GUEST POST: The Good Thing About Going With Day Care by Nelli Hooper (York Enrichment Child Care Center)

For many parents returning to work after the birth of a child there is a bit of skepticism and doubt towards daycare. This is natural and quite normal, but daycare horror stories and the thought of being separated from your child should not stop you from considering what is really an excellent option for both parent and child. For every day care horror story there are thousands of successes. There are many excellent reasons to send your child to day care, and some are not what you might expect!  

Your Child Will Develop Independence 
Going to day care can be a traumatic experience for many children and their parents, but after getting over the initial anxiety, your child will begin to develop confidence and an independent spirit. Once a child realizes that their new environment is safe, they begin to explore it, consequently learning and experiencing new things. Self esteem begins to develop at a deep level when a child begins to realize they can handle life without mommy and daddy, at least fro awhile!

Day Care Helps to Develop a Child’s Social Skills 
By attending day care your child will meet and begin to interact with other children their age, and maybe a bit older and younger. They learn to share, cooperate, communicate, and make new friends. A child being cared for at home by a relative or friend will not have the benefit of such experiences, and consequently when the time comes to attend school, they may be lacking in the social skills needed to adjust. This could lead to the new experience of attending school being a negative one, causing a negative association with learning which could take years to overcome.  

Day Care Prepares Your Child for School 
A quality day care center with certified teachers and caregivers will help prepare your child for the school environment. This can give your child a huge advantage, giving them a bit of a head start in life. Day care introduces children to new ideas, experiences, rules, and ways to play, at the same time stimulating their powers of thought and reason and introducing them to and familiarizing them with riles and structure. Children who attend day care frequently do better on number-skills and literacy tests than those who don’t, and almost always adjust easier to the school environment.

Having a relative or family friend care for a child in their or your own home can provide a safe and loving atmosphere for your child to develop in, but day care can do the same, and at the same time provide a stimulating learning environment. If you are considering sending your child to day care in Richmond Hill, Ontario, you may want to consider centers like the York Enrichment Child Care Center located in the heart of Oak Ridges.  

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About the Author

 Nelli Hooper is the proud owner of York Enrichment Child Care Center located in Richmond Hill, Ontario.  Her program has an excellent facility and is setting the standard for childcare within York Region.  Please visit her website at http//www.yeccdaycare.ca to learn more about childcare and how it can benefit your child.  

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With Alaska NutriBuild 345, Simple Steps Mean Great Achievements

For parents of preschoolers, Neil Armstrong’s immortal words, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” may perfectly describe the joy of seeing their children achieve daily developmental progress. While it may seem simple to many, parents consider every children’s action – especially those done during three to five years old – as a milestone and a proof that their child is developing accordingly.  

It is no wonder then, with today’s technology providing more communication opportunities that social networks and file-sharing sites are bursting with photos and videos of children’s achievements – big or small.

Experts say that celebrating a child’s small, everyday successes is normal and even encouraged, as this can reinforce resilience and self-esteem in immeasurable ways. When children achieve something – whether it's as simple as brushing their own teeth or riding a bike – and their parents recognize it, a sense of confidence at an early age can already be developed.

While it is normally a period of slow growth, it is during a child’s third to fifth years when learning and acquisition of skills is at a fast pace. During this time, parents are encouraged to watch out for certain markers, called developmental milestones, to help measure a child’s growth in four primary areas of development that includes speech/language, cognitive/intellectual, social/emotional, and fine/gross motor skills. For example, a three-year-old should be able to assemble easy puzzles, while a child aged four should be able to capably use table utensil. Meanwhile, five-year-olds are usually able to walk on tiptoes or do broad jumps at their age. 

Needless to say, it is also at this stage when providing the balanced mix of brain and body building nutrients for the specific needs of children is of utmost importance. This constitutes to a holistic and integrated approach to child development, which includes fostering healthy eating habits and proper nourishment through milk.

Recognizing the important benefits of milk during this crucial period, Alaska Milk Corporation has introduced Alaska NutriBuild 345, which is specifically formulated to provide preschool children with appropriate amount of essential nutrients they need for their brain and body development during their formative years. 

