A Early Father’s Day Celebration!

I realize I could have saved this story until the actual day, except it was so heartwarming I have to share it now.

As you probably know by now, I am always drawn to the sight of a dad with a child, caring for them on his own. It is particularly appealing if it is a very young child.

What I witnessed at the supermarket on Sunday was a dad pushing one of the available accommodation cars (the ones often offered in supermarkets). In this case, it was a two seater with an upper backseat that faced the parent. The children were a 4 ½ year old boy, a 3 year old boy and in the backseat, a 19 month old boy.

What caught my attention was not only the obvious and their appealing appearance, but the fact that the dad was involving them in the shopping process, using a normal calm tone and appropriate language. They were discussing the choice being made as they moved along the aisles.

The other factor that was somewhat unique is that they were not eating. Often parents will supply snack foods in order to keep children quiet.

I lost track of them for a few minutes, and then as I came to the end of an aisle, I smiled as I saw the dad carrying the 19th month old while following the older two to the restroom. What could be more demanding than one parent to take three young boys into a public restroom?

Finally they were checking out in front of me. If you closed your eyes you would have thought that this dad was communicating with friends; he was speaking in such a natural, involved and respectful manner.

This man has taken on the most demanding job in the world. He is obviously clear and comfortable in their relationship and is enjoying the reward of that.

At no time did I hear raised voices, arguments or demands.

Happy Early Father’s Day Dads!

The Best Ways To Transition Your Infant To Eating Regular Food and Successfully Drinking From a Cup

Without exception, children who have joined our daycare in their second year are still on a bottle or nursing and eating pureed food or a minimum selection of regular food. This is often true for eighteen month + children.

Obviously, the longer you wait to make the transition, the more challenging it is, and almost no measurable success has occurred. In this case, the typical result is that their menu is limited to their favorite foods, and vegetables are rarely an important part of their diet.

We begin in their ninth month by offering them one component of the older children’s menu. A vegetable is the best start, usually with a green one. They can successfully handle peas, green beans (cut into small parts) and then move on to carrots or whatever is on the menu.

If they are able to pick them up and feed themselves that is the best! If not, being fed with a spoon serves the same purpose.

You can then move on to proteins, carbs/grains and then fruit.

If there are allergies in your family, introduce these one at a time for several days and watch for any reaction.

As it is the case at our daycare, vegetables must be eaten first, followed by proteins, carbs/grains and then fruits.

We have stayed true to this pattern, even in the introduction stages with the most success.

We take the same approach with liquids. We introduce whole milk in a regular size cup (six to seven ounces – no top). Obviously we are holding the cup with the infants to keep the flow controlled and the cup balanced. We have never had an infant resist this approach. The result is that by their first birthday they are drinking an adequate supply of milk without relying on a bottle. You can include water as needed. Do not introduce juice until the infant is enjoying the process and is successful at it. If they are getting a diet of adequate fruit intake, you may be able to skip that step.

In almost all cases, we have been successful at enjoying seeing our one year old seated at the tables with the other children and successfully enjoying the same food.

You can accomplish the same at home! Place your child’s high chair at the table with you and welcome them to a family mealtime environment.

They key to all this is:

1.       Starting early.

2.       Treating it as a natural growth skill.

3.       Preparing them to give up their bottle/nursing and their pureed food at their first birthday without negative consequences.

When everyone in the family is involved in this transition, it is amazingly rewarding.

Rashes? It takes some common sense, an honest evaluation of circumstances, and action to come up with an answer!

 Over the years we have experiences many forms of rashes, including measles, chicken pox, hand-foot-and mouth, allergies to food, and sensitive skin conditions.

Many times they initially were a challenge to identify and treat.

This time, Michael, who was one, began scratching his legs every time we were changing his diaper. The rest of the day, this area of his body was covered by clothing.

Small blotches and irritated areas began to appear on his legs with the most irritation being at his ankles.

This increased condition was diagnosed by a pediatrician as the result of his tendency to be a “compulsive scratch-er”. At the age of one that did not seem reasonable to me, but unfortunately we did not take any corrective action immediately.

We started reviewing what I call “lifestyle possibilities” and since I felt the condition actually resembles a heat rash, it could be cause by too warm and fitted clothing and coverings. During sleep time this is common when infants seem most vulnerable to having their bodies overheat.

We also switched to cotton only and loose clothing for both and night to allow his skin to breathe and treated the area with concentrated skin lotion.

We actually saw very light improvement initially and then the condition actually got worse. Some of this result was due to the fact that he had access to the irritated areas when clothing and diapers were being changed.

Certainly the changes we made were a plus, but we were not getting the result we wanted and in fact, the lower areas of his legs appeared to be infected.

Finally, and obviously, an appointment was scheduled with a dermatologist. This diagnosis was eczema, a serious skin condition that now requires a detailed treatment regimen and a long term plan to control and possibly prevent follow up occurrences.

There is a history of this skin condition remaining in a person’s system and reoccurring at times throughout their life.

This is one time I did not follow my own rules.

1. Analyze each condition affecting your child’s health.

2. if you are knowledgeable and/or experienced in terms of a treatment, then it could be reasonable to follow and implement that experience.

3. If after 10 days, there is no improvement that is measurable, then you would be wise to call in a specialist.

Raising children is always a challenge, especially when illness is involved.

Good luck!