babies make sense of the world around them through play. They experiment with new ideas, learn important social skills, and gain immense pleasure from just playing. Playtime is fun, and offers little one’s time to develop and thrive. Play is incredibly important in a little one’s life, as it assists in the development of fine and gross motor skills and builds emotional maturity and self-confidence for a baby to explore new things and new environments. There are different developments that parents can look out for that links to play and baby’s age and developmental progress. Lesego Mashishi-Matlala, Huggies® expert in occupational therapy, shares insights on playtime and development. From birth to three months, this first stage of play is termed as unoccupied play. It is when babies play alone without reference to anyone else, and start moving their arms and legs. They play with their fingers and toes, suck their thumbs and even sometimes suck their toes. This is when babies start discovering their own bodies. Their favourite playtime activity at this stage is often interacting with the hanging mobile over the cot as opposed to human contact, because of the motion or sounds the mobile makes. The next stage of play is solitary play. This takes place when babies gain postural control and can sit unaided and start crawling. During this phase of development many parents will experience that mischievous silence when their baby is exploring the world around them. Solitary play is generally when babies are more intrigued by objects around them and learn the cause and effect of movement in relation to their environment. Babies become so engrossed with objects around them, that they have minimal interest in engaging with others. The development of crawling and walking are encouraged at this stage of play as it is at this time when babies have the desire to interact with objects near and far from them. The onlooker stage of play is often the most exciting for parents. This often commences at the age of one or two when babies observe while others play, and at most times start copying actions. They love clapping their hands, dancing and mimicking others. This form of play is the child’s first step into social development, and is when they watch and process social cues from others. It’s therefore a good time to introduce regular playdates or to consider a play-school during this time. Between the ages of three and four, toddlers begin to engage in parallel play. This is a time when they will play with others, but usually remain engaged in a solitary activity that is parallel to what their peers are doing. It is a time when ego development commences, and when children build a strong sense of being individuals, separate from parents, siblings and playmates. It’s the ’me, mine, me, mine!’ phase, when children begin to understand the concept of ownership. Playtime is the perfect time for baby and parents to connect. It is a time to watch them develop, explore and move which ultimately leads to your little one thriving.

February 14, 2018

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND YOUR CHILD’S EMOTIONS?

Emotions… we all have them and there is no denying them as we are all born with them. Emotions are wonderful things to have, that is when they make us feel good. But, when they make us feel bad, they can potentially send us into a flat spin. Especially if it is your child who is feeling yukky and you have no idea what to do about it. So what are emotions and what does it mean when your child is throwing a tantrum, sulking, hitting other children, feeling sad or distressed. Emotions are the energy of feelings and feelings are based on what we think, especially about what we think about ourselves and the situations we are in. Let me explain, if you think there is something wrong with you, you will feel bad about yourself. Your actions will demonstrate how you are feeling and will be expressed from a place of anger or sadness or even depression. Another example is, if your child thinks they are not important, that you are too busy to spend any time with them. This may lead them to feel neglected or isolated which will come across again as sadness or resentment or any other kind of ‘negative’ type of emotion. The behaviour from this can manifest in a few ways. Tantrums, being ‘naughty’, ill-behaved or any kind of behaviour that is displayed to seek attention. The reason for this ‘bad behaviour’ is that children would rather get any attention, including being punished than have no attention at all. Emotions need to be viewed as a guidance system, your very own inbuilt GPS as emotion is what brings our attention to what is going on on a deeper level. A child does not have the ability or emotional literacy to express that they feeling are neglected, especially younger children, hence the reason that they demonstrate it with their emotions. However, this does not only apply to young children, but to older children and adults as well. Our emotions also cause a chemical reaction in the body. When we feel love, endorphins like serotonin and oxytocin are released into the body. These chemicals make us feel content and peaceful and happy. When we feel frustrated, resentful or fearful, cortisol and adrenaline are released into the body which makes us feel stressed, angry and aggressive. However, not only are our emotions affected by how we feel or think, they are also affected by our environment. What we eat, what is going on at school, what is going on at home, all has an affect on our emotions and ultimately our behaviour. When we eat processed food or food that contains chemicals like preservatives, colourants and artificial sweeteners, the body sees these as toxic or as poisons and tries to rid itself of it as quickly as possible. The behaviour that results from this is hyper activity, over activity or anxiety. Too much sugar has the same affect. In some cases sugar actually causes people to feel tired and lethargic. Especially when a person’s diet is not balanced and you are not getting enough protein, veg and healthy fats to balance it all out. Other chemicals that affect emotions and behaviour are the chemicals we inhale, like smoke, fumes, perfumes and household chemicals. All of these have an affect on the body’s chemical reaction which then affects emotions and energy. Other factors that affect a child’s emotions, are other people’s emotions. Emotions are incredibly contagious. If parents are stressed, worried, anxious or if they bicker and fight a lot, this will be transferred to your child and they will feel what you are feeling. This can be incredibly stressful for a child because they will have no idea what to do with it and often their behaviour once again will be affected. The same thing will happen if their teacher if stressed out or if the children in your child’s class are stressed and more so if there is bullying going on at school. I’m sure you can now appreciate why it’s so important to understand emotions so that you can help your child, and yourself, to deal with them. Unresolved emotions can cause incredible distress, anxiety and stress and the quicker you learn how to identify and ope with them, the better it is for everyone. If you want some help understanding emotions, then do join our free support group for parents and teachers on Facebook which you can find here

