Nov-Dec 2015 Preview

November-December 2015

Vol 5 - Issue 3 - `100

What

Every Parent

Should Know About School and College Rankings

Pg 08

PARENTING AFTER

ADOPTION Pg 44

Montessori System - Facts

and Myths Pg 18

Do Children Need Health Supplements? Pg 49

Family Movies in Regional Languages Pg 57 Hobby Classes for Pre-Schoolers - Pros and Cons Pg 40

RAISE A

Self-Reliant Child! Pg 32

Internships for Highschoolers Pg 22 Summer School Programmes Pg 26

College Education Abroad

Viral Doshi is Founder of Viral Doshi Associates, an independent international education and career guidance boutique with offices in Mumbai, Dubai, London and Singapore. Viral has mentored students and families for the last two decades.

Your child could go to college while still in school. Intrigued? Colleges in the USA oer summer programmes to high schoolers. If you are considering an undergrad education for your child in the USA, you should read this article by Viral Doshi, one of our Expert Authors.

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November-December 2015

Sanjay Balasundaram is Founder and Chief Story Teller at www.keenowl.com.

Award-winning KeenOwl Books have helped parents and caregivers teach life skills, share family values and traditions, and build character in young children through personalised life-lesson stories. Their books were awarded the prestigious USA based ‘Parenting Choice’ Award.

Making Your Child

Self-Reliant 32

November-December 2015

Parenting Quotient

I am not a control freak.

I just like to have my way

Are you a

HELICOPTER parent?

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November-December 2015

Parenting Quotient Dance class

Football class

Yoga class

Dr. Jaishri Ramakrishnan is a consultant psychologist with over three decades of experience. She has conducted several seminars, workshops and training programmes on parenting, handling children with special needs, and stress management.

There was an era when there was no such thing as “parenting”. For parents then, raising a child was a fairly simple pursuit.

Of course, mothers and fathers loved their children; they fed and clothed them, occasionally enquired if they had done their homework, and checked their grades.

Today, this approach is out of place and is even viewed as benign neglect. Children, who are barely out of infancy, are ferried to and from music/dance classes, sports sessions, art activities etc, with a ‘Baby on board’ sticker in the car! New discoveries about brain development reinforce the “sooner the better” thinking, leading parents to orchestrate all activities in their children’s lives to guarantee future success.

The “hand holding” does not cease as the fond parents hope the child will surge forward. Parenting in this manner continues even into the college/university years. Parents may have the best intentions and also be devoted, loving and intelligent; but they are unable to stop themselves from over indulging, over protecting and over scheduling their children. Thus parents unconsciously become control freaks. Instead of raising responsible grown ups, they produce “overgrown” kids. Such ‘helicopter parenting’ results in demoralizing the child and reducing self reliance, resilience, accountability, and integrity.

ow. me n layti e to p o N tim It‛s actising r p t sons r sta usic les m your

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37

Young Parents’ Corner

CLASSES FOR

Preschoolers Over the last few years, several activity classes for pre-schoolers have begun. Movement and fun exercise, art, music, storytelling, swimming, yoga, baking, pottery; the sheer variety is impressive.

Why are parents rushing to enrol their young ones in these classes? Are they really beneficial?

What should parents be watchful about? Read on.

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November-December 2015

Family Matters

Parenting after Adoption 44

November-December 2015

Wellness

Health Supplements:

Does Your Child Need Them?

Dr. Krishna Mahathi is a paediatrician with post graduate diplomas in the management of allergies and developmental neurology.

Many parents wonder if they need to give their children vitamin supplements regularly. There is also the debate over whether doctors are overrating commercial nutritional supplements and hence prescribing them too often. The answers are not straight forward. We need a deeper dive into the matter to get a clearer picture.

and muscle function. Calcium helps in growth, nerve and muscle function and also builds bone strength. Iodine plays a pivotal role in the formation of thyroxin.This hormone regulates all the body’s functions and impacts the development of the nervous system.

Fluoride is important for the prevention of tooth decay. It appears to have an effect at the root level in children before teeth erupt, as well as a surface effect after teeth have erupted. Zinc is essential in maintaining the integrity of the immune system; deficiency makes children vulnerable to diarrheal, skin and lung infections. The mineral magnesium is involved in more than 300 essential metabolic reactions and various cellular processes. Copper and molybdenum are essential enzyme components and selenium is an important antioxidant. Chromium works closely with insulin to regulate blood sugar (glucose) levels. Iron plays an important role in the development of the cells that produce a substance called myelin which forms a sheath of insulating tissue that surrounds nerve fibres. Besides anaemia, perceptual memory and behavioural related problems occur when iron deficiency occurs in the growing years.

The role of vitamins and minerals Vitamins are essential for synchronised body functioning (for enzymes to digest food, for blood to clot, for the strengthening of bones and cartilage, for nerves to transmit impulses, for hormones to be secreted, for wounds to heal, for immunity, and for organ function) and not just for growth. With the exception of vitamin D which is manufactured by the body in response to sunlight exposure, all vitamins have to be ‘supplied’ to the body, either in the form of a balanced diet, or in the form of supplements.

The macro mineral group is made up of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride, and sulphur and they are needed in significant amounts, along with trace amounts of other minerals (or microminerals) such as iron, manganese, copper, iodine, zinc, cobalt, fluoride, and selenium. Sodium, chloride and potassium are needed to maintain fluid balance in the body’s cells and they bring about vibrance in nerve November-December 2015

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