Each serving of Alaska NutriBuild 345 comes with DHA and ARA that support healthy vision, as well as Choline and Taurine that help in the development of memory functions. It also contains iodine, zinc and iron, which supports  a child’s cognitive development and Essential Fatty Acids (E.F.A) that are necessary for their normal growth in  mind and body. 

Alaska NutriBuild 345 is also packed with fructooligosaccharide (FOS) and inulin to activate intestinal functions, assist in digestion, and reduce the risk of constipation and diarrhea, and Minerals to support the rapid demand for physical growth and endurance. Each of these nutrients perform distinct functions, creating a synergy that is essential to support pre-schoolers in achieving their milestones. 

For parents, go beyond celebrating your children’s success – ensure that they’ll have a healthy body and sound mind now and in the future to enjoy each triumph. Complement proper nutrition with Alaska Nutribuild 345, para matulungang maabot ang kanilang mga milestones.

Post by Alaska NutriBuild 345.



Photo Credits: https://www.facebook.com/AlaskaNutriBuild345 and www.alaskamilk.com

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Breastmilk is Best for Babies

Mommies and Daddies, I would like to share the following facts about breastfeeding that I adapted from unicef.org.ph.

The Miracles of Breastfeeding

• Breastmilk, more than anything else, is a gift of life.
  
• UNICEF and WHO recommend that children should receive only this gift for the first 6 months of their lives.
  
• This means that a child should not be given any other milk, liquid, or food but breastmilk from birth up to 6 months. This is called exclusive breastfeeding.
  
• As a natural, living liquid, the breastmilk has all the anti-bodies and nutrients that a child needs in the early period of life.
  
• It contains over 100 constituents that respond uniquely to every child's specific needs.
  
• Infant formula milk and other breastmilk substitutes are artificial, often made from cow's milk, and may have nutritional quantities that are either too much or too little for the infant

Breastfeeeding data in the Philippines

2003 National Demographic and Health Survey
National Statistics Office

• Out of almost 7 million children (below 5 years old), 87% were ever breastfed. This figure however includes infants whose breastfeeding may have lasted
  for only one hour, one day, or one week only.
  
• In fact, nearly 3.4 million children (49%) were given liquid or food other than breastmilk within three days after being born.
  
• For children below 3 years old at the time of the survey,
  barely 6% were exclusively breastfed.
  Bottlefeeding was common for almost half of these children.
  
• Although 80% of children started breastfeeding within 1 day of birth, 54% were also given any liquid other than breast milk.
  
• Exclusive breastfeeding lasts only for an average of 24 days.
  
• Mothers did not breastfeed their children because:
  

  She does not have enough milk.	31%
  She is working	17%
  Her nipples/breasts ache	17%
  Her child does not want to breastfeed	11%
  Her child is sick	11%
  She is sick	9%
  Other reasons	4%

  
  
• Well-off and better-educated mothers
  whose children were delivered by a health professional
  were less likely to breastfeed their children exclusively. 

 UNICEF cites urgent actions to revive breastfeeding culture in the Philippines

31 August 2005

Dear Editor,

It has been eight months since I raised the alarm on declining breastfeeding rates in the Philippines. Fortunately, my message did not go unnoticed. 

Since then, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Health Secretary Francisco Duque have launched World Breastfeeding Week and the National Policy and Plan of Action on Infant and Young Child Feeding in Malacañang, while the National Anti-Poverty Commission has recognized breastfeeding as a strategy to ensure food security for infants up to six months and to reduce poverty. 

The Liga ng Barangay has made a commitment to promote and protect breastfeeding at community level, and the Philippine Pediatric Society has been earnestly thinking of ways to wean itself off commercial sponsorships from infant formula manufacturers.

While these are positive developments, we need to do much more to revive the breastfeeding culture in the Philippines. The most urgent actions we must take are:

1 Seriously implement the Mother- and Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (MBFHI) which is a global UNICEF and WHO campaign to support mothers in breastfeeding.

 
To become certified as Mother- and Baby-Friendly, maternity facilities need to show that they are fully implementing the 10 steps to successful breastfeeding. These include among others, giving the infant to the mother to breastfeed within the first hour of birth, the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and referring mothers to them on discharge from the hospital to ensure exclusive breastfeeding up to six months and continued breastfeeding up to two years and beyond. Sadly, only half of the infants that are born in health facilities in the Philippines are given to their mothers to breastfeed within an hour, and only 16 per cent of infants from 0 to 6 months old are being exclusively breastfed. Recently, DOH re-launched MBFHI in Cebu City to show its commitment to supporting breastfeeding in health facilities.