February 14, 2018

Pregnancy and Migraines

Pregnancy is an exciting time for many women. Unfortunately pregnant women also suffer from headaches and migraines, and tend so self-medicate with over the counter medication. According to Dr. Elliot Shevel, South Africa’s migraine surgery pioneer and the medical director of The Headache Clinic, “Often the migraines or headaches worsen during the first trimester (the the first three months of pregnancy), but don’t despair – in 70 % of women the migraines get better in the second and third trimesters. Unfortunately medication is not a good option during pregnancy, and the only pain medication that is safe is Panado or Paracetamol,” he says. “Unfortunately pregnant women who suffer from migraines with aura, (a term used to refer to warning signs of migraine such as seeing zigzag lines before the pain starts), usually don’t find relief in the second half of their pregnancy and have less chance of improvement.” Two studies show that many pregnant women rely on over the counter medication. The first study, published in the Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, showed “a significant number of pregnant women relied on over-the-counter medication”. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Isra University Hospital in Pakistan for six months and comprised of 351 pregnant women who were interviewed face to face. Overall, 223 (63.5%) patients were using over the counter drugs before pregnancy and 128 (36.5%) had used them in a previous pregnancy. A further 133 (37.9%) were using the medications during the current pregnancy. Quite worrying is that a total of 103(77.4%) had no knowledge about the possible harmful effects of the medication they were taking. Whilst this study highlighted the frequent use of over the counter medications in pregnant women, another study, published in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, indicates most women experience automatic relief during their 2nd and 3rd trimesters. For those not getting relief from headaches or migraines, medication needs to minimise. So is surgery a viable option in pregnant women? One of the most successful treatment methods for migraine is to close off the small arteries under the skin of the scalp that cause the pain (not the arteries in the brain), by means of minimally invasive surgery. Commenting on the surgery during pregnancy, Dr Shevel says, ‘We usually wouldn’t do the surgery during the first three months of the pregnancy because the drugs used in the sedation or anaesthetic may affect the fetus and cause problems. After the first trimester the operation is safe to perform, but we prefer to wait until the baby is born to avoid any possible unforseen complications. Sometimes however, an expectant mother is just in so much pain that the operation can’t wait.” Other pressing issues Expectant mothers always have a lot of questions about headaches and migraines. Here are some answered: Will the baby be affected by the trauma and pain of my headache? No, says Shevel. “There is no evidence to indicate this, but the baby can be affected by a medication the mother is using and that is why we are saying only Panado or Paracetamol is safe.” Is there an ingredient in the pill that aggravates or makes headaches worse? The short answer is yes. “The pill contains a variety of different hormones, and changes in those hormone levels can affect the headaches. It is interesting to note however, that although they can make the headaches worse, they may also sometimes make them better – it’s impossible to predict.” What role does breastfeeding play? According to Shevel breastfeeding can also play a role. “If women breastfeed after birth the headaches usually stays away until the baby is weaned. “

