Money management is an important life skill that every child should acquire at a young age. Children
can develop useful financial habits that will help them throughout their lives by understanding the
value of money, budgeting, and making informed financial decisions. You play an important role as a parent in teaching your children about money management. We will explore easy ways for parents
to help them educate their children about money in a simple, entertaining, and effective way in this
article. Here are 7 Tips for Parents for Teaching Kids about Money Management.

1. Start early and make it relatable

It is important to begin teaching children about money management at an early age. You can start
educating kids about different coins and their worth. You can later move on to more complex topics
like saving, budgeting and investing as kids get older. Make financial discussions relevant to their
daily life. When shopping, for example, explain the difference between needs and wants and involve
them in buying decisions.

2. Set a good example

Children learn by watching their parents. As a parent, you have to show good financial habits. Show
how you save money, set a budget, and make responsible financial decisions. Include kids in family
financial discussions, such as setting financial goals and tracking how much of it is achieved. You can
teach healthy money management practices in your children by setting a good example.

3. Teach your child the value of money

Explain to your child that money is earned through a lot of work and is a limited resource. To earn
pocket money, ask them to do age-appropriate chores or work. This will help them understand the
value of money.

4. Introduce basic budgeting

Budgeting can be taught to kids in a fun and interactive way. To encourage kids to save money, give
them a piggy bank or a transparent jar. Help them with categorizing their allowance, such as savings,
spending, and giving.

5. Encourage goal setting

Encourage your child to make financial goals by highlighting the value of doing it. Setting goals can
help them learn discipline and the concept of delayed gratification, whether they are saving for a
new toy, a trip with the family, or even their education.

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Larger goals should be broken down into more manageable milestones, and every achievement
should be celebrated. Children will learn the benefits of patience and money management by
achieving their goals.

6. Teach them about spending wisely

Help them understand the difference between needs and wants by teaching them about responsible
spending. Teach them to compare costs, read reviews, and evaluate the worth of what they buy
before buying it. Encourage them to hold off impulsive purchases so they have time to consider
whether it is a sensible use of their money. It can be useful to explain to children the idea of
opportunity cost, such as how spending money on one thing means passing up the chance to get
another.

7. Explain the idea of giving

Teach your kids about the importance of helping others. Encourage them to contribute a portion of
their income to a cause or organisation that is important to them. It may be as straightforward as
giving to a local initiative or participating in a local charity event. Children who practice generosity
grow in empathy and understand the effects that their actions can have on others.

Teaching kids about money management is a continuous process. As kids get older, you can
gradually explain advanced topics such as emergency savings, credit knowledge, investing, and how
to manage their salary account and savings accounts. Remember to adjust your approach to your
child’s age and learning style. By teaching excellent money habits to your children at a young age,
you are providing them with the skills they need to make great financial decisions and achieve good
financial health throughout their life.

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The post Teaching Kids about Money Management: Practical Tips for Parents appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

Do you know the way you praise your kids makes a difference to their mindset? When you appreciate their efforts, you encourage a growth mindset in children. Whereas appreciating them plainly on the basis of their intelligence make them adopt a fixed mindset. A growth mindset in children helps them to push their boundaries and embrace challenges. On the contrary, they believe in limited capabilities and intelligence due to a fixed mindset.

Here are 5 ways of interacting with your kids to build confidence and encourage a growth mindset.

1. Don’t Let Them Give up Easily

The attention span of kids is short. You should immediately start interacting with your kids whenever you notice that they are giving up on something. It can be about solving a puzzle or building a Lego monument. Explain to them that there is no harm to keep on trying. Motivating their efforts and appreciating them on the progress they made irrespective of the result will increase the growth mindset in your children.

You may also read – 5 Fun Brain-Boosting Games for Kids!

2. Praise Their Efforts for Confidence Building

It is natural to praise the creation of kids like a clay model, painting, or a craft product. But when you praise the end product, you give an impression to them that they are good at making that particular thing only. Instead, appreciate their efforts by saying, “you did hard work” or asking, “what helped you make progress?” This kind of appreciation builds confidence in them to try more new things.

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3. Motivate Them to Take on New Challenges

“Every expert was once a beginner.” When kids are in the beginner stage, they are most vulnerable. But not the kids with a growth mindset! This mindset comes with the understanding that challenging tasks are not meant to be pushed aside. Explain to them that it’s ok to fall, fail, and not have a clue sometimes. That’s how they are supposed to grow and learn. Once they start viewing challenges as opportunities, there’s no looking back.