2 Sign and put into effect the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of EO51 or the Philippine Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. 

 
The existing IRR are too lax and full of loop holes while the capacity of concerned agencies to monitor code violations and compliance has been inadequate. This results in the penetration of the health system by infant formula manufacturers down to the level of midwives in the remotest barangays. This must stop. Towards this aim, a Code monitoring team composed of Government and non-governmental organizations was trained with support from UNICEF and IBFAN, Penang, Malaysia, to look into all violations and compliance with the Code by both the milk companies and the health sector.

3 Fast-track the amendment of EO 51 to tighten its provisions using the Model law as reference.

 
Strengthening of the Code can be done by;

• covering not only infant formula but all milk products for infants and young children up to the age two or three;
• prohibiting any sponsorship and/or partnership between the public health and nutrition sectors at all levels and the milk manufacturers and distributors of products covered by the law and the Code;
• banning the advertisement and marketing of milk products for the 0- to 2- or 3-year-old children;
• banning all sponsorships and promotional activities of infant formula manufacturers and distributors in all health facilities and contact with pregnant women or mothers;
• banning labels with pictures of babies and text idealizing the use of milk formula; and,
• providing stronger sanctions to violators of the Code.

4 Inform every parent and potential parent, male and female, that breastfeeding is the natural and ideal means of feeding an infant, and that all other milks are inadequate and potentially harmful substitutes to mothers’ milk.

 
We should make it clear that breastmilk is sufficient to provide the food requirements of infants up to six months and that the more the infants suckles the more milk the mother produces. We now require tremendous resources to undo the massive misinformation and misconceptions that the public – including health professionals – have been inculcated with all these years. The Makati City League of Barangays recently passed an ordinance to re-orient its health workers and organize mothers’ support groups. 

5 Support working mothers in their choice to breastfeed.

 
Breastfeeding should not be incompatible with women's work. Davao City, for example, has passed a resolution to support breastfeeding women who work, beginning with providing breastfeeding and nursing stations in the workplace for breastfeeding mothers in both public and private offices and the different representatives of partner companies in Davao city, such as Shoemart Davao, have pledged their support to breastfeeding in the workplace. 

In addition, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines will lead a study in various work places to assess current practices, with a view to crafting strategies to enable working women to provide breastmilk to their babies.

I trust that we can continue to count on the support of media in these endeavours. If 44 children, all under five years old, died in a bus accident, it would make headline news. That is the same number of children who die every day because they are not breastfed.

Yours truly,

Dr. Nicholas Alipui
Country Representative to the Philippines
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
RCBC Plaza
Ayala Avenue, Makati City

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The government is currently doing its best to implement the recommendations of Unicef but there are still areas that they need to improve.

We are also blessed to have support groups like Medela Moms who teach about breastfeeding - its challenges and joys.

One of Medela Mom's classes is happening TODAY, March 1, 2014 at the Medela House. If you are interested and not able to register for today's event, you may inquire through medelamoms@gmail.com or call 09178110821 for its upcoming breastfeeding classes.

 

 

To be very honest, I belong to the 4%. I only breastfed for 90 days. I just stopped producing milk. Maybe I was too stressed. We had no house helper and I had to do the household chores by myself during the day and I was taking care of my baby. I didn't consider attending seminars about breastfeeding. When I thought of doing so, it was too late. If only I could turn back time, I should have done more effort. I really admire moms who are able to do extended breastfeeding.

I encourage expectant moms and dads to take the opportunity and find time to learn the proper way of breastfeeding. It will be beneficial to you and your child. 

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Fluoride Guidelines of Philippine Pediatric Dental Society, Inc. and Proper Tooth Brushing for Kids

Holiday season and Valentine's Day were times of the year when kids get lots of sweets as presents. They were excused to indulge as long as it wasn't too much. But don't forget to brush their teeth to avoid serious oral problems.

 February is National Dental Health Month and it is the best time to be more vigilant in doing oral care to our children.
But how is it done properly?

The key is we have to brush our children's teeth using fluoride toothpaste at a very young age with an age-appropriate amount of course. Remember, too much fluoride ingestion is detrimental to health. 

