ParentsWorld November 2021 Archives

Conserving Mother Earth

Nikhil Jayadevan As deliberated extensively at the recently concluded COP 26 global climate summit held in Glassgow, planet Earth is experiencing global warming and climate change, which has prompted unnatural weather conditions, floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters. Here are some simple ways in which children can learn about conserving Mother Earth and natural resources: The water worksheet The Water Worksheet identifies ‘water wasters’ and turns them into ‘water savers’. On a chart paper, draw two columns and label them Water Waster and Water Saver. Team up with friends and go on rounds of the neighbourhood to observe how water is being used. For example: Is the driver using a hose pipe to wash his car? Does your building’s water tank overflow often? List these two under the column, Water Waster. Next brainstorm with your friends about how water can be saved in each situation. For example: the driver can use a bucket of water instead of a hose pipe to wash his car. To prevent the overhead water tank from overflowing, a sensor can be installed to automatically turn off the motor. Write down the best ways to conserve water under the Water Saver column. Eco-cushions Turn polythene bags into soft cushions. This is a great eco-friendly way of conserving Mother Earth by getting rid of plastic bags without despoiling the soil and environment. Snip plastic bags into tiny bits. Stuff the pieces into a cushion cover. Zip it up or stitch the opening shut so that no plastic pieces escape. Paint an eco-slogan on it or embroider a pretty pattern. Ideas for an environment campaign against overuse of plastic bags Plastic bags, except biodegradable ones, almost never decay. Over 1 billion tonnes of plastic is generated annually with most of it landing in the ocean resulting in 100,000 sea animals dying every year choking on plastic waste. So, the more plastic we keep away from trash cans, the better for the environment. Here are some ideas to start a local community campaign against plastics usage: Groups of friends can pledge not to throw plastic bags in the trash bin Organise an eco-cushions making party. Donate the eco-cushions to an orphanage or old people’s home. Or sell to friends and family and use proceeds to support environment causes. Carpooling Bonding with neighbours by car pooling can cut fuel consumption by half and reduce air pollution. Whether it is grocery shopping or visiting public parks, there are sure to be neighbours who do similar things, visit similar places. Make a list of places your family visits every week. Match the travel pattern with a neighbouring family. A little effort is needed to match schedules, but it is possible by making a Family Travel Schedule. Draw three columns on a sheet of paper, label them ‘Name of family member’, ‘Where they go’, ‘When.’ Fill in the columns for each family member. Calculate the number of trips which can be cut down by clubbing activities. Get together with neighbours and match timings…

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Discovering Warli art

Sabrina Rajan The Warli are an indigenous tribe living in the hilly and coastal terrains of the Gujarat-Maharashtra border. Their art tradition stretches back to 2,000-5,000 BCE. Modern day artistes and designers have begun discovering Warli art and using their art forms involving a set of geometric shapes — a circle, triangle, and square — to paint and decorate contemporary objects such as lampshades, sarees and ceramic pots. Simple and beautiful, Warli art captures details of the social life of village folk, and was usually painted on walls of homes and other buildings. Warli art basics A few geometric patterns such as a circle, triangle and square are repeated over and over again. Two triangles joined together at their tips form people. Stick hands and legs are added. Triangles are used for mountains and trees. The circle often represents the sun or moon. Squares denote land and/or sacred places. Materials Traditionally, white pigments were used to paint on earthen or terracotta walls. The white pigments were made from a mixture of rice paste, water and gum. A chewed bamboo stick at one end was used as a paintbrush. Warli art was used to pass on folklore to the next generation. It often shows human figures in action — people hunting, farming or dancing. History Warli art was discovered in the 1970s in Maharashtra but dates back to as early as 3,000 B.C. It is named after the Warli tribe, the largest tribal population in Maharashtra. Colours Traditionally, natural colours were used for the background, and figures were in white. The colours used were henna, indigo, ochre, black, mud and brick red. Warli art today It is still used to paint eye-catching scenes on walls. In addition, poster colours can be used on handmade paper of different colours. A dark coloured handmade sheet (red, black, dark green) can be chosen, and a scene can be painted in white. Alternately, black painted on white or off-white handmade paper also looks great. Warli art forms are also visible on sarees, churidars, coasters, lampshades, pots and doors. Also read: The Importance of Art Appreciation