You may also read – A Basic Guide to Raising Smart Children!

4. Make Failure Look Like Another Step Towards Success

Unfortunately, failure is seen as a lack of intelligence and capability in our society. When kids begin to understand that, they fear failure. You should emphasise the fact that failure is not the end of the road. Instead, it’s evidence that they have the guts to try something new and challenging. Shift their focus from the result towards learning and experience. It is the best way to nurture a growth mindset in children.

5. Encourage Reading Habit

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One of the proven ways to develop a growth mindset in children is to make them realise that there is so much to learn in this world. And books do this job perfectly. Encourage reading habits in your kids by gifting them interesting children’s books with illustrations. You can also get books specifically on the topic of the growth mindset. Reading habit also helps in confidence building, sharpening thought process, and improving problem-solving abilities.

You may also read – DIY Bookshelf and Reading Nook for Kids!

To Sum-up

Try the 5 ways mentioned above for nourishing the growth mindset in your children and watch them thrive every day. They reach their full potential in life when you make them believe that their intelligence and capabilities are not fixed. Rather these qualities are ever-growing and expanding.

Author Bio:

Samidha Raj works as part of the content marketing team at PlanetSpark, a platform that provides online classes to K8 learners on “New Age Skills” like English Communication, Public Speaking, Grammar, Creative Writing, Debating, etc. She is passionate about empowering the youth by educating parents about the importance of 21st-century skills. In her free time, you can find her watching documentaries or animated movies and organizing game nights (board games are her thing)!

The post 5 Ways of Building Confidence & Growth Mindset in your Children appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

A basic guide on how to raise smart children. Do you feel your children have the potential for great things? Would you like your kids to grow up to be highly successful adults but are not sure where to begin?

Almost 400,000 children are born around the world every day. This high number shows that many people are experiencing the joy of becoming parents. However, parenthood also involves being responsible for your child’s upbringing, development, and how they see the world.

If you want tips on becoming a better parent, look no further! Our guide will provide you with the right tools you need to raise smart children. So read below if you are ready to see your kid become the next Einstein!

Take Time to Listen

One way you can raise smart children is if you take the time to listen when they talk. This might be difficult to do, especially when you live a busy life and try to multitask to get everything done. However, when a child feels heard, it allows them to reveal what is on their mind and feel comfortable expressing themselves.

Here are a few ways you can let your kids know you are listening:

• Put down your phone
• Pay attention while they talk
• Acknowledge what they say
• Answer their questions

When you can practice these top listening techniques, it will show your kids that what they are saying is important. And when you are fully engaged in the conversation with your child, it validates them, which can directly impact how smart they become.

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Foster Their Critical Thinking Skills

Another way you can help your kids is by fostering their critical thinking skills. For example, when your child has a problem, you might feel like you should step in and try to solve it for them.

However, when you teach, guide, and encourage your children to come up with their own solution to an issue or obstacle, it will stimulate their brain and help them see that they are smart enough to work through things on their own.

Make Learning Fun

An additional way you can raise smart kids is to make learning fun. Having your kids hit the books after a long day at school can cause them to burn out and dread learning. Therefore, this is your opportunity to nurture your kid’s creativity.

For example, there are many brain games for children that combine learning with fun activities. And if you are looking for fun things to do with your kids, you can go online to read more about Montessori recommended projects that are geared towards helping your child improve their IQ in no time!

You Have the Tools to Raise Smart Children!

Unlocking your child’s true potential has never been easier! Our guide has shown you several ways to raise smart children so they can have a great head start in life. If you follow our recommendations, you will have kids that will go out there and change the world!

Did you find this article helpful? For more parenting advice, make sure to explore the rest of our blog.

The post A Basic Guide to Raising Smart Children appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

Hello everyone, today I am sharing some fun and interesting brain-boosting games for young children that can be played indoors. You know what, even the adults can join the kids and enjoy these activities.  And, the best part about these games is that they are not just fun but they also help in cognitive enhancement. Just like our bodies need exercise for proper functioning, our brain also needs exercise to improve memory, focus, and concentration.

I have already talked about the importance of cognitive milestones in early childhood and how the stimulation activities and environment play an important role in the brain development of babies and toddlers.

Outdoor Activity

The corona cases have reduced drastically in number and we have allowed our kids to go outside to play and meet with their friends. The outdoor activities and playtime are back. I feel this is the best thing that has happened to kids after seeing such a bad time this year.

But, with schools still closed, kids are spending most of their time at home in front of the screens be it for online learning, online gaming, or online entertainment.

