Tag: parenthood

cakap siang pandang-pandang, cakap malam dengar-dengar?

January 4, 2022

Salam semua. Tak sangka dah sampai kita ke tahun 2022. Semoga tahun baru ini membawa lebih banyak kebaikan dan keberkatan kepada kita, dan dijauhkan kita dari segala musibah dan bencana.

Saya tertarik dengan peribahasa ni: Cakap siang pandang-pandang, cakap malam dengar-dengar. Saja terfikir nak kupas dari segi ilmu keibubapaan. Semua maklum, anak-anak ni mereka seperti spongue. Serap semua benda, baik yang dilihat depan mata, dan juga apa yang didengar oleh mereka saban hari.

Jadi, kalau anak-anak mula menuturkan ayat-ayat yang tak sedap didengar ataupun berkelaku yang bukan-bukan, tak perlu cari jauh-jauh.

check video apa yang kita biarkan anak lihat saban hari?

muhasabah balik bagaimana kelaku kita di depan anak-anak?

reflect semula bahasa dan cara percakapan kita.

lihat balik, bagaimana cara kita ‘bergaduh’ depan anak?

Adakalanya, kita ni tak sedar. Termasam muka, ternaik tona suara, terkasar bahasa, dan macam-macam ‘ter’ lagilah depan anak-anak. Kita ni ibarat cermin pada kelaku anak-anak.

How they see it, is how they gonna show it.

Pada masa yang sama, kita tak perlu mengejar kesempurnaan. Dalam erti kata lain, ya kita mahu modelkan perilaku dan percakapan terbaik, tetapi jangan sampai memakan diri.

Nak jadi perfect ni bukan mudah (dan tak akan boleh dicapai). Lebih mudah untuk kita berkomunikasi dengan anak jika kita tunjuk pada mereka yang kita pun manusia biasa, ada salah dan silap. Cara macam mana nak menghadapi situasi dan kesilapan yang berlaku, itu lebih human dan bagus untuk perkembangan anak-anak.

coretan pendek saja kali ni.

Just to keep the ball rolling.

Till we meet again.

Salam Tahun Baru 2022 ❤

Managing chickenpox in children – 101

February 22, 2021

Hi all.

So sorry for not being able to write sooner. Unfortunately, life AND PANDEMIC getting in the way . Heh.

Last month, Adam was infected with chicken pox. And truly, it’s a blessing in disguise. More so due to the fact that in Malaysia, parents may take quarantine leave to take care of the sick children (5 working days) and Adam has been a wonderful patient — taking his medication easily and we were able to keep the itchiness away (safely). I got to spend more time with Adam at home while at the same time, taking a much needed rest too. Wonderful isn’t it? ^-^.

<how the rashes may look like>

And so, let us talk about chicken pox. We all know chicken pox is a highly contagious disease that is caused by virus. Any children that are vaccinated can STILL be infected.

Thereby comes the BIG question:

  1. what’s the purpose of vaccination then? Vaccinated children are presented with a MUCH MILDER SYMPTOM. Easy on the eye (less rashes, a.k.a less scar), and much easier to manage the symptom. So go for vaccination people! Don’t skip your child’s vaccination routine.

Any child who are diagnosed with chikenpox, they are usually presented with such symptoms:

fever (usually low grade fever)

rashes that are itchy, fluid-filled blisters who later turn to scabs (crusted).

rashes that are typically started to appear firstly from the face, back and chest and later spread downwards to the rest of the body.

some may also showing other symptom such as tiredness, loss of appetite and headache.

So how do we go about? What should we do when our child is infected with chickenpox? The rule is simple.

  1. KEEP THEM AT HOME>>>> we do not want other children to get infected too.
  2. manage the fever — oral paracetamol when needed.
  3. soak in lukewarm water — avoid hot/cold water.
  4. apply topical ointment to the blisters — *ALERT: do not use calamine lotion if your child’s skin is dry. It will further aggravate the itchiness*. Petroleum jelly or other skin lotion is sufficient for use. Basically, keep the skin hydrated.
  5. RELIEVE THE ITCHINESS — you may give your child oral antihistamine. Make sure it is prescribed in the correct dosage (calculated using the child’s body weight). Some of the antihistamine may cause sleepiness.
  6. keep the fingernail short and trimmed. If needed, use mitten or hand socks to prevent them from scratching. Scratching may caused secondary skin infection.. and we absolutely do not want that to happen.
  7. Last but not least, enjoy the extra unguarded time with your kid. I sure enjoy mine (towards the end of the quarantine period).

The children are considered no more infectious once the last blister burst and crusted over.

and there you have it, 101 in managing chicken pox in children.

Here’s to good health and good time with your loved one, wherever you are.

Take care.

Kids and pets. Nightmare or is it blessing in disguise?

July 19, 2020

One thing for sure, it never cross my mind that there’ll come a time where our little home is graced by not one but few pets at the same time. Granted, it’s actually one little furry animal (a grey local cat we call Koko) and two classes of fish (goldfish and tiger fish to be exact) in two cozy aquarium. Taking care of the fishes is one little hobby of my dear husband whereas the cat — that’s all Adam’s doing. The last time my cat died (it was my family’s, long before i get married), it crushed our heart so much that my parents decided enough is enough. No more cats. And lo and behold! Who would have thought that their first grandson a.k.a Adam takes after them and love cats so much that he’s keep on asking for cat to be his own. It takes a solid month of mental preparation before we finally decided to adopt Koko into our humble home, and its a decision that i have never regretted. Bless her little paws and snuggly fur.

Once in a while, comes a thought — does bringing home pets (furry alike or not) a nightmare or is it blessing in disguise? Particularly if there is kids/ toddler at home. Well, thats depends. Lets dive in to the many benefits of taking care of pets to the kids shall we? Firstly, the obvious — feeding and caring for a pet encourages responsibility. Its a good practice to involve your little one (step by step and under direct observation of course) in taking care of the pet.

This is also the best time for parent to look for social red flag with your children (i.e him/her being abusive/consistently cruel with animal). This may point to a few conditions that have to be investigated, look in depth and treated by professional if found to be true; condition like conduct disorder, psychopathy, or indication of the child being abused at home or bullied at school. This can be illicit in children as young as 5 or 6 year old.

Next, children with pets display improved impulse control, social skills and self-esteem. Kids with pets also gets outside/ play more. What better way to let children learn that letting them play right? A child may also feel more comfortable reading aloud to pets than friends/family members. No pressure just good listening ear which frankly, who doesn’t want that?

IMG_8555

So, just a few tips to go by for parents with small children, if ever you decided to have a pet at home:

  1. Never let the kids be alone with your pet unsupervised. Especially if your children is younger than 4 years old. The younger the children, the less control they have. Children under the age of three aren’t mature enough to care for a pet. Their impulsive action and high energy may scared/injured the pet, which in turn may harm them in the process. A frightened animal may scratch or bite your children.
  2. Let your pet have their own room or space where they can be free from the children, at least for a few hours per day. This is important to ensure that your pet feel comfortable in the house and stressed free. (animal can get stressed too).
  3. Teach your child to practice hygiene habit when dealing with pet and their droppings. Wash hands regularly especially after playing with the pet.
  4. Introduce your children to the pet slowly. Show your children how to pet an animal (if they can be pet of course), and tell them when not to interact with the animal. Best rule of thumb, teach your children to be kind and loving to the animal.
  5. Do not allow the pet to sleep with your children.
  6. Bring the pet to the vet for annual check up/if they’re sick and for vaccinations.

All in all, i wish you all the best with your pet and the kids. May your home be blessed with lots of love and happiness.