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Stay fit and flexible with forward bend exercises

With children and adults obliged to be seated for long hours to attend online classes and office duties, these exercises prevent back pain – Vishwajeet Raut Adults and children need good muscle flexibility to maintain overall fitness especially spine health. Seated forward bend exercises stretch and relax the body, releasing hamstrings and hip muscles. They also aid digestion, reduce fat, especially in the back and hip joint and prevent leg and hip pain. With children and adults obliged to be seated for long hours to attend online classes and office duties, stay fit and flexible with forward bend exercises preventing back pain. Forward bends involve hip joints, the junction of the pelvis and spine and joints of the lower spine. They remove tightness and stretch tissues along the entire back, legs and spine. These simple exercises ensure good health as well as soothe and calm at the end of a stressful day. Try these simple forward bends. When you begin the workout, your spine and pelvis should be in a neutral position. Remember not to pull. Instead, stretch and bend. Begin your workout with simple warm-up exercises including rotational movements. Basic forward bend Sit with legs stretched out. Stretch your hands upwards. This stretches and relaxes the shoulder muscles. Breathe out, keep the back straight, and bend forward. Try to stretch your arms as far as possible and touch your toes. Hold for ten seconds. Gradually increase up to 60 seconds. Forward bend with flexed toes In the same forward bend, flex your toes. Bend forward, hold your toes and pull them towards yourself. The hamstring and calf muscles, hip and lower back become relaxed. Pull your toes and hold for ten seconds, then release. If you can’t reach your toes, stretch as far as you can. With regular practice, you will be able to do the forward bend with flexed toes. Forward bend with crossed legs Sit with your legs stretched out. Place the right leg over the left. Hold the leg that is on top and bend forward. Hold for ten seconds. Try to bend your head towards your knee. Change and repeat with the next leg. Forward bend with bent leg Sit upright with one leg stretched out. Bend the other leg at the knee and place your foot on the other thigh. Push the bent knee outwards. Press the knee and bend forward. Kneel to bend Kneel down, keep your back straight. Bend one leg with the foot inwards. Stretch the other leg backward, while keeping the bent leg at 90 degrees. Slowly bend forward and touch the floor. Also read: Bridges that make you strong

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Preparing children for on-campus schooling

PW invited parents of Podar Jumbo Kids, Mumbai to share their insights on how they are helping their children prepare for in-person classes “The Covid-19 pandemic has changed our lives in many ways. It has compelled my 5.5 year-old twins — Kovidh and Krishangi — to move out of their safe classrooms to an alien home learning set-up. As much as I would want them to return to physical school, I fear that coming out of their new normal environment may not be easy. Therefore I have made it a point to engage in open conversations with them and emphasise the joy of meeting old friends and teachers. Moreover to ensure their safety, I have engaged them in a drill to develop self-help skills like washing hands frequently and sneezing into the elbow.” — Paromita Mukherjee, executive, ICICI Bank, Mumbai “My five-year-old daughter Arjohi who attended normal school for a year before Covid-19 hit India, is excited to resume in-school classes. Accordingly, we have advised her to continue to maintain Covid safety protocols she has been following since March 2020. Our greatest worry, however, is how she will interact with other children. Although her school encourages speaking with classmates during online classes, we additionally emphasise the values of good behaviour and have inculcated soft skills since we believe these are integral to teaching-learning. We hope her enthusiasm to meet her friends and teachers will translate into an easy transition to on-campus school.” — Dheera Majumder, tourism executive, Sartha Global Marketing, Mumbai “I recall how difficult it was to make our son Shreyansh — currently studying in junior kindergarten — sit in one place for online classes ever since his school switched to online teaching-learning after the outbreak of Covid-19 in March 2020. Our sincere thanks to his school teachers and management for encouraging him and ensuring learning continuity through the pandemic. Now with education institutions planning to reopen after 18 long months, this is good news for teachers and children. As parents, we believe our child’s teachers will help Sreyansh transition smoothly to in-person classes just as they helped him adapt to online classes, while ensuring also that he maintained all Covid safety protocols.” — Kashyap Patel, practising company secretary, Mumbai. “I believe our children were badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Now that we are looking forward to our 4.5 year-old son Shaurya Mahesh resuming normal school, I am working hard to prepare him mentally, physically and emotionally. Whenever we are outdoors, I educate him about the importance of safety measures like washing hands frequently, masking and social distancing. Apart from encouraging him to return to normal school without any fear, I also try to balance his online activities with offline recreational activities including regular visits to the park and outdoor play.” — Neetu Rao, home tutor, Mumbai Also read: Challenges faced by students while switching from online to offline classes