You may also read – How to make Young Kids pay Attention during Online Classes?

Online Learning

And, that’s why it is one of the biggest challenges for many parents to keep their little ones happily engaged and away from screens. So, I thought why not share a few games for young kids that will not just keep them away from the screens but will also enhance their cognition. These 5 games/activities are my son’s favourite hence sharing them in this post. I am sure your kids will also enjoy playing these.

You may also read – 6 Fun Activities with Family at Home

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5 Brain-Boosting Games & Activities

1 – Jenga

So, the game on the top of our list is Jenga. Why?

Because it’s fun to play, it can be played in many ways and it also tickles your brain. It not only uses your physical skills but also needs a lot of mental skills.

Jenga is all about the blocks. First, you need to build the tower using wooden blocks. Then you take turns pulling just the right block. The tower might wobble, but you are still in the game if the tower doesn’t fall. As the blocks head for the sky, the suspense grows. Keep the blocks balanced, and you win!

Playing Jenga

Though this game is meant for ages 6 years and above as mentioned on its box, I believe introducing Jenga to your 4-year-old is a much better idea. They may not play it as it’s meant to be played but it can serve as a great stacking and balancing block game for them.

Not just that, playing Jenga can help improve hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills & cognitive performance. And above all, it’s a great game that can be played by the whole family together.

2- Word Search Puzzle

Next on the list of brain-boosting games is the word search puzzle game. It’s a wonderful game for children to help them improve their vocabulary & spelling.

Word Search Puzzle

Word puzzles not just help boost working memory but helps in quick thinking too. Such games help to improve a child’s processing speed & also encourages a healthy sense of competition.

You can introduce this activity to kids once they are done with letter sounds and are ready to make words. Start with 2-letter words and gradually move on to bigger words & grids.

Later, you can give them other word games like Crossword & Unscramble.

3- Dumb Charades as Brain-boosting Game

The 3rd game on our list of brain-boosting games is Dumb charades. We all have played this game especially the song & movie version and we know how much fun & exciting it can be. So, why not introduce our little ones to this game at an early age.

We just have to make it age-appropriate by choosing the right categories to enact. When we play this game with our son, we choose the things we see around us to act out so that it would be relatable & easy for him to guess.

We have so much fun whenever we play dumb charades with Nemit, time just flies away. Your kids can also play this game virtually with their friends.

4- Building Vocabulary

Next comes a fun yet challenging vocabulary game, this is our version of the game Word After Word. To play this game, first, you need to choose a category like fruits or animals, or vehicles. Then the players have to go word after word after word from the chosen category until there are no more words left. The last person to say the word is the winner.

You don’t need anything to play this game & it can be played anywhere. We love to play this game while travelling too especially during long road trips. It keeps our son occupied for a long time.

5 – Snakes & Ladders

And the last game on our list is the favorite of all, snakes & ladders. It’s a great game that can help a lot in developing early math skills in young children. They can learn so much about numbers like counting, sequencing & addition. Moreover, it’s a classic and never gets old, so why not introduce this fun game to our kids.

Check out this video to see how we play these brain-boosting games with our son.

So, that’s all for this blog. I hope you enjoy playing these games with your kids. See you next time.

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The post 5 Fun Brain-Boosting Games for 4 to 6 year old Kids appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

Has anyone ever told you that you are not beautiful?

Guess what?

I was told these words on my face by my own kid, my then 4-year-old boy.

This incident happened last year and it made me wonder how vulnerable our kids are to what they see and hear and how they process that information. Also, how important our role as parents is in molding their thinking to help them grow into kind and accepting human beings.

So, today I want to share this episode with you all I wrote that time but didn’t share it because I wanted to see if my approach worked or not.

The day my son told me, Mumma, you are not beautiful, I knew it was time to talk about Beauty, self-love, and love for others. 

We had just entered Lockdown 2.0 that week. I remember it was a Saturday, my free day and I was preparing for a long relaxing bath. Just before entering the bathroom, I peeped at myself into the mirror, I looked different.

Yes, I had overgrown eyebrows and a mustache, my face looked tanned and dull but I didn’t mind it. The salons were closed and I was happy that I could enjoy pain-free days. I made some funny faces in the mirror & laughed at myself. Just when I turned around I saw my son Nemit standing there, with a confused look ready to pop a question at me.

And, he asked me, ‘Mumma, why do you have hair on your face like papa? You also have hair on your hands and legs.’ Just before I could say something, he blurted out, ‘Mumma, now you are not beautiful.’

I was taken aback by his comment. Clearly, I wasn’t expecting that.

