Tips while giving medication to children

Do not be tempted to start the antibiotics by yourself and always consult your doctor before doing so.
Many illnesses like simple coughs, colds, mild diarrhoea, skin infections tend to run a self-limiting course of about 3 to 7 days. A great majority of these do not need antibiotics. Adequate rest, fluids, balanced diet and mild painkillers are good enough for your child.
Avoid giving antibiotics on a full stomach or with milk or antacids. These may hamper the absorption of antibiotics from the stomach. Many antibiotics (ampicillin, amoxycillin, etc.) cause mild side effects such as abdominal discomfort and occasional diarrhoea. These are usually transient, subside gradually on their own and are no reason to discontinue the treatment.
Inform your doctor before hand if your child or family has a history of drug allergies, eruptions or asthma or G6PD deficiency. This can help your doctor greatly to plan your child's treatment appropriately.
Watch out for any unexpected or unusual reactions while the child's on the antibiotics. Inform your doctor immediately if the child develops severe itching, swelling of the body or dark urine.

Tips to protect children from environmental threats

Help children breathe easier.
Don't smoke or let others smoke in your home or car. Keep your home as clean as possible. Dust, mold, certain household pests, can trigger asthma attacks and allergies.
Protect children from lead poisoning
Wash children's hands before they eat and often wash their toys and bottles.
Wash floors and window sills to protect kids from dust and peeling paint contaminated with lead - especially in older homes.
Protect children from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning
Keep pesticides and other toxic chemicals away from children
Put food and trash away in closed containers to keep pests from coming into your home.
Protect children from too much sun. Have them wear hats, and protective clothing.
Keep them out of the mid-day sun.

Cleanliness tips

While keeping the newborn clean these guidelines can be taken into account:
There is no need to bathe the baby every day.
While sponging your baby, always wash his face first, while the water is the cleanest.
Make sure that the nappy is clean and dry and in case the nappy gets infected, using a little antiseptic powder will help dry it.
Do not use disinfectants on your baby's skin, because they take away the skin's natural ability to fight infection.
Always remember to wash the baby's hands after she has come in contact with pets.
Till the baby is four months old, sterilise everything that goes into your baby's mouth. Try keeping her away from people that are sick.
After 4 months continue sterilising milk utensils and water bottles.
Be careful about storage and heating of milk, never leave it at room temperature for too long.
Good food preparation rules should be followed.

Saftey

Keep medicines and cleaning products in containers with safety caps and locked away from children. This will prevent children from being poisoned.
Always check bath water temperature with your wrist or elbow before putting your baby in to bathe. This will prevent burns to a baby's delicate skin.
Never, ever, leave your child alone in the bathtub or near any water. This will prevent children from drowning.
Don't leave your baby alone in a highchair. This will prevent injuries and deaths from the baby climbing out, falling, or sliding.
Lock household cleaning products, knives, matches, and plastic bags away from children. This will prevent poisonings, bleeding injuries, burns, and suffocation.

Too much television can make your child a bully!

Cr�che or babysitter care
i. Select the right place, even if it is at a distance away from your home/ workplace.
The cr�che next door, though convenient, may not be really suitable for your darling child.
ii. Select a person or cr�che with a reputation; consider others' experiences with them.
iii. Study the carer's body language and viewpoints on various matters. Ascertain whether they will handle your child with care or not.
iv. Check whether the place is child-friendly, clean and maintains general hygiene.
v. Check whether child safety measures of all kinds are in place.
If the carer is simple, kind and loving, but unaware of child safety, please educate the carer.
Encourage and make her do the necessary modifications in the house and demonstrate certain measures.
vi. Make random checks to ensure your child is engaged in meaningful activity and is eating food properly
vii. Make sure that they are not sent out for a shopping trip or elsewhere through the day.
viii. Make sure you give a schedule to follow -- rest/ reading/ study/ play time.
ix. If your child has to attend hobby or study classes, make proper arrangements. Do not deprive your children from attending such classes because they are at the babysitter's.
x. Get to know parents of the other children who are attending. You can build a positive group together and children will feel more comfortable with each other.
xi. Keep a watchful eye. Demand for supervision of the right kind. Teach you child to take care of himself/ herself and to keep a safe distance from others.

Has your child drunk milk today?

Alternate childcare
~ When grandparents are at home
Having grandparent/s at home with the help of a maid may be the best solution for your child.
Children tend to feel safer and more secure in their own homes. They find it easier to move along and their psychological needs are satisfied since they are the centre of attention.
i. Keep a part-time maid to take care of the physical tasks. They are too taxing for your elderly parents.
ii. Make charts of rules/ schedules/ medicine timings (if applicable), so that nobody forgets things.
iii. Keep a list of emergency telephone numbers, in bold, near the phone. Also keep a list of first-aid instructions, if your child is small.
iv. Make sure your home is child safe -- close all balconies; no sharp tools and dangerous liquids/ tablets, or small objects like marbles lying around; ensure your door has a safety lock.
v. Keep healthy snacks, good food, activity materials, daily stationery, clean and neat clothes available and within reach. This way, your child will find it easier to do things independently.
vi. If things go wrong once in a while, do not blame or criticise your parent/s. Work out a solution to avoid it in future
vii. Work out a positive relationship by ignoring certain things, especially if the carer is your mother-in-law.
viii. Avoid asking your child or the maid what went wrong during the day in your absence and who was responsible for them. It does not help things, and has an adverse effect in the long run.
ix. Use smart methods to judge and correct the situation.
x. As far as possible, give advance notice of your changed schedules, travel plans or latecoming. Unpredictable acts may harm your child's psyche.

Are you spending enough time with your child?

Get started!
The first question you both must ask is: do both of us really, really need to work? Are we putting our personal priorities ahead of our children?
If not, decide on the following:
i. Who among the two should work. Traditionally, it would be the male. But, of course, it depends on both of you.
ii. Check if one of you can get a part-time job.
iii. Try and get a job that can be managed from home.
iv. Can you go on long leave from your present job? You need to check about that.
If both of you decide to work, here are certain measures you will need to take:
Alternate childcare
Preparing your child psychologically to accept your absence and to be self-dependent
Spending quality time with children whenever possible.
Note: Compensating with gifts and overindulgence on weekends will not help.
Making your child believe this is the way life is. It will make things easier for all of you.