What to do while travelling with your baby on a flight?

The first time I traveled by air with my son was when he was 7 months old, the air attendant instructed me to breastfeed my son while take off and landing , apparently she told me that it prevents our babies ear drums from popping or causing pain due to change in ear pressure. I did as I was told and was oblivious about the risk of traveling with an infant. 

I was quiet disturbed to read online about the baby who recently passed away on a flight from Bengaluru to Patna. The child showed signs of difficulty while breathing. In another incident another an infant choked and passed away while feeding on a flight en-route Doha-Hyderabad-Qatar. It brings to light whether it is really safe to travel in a flight with a infant.

 Why is the airline industry not equipped to handle such a situation? Shouldn't their be a proper guideline for parents so that they take necessary precautions while travelling by air? Shouldn't the airline industry tie up with pediatricians who can train the air attendants with the basics? or even better have a doctor on board especially for long flights. I can't even begin to imagine the pain the parents of these infants must be going through. The loss of a child can be the most debilitating experience in anyone's life.

On inquiring from my son's pediatricians I was told that infants should not be bottle fed especially while landing and taking off because due to the change in pressure, milk particles from the stomach of the child can get aspirated into the lungs, and their lungs are not very well developed at that age. The milk from the bottle very rapidly enters an infants mouth in comparison to breast milk so in the process the baby swallows a lot of air as well.

I was also told that one should avoid travelling by air if possible till the baby is about 6 months old so that he or she is able to hold his or her head up independently and their ear drums are able to handle the pressure change. We should avoid making an infant lie on his tummy after feeding, instead hold the infant in an upright position and help the child to burp.

When you do decide to travel with your little one, do keep the following points in mind:

a) Avoid travelling with an infant who is unwell.(exception being mild fever)
b) If possible wait till your baby is 6 months
c) Don't bottle feed your baby during take off and landing.
d) Carry toys which are not cumbersome to carry to keep your baby busy.
e) Always burp your baby after feeding and don't make your baby lie down on his or her tummy after feeding.
f) Make sure you don't book tickets during the witching hour which is 3pm to 7pm , babies are known to be the crankiest during that time.
g) Carry all necessary medication, extra diapers, wet wipes, feeding bottle, baby food, toys, feeding covers, a swaddle blanket for the little one in a handy bag.
h) Try giving your baby a pacifier so that the sucking action , prevents ears from popping during landing and descent.
i) Do consult your pediatrician if your baby has a cold or ear infection and if giving a infant pain reliever would help.
j) Don't get overwhelmed if your baby is crying during a flight, raise an alarm if you notice anything out of usual in the behavior of your baby.
k) Try choosing the window seat so that you have more privacy and you can adjust the light from the window as per your babies convenience.
l) Don't overfeed your baby during a flight and always feed your baby in an upright position.
m) Speak thoroughly with your pediatrician before flying to clear any doubts.

And most important stay calm , you got this !!!!

Why do Children fidget?

I have had conversations with many child psychologists who suggest that the current generation of kids are more fidgety than the kids of the 80's (which basically means when we were kids). Back then in a classroom only 1 kid in 30 kids was distracted and would not focus in class but that number has increased now in-fact 8 in 30 kids face problems of focusing, following instructions given by the teacher and are unable to sit still in class. Kids bang into each other without realizing, fall of their chairs while sitting, fidget a lot. So what has really changed since then than has caused this unfortunate shift?

The first biggest reason that was pointed out by all the psychologists was that kids aren't allowed to move enough for them to develop their spatial awareness. Now what is spatial awareness? The ability of the child to be aware of his or her position in space. It is an organised knowledge of objects in relation to oneself in that given space .It also involves understanding the relationship of these objects when there is a change of position. Spatial awareness further helps in developing a child's cognitive abilities.

Kids these days spend more time indoors in-front of their screens, sitting ideal or because of academic pressure have to spend more time at a very young age sitting in a classroom rather than playing outdoors. Countries like Finland where teachers and academicians identify this new problem of kids with underdeveloped spatial awareness are letting kids play for atleast three hours a days. The recess period has been increased. Younger kids are allowed to sit anywhere they like and not be conformed to sitting in a classroom. My sister who is a teacher in Sydney , tells me that kids under age the of 6 and below are exposed to play which is only unstructured and if a kids wants to continue playing even though the next period maybe of art or any other, the child is allowed to do so. I would initially scorn at the thought that wouldn't kids become indisciplined if allowed to do whatever they want whenever they want.