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Science fun: make puffed rice swing

Benita Sen There’s nothing like an interesting experiment to get your child hooked to science. Try this experiment with your child, and witness the intriguing effect together. If she is old enough, add explanations about electrons and protons. If not, just enjoy the experiment. Things you need Plastic comb Thread Woollen sweater A few pieces of puffed rice Cellotape The Experiment Tie a 12-inch long thread to a grain of puffed rice. Glue the thread to the edge of a table where it can swing freely. Vigorously rub the comb on a woollen sweater. Slowly, bring the comb close to the rice grain without touching it. The rice grain will swing towards the comb and stick to it. Let it remain there. It will soon fall away. Then move the comb close to the rice grain. It will move away from the comb this time. The Explanation Static electricity is what made the puffed rice grain and comb interact this way. You experience static electricity when your hair sticks to your comb, or your synthetic clothes crackle in dry weather. Atoms in an object are made of electrons, neutrons and protons. Each one has an electric charge. Electrons — negative Protons — positive Neutrons — no charge When electrons move from one atom to another, the charge of an atom changes. Atoms usually transfer electrons so that they can maintain the balance of having the same number of electrons and protons in each atom. Materials with the opposite electrical charge attract each other. Those with the same charge repel each other. When you rubbed the comb on the sweater, electrons moved between the two. Rubbing the comb on the sweater made electrons move into the comb, giving it a negative charge. So the puffed rice grain was attracted to it and electrons moved from the comb to the grain. After that, the comb and the rice grain had the same electrical charge, so they repelled each other. Encourage your child to try such experiments. Conducting experiments together is definitely more inspiring than just buying her a book of experiments, or showing her a science-based website. You’ll rediscover the joy of science too! Also read: Science at home: Lemon volcano