It felt weird & I couldn’t say a word to him so I just gave him a silly smile & went into the bathroom. The only thought I had lingering on my mind that day was when & how did my 4-year-old son learn to make such judgments. I never taught him any specific definition of beauty.

Or, did I? Maybe unknowingly and unintentionally. I don’t know.

It made me ponder, was there anything that we were doing that was sending a wrong message to our kid?

I always knew a day will come when I will talk to my son about self-love because that is the most important thing for a child’s confidence. But, how did I forget that there’s another important thing we need to teach our kids. That is, loving others, accepting them without judging their choices, and looking beyond their outer appearance.

So many thoughts were clouding my mind that day. And on top of that, I started questioning my parenting (if you are a parent, you know what I mean). I had to come out of it. Now, the challenge was how to talk about it with a 4-year-old.

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I had an important conversation on ‘Being Beautiful’ with my son that day.

That evening I sat with him and touched the topic again. And, I started with the basics. The first thing I told him was that every girl and boy gets facial and body hair when they reach a certain age. And, it is not a bad thing. I had to explain it a bit to make him understand the point.

Everyone is beautiful irrespective of their skin colour, body size & even body hair.  We all get body hair and it’s a choice if someone wants to keep it that way or remove it. Similarly, with makeup or no makeup, we can’t judge anyone based on their choices. Some people feel good after putting on makeup, some people don’t. If they are happy the way they are, they are beautiful.

He seemed confused at first so I encouraged him to ask questions. I never thought he could ask so many questions on this topic. I answered them all, giving him examples from real life so that he could understand better. And, then moved on to explain other qualities that we should look at in other people beyond their looks.

That day, I realized how important it is to have such conversations with our kids. They are vulnerable because their minds are still developing, they are taking in a lot of unfiltered information from ‘n’ number of sources. We really can’t filter or block everything they see or hear but we can help them in processing that information in the right manner just by having such heart-to-heart conversations.

It’s been more than a year now since that incident but I can tell that our talk that day made a lasting impact on his mind and changed the way he looks at people now. I see him giving compliments to his teachers and he never shies away on appreciating the good qualities of his friends. For a parent, these are proud moments to cherish.

What are your thoughts on this? Have you ever had such a conversation with your child? I would love to hear your thoughts. Please share them in the comments below. If you don’t feel like leaving a public comment here, please feel free to reach out to me on my social media.

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I spent my days at home, hoping I could sleep and lying to my friends as they called to check on me. I was stressed, hormonal, and irritable, and I felt cooped up in my bed, unsure if I’d ever feel normal again. I figured those first weeks with the baby would be difficult, but I had no idea how difficult they would be. One thing I learnt with my second pregnancy is that knowing what to expect really helps! So here are some pointers on what you can expect as a new mom.

• It takes time to return to normalcy.

Many women are surprised to hear that they will continue to appear pregnant after giving birth. Six weeks after giving birth, many women are still not down to their pre-pregnancy weight. It will take some time. Don’t quietly judge the body—remember what it just accomplished: creating and delivering a kid! Have a good attitude to remind yourself that your body does not have to be like this for the rest of your life. Attend a stroller-cise workshop for new moms to get some fresh air (and meet new people!) while slimming down.

• It’s a loop!

Someone advises you that you will not be able to relax, because they are not misleading. For the first three weeks, the baby will feed every two hours during the day and night—and that is an ambitious estimate! You’ll hear the scream of your hungry baby waking you up just as you’re about to drift off to sleep for the third time that night. Consider the alarm clock going off every couple of hours for the next five weeks. It’s not enjoyable. So, expect this before you give birth, so you are ready to deal with it.

You may also read – Preterm baby care tips for a new mom!

• Take the small wins in life.

When our pre-kids’ lives appeared just a few months ago, adjusting to motherhood can be tough. We recall the days when we could stay up late, nap wherever we liked, and eat for as long as we wanted. It can seem almost difficult to reconcile that existence with our current one. Instead, focus on minor victories. Find quick, doable ways to integrate your previous life into your current life as a parent. Don’t be afraid to run an errand with the boy, no matter how tight the time span is—at the very least, you did it. And if you know, you’ll need to attend to her in a few minutes, make yourself a cup of tea, and savor each drink as she sleeps. Shop for cotton onesies and baby hoodies for your little one by yourself.

• Breastfeeding can get tough for a new mom.

