Often you will find babies sucking their thumbs; this is a reflexive action which is not known to cause any serious harm if the babies are still having baby teeth. However, when the permanent teeth start appearing the act of thumb sucking might result in certain dental defects. Statistics suggest that around 80% of the infants and babies have the habit of thumb sucking. The habit persists in 15% of those infants even after they cross 4 years of age; in such cases the habit turns into a serious problem. As mentioned above, the habit of thumb sucking occurs as a natural reflex action; according to theories of medical science, the babies start sucking their thumbs right from the time they start moving in the mother’s womb. Majority of the babies stop sucking thumbs when they are between the  [...]

Foster care is a system, in which young individuals or minor children separated from birth parents by the state authority are taken care of by certified parent. Becoming a foster parent is a truly challenging task; an individual must have enough money, time and the perfect personality for becoming a successful foster parent. Before becoming a foster parent you should consider the following things: Think whether you have the mental strength of taking care of children at your own place for several months or even for several years and then returning them to their own parents. Often foster parents find it difficult to leave the child as they get emotional attached to them; this is even more common if the birth parents of the child are abusive in nature. The next thing you must consider is  [...]

MMR vaccines involve use of injections containing the weakened form of the viruses responsible for causing measles, mumps and rubella. Infants or children receiving this vaccine get immunized from these three illnesses. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, every child aged between 1 year and 12 years should receive the MMR vaccine. Like most other types of immunizations, MMR vaccines can also cause certain side effects. Mild fever is common among children receiving this vaccine. According to recently obtained statistics, 1 in every 6 individuals immunized with MMR vaccine experiences this side effect. Some other milder after effects of MMR vaccine administration include swelling accompanied by minor rashes in the glands of the child’s neck and cheeks. These rashes usually appear  [...]

Toddlers slowly begin gaining control over their ability of reacting to different stimuli of the environment. Gradually, they learn shutting up things using procedures that were not accessible to them when they were infants. As this skill is new to the toddlers, some of them might become over stimulated. How will you identify overstimulation in your baby? The only way of doing so for a parent is by detecting the signs of overstimulation in the toddlers. A toddler experiencing overstimulation is likely to show up the following signs. Avoiding eye contacts: If your toddler is a victim of overstimulation, he will begin to avoid eye contact. Doing so will ensure that he receives inputs in lesser amount. You may find your baby crawling under the tables, hiding the eyes, putting pillows or other  [...]

Infant massage is done primarily for relaxing the baby and reducing the stress of the mother. A perfect baby massage will allow your little one to have a more sound sleep and will also stimulate his sensory awareness and overall brain development. Moreover, infant massage is also known for strengthening bond between the baby and the mother. Below, we have described the right method of giving a massage to your infant. The massage should start from the head of your baby and move downwards to reach his feet. During the head massage, gently touch the baby’s temples and forehead. Next, move to the eyebrow, eyelid, nose, cheek, lips and finally to the ears. The next step is massaging the neck of the baby. Using small and gentle movements for massaging his neck and gradually move into his  [...]

It is extremely important to monitor bone growth of a child. This is because primary bone growth in human body occurs during the childhood and adolescence. Abnormal bone growth can result in several degenerative bone disorder in children. Below, we have discussed about 3 of the most serious degenerative bone disorders found in kids. Osteopetrosis: This bone disease is marked by bone marrow destruction. It is a rare congenital bone defect occurring due to genetic malformations. Osteopetrosis congenita or the osteopetrosis type affecting a child right from birth, leads to severe malfunctioning of bone marrow, which can trigger conditions like impaired growth, infections and bleeding. Children with osteopetrosis might also become deaf and blind. Majority of the cases of this degenerative bone  [...]

When at home it is advisable to allow the toddler to move around barefoot; this will help them in receiving some essential sensory information from theirs soles. However, when going out with your toddler to a nearby park or for shopping, your must make him wear shoes. Also make your baby wear shoes during monsoon and winter months. Buying the right pair of shoes for a toddler is extremely important. Tight shoes that have hard soles might make the process of learning walking difficult for the little one. Below, we have offered some tips that will help you to buy the right pair of shoes for your toddler. Search for roomy shoes, which have comfortable design around the toe area. Toddlers have soft feet and pliable bones; so, if you make them wear constricting shoes, their feet might lose their  [...]

Majority of the new mothers get confused about the kind of foods they should offer to their babies and the right timing of feeding the babies. Scheduling the feeding time of a newborn shouldn’t be difficult. Majority of the newborns get hungry after a gap of 2 to 3 hours; this means approximately these babies need to be fed for 8to 12 times every day. According to medical experts as well as nutritionists, the ideal food choice for a new born baby is breast milk. If the mother wants to avoid breastfeeding or has problems with production of breast milk she can fed her baby with iron-fortified formulas; this should be done only after consulting a physician. Experts suggest that every baby possess some primitive reflexes right from the time of their birth. One of the major ones among them  [...]

There are lots of babies who lose their hair right within a first few months. It is indeed alarming for parents to see hair fall among their toddlers. This is not a great cause of worry as more than 90 per cent of babies experience hair fall right within the first six months after birth. Many doctors consider hair fall a normal process as it instigates the growth of healthier and thicker hair later. However, there are ways to stimulate your baby’s hair growth back once they start falling. A proper hair care regimen for your baby should start with a safe infant shampoo. These shampoos are designed to meet the hair growth needs among toddlers and work gently on their sensitive skin. Usage of any shampoo, other than a specified infant shampoo would be disastrous to the skin of your new born.  [...]

Parents planning to get a third child in their family is putting their second child at risk of a condition called the middle child syndrome. According to reports from experts of birth order, the eldest children of any family generally possess leadership qualities; the youngest ones on the other hand are usually extremely sophisticated in nature as they are mostly introduced to all the new things by the older siblings. The second children however, often feel that they are overlooked or ignored and fall prey to middle child syndrome. Some signs of middle child syndrome are: Attention seeking: The older children get to enjoy a certain period when the parents pay attention only to them; this is the time when their younger siblings are yet to born. The younger children enjoys extreme spoiling  [...]