February 14, 2018

Headaches associated with impaired learning ability and negative mood

Research has shown that headaches can have many adverse effects on our lives: from diminished concentration in class or at work to irritability in general. There have, however, been few studies on the effect on learning ability and mood. Two recent studies filled this gap and found that tension-type headaches are associated with negative mood and impaired learning ability. Both studies were summarised in Frontiers of Neurology and both involved one group of participants completing a battery of tasks when they had a tension-type headache and again when they had no headache. Another group (the control group) was headache free on both occasions. In the “no headache” condition, the participants had not reported a headache for 24 hours prior to the assessment. In the first study, 12 participants (6 with tension-type headache and 6 in the control group) completed a computerised battery measuring mood and aspects of learning ability. In the second study, 22 participants (7 tension-type headaches, 5 after tension-type headaches and 10 people from the control group) completed mood and learning tasks. In the first study, having a headache was associated with an increase in negative mood both before and after the tasks. Three performance tasks showed impairments when the participants had headaches: logical reasoning was slower and less accurate and retrieval from memory was slower. According to Dr Elliot Shevel, South Africa’s pioneer in the field of migraine surgery and the medical director of The Headache Clinic, results from the studies confirmed the increase in negative mood when a person has a tension-type headache, as well as impaired learning ability. “The results confirmed impairments in the logical reasoning, and also showed that those with a tension-type headache were more easily distracted and experienced irritability. Effects did not continue after the headache had gone.” These findings can have an impact on the performance of students and workers, as well as their relationships with colleagues and team members. “Negative mood and impaired learning ability adversely affect the quality of work,” says Dr. Shevel. “It is important to take note of these effects that reduce quality of life and ensure early diagnosis and effective treatment takes place.”

