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Unfortunately there is very little information aimed at children that explains the various conditions. I’ve found that the best approach is to wait until your child brings it up, then answer their questions honestly but try to keep the information simple and concise otherwise you may succeed in scaring your child or just confusing them due to information overload.
The reason I suggest leaving it till your child brings it up is:
Police in Barnsley have criticised parents for consuming alcohol when dropping off and collecting their children from school. Councillors and police are discussing banning drinking in the street. One of the worst areas is around Doncaster Road Primary.
In America the majority of cities have laws in place making it illegal to comsume alcohol in the street. Personally I think that any person who consumes alcohol around schools or tries to take care of a child whilst under the influence of alcohol is irresponsible. I’m not saying that parents shouldn’t be allowed an occasional drink but if you are drunk whilst caring for your child or anyone elses you are putting them at risk. This is common sense so why do we need laws making it illegal to drink in public?
On Saturday 26th September a trial began involving 1,000 children to test two swine flu vaccines before the launch of a UK vaccination. The information is limited but the trial will allow the experts to observe immune reactions and any side effects which may occur.
The children participating in this trial are aged between six months and 12 years from Oxford, Southampton, London, Bristol and Devon. Participation in the trial is voluntary and consenting parents were be briefed on the risks. The children are given two doses of the vaccine three weeks apart, then a blood test three weeks after that.
The aim of the trial is to find out if one of the vaccines is better than the other in terms of immune reactions. They also want to ensure that the side effects are minimal before launching the UK vaccination programme.
One of the main problems the study seems to be having is recruiting enough children under the age of three, getting older children didn’t seem to be a problem just the younger ones, Doctor Saul Faust suggests that the younger children don’t usually respond to vaccines as well as adults and older children but says that they need to find out how the younger children respond before the vaccine becomes available to the UK. This could be because the younger children are deemed to be one of the high risk groups because young children, especially those that are under five, do seem to be at risk of serious illness. Also flu epidemics and pandemics are spread very efficiently by children.
The Department of Health has said that they will have enough vaccine for half of the population by the end of the year and that the high risk groups which are medical staff, the elderly and the very young will be immunised first.
Any parent knows that there will come a point when your child asks questions about topics such as periods or where baby’s come from. Answering these questions is easy enough if you are having the discussion with a child just starting puberty but when they are asked by a younger child they are not so easy. So how do you answer them?
Well when my 2 year old wandered into the bathroom whilst I was putting a sanitary towel in my underwear and asked what I was doing I told her that I had to put a special pad in my underwear. To which her response was: “why?” So I told her that it was something ladies had to do sometimes. I thought that I had got off lightly until my daughter decided to look in the toilet whilst I was pulling up my trousers and got very upset to see blood in the toilet. So I explained that it was ok and nothing to worry about, and that it was what happened to ladies when they hadn’t got a baby in their tummy. She asked if that was what the pad was for so I said yes. She accepted this answer then went off to play with her toys.
I know that some people will disagree with me for giving my daughter this much information given the fact that she is two but I believe that the best way is to be honest with your child. Obviously the amount of information you give them is up to you but I simply gave my daughter enough information to answer her question in a simple format that she could understand.
I personally find it easier to be honest with my daughter because if you lie you have to remember what you told them as they remember. Also if take the other approach and try and hide it one of two things will usually happen either their curiosity will mean that they will try to find out what you are hiding, or if they have a problem or something like managing periods when they are older, they may try to hide it themselves, be embarassed and not know how to handle it.
Due to alot of the media hype about child abuse some parents are too frightened to discuss issues such as periods, in case the child repeats what they have been told and the parents get accused of sexually abusing the child. Pregnancy never really causes too many problems explaining unless the child asks how the baby got into your tummy; to see how I explained pregnancy to my daughter see: Pregnancy and other Children.
As I have already said how much you tell your child is up to you but I would definately say that honesty is the way to go. Just make sure that you explain it in a way that they can understand, also don’t worry about what people will say as if anyone asks you can tell them what happened, chances are you are not the only person in this situation and they are also wondering how to handle the situation, because not many people will openly say; “how do you explain …….to a ….year old?” mainly because they are worried about what people will say or think.
We’ve all heard of these celebrities that seem to snap back into a size zero within a week or two of giving birth, using extreme fitness regimes or diets. However for the rest of it’s not going to happen that fast unless you are really lucky.
So how do we shift the weight we’ve gained whilst carrying that little bundle of joy? Well as we all know breastfeeding is a good start, because it releases chemicals which help the uterus to contract. Other things that you can do is going for walks, this not only benefits you physically but it is also good mentally as it gets you out of the house and the excercise releases endorphines which elevates your mood.
Here are a few excercises that will help you get into shape:
- Swing-Sitting cross-legged, have your baby in your lap. Hold on to their chest as you rock backwards and forwards to provide a gentle workout for your abs.
- Seesaw-Whilst sitting on the floor with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor, place your baby on your lower legs. Now lie back as you do so lift your legs, then lift and lower your baby a few times. Then using your stomach muscles return to a sitting position
I still do the seesaw with my 2 year old except she calls it the aeroplane. All I can say is be patient and take it at your own pace, I’ve only just managed to shift my baby weight and my youngest is nearly 5 months.
Diet also plays a big part in shifting the bulge by eating sensibly and exercising regularly you will be able to shift the bulge in a few months. Obviously if you have had a C section or other complications such as SPD then please take it easy and don’t over do it otherwise you won’t be able to enjoy your new arrival.
As the name suggests homeschooling is where children are educated at home instead of attending mainstream school. This can occur for a number of reasons; such as:
- Religion
- If you frequently move
- If the parents dislike the local school
- An alternative to private school
- If the child is exceptionally bright
- Personal preference
- If the child is bullied
Those that are homeschooled are not restricted to those listed above. In some cases kids are homeschooled as a last resort because they hate school so play truant or fake illness or get into trouble in order to avoid having to go. Other children that are homeschooled are those with a serious illness or disability which makes attending mainstream education very difficult if not impossible, one case that I came across was about a boy who was severely autistic, his parents didn’t want to send him to “special school” as they felt it would make the child appear to be a freak (please note this is not my personal view on specialist schools), but he was unable to cope in mainstream education; therefore he had to be homeschooled.
So what are the advantages of homeschooling?
- More one to one
- You can go at the child’s pace
- You can teach things which are not on the curriculum
- You can fit the teaching around your normal routine
As with everything there is always two sides. The disadvantages are:
- In mainstream school there is the social aspect that children may not get if they are homeschooled.
- It becomes difficult to switch between parent and teacher
- The child may get biased views on subjects, such as religion
- The parents may concentrate on the subjects that interest them and that they are good at rather than those that are their weaker subjects
Now to clarify a common misconception people assume that if a child is homeschooled that they are taught by the parents. In most cases this is the case but in some cases the parents pay a tutor to teach the child instead. If a child is homeschooled there are a few things that are worth pointing out:
- They still have to be taught the National Curriculum however extra subjects can be added
- You will be inspected to ensure that the child is being educated rather than simply bunking off
- Children who are homeschooled must attend social activities whether it be a sports club or a craft club it doesn’t matter as long as they are socialising.
In my personal opinion, I would put my child in the best school if I found that she was unhappy for whatever reason I would try to resolve the issue. Obviously if it was something like the fact that she didn’t like a particular teacher then there is very little you can do as it is impossible for a person to get on with absolutely everyone. I would only consider homeschooling as a last resort; only considering it after all other options have been explored, however I respect those that choose to homeschool for whatever reason because it is a personal decision and nobody but the parents can make that decision.