Studies also suggest lack of unstructured play causes under developed spatial awareness because the vestibular fluid between the ears of the child doesn't get any movement. Kids should be allowed to climb trees , dangle their heads off the bed, spin round and round in circles but we as parents often stop them because of the fear that they would get hurt. I feel kids should be allowed to be themselves under parental supervision so that they are allowed to develop their spatial awareness. Development of spatial awareness makes them better listeners and in turn better speakers and they use all their 5 senses to their optimal level.

Here are some tips to help your child develop spatial awareness:

a) Ensure that children till the age of 4 get at least 90 minutes of unstructured play daily.

b) Reduce screen time to the minimal.

c) Use lego and blocks to increase focus and concentration.

d) Make them climb trees, run around in the park, do cartwheels, spin around in circles, play hide and seek, play on the swing and see-saw.

e) Make them do an obstacle course so that the children's ability to move under , around , over objects improves.

f) Play verbal instruction games where you tell your child that he or she is a robot and tell them to move left or right , move to the right of an object or to the left of an object.

I would like to quote Heather Shumaker here -" Why do kids go up the slide? They are seeking risk and challenge in their play, kids feel powerful scaling the slide. Going up the slide is fun. It's a healthy adventure often apart of imaginative play. Climbing up the slide , helps kids test their strength, find their limits and gain balance, spatial awareness , social awareness and consideration."

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How are Children programmed during the first seven years of life?

A couple of days ago, I saw a really interesting video on YouTube where Dr Bruce Lipton came up with a theory on how children are programmed from age 0 to 7 years? How we behave in-front of our kids and our actions as parents dictates our child's subconscious for the rest of their lives?

 95% of our life is governed by the programs (habits, decision making)which we have learnt during the first seven years of life , which forms our subconscious mind and 5% of our activities are dictated by our conscious mind which is comes from lectures we attend, a self help book, videos we watch post those 7 years . So for everyday functioning our body uses the subconscious mind (since most daily activities happen in auto mode) and not the conscious mind.

 He says that a child subconscious mind also known as theta, is formed by everything he observes from his surroundings - what his parents do, behave,respond and react? When a child plays his or her imaginary games , for the child, these games are real. He goes on to say that if a child comes from a rich family he will make it in life even if he has a low IQ, because his brain has been conditioned to make the right choices, he will subconsciously make all the right moves but a child from a poor family will remain poor even though he struggles all his life to make it big because his brain has been conditioned to the fact that life is so difficult and it is not easy to be successful.

How you act and react infront of your children becomes their inner voice? After seven years of life , your life is being lived by your subconscious state of mind and we don't even know it. Our conscious mind is the one that is creative, subconscious mind is in auto -mode which was formed during the first seven years of life. You behave a particular way post the 7 years of your life and you don't even consciously realize because that was indoctrinated in you.

But he does say there are two ways in which you can train your subconscious mind as an  adult . First is to identify where you are struggling? and secondly to overwrite your subconscious state of mind or if you want to teach your subconscious mind, it will only learn by repetition , the conscious mind can learns by read a self book , attending a lecture etc but your subconscious mind doesn't learn that way.

Subconscious state of mind learns by observing during the first seven years of life and then after that by repetition. So if you want to learn how to drive a car , you practice till you get it - this only happens by repetition. He goes on to say if you aren't happy but if you keep telling yourself repeatedly that you are ,your subconsciously mind will eventually believe that you are truly happy.

So the early years are really important for your child's future. Our actions, words really make an impact on our children , it also shapes the rest of their lives.

But I would disagree with Dr Lipton when he says that only first seven years dictates or controls the future of a child, it can't be so simplistic. I am in agreement that our actions do shape our children's minds but the time frame for a child to develop his or her subconscious mind has to be greater than seven years. "Also the fact that if a child comes from a poor family he can't make it in life because he is conditioned not to make it and struggle" is something I don't agree with either . There are so many example of individuals who don't come from fortunate backgrounds but do very well in life , as also children who are from well to do families don't really make a mark of their own. Definitely socio-economic status does make the environment of the child more conducive to perform .I feel that it is the attitude and temperament of the child which governs his or her performance, and yes! the parents do play a role here. It does boil down to nature vs nurture.