February 13, 2018

SA Children more at risk from sunburn at school

Copious amounts of sunscreen are sold each summer holiday in an effort to protect, in particular, children’s skin from both the damaging ultra-violet (UVA and UVB) rays of the harsh South African sun, but when kids go back to school, this dogged persistence seems to wane. Millions of school learners have gone back to schools around the country – many of which have inadequate or no sun protection policies in place, leaving children exposed to sunburn. Even though there is more public awareness around sun protection, it doesn’t appear to be a top priority at the majority of SA schools since other pressing issues such as nutrition and violence seems to have taken precedence. However, interventions at school level are critical in curtailing SA’s high incidence rates of skin cancer and should receive more attention. Local research studies have shown that sunburn in children significantly increases the risk of developing skin cancer and melanomas – the deadliest form of skin cancer – later in life. It is therefore vital that children are protected from the sun not only when at the beach or the swimming pool, but at school as well. In South Africa, skin cancer remains the most common cancer with about 20 000 reported cases and 700 deaths a year, making it a significant health problem. According to CANSA, the most of a person’s lifetime exposure to the sun occurs before the age of 18, which makes sun-safe policies an absolute must at pre-schools, primary schools and high schools. As in Australia – where skin cancer rates are amongst the highest in the world – SA schools across the board should adopt similar sun-smart policies. Some of these interventions include learners having to wear a broadbrimmed hat as part of their school uniform. If no hat is worn, learners may not play outside; plenty of shade is also provided on the playground via trees or structures; the use of sunscreen is encouraged and time is allowed for application, and during outdoor athletic or sporting events, ample provision is made for shade to avoid sunburn. In addition to these measures, scientific studies have validated the health properties of Rooibos on skin, which may assist with various skin ailments including the prevention of the development of cancer. Thus, parents whose children have been badly sunburnt may be able to turn to Rooibos for help. Dr Tandeka Magcwebeba, a post-doctoral fellow at Stellenbosch University, who has done extensive research on the anti-cancer properties of Rooibos on the skin, says the topical application of Rooibos may offer protection against the early stages of cancer development in the skin. Dr Magcwebeba says, once the anti-cancer properties of Rooibos has been fully characterised, this herbal tea may be one of the agents that could protect children’s skin from some of the damage caused by the sun’s harmful rays. “Once the skin has been exposed to the sun’s UV rays, Rooibos extracts have the ability to remove precancerous damaged cells and also block the onset of inflammation. It does so by stopping the multiplication of cancerous cells and removing these cells through programmed cell death – in other words, prompting the cells to commit suicide. “It’s the abundance of polyphenols (antioxidants) – natural compounds found in Rooibos – which gives its restorative power,” explains Dr Magcwebeba. “These compounds are linked to the prevention of various chronic disorders, including skin cancer. However, it is important to note that preliminary findings show that Rooibos extracts are more effective during the early stages of skin cancer development as they are able to facilitate the removal of UVB damaged cells thereby delaying their progression into a tumour.” If your child does end up with nasty sunburn, anecdotal evidence indicates that soaking him/her in a lukewarm bath of rooibos tea two to three times a day, could help reduce inflammation, which is likely due to the tea’s anti-inflammatory properties. This, in combination with the abundance of antioxidants present in Rooibos tea will help to naturally accelerate the healing of the skin. It is still uncertain how much rooibos extract is needed to prevent the development of skin cancer, but according to science, children (and adults) who spend a lot of time in the sun may benefit from using cosmetics, sunscreen and after-sun skincare products containing Rooibos extract. For more information on rooibos’ healing potential, visit www.sarooibos.co.za

February 12, 2018

The benefits of eating well during pregnancy

When you discover you are pregnant for the first time – your whole world shifts. Up to this point decisions you made with regards to your eating only had a direct effect on your body. Suddenly what you eat affects your unborn baby in more ways than we even realized. Benefit 1: A good balanced nutritious diet will have all the necessary nutrients to allow for optimal growth of your little one! Keep it simple but healthy. You need to eat foods from all the food groups. Avoid fad dieting while pregnant as you will miss out on some essential nutrients. You need a range of fresh fruit and vegetables as this gives you the vitamins and minerals you and your baby need. Lutein is an anti oxidant found in green leafy vegetables and is very good for your babies immune system and brain development. Carotene is found in orange veggies and is very healthy for your babies eye and skin health. A healthy skin may be protective for your baby against allergies later on in life. Aim to eat at least five servings a day. Protein foods like meats, eggs, milk, nuts etc are very important for muscle development and for keeping your placenta well nourished with a healthy blood flow. Some pre term deliveries may result from a placenta that has ‘dried’ up too soon. So aim to eat at least 4 portions (palm size) daily. If you are struggling with nausea in these early days then it may be helpful to get a good supplement that you can take to ensure you meet you protein needs. Starch foods like rice, pasta, wholegrain breads and cereals are very important for energy for you and your baby and also for fibre. Like fruit the fibre in these whole grain products ensure that you stay regular when drunken with adequate water. Have 3 -4 servings of healthy low GI starch daily and at least 1.5L water through out the day. Fats like avocado, linseeds, flaxseeds, olives etc are important to provide the essential fatty acids necessary for you the mom to retain brain cells J and for your little one to create new healthy brain cells. Aim to have 4 fat servings per day (1 tsp/serving or ¼ avocado) Benefit 2: A lot of ongoing research is looking at the moms diet and including high risk allergen foods and initially the thinking was that we should avoid allergens during pregnancy however this has not shown to be beneficial and may even be more harmful. The recommendations now are to include all allergen foods as long as you are not allergic to one of them. So avoid all foods except those you are allergic to. Benefit 3: Some very interesting and current research is going on at the moment around fussy eating and when foods were introduced to babies and its affect on fussy eating behaviour. We know that babies swallow amniotic fluid and we know that babies can taste tastes in the amniotic fluid. So there is some research looking at the variety of vegetables eaten by a mom and then acceptance of theses vegetables later. So in summary if you want your little one to eat his veggies it may all start in the womb!!!!