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Healthy Indian breakfasts

As children resume in-person schooling, here are some easy-to-make healthy Indian breakfast recipes offering balanced blends of carbohydrates, protein and vitamins – Parvathy Menon Vegetable poha (4 servings) Ingredients ½ cup chopped carrots and beans ¼ cup peas 2 cups flattened rice 2 tsp oil ¼ tsp mustard seeds ¼ tsp cumin seeds ¼ tsp turmeric powder 1 chopped onion 2 finely chopped sprigs of coriander leaves ¼ cup groundnuts 2 green chillies, chopped finely Preparation guide Soak the flattened rice in water. Boil the carrots, beans and peas until well-cooked. Heat a little oil, roast the nuts over low flame. When done, transfer to a plate and cool. Heat the remaining oil, and add the mustard and cumin seeds. Add the chopped onion, turmeric powder and green chillies. Now add the boiled vegetables and stir. Slowly, add the flattened rice, which will be soft by now. Finally, sprinkle salt to taste and toss in the groundnuts and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot. Health benefits: Groundnuts provide good fats such as Omega 3 and Omega 6, as well as protein. Flattened rice contains carbohydrates, providing much-needed energy. Sweet daliya with jaggery (4 servings) Ingredients 1 ½ cup broken wheat (daliya) 2 tbsp ghee ¾ cup crushed jaggery (or sugar) ¾ litre milk 10 cashewnuts 10 black raisins 10 green raisins 10 almonds ¼ tsp crushed or powdered cardamom Preparation Boil the milk and set aside. Heat ghee in a pan and roast the daliya for 3-4 minutes. Wait until slightly brown, and you can smell a light fragrant aroma. Add two cups of boiled milk and stir. When the milk reduces, add the remaining milk little by little, followed by jaggery and stir well. Add the raisins and cook till the daliya is soft. Slice or cut almonds, and break the cashewnuts. Dry roast cashewnuts and keep aside. Also roast the almonds lightly. Mix the cardamom and nuts well and serve warm. Health benefits: This meal offers calcium, protein, healthy fats, antioxidants, carbohydrates and fibre. It is a perfect, balanced breakfast meal for children. Roti egg roll (4 servings) Ingredients 3 cups whole wheat flour 4 eggs 4 tsp oil 1 onion 1 green chilly (optional) 1 sprig coriander leaves 1 small tomato Salt to taste 2 pinches chilly powder 100 gm paneer PREPARATION GUIDE Chop the onions into tiny pieces. Fry two tsp of onions, crush the paneer into small bits and add it. Sprinkle chilly powder and salt on it. Keep this mixture aside. Knead the flour using warm water and a pinch of salt. Whisk the eggs in a bowl. Chop the tomato, green chillies and coriander leaves finely. Make a thin roti, then pour the egg mixture on it. As it begins to cook, sprinkle tomato bits, onion, coriander leaves and green chillies. When it is almost done, turn it over and cook. Turn it over again, and spread the paneer mixture on it. Roll it, and serve with sauce. Make the…

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The Bhikshu & the Chamak Challo

Lakshmi Narayan One bright and early day, a barefoot bhikshu in his ochre robes and begging bowl was plodding along, murmuring “Buddham sharanam gachchami,” when his path crossed that of a chamak challo firecracker, returning from an all-night blast. As they passed by, they sized each other up — the monk, in his simple garb and the girl, in her crushed party finery. “Namaste ji,” chirped our heroine. Though saucy and cheeky, she was of good heart. The monk answered in kind. Looking at his rough garments and calloused feet, the lass was moved to ask, “What are you seeking, 0 holy one?” The monk thought for a minute before replying honestly, “The same as you, I suppose. Peace. Tranquillity. And anticipation of finding it.” “And has it been worth it, giving up everything for this search?” asked the miss pointedly. “I don’t know. But just like you I’m trying to find out,” he replied, taking in her tousled hair and bloodshot eyes. The maiden gave him a cheerful wave and they proceeded on their separate ways, each mulling over what the other had said. The young lady envied the calm and serenity on the monk’s face and his look of contentment, despite his possessing nothing. She felt she had wasted her life chasing after naach-gana and resolved to do something worthwhile. The bhikshu on the other hand was taken by the girl’s bubbly persona and felt his life lacked joie-de-vivre. He couldn’t wait to shed his habit and enjoy the pleasures awaiting a young man. And so two disparate souls gained from each other’s counsel in ways and means not bargained for, while the Maker chuckled roguishly at the ignorant innocence of humans. Wisdom can be gained from the most unlikely sources — and persons! (Excerpted from Fables from Beyond, Authors Upront, 2020) Journalist, author and animal activist Lakshmi Narayan is a former assistant editor of Femina and former editor of Eve’s Weekly & Flair Also read: Short Story – The Kitchen King

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The enduring charm of Kolkata and its environs

