An intermission later!

It's been more than a month since I blogged last. I was grinning wide when I received a handful of messages enquiring about my non-existence. Feels awesome to be missed, isn't it? Nothing like it for a blogger!
Well, I did exist during the past month, but in a different part of the world since I posted last! A lot and lot of packing, shopping, re-packing, winding up the house we lived in the UK and travelling with a toddler kept me totally busy like never before during March and initial days of April. Although, moving back home is exciting, it is a huge challenge when you have to do it all by yourself with a busy toddler demanding you an unaltered lifestyle throughout! We stayed in the UK for about 20 months and we were on a high-speed roller coaster with twists and turns! The place is extremely beautiful, I must say! More on our UK stay some other time. I was dreading the air travel with the little munchkin, but the darling made it really easy for us!
We took a week's time to gear up for a new life in an old place! Back in Chennai, catching up with relations, friends, looking for schools, the admission process, the little girl's tonsure....phew! The toddler has been surprised and more shocked experiencing a variety of Indian feelings! Meanwhile, I plan to get back to my den to continue blogging!! More posts to follow...a variety intended! Will be right back :)

Sick?? But you're a MOM!

                   


Only after you become a Mom, the endless list of truth about Motherhood slowly unfurls! No, you can't circumvent them, either you get to know them sooner or later, don't worry, you dont have to chase them, you'll be robustly hit by them! The latest truth that unravelled before me: Moms can't get sick!


You probably know this if you're a mom, er...if you don't, you'll know it very soon! And if you are the spouse to the mom, then you secretly know it!


How does a day look like when a stay-at-home or working mom falls sick? Its the usual business day, with the kids to look after, the same mess to clean (messier than the usual days) and the routine to be followed because that is survival. When the baby falls sick, I can go to any extent to bring her back to toes. When the husband falls sick, I can give my best to make him feel better too. But when I wake up with a sore throat just to be reminded that am catching that flu which the baby brought from school last week, I shove it behind my head saying, "I'm fine, there's nothing wrong, I'm not sick!". But ultimately,  when things get worse, I have to admit that I'm sick.


                                


Other days, I would happily barge into the bed with a book and soup and spend some time under the blanket and sleep sleep and sleep until the last virus evacuates my body! But that cannot happen when you're THE MOM. You need to repeat everything like any other day, infact much more than the normal days, "Don't jump", "Be Careful", "Finish your milk", "Don't scream", "Sleep", "Don't do this", "Will you please listen to amma atleast today?" and the tolerance (usually very low during such days) is scrutinized. The cheerful, naughty little one hardly understands that its the mom who is crankier than her.


Moms, of course, are good at melting away with the slightest love from the child. The moment the kid brings a picture book and sits next to you to read it for her, the heart melts and you've almost forgotten that you need rest! Nature works that way.

Am lucky that my husband pitches in when I have a bad health. It is only the time till he returns from work, that drives me crazy, making me pray with all devotion to give me the patience to drag the day 'cause it never feels good to lose temper with a toddler.


Things I learnt:

• If you feel sick, call for help! Husband, grandparents, uncles, aunts, friends, whoever! Don't neglect it as a non-emergency. You may not be bleeding to death, but, even a bad flu will not help you think straight. You're handling kids, the most delicate of all the things in the world.
• If you know anybody who's sick, please drop by with 1-2 meals, soup and medicines and take the kids. She'll be grateful to you all her life.
• And mommies getting help today, don't forget to make a note for yourself to thank everyone who made you feel better! Better to write them as reminders as the antibiotics are sure to ruin your memory! ;)

Its now your turn to tell me how you manage your day when you're sick. Who pitches in often to share the workload?





Images: Google

Youtube in the LOOP

                              

Any idea how children and YouTube are linked? No, they aren't linked....but looped! You give a toddler an unlocked screen, and look at it after about 5 mins, you would be appalled by the fact that she has browsed about 50+ YouTube videos! Am not exaggerating. They are swipe experts.