February 12, 2018

The Magic Words: “Please” and “Thank You”

Written By: Barbara Eaton (Academic Development Co-ordinator for ADvTECH Schools Division) The magic words: Are the traditional magic words “please” and “thank you” that many people learn as children disappearing in today’s society? Why is it important to teach this to your child and how do you teach your child these magic words? Civilised and primitive societies have always insisted on certain standards, such as having respect for elders, greeting people respectfully and saying please and thank you appropriately. Eating habits are also defined by the cultural norms of the community. Many cultures begin to inculcate these standards in their children from a very young age, but in this on-line, texting and less verbally communicative society, are these societal norms a thing of the past? Do we still need to teach our children manners? I would say a definite YES! This is hard for parents when their children watch barbaric and seemingly acceptable behaviour on their screens and even Disney films depict “bratty children” who get their own way and virtually rule their parents. I visited a classroom recently where written large on the wall was, “The only rule in this class is that we respect each other” This sums up how we should act towards each other in order to live in harmony, and societal harmony is desperately needed in South Africa. If we can inculcate respectful behaviour for others by modelling it to children from babyhood, the polite norms of different societies are easily learned. In canvassing my colleagues of different cultures, it is clear that everyone expect their children to learn how to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ appropriately and to eat in a polite manner. Whether the child says ‘thank you’ or claps her hands in thanks is immaterial. In our multi-cultural society it would be good for children to learn how this can be done in various ways. This will teach tolerance and mutual respect. After all, if we visit other countries, we make a point to learn their customs in order to avoid giving offence. Why do we not accord our own countrymen the same respect? For a child to make eye contact with adults is frowned on by some African cultures but considered polite in Euro-centric cultures. Let’s explain this to our children so that they understand how to behave. Spending so much time on digital devices has the risk of forcing children to look downwards for extended periods of time. They could be missing the social clues of facial expression and body language that grease the wheels of smooth communication. Many enlightened schools are teaching this emotional literacy to their pupils and this will help them to understand themselves and others better. Being polite to others is something we as parents have to teach, model and reinforce until the child achieves automaticity. It may seem a chore, but like other skills, it will smooth your child’s social interaction with teachers, peers and others. We all know that when our child brings home an impossibly rude and difficult child for a play date, we are unlikely to extend a second invitation. This is not the child’s fault but that of his parents and that child will soon find himself unwelcome in most homes. ‘Don’t do as I do, do as I say.’ This does not work with children. You cannot expect good manners from your child and at the same time be rude to waiters, yell at your spouse and swear at taxi drivers! Consistency is key in reinforcing polite behaviour. They need to learn that rudeness is hurtful and unnecessary, unattractive and immature. This doesn’t mean that they need to be doormats, being politely assertive is also a skill worth learning. More…/2 Do your children a favour and teach them good manners and respect, they will thank you for it later.