If you plan to breastfeed, you can face a variety of difficulties, such as the baby not latching, uncomfortable feedings, or a loss of milk supply. Society portrays breastfeeding as easy, but it is often more difficult. Always have a muslin wrap handy during feeding.  If you’re having difficulty breastfeeding, it’s important to get treatment as soon as possible to avoid long-term complications. Consult a lactation nurse, the baby’s pediatrician, or the hospital care service for advice

• Embrace the confusion and be easy on yourself

Feeding and caring for a newborn baby can cause the most discomfort for many mothers. Should you breastfeed or bottle-feed your baby? Is your baby putting out enough wet diapers? Is she still alive and well? (Believe it or not, you’ll be checking your sleeping baby’s breath more often than you can imagine.) The questions go on and on, and they consume you—because, like any mother, you’re worried about your kid. Just concentrate on what matters most: feeding both the baby and yourself! When a new mom comes home with her new son or daughter, it is advisable to be optimistic about what she will accomplish. The new moms have three fundamental responsibilities: Feed their daughter, feed themselves, and bathe one of their children on occasion.

Last but not least, it’s okay if you don’t adapt to motherhood immediately. There’s now a small human that resembles you, sleeps almost all of the time, coats you with spit-up and feces, and scarcely recognizes your presence. It’s not unusual to ask why you haven’t yet formed a connection. Remind yourself that getting to know each other takes time.

Author Bio:

I am Andrea Micheal, a post-graduate in humanities and communications and an inquisitive person who loves writing. I’m working for Tiny Twig, and my forte is digital marketing and everything that has to do with phones and screens. I am someone who believes that one person can make a change, and that’s precisely why I took up writing, which is the best tool to communicate these days. I have a decade of experience in writing and marketing, and I still find myself learning new things about it, which I want to share with my readers.

Thanks for visiting our blog. I hope you liked the post and found it helpful. Please do share it further with someone who might find it helpful.

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In a perfect world, children on every playground would play nice, take turns, and respect one another. But since we don’t live in an ideal world, children will misbehave or even bully other children on the playground. As a parent, what do you do when you see a child misbehaving? Should you parent other children in such a situation? This is a difficult question to answer!

Every parent has their own unique way of parenting their child. Most of the time, parents do not take too kindly to someone else parenting their child without consent. However, there are some common playground scenarios that may require your attention and parenting skills to resolve the issue.

Common Playground Scenarios

Scenario 1: You see a child cutting in front of other children in the line for the slide

This situation is one that’s all too common on the playground. Some children are able to take turns and share playground equipment, but others are not.  One way to resolve this issue is to simply intervene in the situation by telling your child to pick another playground activity.

This image belongs to www.growingwithnemit.com and reuse is strictly not permitted

But if your child does not want to move on to another activity, instruct your child to play nice with the other child who’s cutting in front of the line by saying:

“Can you please stop cutting in front of me?”

“Please let me have my turn down the side.”

Another alternative to this same scenario is to practice a gentle parenting approach with the child who keeps cutting in line. You can try saying the following to the child:

“You are doing so good going down the slide, but we all need to remember to wait our turn.”

Scenario 2:  You see a child throwing sand up in the air in the sandbox

If your child is playing in the same sandbox, it may be wise to move him or her away from the situation. It’s never fun to get sand in your eyes or inhale sand particles. For this particular situation, it may be proper playground etiquette to walk away.

Yes, the child throwing sand needs to be parented or disciplined for his/her actions. However, it is more of immediate concern to remove your child from the situation and move on with your day. Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing in situations like this.

Scenario 3: You see another child pushing, biting, or more (bullying) another child

This is a scenario you do not want to see on the playground between children. Bullying behaviors that harm someone emotionally or physically is never acceptable under any circumstances. For bullying, it’s important to live by the motto- See something, do something.

In this instance, your instincts as a parent kick in. And you need to intervene between the two children even if one of the children is not your child. When you see a child acting out toward another child, it’s best to separate the children from one another and ask the child where their mother or father is on the playground.

The chances are the mom or dad of the children did not see the bullying behavior occur. No parent would approve of their child bullying another child or seeing their child being hurt. Therefore, it’s best to talk to the children’s parents directly. This way, you are not parenting the children directly; instead, you are involving the parents to handle the issue.

You may also read – How the Emotional Needs of a child affect their behavior?

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So the question still remains: Do you parent other children on the playground?

Yes and no. Through these three common playground scenarios, we see there are ways to handle and possibly solve issues without directly parenting a child. For some parents, they become extremely offended by someone else parenting their child.