YouTube is overflowing with videos from all around the world and it sure has influenced our lives to a great extent. The bitter truth is that it hasn't spared the toddlers. Well, no one understands YouTube better than them. She shows me different icons to select that paves way for a whole new variety of playlists, the icons I have never explored all my life! By the time the chosen song plays, she would have scanned the entire list of suggested videos on the side, thrice, and jumped 5 videos! A huge fan of pocoyo, little A is, that she watches the same episode in Russian, German, Portugese, French and Vietnamese!! She enjoys them as much as she enjoys the english versions and tries to repeat the funny 'noises' they make! There was this phase when I was a little worried (read concerned)  that she hadn't started talking at the said 'age', now, I dread the day she'll converse with me in Portugese!!


                                  
                                     Image: google
No doubt, YouTube is doing a commendable job of satisying their toddler customers. They have millions of brightly coloured, loud and cheerful versions of the same rhymes that the little index fingers can meddle on. Why would they be stuck to a melodious version of 'Head, shoulders, knees and toes' that mommy had selected when there's a hip-hop version of the same? Not sure if you've noticed this...there are rhymes playlists and cartoons that have crossed 4 lakh hits!! And my dearest daughter would have contributed about a lakh, from various devices lying around her!
I will not deny the fact that YouTube has been little A's guru. It has made learning a lot more fun! The other day when I was chatting with a group of friends, I realized how each was affected by the non-stop blaring videos their ipad would play all day long. The repetitive videos and the flashcards have enabled the toddlers learn colours, shapes, alphabets, numbers and likewise much easily than we can imagine. But at the same time, I was baffled at how the playlist of each toddler was similar! Videos of surprise eggs and play-doh are mandatory in their loop- of course, you'll wonder why such videos exist, but, YouTube seems to understand the little humans better.
The story of how YouTube entered each toddler's life may vary, but there's no hope for sanity! Tell me if you find it! ;)

DIY Finger Paints

Take your time off and try making a few of what your kids love, all by yourself! I promise you'll never go back to the shop to get these again! The pleasure is immense to watch your child play with what YOU made. And all this, with what is lying around in the kitchen!

A simple DIY finger paints with just 2 ingredients (inspired by Happy Hooligans) for you!

Supplies:

• Cornflour - 2 cups
• Water- 4 cups (3 cups of hot water and 1 cup of cold water)
• Food coloring of your choice

All you have to do is

Mix cornflour and a cup of cold water. Slowly add the hot water to the mixture and mix ensuring no lumps. Divide into as many small bowls as the desired food colours. Add more colours for a vibrant mix!

Related Articles:

DIY Play Doh-The Best recipe ever!

DIY Easy Play-doh with NO Cream of Tartar

DIY Easy Play-doh with NO Cream of Tartar

Most of the play-doh recipes call for Cream of tartar, but, in case, you don't want to use it or you don't have the time to grab them from the store, its absolutely okay.
Here is an easy-peesy cook-free recipe that requires no cream of tartar. The steps involved are baby's! ;)

Supplies:

1. Flour- 2 cups
2. Salt- 1/2 cup
3. Warm water- 1/2 cup
4. Oil- 1 spoon (I used vegetable oil)
5. Food colouring of your choice

Procedure:

• Mix the dry ingredients in a clean bowl.
• Combine oil and water and divide them into as many cups as the desired colours.
• Add the flour-salt mixture to the cups and mix them.
• Knead on a working sheet/table until smooth.
• Store them in airtight containers/ziploc bags.

Note: Although no cream of tartar, higher amount of salt in this recipe increases the shelf-life span of the play-doh.

Related Articles:

DIY Finger Paints

DIY Play Doh-The Best recipe ever!

DIY Play Doh-The Best recipe ever!

Play-doh is the supreme choice to develop a child's imagination and hand-eye coordination, ensuring several hours of fun. I was amazed to see my little one going gaga every time I hand her a ball of play-doh. That sparked the idea of making it at home in all the colours she wants. Making your own play-doh with your child can be exciting. I tried a number of recipes and by far, the one am going to share with you today, is the best.