February 12, 2018

How to do your laundry during Level 6B water restrictions

By now you would have heard that as of 1 February 2018, the City of Cape Town is implementing Level 6B water restrictions, limiting Capetonians to 50 litres of water usage, per person, per day. Sources such as EWN have put together helpful breakdowns of what exactly one can do with 50 litres per day (see infograph), and as expected, laundry is predicted to take up a bulk of the total amount. The average modern, high-efficiency home washing machine uses about 50 litres of water per cycle. That’s an entire day’s worth of water, gone! It is estimated that older machines may use anywhere between 56 and 150 litres per batch. If the city reaches the dreaded (but expected) Day Zero, each person will have to queue for an allocated 25 litres per day, making home laundry close to impossible. Green Planet Laundry allows Capetonians to save water and stay within their allocated amount, without having to wear dirty socks! About Green Planet Laundry The first of its kind in Africa, this innovative laundry uses purified borehole water instead of valuable municipal drinking water. While the average home washing machine uses a minimum of 50 litres of drinking water per cycle, Green Planet Laundry uses zero litres, offering major relief for the drought-stricken Western Cape dams. Green Planet Laundry recycles and reuses 98% of the borehole water used on site, and feeds it back into the laundry system. Only water used to clean heavily-soiled laundry (such as spa towels and industrial overalls) is disposed of professionally. Kind to your clothing, kind to the environment and very competitively priced, Green Planet Laundry is the answer not only during the time of drought, but also for the future to ensure we adopt a water-wise lifestyle. Green Planet Laundry services the greater part of Cape Town, from Strand to Paarl to Duynefontein to Cape Point, and offers a convenient same-day collection service (terms and conditions apply). Cape Town residents can now experience the convenience of sending their laundry to be cleaned without the guilt of wasting natural resources, and exceeding their daily allocated amount. In addition to servicing individuals, they also service major companies that require large-scale laundry, such as hotels. For more information and hi res imagery, please mail [email protected] https://greenplanetlaundry.com/ https://www.facebook.com/GreenPlanetLaundry/ #greenplanetlaundry

February 9, 2018

The Effects of Pregnancy on our Intimate Bits

The miracle of pregnancy is universal and timeless, and even though we are, by divine design, capable of going through this process, it does have a pronounced effect on our bodies and our sexuality. During this event, higher levels of progesterone cause drowsiness while the increased estrogen lifts our mood, making us more radiant than ever. As our bodies gradually grow larger, we may suffer from stormy hormonal changes. Suddenly we have irrepressible cravings and our sense of smell becomes acute; we have whimsical shifts in preferences and aversions, and if exposed to the sun, we may even acquire a pigmented ‘moustache’ and brown patches on our cheeks. During the fourth month of pregnancy, our intimate bits also start changing – it becomes puffy and enlarged, and the colour of the labia deepens considerably. Both the increased blood supply to the vagina and the increased pressure on it create a permanent state of gentle sexual arousal, leaving us moist and more conscious of our lady parts. The thin line that runs between our pubic patch to our navels also becomes more pronounced. The most common long-term problem associated with pregnancy and childbirth include urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. During pregnancy, the weight of the baby, the ‘water’ and the placenta put a twenty-times-heavier-than-normal strain on the pelvic floor, and this often leads to urinary incontinence during the last trimester. Vacuum extraction, forceps delivery, an episiotomy, lying on the back, and applying fundal pressure (pressing on the abdomen to help move the baby out) are all factors that increase pelvic injury risk during vaginal birth. Even by opting for a caesarian section we are not exempted from pelvic injury risk; in fact, this procedure inceases the risk of maternal death by sixteen-fold, and it increases the risk of having to have a hysterectomy by ten times. The pelvic floor consists of a complex, multilayered group of muscles, tissues and nerve endings that creates a hammock between the pubic bone and the base of our spinal cord and supports a number of organs including the bladder, rectum, uterus, urethra, vagina and anus. The pelvic floor seems to be the ‘headmistress’ that has all our lady parts neatly secured in her firm hand. She has the huge task of coordinating, directing and protecting all of our beneath-the-belt bits, and she plays a valuable role in our womanly health. We should be well aware of her strengths and shortcomings. The best and safest way to protect ourselves from pelvic floor impairment is Kegel exercises. The importance of these exercises cannot be overemphasized; they play a vital role in the prevention and treatment of pelvic-floor disorders. Work those muscles daily to keep them strong, elastic and toned.