Here is the Fluoride Guidelines of Philippine Pediatric Dental Society, Inc. (PPDSI) for Kids' Oral Care.

A Special Committee on Fluoride was created to formulate Guidelines on the different fluoride-containing products in the Philippines. The intensive work of reading, assessing, reviewing and selecting evidence-based information from scientific journals and researches started in March 2009 with the final result finally deliberated on and approved by the general body of the Society in August 2011. It was officially released to the general dental practitioners during the Philippine Dental Association Annual Convention in November 2011.  Flyers of the guidelines are being distributed to the different stakeholders and are available at the PPDSI Secretariat (Courtesy: PPDSI)

If you have very young children like I do, this video shows the proper way of brushing their teeth as taught by our Pediatric Dentist too.

via Tooth Brushing for children three and under - The knee-to-knee technique (VCHhealthcare)

 

I also use clean cut and folded gauze bandage to wipe away excess fluoride toothpaste from my son' teeth because he doesn't know how to spit it out or gargle. In my opinion, it is more hygienic than using a washable cloth because I could dispose it after using.

 

  If your child tends to squirm, moves his head and body, or cry during tooth brushing like my youngest does, make sure to hold his hands, knees, and head NOT TOO TIGHTLY to avoid serious physical injuries. Sabi nga, "Alalay lang." Our Pediatric Dentist said it is okay to pin him down but make sure not to exert to much force especially on the head. If you are worried that it would cause an emotional trauma to your child, you don't have to worry. It won't. What is more traumatic for him is to experience tooth decay to the point that he couldn't sleep anymore.

 

 Following the recommendations above and letting your children visit their dentist every six months will surely make your children free from tooth decay!

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Basic CPR and First Aid for Choking Adult and Child by DLSUMC at Baby & Family Expo Philippines 2013

As parents, it is our responsibility to keep ourselves and our families prepared in case of emergency. It is a must for us to learn Basic CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) and First Aid for Choking Adults and Child because we would never know when they are needed.

Last December 8, 2013 (Sunday), De La Salle University Medical Center spearheaded a talk about Basic CPR and First Aid for Choking Adults and Child based on the Guidelines by the American Heart Association at the Baby & Family Expo Philippines 2013 as part of the event's series of talks and seminars given to guests and participants. I was fortunate to join this because I was able to refresh my memory of what I learned in my Emergency Nursing class four years ago. It was also a venue to learn about what's new in Basic CPR and First Aid if there's any.

 

 

The talk lasted for 30 minutes but plenty of insights were tackled and all of us had a great learning experience. All attendees participated actively in the discussion. Lots of freebies were given away too.

Let me show you some videos  that resemble the ones that we saw during the talk. Please spend time watching these because they are very helpful and easy to follow. The source link is placed under each video:

 

American Heart Association: CHOCKING ADULT & CHILD

via Adult Child Choking(oldschoolriders)

American Heart Association: CHOCKING CHILD

 via American Heart Association Child Rescue - Choking (mylovingbabies)

American Heart Association:  INFANT CPR

via AHA Infant CPR (netmed23836)

American Heart Association: ADULT CPR

via Official 2012 Hands-Only CPR Instructional Video

American Heart Association: CHILD CPR

via American Heart Association Child Rescue CPR 1(mylovingbabies)

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The three-day Baby & Family Expo Philippines 2013 was filled with talks and seminars aside from other activities and fun shopping experience that each family member surely loved and enjoyed.

 

For more photos showcasing the first two days of this wonderful event, you may click the links below:

Baby & Family Expo Philippines 2013 (Day 1)

 Baby & Family Expo Philippines 2013 (Day 2)

  Baby & Family Expo Philippines 2013 (Day 3)

You may also click the link below to see how my son and I spent our day at the Expo:

It's Never Too Late to Have Fun at the Baby & Family Expo- DAY 3

For queries and updates on Baby Expo Philippines' upcoming events, call +63.2.843.2174, +63.915.660.8748, email info@babyexpo.ph and join the community at www.facebook.com/babyexpoph and www.twitter.com/BabyExpoPH.

 

Visit Baby Expo Philippines' fabulous official website by CLICKING THE PHOTO BELOW:

 

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