By 3 Years We will try to

Thanks to Salma & Falak for the amazing list on their blogs, that’s what inspired me.The rules:

1. Make a checklist of the things you would want your little one to do before their next birthday
2. As and when it is achieved Strike it off preferably mentioning the date
3. You might link it to related posts as well.
4. I keep changing it every year

Before Medha completes 3 years of age, we will have to work on* :

• Help her Dress Up -  Almost she is able to.
• Making her reading a book before bed (Right now in a week only 4 days we are reading book)  We are doing
• Learn to share
• Teach  5 new colors (she already recognizes White,Pink,Yellow,Blue,Purple,Black,Green,Red,Orange) - Gray, Brown, Violet
• Increase her confidence about Numbers and Alphabets
• Teach counting.
• Making her totally Potty Trained- Almost there
• Work on Medha’s English fluency
• Join Kinder Dance or Singing class  No classes found near by as of today

* I have mentioned ‘we’ because with a child it is never ‘she should be able to’ we will have to focus on these things. It is more a target for us, than the toddler if you look at them properly… I for one do not believe in forcing or competing when it comes to parenting. Per me I strongly believe in”to each child their own”

Things I want to do differently (as a mom) in next 3 months

I believe parenting (like every other thing) is an ever learning process, and what works for me, might or might not work for you. Here I’ve listed down few small changes which might affect my parenting in a huge manner positively.

• Minimize NO's to Medha

• Work on my patience and try to keep my cool: Before she was born, I was an extremely cool person, but motherhood changed it. I’m Human, I get irritated and yell at The Toddler, I hate it but I end up doing it. I definitely do it in a controlled manner, I know my limits as a parent. Still I feel pathetic and I want to change this bit.

• Become/Stay Healthier: this means working out, losing weight. 

• Try to spend some quality time with Medha… reading books, crafts, puzzles etc. 

• Take Medha to zoos, botanical gardens, parks, and help her explore open spaces.

• Try to improve my work-life balance. This would ensure when I work I give my 100% there and when I’m with The Toddler I am totally with her.

• Make an effort to look better. I feel better when I look better and it will affect my mood and my behavior. 

• Keep Medha's wardrobe clatter free. If our wardrobe is clean, I would obviously be in a better mood. I would need less time to fetch her cloths and can get more time to dress her and get ready.

• Sleep on time and get up before Medha gets up. Generally she wakes me up. This is because I work till late night as some of my day time would go off with her work. So I want to go early to bed and get up early… this would ensure I’m healthier as well. 

• Read more books, and get more for Medha  . 

Website Review : UpToTen.com

Uptoten is an elementary learning website with a delightful mix of games, activities, songs for children aged up to 10.

The website which is primarily bilingual – English and French – has an interesting history. It was started in 1997 by an Anglo-French couple – Veronique and Jason Barnard. Their initial idea was to create a CD-book for their little daughter, using their respective skills as musician and graphic designer. However, since they had no luck with any publisher seeing potential in this, they resorted to go online.

Each activity on the site is centered around two central characters – Boowa and Kwala. Boowa (the dog) is like the older friend, teacher or older brother and Kwala (the koala) is like the child. While Boowa demonstrates patience and understanding in his demeanor, Kwala is inquisitive, lovable and annoying at times. The relationship between the two is depicted very well throughout with Kwala trying her best in various situations and Boowa supporting and encouraging her. In fact, in its early days the website was called boowakwala.com and here in the Presentations section, you can get acquainted with these fun characters , see their family photo albums, do a puzzle etc.

Tips to help Boost your child`s Memory

Came across the following tips. This post gets updated when I get to know more

• Make up silly rhymes. This helps them learn not only spellings but also develop memory skills.

• Have your child look at a picture for 30 seconds (longer if appropriate)Remove from sight and get child to describe what the picture contained.

• Get child to put elements of a story in sequence. 

• Place picture, letter or number cards face down on the table. Children take turns to turn over two at a time and collect matching pairs.

• Help them to remember by linking words. If you want them to remember `adjective 'is a describing word, remind them it sounds like `detective'. Get them to imagine detective looking for clues to describe somebody.