February 9, 2018

Have a prosperous Back-to-School Journey

The metamorphosis from one year to another always entails a transition for children. Whether the shift is from preschool to “big school,” primary school to high school, moving to a school in a different location or simply progressing to a new grade – some kind of adjustment is bound to happen as the digits on the calendar changes. A similar process takes place when one travels from one country to another. You board a plane in your homeland and after a period in No Man’s Land, you enter foreign territory. Likewise, children exit familiar terrain and after a “transit period” known as the sunny summer holiday, they land in an unfamiliar space where they will need to find their feet again. Here are some “travelling tips” to make this transitioning from one educational setting to another more smoothly for your little passenger: Go through passport control Just like you will need to present your alien passport at customs, allow your child to face the fact that they are bearing a “foreign passport” for a while. Acknowledge that they feel strange and stressed. Talk about their emotions before and after the new season begins. Do not get irritated or angry when they act out emotionally or behaviourally. Address their manners, but support them to see the connection between the stressful situation and their mood. Take time to acclimate Help your newbie with age-appropriate coping activities while they adapt to the novel circumstances. For example: have them draw, write or talk about their feelings; or help them channel the emotional energy into exercise or a hobby. Most importantly, support them by providing a loving and caring home environment as a safe escape. Shake off the jetlag Moving between time zones requires some adjusting for your body, especially after a period on a plane where you were not following a natural schedule. Always remember that it will take some time for your child too to “catch up” with their new situation and to “recover” from the summer break. For children, new routines (or even the re-establishment of old ones after a holiday break) can be quite hard on their systems. Be gentle, but firm (and do not delay!) when you re-apply normal bedtimes, meal times, chore schedules, diet restrictions, house rules, etc. Read here and here for more hints regarding snapping out of holiday mode into real-world mode. Learn the new customs Like travellers need to familiarise themselves with the new culture in which they now operate, just so children will also need to get acquainted with their new environment and learn to navigate their way in their strange new country. When you go to a foreign country, you have at least some knowledge of it – you have seen a picture or two, you know what language the inhabitants speak and more or less what the climate is like. Communicate information and prepare your children by: Taking small children to see the new school and, if possible, meet the new teacher. Informing children if they are going to attend more days in a week than before and if the school times or aftercare arrangements have changed. Doing role play if it is your child’s first time at school where you take turns to be the teacher and student to prepare them for the classroom scenario. Involving them in the back-to-school preparations regarding their uniforms, stationery and other school necessities to get a better feel for the new school year. Getting them excited about some sort of mascot item that can accompany them, like a special ‘super pen’ or a new water bottle with cool pictures on it. Letting older children browse the school’s website. Arranging play dates with some of your child’s new classmates if you are in a new location before the school starts to help them feel less alone on their first day. Focus on the fun! Traveling does not come without its perils. Yet, if you choose to indulge in the amazing experience of being in a completely new place, it becomes enchanting and exciting. Try to help your children to see their new circumstances in the same light by directing their attention to the positive aspects of the new season: Does the new school offer a different sport or extracurricular activity that he would like to try out? Is she now such a big girl that she can attend the same school as her older brother? Will he get to play with a new friend? Find incentives too, like making a special breakfast on the first morning or going on a fun outing after the end of the first school week. Transitions are never easy for anyone and can be especially taxing on children. Remember, that they have not mastered mature coping strategies yet and are therefore more emotionally vulnerable. Do your best to help them make their journey into a new school year as adventurous and painless as possible and enjoy the ride. Bon voyage!