It is important to inculcate the following tips during early years of our child's lives:

a) Always have positive conversations in front of your child , we don't even realize the consequences of being negative about situations in-front of our children. Try not to look or act stressed in-front of your child. A stressed out parent will give rise to a stressed out child.

b) Let your child play creatively and make their own games , that helps them expand their subconscious mind.

c) Read them stories about influential people in the world and how they have impacted everyone in a positive way? eg Bhagat Singh, Subhash Chandra bose, Mahatma Gandhi,Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Malala Yousafzai.

d) Teach them about happiness and how it comes from within and not from their situations , surroundings, material or even people.

e) Teach them to value money, make them do chores, teach them life skills.

f) Hug them and tell them you love them unconditionally everyday, it makes them feel secure and boosts their self esteem.

g) Teach them to be kind , compassionate and respectful to others.

h) Tell them everyday single that they need to be the best versions of themselves, never compare your child with anyone else.

i) Don't over compliment your child or make them feel entitled all the time.

j) Listen to your child and do take out time during the day as to what they have to or want to say? Children will listen to you , only when they have been listened to.



The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice-- anon

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Plastic Pollution : are we poisoning our kids?

Unknowingly, everything around us contains plastic - containers which we use to store food, the buckets we bathe from, the tooth brush bristle on our brushes, the list can go on. The American Academy of Pediatrics wants parent to stop heating food in plastic containers in the microwave as also cut down on processed food because they are all sold in plastic covers. Studies have shown a link between cancer and exposure to the chemicals in plastics.

Bisphenol A's (BPA) is the dreaded chemical found in plastic.This BPA is known to leach out of plastic and contaminate food stored in it. It is also known to be an endocrine disrupting chemical , which in lay terms means that it messes with your child's hormonal functioning.  BPA is used to harden plastic and mimics the hormone "estrogen" which affects the child's immune system , increases body fat also causes decrease in fertility.

Apart from that plastic containers which say they are microwave safe actually aren't because they get scratched while washing and the BPA leaches out of the plastic and enters the food. Pediatricians recommend that we use steel and glass instead of plastic.

Below are some ways to replace plastic wherever necessary for your children and you:

a) Don't use plastic straws replace them with paper straws or steel straws  - they are easily available on amazon.

b) Don't use plastic plates , cutlery - use stainless steel, wooden spoons.
c) Use glass bowls in the microwave rather than plastic bowls.
d) Use glass bottles for water at home and stainless steel bottles if the child has to carry water to school or a class.
e) For storage of food as well , use glass or steel containers.
f) Use wooden tooth brushes ( Panda bamboo toothbrushes are available on amazon)
g) Replace the plastic bucket and mug with steel buckets (stainless steel buckets are available on amazon)
h) Use glass milk bottles for your babies , even though a lot of plastic bottles do say they are BPA free and microwaveable ,but glass bottles are still better.

The C word sends me jitters every time I hear it. My grand mom recently got diagnosed with breast cancer and it tore our world apart, because at her age, it is difficult to get chemo. The doctors recommended a mastectomy, even though its been three years since the C word came into our lives, you can never really tell who could be its next victim? Could it come back and get her again? I discovered a lump in my breast by accident as well a year ago, it turned out to be a fibroadenoma (a benign tumor) thankfully. 

Everyday in the paper I read how so many lives known and unknown are affected by this misery? Some are able to fight it and some succumb to it. But all we can do is keep to ourselves informed, protect our children from the chemicals around us, give them a healthy life and lifestyle. I have also come to realize that stress is a horrible thing. Stress brings down our guard , our immunity to fight. The people who have been able fight this disease are those who have been positive and optimistic in life. So even though we make the right lifestyle choices to be healthy we need to get rid off the stress in our lives, the stress which feeds the C word and makes it stronger.

Be a part of the solution and not the pollution - anon

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