You can avoid offending other parents on the playground by trying one of the following tactics:

1. Use gentle parenting techniques to kindly ask a misbehaving child to take turns, share, etc.
2. Remove your child from the situation without parenting another child.
3. Don’t parent the misbehaving child directly, but contact the child’s parents on the playground to let them know about the issue.

While you can parent another child on the playground, other parents may frown upon it. There is an unspoken rule about parenting, commonly referred to as “not your child, not your business.” However, when a child is not acting appropriately with other children on the playground by causing harm physically and emotionally, no parent can stand idly by and only observe.

Sometimes immediate intervention is needed to resolve an issue that can lead to potential harm on the playground. Whether it is your child or someone else’s child, you need to parent and discipline.

The post Should you parent other children on the playground? appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

There’s nothing like Perfect Parenting

Motherhood means discovering new possibilities and capabilities within oneself. It’s the most beautiful feeling but sometimes comes with lots of challenges. Hello everyone, I am Sonam Patel, mom to a three and half-year-old boy. Parenting proved to be a roller coaster ride yet the most incredible journey for us.

I delivered in 33 weeks because the growth of the baby stopped completely. It was an emergency c-section. The first three days went well, but after that, the health of the baby started deteriorating and he was shifted to the NICU. The sample was sent for the TORCH test and Rubella was found positive.

You may also read – Preterm Baby Care Tips for New Moms!

Picture by Sonam Patel

Rubella affects the ear, eyes, brain, heart, and overall growth of the baby. So. it was complete damage for us. He had a hole in his heart, cataract in eyes and there was already a delay in his growth. Later, we discovered hearing loss in one ear too. Somehow brain seemed fine, but again the development was slow. This shook us totally. But, we didn’t have any option rather than fighting back.

Developmental delays & Surgery 

Nisham was just 3 months old when he went through his left eye surgery. This was the toughest phase as he was suffering a lot. In the fourth month, the right eye surgery was done. Both surgeries went fine. But he went through a lot of pain. He would cry the whole night and wouldn’t feed at all. He started wearing spectacles with power as high as +20 when he was just 6 months old. When he was 9 months old, he went through his heart surgery.

Picture by Sonam Patel

Sonam Patel

A proud stay at home mommy to a fighter baby, Nisham. I am basically from Bihar, residing in Kolkata. I am freelancing as an English- Hindi translator. My only motive is to create awareness and show a ray of hope to someone who is struggling with parenting. You can know more about our journey through my Instagram handle- @sonamm_patel. Do follow us and show some love.

Sonam, more power to you, dear. And blessings to little Nishu, I am very sure he will win this fight. He’s the strongest baby I know. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us.

The post There’s nothing like Perfect Parenting – The ‘Un’-common Tales’ appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

Hello every one, here’s the fourth(4th) post of the blog series – The ‘Un’-common Tales of common people. This post is written by a close friend of mine, Gunjan Bhatla. She has shared her experience of how she overcame all the obstacles to free her son from Autism. Her story is inspirational and I am sure every parent going through a similar phase will find a ray of hope after reading her experience. I want to thank Gunjan for coming out and spread awareness about Autism and ADHD through her story.

Now, a little something about this blog series. I strongly believe that each one of us has a ‘voice’ that can make an impact, the ‘power’ to inspire others and the ‘experience’ that could help someone else. But not everyone has a platform to reach out to others and share their experiences with them. Hence, this series, where you will get to read the ‘Un’- common tales of common people who have the power to inspire and bring the change. This series is a small token of thanks to those people who have always supported me in my journey.

Read the first post of the series here – Take professional help!

Read the 2nd post of the series here – How to rediscover yourself after having a baby?!

And, read the 3rd of the series here – Appreciation Matters!

If you, too, have been a part of our blog’s journey and wish to be a part of this series, you can reach out to me on Instagram. No bloggers, please!

Now, let’s read Gunjan’s post.

When the doctor said, ‘Your child has suspected Autism’

I hope you all have heard the terms – Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Believe me, it’s Nerve-Wracking if you hear a doctor say, “Your child has a suspected Autism / ADHD”.  WE HEARD THAT!

This all started when our child (Dhairya) was not even 2 years old. I don’t know how, but slowly and gradually my son got addicted to the gadget world. This need for a gadget reached the extreme stage and he was always in need of a mobile phone or the television, while he was awake.

PIN IT!

He started giving alarming signals to us and we could easily identify the milestone delay(s).

The first challenge that we faced was his SPEECH DELAY.  He used to just point out at the things that he wanted but never tried to utter a word.  No eye contact and poor listening skills.  He used to listen to us at his own wish.  We really got tensed and out of curiosity, we decided to send him to the Play School; hoping the situation will improve.