Jigsaw Puzzles

Yes, Jigsaw Puzzles are great for children especially from very early age. Jigsaw puzzles have a lot of educational value for children of all ages. This is because to do a jigsaw requires a child to use several different aspects of the thinking process.

A baby learns to recognize objects by their shape and not necessarily what position the object is in. A chair is a chair whether it is upright, lying down, or upside down-it doesn’t matter. The simple puzzles produced for younger children develop more refined and defined skills and recognition. One of the first things a young child will learn is that it does matter which way up the pieces to fit in the hole. 

A typical early childhood puzzle is wooden with a picture and has spaces where the pieces fit to complete the picture. With a street scene, for example, there might be a separate car shape, bus shape, and a truck shape that complete a puzzle. These puzzles are typically robust as the first response of a child is to try to force the piece into place taking no notice of its shape. With adult guidance the young child learns to manipulate the piece until it does fit exactly. 

There are several learning experiences that can be drawn from these very basic puzzles. Firstly it’s the hand eye coordination to manipulate the puzzle piece into position. To get the piece in also involves observation of the shape of the hole and the shape of the puzzle piece. At first the child deals with the problem by trial and error. The example and guidance of an adult begins to solidify the thinking process. The child starts to apply spatial awareness and mental manipulation as well as physical. This comes however, after the child has learned to put the piece in correctly through trial and error and memory. 

Pom-pom Drop

For 1-year-Olds, and toddlers, the best ideas are usually the simplest. Here is a great toddler game that I re-created based on an idea that I found on Pinterest. You could try it too!! :) 

Just gather any paper towel tube/cardboard tube or you can use any plastic tube too which has both sides opening and pom-poms and any cup That's it.

On-U-Mind

While browsing for some unique yet fun and learning included toys for Medha , I came across this toy in online. Though the concept is not totally new I thought this would be interesting for Medha to play with as this is with the balls and colorful balls. :) I bought this for INR 350/-

This has following features: 

• Montessori Toy
• Trains the child's graphical cognitive, hands on ability and patience.
• Nurturing the child's imagination, space preceivation ability and logical thinking.

Review : Flinto Subscription Boxes - October Theme

Since I heard "Monthly Subscription Boxes for Kids" from a friend who had subscribed to some in US it's haunting me a lot. And one day in my leisure time, I browsed for this if we have any available in India. 
There I found "Flinto". I was impressed with the idea and snapshots of previous month boxes. 

Every month their early childhood education experts will prepare a box which contains special book and hands on activities based on theme that'll contribute to healthy development and learning in child. And they concentrate on how important kids should be learning these topics.

I’m A Work From Home Mom

Work from home is comparatively new in India. Thank God it’s picking up, but unfortunately not everyone understands what working from home really means.

When I was pregnant, I was looking for other alternatives to take care of Medha instead of quitting job like day care or nanny etc. But I  knew none of these won't give pleasure to me and Rajesh. I don’t want to quit working. Working is something that gives me satisfaction and makes me feel… well…’me’. I know I’m a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister and lots of other things… I’m myself as well… which as per me, is no less than any of the other roles I play. Well, I decided to quit if it's really difficult to manage both.

Playful parenting Tips

When playing with children it’s less about what you do and more about the way you
do it. Here are some handy ‘dos and don’ts’ to get you thinking about the way to play with
your kids:

• Do give them the chance to choose what games they play and how they play them. Forcing them to do something doesn't make play-time much fun!
• Don’t solve every task for kids – encourage them to solve the problem themselves.
• Do remember kids are all different. Think about the kinds of activities your child likes and let them take the lead.
• Don’t be a competitive mum or dad. Learning how to lose is an important social skill for a child, but try to keep games enjoyable and let them win too – sometimes!
• Don’t be afraid to join in with make-believe games. Kids love it when parents play-act and it lets their imagination run wild.
• Do let them enjoy physical challenges like climbing trees. Kids learn through taking risks. Don’t be over-protective if the worst that can happen is a bump or a scrape.
• Do get outdoors and play: it’s healthy, and if they get dirty or wet, well that’s what baths and washing machines are for.
• Do share a game you used to play as a child. Think of the things you most enjoyed, the chances are your kids will enjoy them just as much!
• Do enjoy playing. If your child is having fun but you aren’t, just leave them to it. If they’re not having fun, suggest something else.