February 9, 2018

Back to school – here’s how to deal with 1st term jitters

Dissolve those first term jitters fast and ensure your child is emotionally ready for school and adapts well to his/her new routine with top tips by creative parenting expert in partnership with Toy Kingdom, Nikki Bush. The first bell of 2018 academic year has rung and first term jitters are still a real thing for some kids, especially those who have entered the classroom for the very first time. Bush says the change in a child’s usual environment; in this case a new school – pre-primary, primary and high school, and even moving onto the next grade mean kids find it daunting and stressful to adapt. “And parents the world over agree, when kids are fretful and uneasy, mom and dad are too,” she says. Here’s what Bush advises to help kids cope better. A movement matter: Bush says activities that involve movement are highly beneficial, it raises endorphins and puts kids in a better move. She suggests the following fun, interactive movement games: Rough and tumble Hide and seek Family time is fun time: Quality time with mom, dad also eliminate stress and is ‘”extremely important” to help kids relax. Bush says there are a few entertaining games fit for the whole family. Cricket Soccer Hopscotch “Parent-child interaction has a calming effect on kids and helps to minimise stress. It means bonding as a family, which also acts as a channel of support for children, they feel safe and secure and are reminded that mom and dad are there for them every step of the way,” Bush says. Say play: Since play is a universal language, Bush says “play your sillies away”, it has a calming effect on kids and helps to minimise stress. A few of the games she recommends. Board games Bikes and scooters Lego “Mom and dad, haul out all sorts of games and toys and let them play to their heart’s content. It does wonders,” she says. Drop-off deal: If children are more anxious with one parent than with the other, simply swap drop-off roles and “don’t feel guilty about it”. Bush advises parents to be: Flexible Adaptable

February 8, 2018

5 Tips for coping with a newborn and a toddler

I (Kit) gave birth to my son Noah on the 24th August and at the time of his birth my daughter, Sarah, was just over 18 months old. The months since have passed in a flash and whilst I’m still new at this mommying 2 thing; below I share 5 tips of what’s worked for me so far as a mom of 2. Be intentional with your 1st born during your 3rd Trimester 3rd trimester is hard, hands down…but with a toddler in-tow its SUPER hard. I found my last few weeks of pregnancy particularly trying but in saying that, I made it my mission to be present with Sarah and invest in quality time with her. I was fortunate enough to have a planned (day before) induction of natural labour and thus had a full day that I got to dedicate to just Se Bear and me. It was the most phenomenal way to end my pregnancy and to feel that I had given her my all, before Noah arrived. PS: I totally sobbed putting her down that night, knowing it was her last night as an only child. Eeek and now the tears come again! Embrace your time in hospital I realize that not everyone chooses to have their babe in a hospital, and I totally respect that, but this tip is for those who do. For me, my time in hospital is what I’ll always remember as bliss for both Noah and me. YES you’re emotional, and sore, and bleeding…but the truth is that while in hospital, you’re expected to do little more than lie in bed and love your little one. First time round, these early days were a blur for me but with my second, I treasured every moment that I got with him in hospital, before the chaos of heading home to a busy toddler began. Involve your toddler where possible While I definitely paid 90% of my attention to Noah in his first few days at home, as I got the hang of things (and trust me, it comes back so quickly second time around), I slowly started including Se in our daily activities. I do have a fulltime nanny but Se loves staying with Noah and I. She watches me feed him (she plays at my feet) and my mum bought her a baby bath to bath her doll, whilst I bath Noah – too sweet for words. Slow down One kid is hectic.. two is just that little bit more hectic. I laugh as I write that, thinking of me stopping on the side of the road in 5pm traffic, after a play date for Sarah, to tend to a screaming 2-week-old Noah..while Se too screamed at the top of her lungs, not understanding why Noah could get out of his car seat and she couldn’t. But that was just one day…for the most part; I’ve actually been blown away by how easily we’ve sailed through these first few months. The one thing I have taken to heart though, is how important it is to slow down. I’m quick to put the kids in the car and head out and about, but the truth is, that I’m a happier mom (with more breast milk) with happier kids when we take the day slowly! Be kind to yourself This is probably my biggest tip for this post. Beautiful, you are totally capable and whilst balancing two seems impossible at times, you’ve got this!!! Trust your mommy instinct and speak kindly to yourself; as just as your kids adjust to the changes they’re experiencing, you too are journeying in your role as mom. <3

February 8, 2018

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