Recipe

Ingredients:

1. All purpose flour (Maida) - 2.5 cups
2. Water- 2.5 cups
3. Vegetable oil- 5 tbsp
4. Cream of tartar- 1.5 tbsp
5. Salt- 1.25 cups
6. Food colours (any combination to match the mood, occassion or toddler's request)

Procedure:

• Mix all the ingredients together except the colours in a large vessel and cook the not-so-smooth dough on a low heat.
• Mix frequently and you'll notice that the dough becomes sticky.
•  Mix until the edges of the dough appears dry. Pinch the dough. It's ready if its not gooey.
• Now, place the dough on the counter top or a working mat that can withstand food colours. Knead the warm dough and divide them into small balls to colour them different. 
• Add the food colours and knead them until incorporated.
• You can store them in ziploc bags or airtight containers for several months.

Tips:

• While adding the food colurs, try to drop the colours in the middle of the dough and then fold it in, so that the initial globs of colour work their way into the dough before they hit your skin!
• In case you stain your hand, scrub it away with a little baking powder.
• Add the basic colours first. Then, you can blend in a mixture of colours to make a variation. Play with your imagination.

Related Articles:

DIY Easy Play-doh with NO Cream of Tartar

DIY Finger Paints

Emotionally Abusive-Are You?

                           

'Emotional abuse' might sound too big a word but are you sure you aren't practising it? To confirm that you aren't doing it, it is better to know what it is. Have you ever got irritated with your child and ignored them? Then, that's one of the simplest form of an emotional abuse, as you are passing the negative vibes and making the little soul feel neglected, though unintentionally!

Emotional abuse?

It may be verbal abuse, threatening, severe punishment, comparison, rejection, neglection and likewise.

Unlike physical abuse, emotional abuses do not have an immediate physical effect but a long term deletrious effect on one's character.

Here are some pointers for us, as parents, to know what emotional abuses are, for the sake of avoiding them.

Verbal abuse

Needless to say, this is the most common and a very offensive form of emotional abuse. Verbal assault, constant usage of bad words, blaming them or calling them bad names make an irrepairable damage to the child's personality. Be sure to taste your words before you spit them. It is meaningless to feel apologetic after having uttered a dozen bad words, as the little hearts are already shattered.
   
                              

Rejection or Neglection

A child may be neglected unintentionally. Ignoring a child while you are doing an important task is simply neglection. I know that its frustrating when you are constantly being disturbed when trying to focus on something important. You can either politely tell her that you'll join her in a few minutes or pause the task for a minute or two and keep the child engaged in some interesting activity and get back to work. If nothing helps, you can take the help of a family member or a friend to keep her engaged until you can take your time off. Rejection is hard on the children and zeros down their self esteem, and that's not what we want.

Avoiding a child to showcase your anger towards them is an intentional rejection. Like your peers or other adults in your life, a child doesn't understand that you are ignoring them because you are angry. By behaving as if she doesn't exist or not responding to her, you aren't putting your point across but leaving them confused, shattered and rejected.

                               

Severe punishments

It will take a lot of efforts to discipline a child but punishment is not the right key. Severe punishments that scare a child like locking the child in a room or beating them up are unacceptable and you are better off being counselled. Their tender hearts yearn for a loving environment. Punishments like saying NO to their favourite toy or an outing is itself a BIG punishment and hard to take, but work like wonders to discipline without any psychological effect.

Comparisons

Children hate comparisons as much as we, adults, do! Comparing a child with peers or siblings is the biggest blunder a parent can make. Surprisingly, it starts right from when and how a child manages to achieve his milestones. This not only creates a lot of pressure on the individual but also on the parents. The thoughts that "whatever I do, am not better than him/her" lead to depression and low self-esteem and will most often result in jealously/anger/frustration towards the person he/she is compared with.

                           

Manipulations

We preach but don't practice. Children notice that. We take so much effort to teach our kids the good values in life but its easier if they see you practising them. Be how you want them to be. Makes the job easier!
Live your life, love more and be happy....your child is watching!
               

                   

Adults or peers may be emotionally abusive. Please watch out for the above mentioned signs. Better to know them, to keep away from them. And by any chance, if you are abusive in any form, better to stop it immediately than to repent later.