Source: Google Searches

Flower Painting

Toddlers love to paint. They love everything-color! Medha also no exception. She loved this activity! The best part is, you really don't need anything else except for a few flowers and the kiddie paints.

Items you need for this:

• Kid friendly washable paints 
• Drawing sheets, ( I have used note book pages as I am running out of Drawing Sheets)
• Flowers ( Any flowers, I plucked flowers from the plants in my balcony garden).

One is good... Thank You

Now that Medha is 2.5 years old, people have started hinting that it’s time to have another baby. I just ignore or just tell them ‘thanks for the suggestion’, but no thanks. This post is not exactly about that… it’s about this discussion “single child vs. two children…” in babycenter. Ohh a topic where everyone had a say and everyone had to voice an opinion. :)

Most of the moms were ready for 2 kids… reason being – your present kid needs a companion. And siblings are a blessing from above. A mom also shared a link of an article in NY Times on the ‘The Gift of Siblings’. The article quotes a line, “Your parents leave you too soon and your kids and spouse come along late, but your siblings know you when you are in your most inchoate form.” I’d like to add to that, when you get married and have children, it’s your spouse and children who live with you and stay with you for a long time. Siblings then just become a part of holidays and occasions.

Now getting back to the topic, majority believed that having another kid is a blessing, for the parents and more so, for the child you already have. Some also said, that it is alright if people decide not to have a baby. Why have one child and feel it a burden to take care of him/her and then drop the idea of having a second child.

There were some of us who said (and I truly believe in it) – It’s to each his own; having one child doesn’t mean being selfish. The couples who take the decision of having a baby after giving much thought are more prepared. In today’s expensive and busy times it is more important to think seriously before you commit to have a second baby.

Besides, we live in nuclear families, not joint, like our parents did. Help is difficult to find and most couples sometimes work in cities away from their home towns. One should plan for a second child only when they yearn for him/her just like the way they did for the first child. And not because the second one is needed to give company to the first. Your child should be your child 1st/2nd/3rd… S/he shouldn’t be seen as a mere companion.

Personally, now when we realise how much effort we need to put in our career and how much time we like to spend with Medha, we decided that we need just one biological child. I love being a Mom and I love Being Medha’s Mom, but for me I think that is good enough as of now. At times, I feel so overwhelmed and hardly get time for myself.

Then there are financial matters too that we need to manage, keeping in mind the growing cost of kid’s education. Also, mentally I’m not in a position to go through another pregnancy. As parents, before deciding to give our older child a companion, we should ponder on the following questions:

Are we, physically and emotionally, ready to have another little one in our lives?
How are we going to cope with our career and the babies? Do we need an extra help… if yes, start searching for one right away.
Why are we going for a second baby? Is it just to give our first one a company?
Will our marriage be affected with a second baby?
Can we wait any longer? If we want to have another baby … when?

So having one baby, two or multiple, should be your decision… not anyone else’s. Just because your friend’s having another doesn’t mean you should also.

Book Review : Snoring Shanmugam

I have bought "Snoring Shanmugam" story book for Medha as she was impressed with pictures inside the book when we went to a bookstore. And she asks me to read this book whenever she think of Lion or snoring. Here is our review on this book. 

Title : Snoring Shanmugam

Author : Radhika Chadha

Publisher : Tulika Publisher

Why I don't prefer Sugar and Chocolates for Kids or atleast for Medha?

Last week I had gone to one of friend's house. In the welcome treat, she offered some cream biscuits to lil Medha. I refused to show the plate of cream biscuits to Medha. And then she asked me the reason. I said " It has lot of sugar and I never encourage kids eating Sugar either directly or cream biscuits or chocolates or lollipops".  She is little surprised and asked me back "Didn't you ever had Sugar/Chocolates/Cream Biscuits in your life? You know, Sugar makes kids hyperactive."

Why you should encourage children to play outside ?

Allowing kids to play outside has lot of benefits. Do read some of them mentioned below.