You may also read – How to ensure that your child is growing right?

He was around 2 years old by then. After a couple of days, we started getting complaints from the school – “The KID is not even responding to his name“, he is busy in himself and at times tries to catch hold the mobile phone of the class teacher.  This got us really scared.

Post taking the advice from the elders of our family, we decided to meet his pediatrician. And to our shock, he suspected Autism or ADHD in my child. He suggested us to go to a Child Psychiatric. This was turning out to be a nightmare for us. We met Dr. Satender Walia (Child Psychiatric) at BLK Hospital, Rajender Nagar, and she as well concluded that Dhairya is indeed showing some signs of Autism/ADHD. She suggested Occupational Therapy with Zero screen time.  Though, she said that we can’t take the kid as Autistic. We were totally BLANK and were literally weeping after coming out of the hospital.  WHY WE!!!!

Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and nonverbal communication.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a mental health disorder that can cause above-normal levels of hyperactive and impulsive behaviours. People with ADHD may also have trouble focusing their attention on a single task or sitting still for long periods of time. Both adults and children can have ADHD.

It was a total ZERO feeling for the next two days! It felt like everything was over for us. In the meanwhile, my sister came to our house and suggested that we should think positive and fight the situation we are in. We all decided to go to Vrindavan and take blessings from the GOD.  Trust me, it actually helped us to calm our minds and think positively towards the solution.

You may also read – How to boost your baby’s brain development!

We both were ready to take up the challenge and save our child from this scare. The very next morning, we hid all the TV remotes and kept our mobile phones out of reach from our son’s hands.  After reading ‘n’ number of online articles, we bought puzzles, doodles, books, etc as per his age bracket.  Along with these activities, I was determined to give my 100% time to my child. We literally became a talking machine and used to constantly feed our child with rhymes, counting, or any other informative thing that we can think of.

In the initial stage, it was really tough, as Dhairya showed resistance and was pretty much disturbed, as the screen was taken away from him.  It was as if life has been taken out of someone.  Even his health went down and he became restless. But on the order side, we were firm and were ready for this resistance and carried on our efforts; knowing that this hardship would be good for our kid’s future.

You may also read – How to deal with Toddler Tantrums?

Positive Signs after a week – Fighting Autism!

Finally, after a week, we saw some positive signs, a ray of hope when Dhairya started recognizing numbers from one (1) to ten (10) and even tried uttering them. It was a real positive sign which proved that we were on the right track. We continued our effort(s) and gradually Dhairya started showing improvement. We even started getting positive feedback from his playschool.

After a gap of six months, we again went to the same Child Psychiatric (Dr. Walia). She was totally amazed to see the improvement in our kid. And straight away gave us a clean chit on Autism/ADHD. 

She also applauded us for the early recognition of the symptom(s) in our kid, which helped us to overcome this in a short duration; as compared with the other cases wherein this gets detected at a later stage. However, she suggested joining some Occupational Therapy (OT) to further improve his condition and catch on the Milestones he has missed.

On her suggestion, we made Dhairya join an OT class in Moti Nagar (Inspiration – Dr. Bhagyashree Mudgil).  He used to get sessions on hand-eye coordination, leg and eye coordination, balancing, gross, and fine motor skills. They helped him to grip Pencil and sketch/crayons colors.  Most importantly, they made him channelize his energy towards the right and correct path. All these activities further enhanced his concentration level and brought stability in his mind.

You may also read – How to make young kids pay attention during online classes?

Later, we found out that there was a similar OT therapist (SMILE, Ashok Vihar) near our place. The therapist here focused on sharpening his memory by performing various activities like – solving puzzles, finding differences between two pictures, etc. Special focus was given to improve the Sequencing Skills through passing the hurdles as well.  And we are still continuing with the same therapist to further enhance the basic and advanced skills.

Excess of everything is bad – Fighting Autism!

Believe me, it was really a tough fight filled with complete patience and devotion.  In the end, I can only say GOD has literally given our child back to us and I am really thankful to him for that.  

I must tell you still our hardship is not over, though the situation has improved a lot, the battle needs to be won yet!

My advice is to keep your toddlers away from these gadgets or at least have a control on their watch time.  As the proverb goes – “Excess of everything is BAD!”

And in case if you get any alarming sign(s), delay in milestones, or some abnormal behavior; please do not ignore this. I would also like to state that Autism/ADHD is not just because of the screen time. The exact causes of these two are still unknown and multiple.

You may also read – How can you help your children with their emotional needs?

As a parent, it is your duty/responsibility to have a watch on your kid and proactively react, if in case you find something awkward. GOD forbid if anyone of you falls into this; please do not panic.

You and your child can overcome this situation; the key is to have patience and giving quality time to your kid. 

Moreover, like in our case, it was a borderline situation, but we have read and seen cases wherein the parents and kids have fought out of this Autism/ADHD, even from an advanced stage.

Never lose HOPE! 

Gunjan Bhatla 

I am Gunjan, pursuing a Ph.D. in Management. I have worked as an Assistant Professor for 5 years. Nowadays, I am a homemaker and a mom of 4.5 yrs super duper naughty son. In other words full time on toes mom. Recently, I have started my youtube channel (Mom-N-son Fun-N-learn) to share the experiences that I am gaining with my kid in this lovely journey called Motherhood.

Thank you, Gunjan for sharing your experience, I literally had tears in my eyes while reading your story. It’s true that a mother can do anything for her child and a mother’s strength is like no other. I am so glad that you noticed the early warning signs and milestone delay and took action immediately. I wish you all the strength and luck for your fight. And, blessings to the little one, Dhairya is such a brave kid.

Please help spread this post by clicking the below icons. You may use the hashtag #TheUncommonTales while sharing. Thanks for reading.

The post Doctor said, ‘Your child has suspected Autism’ – The ‘Un’-common Tales’ appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

Hey guys, how’s the summer treating you? We are eagerly waiting for monsoons to arrive in the North & cool down the heat wave a bit. Today, I am going to review another book for you guys. This one is from the parenting category and a perfect one for art and craft lovers. This is Dr. Surbhi Prapanna’s ‘Creative Kids’. I have added a new category on my blog for book reviews, do check it out for more book recommendations.

Now that schools are closed and kids are creating havoc at home, I know you moms are finding it difficult to stay sane. Want to know how you can keep your kids engaged at home in a fun way? Learn A to Z of kids art, craft and DIY with ‘Creative Kids’. I am sure this book will take away all your woes and make your summers fun.

Book Title: Creative Kids

Genre: Parenting

Author: Dr. Surbhi Prapanna

Number of Pages: 81

Review: Creative Kids

‘Creative Kids’ is a collection of 26 easy art, craft, DIY and fun activities for kids. The best part about these activities is that these are simple & entertaining and can be prepared using easily available inexpensive home supplies. All the activities are designed by the author which she used to keep her kids creatively engaged at home. As per the author, these activities are suitable for kids 4-9 years old however I felt some activities can be done with toddlers too under supervision.

The author has very neatly explained each activity starting with the story behind that particular activity which adds the personal charm to the book. I really liked the tips, learnings, and benefits shared at the end of each activity. My personal favorites are the group activities to promote intellectual development in kids and patchwork & scrapbooking which can be enjoyed as family activities. She has also recommended some books to learn more about these activities which I found a great addition.

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I am really impressed by the way each chapter is outlined keeping in mind the interest of kids. The author has also suggested an interesting TV series for kids which is not just a source of entertainment but provides a great learning experience for both kids as well as adults.

Then there are some crafts which are totally inspired by nature and others which recycle and upcycle old things. These are some really thoughtful activities where kids get to learn some major life lessons while enjoying their craft work. The author has two daughters hence some of the activities are girl-oriented like preparing natural lip balm and hair care DIY masks. But I guess, even little boys would enjoy making these.

Conclusion

Creative Kids is a must have for all kids & parents who love DIY activities. You get to try some easy and fun art & craft activities without burning a hole in your pocket. The best part about the book is the author’s personal touch and the variety of topics which not only covers the activities but also talks about the intellectual and personality development of the kids. If you want to make your summer vacations cool, go grab your copy now!

I want to congratulate Author Dr. Surbhi Prapanna for publishing her first E-book and I wish her all the very best for her journey as an author.

About the Author

Dr. Surbhi Prapanna is a homeopathic therapist by profession and a writer and a blogger by passion. She has more than 4 years of professional writing experience and her work had been published on various prestigious online platforms like Momspresso.com, kidstoppress.com, cureJoy.com, and shivanaspirit.com.

I loved reading this book and would recommend it to all the parents. If you want to read this book, you can download your FREE copy (available for a limited time only) from #BlogchatterEbook Library.

Note: This book review has been written as part of the Blogchatter Book Review Program

The post Creative Kids by Dr. Surbhi Prapanna – Book Review appeared first on Growing With Nemit.