For the discerning Kolkata (aka Calcutta) remains a city with a glorious imperial past which retains its old-world flavour and Marxist coffee house culture It’s rare to encounter an informed individual who is neutral about Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), described as the ‘city of dreadful night’ by Rudyard Kipling, even before an estimated 3 million refugees from East Pakistan flooded into the city after partition in 1947. With an officially estimated population of 14 million, Kolkata is India’s second most populous city (after Mumbai). Despite pervasive poverty and deprivation, its people are friendly and Bengali wit and intellect are globally renowned. Don’t let the first impression of squalor put you off. There is a lot to be discovered in this city, and quite painlessly. The history of this justly famous metropolis stretches back to the 17th century — to the time when the Mughal empire was in disarray and Europeans had arrived in the fabled east. In 1686, Job Charnock, chief of the East India Company’s factory in Hooghly, looking for new sites, selected a group of three villages, Kalikata, Govindapur and Sutanuti — where Armenian and Portuguese settlements were already established. A factory was constructed in Kalikata on August 24, 1690, and thus Calcutta was born. In 1698 a makeshift fort was built, which was easily stormed by Siraj ud Daula, the Nawab of Bengal in 1756. Most British inhabitants managed to escape but those captured were crammed into an underground cellar. Overnight, 113 of the 146 prisoners died of suffocation, and the tragedy went down in the history books as the infamous cruelty of the Black Hole of Calcutta. Early in 1757, the British recaptured Calcutta and made peace with the Nawab. A much stronger fort was built and the small factory site morphed into the capital of British India. By that time, the European population had swelled from a few hundred to 100,000 through the arrival of new ‘writers’, as East India Company employees were designated, traders, soldiers, and what the administration termed “cargoes of females”. Things changed when Bengal became an important centre in the struggle for Indian independence, and in 1911 the wary British moved the national capital to Delhi. With the partition of the Indian subcontinent, Calcutta was affected more than any other Indian city with significantly mixed Hindu and Muslim populations, and when the dividing line was drawn through them, the area was thrown into anarchy with thousands of refugees fleeing across newly drawn borders. Calcutta, the centre of the jute-manufacturing and export industry became an apex without a base, whereas across the border in East Pakistan, jute grew in abundance, but without the infrastructure to process or export it. Seventy four years after partition, Kolkata is still suffering, confronted with challenges that rival some of the world’s most impoverished cities. Up to 40 percent of the city’s residents live in slums. Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi declared Calcutta a lost cause in the 1970s, but he was wrong. Calcutta was down, but not…

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Seeking meaning with ambiguity

Ambiguity gives freedom to readers to use their imagination to explore various meanings and interpretations – Roopa Banerjee Ambiguous words/statements allow for more than one meaning; create confusion, sometimes causing intentional and/or unintentional humour. For instance in the following sentence, “The boy helped a stray dog in blue pyjamas,” one may think the stray dog was wearing blue pyjamas. However writing the sentence without ambiguity would make things clearer, such as “Wearing blue pyjamas, the boy helped a stray dog.” Ambiguity is sub-categorised into two types: Lexical ambiguity (a word having more than one meaning) Syntactic ambiguity (a sentence having more than one interpretation). The use of homonyms i.e, words spelled and pronounced similar to another word but different in meaning, can also cause ambiguity. For instance: ‘A good life depends on the liver’ and ‘As the ball raced towards her, we saw her duck’, could mean different things. But ambiguity is not always unintentional in writing. It is deliberately used by writers to create interest, intensity and depth. Literature abounds with examples of this literary device. For example, poet John Keats uses ambiguity in the first line of his great poem Ode to a Grecian Urn: “Thou still unravish’d bride of quietness…” Here, ‘still’ is ambiguous — it could mean an unmoving object, or understood as something that is yet to change. The bard William Shakespeare has used ambiguity on a larger scale. For example, his play Hamlet has a lot of ambiguity in the moral leanings of its eponymous protagonist. When Hamlet kills his uncle Claudius, the audience is left conflicted because he killed to avenge his father’s murder and to protect his mother. However, he is also willing to kill to achieve his aims. This ambiguity is further evidenced when he is traumatised by Ophelia’s death but does not value the effect that his actions will have on others. Literary works which deploy ambiguity leave a lasting impression on readers’ minds as it lends deeper meaning and depth to the story. Ambiguity gives freedom to readers to use their imagination to explore various meanings and interpretations. William Empson, the literary scholar has rightly defined ambiguity as “any verbal nuance, however slight, which gives room for alternative reactions to the same piece of language”. It is a potent tool as ambiguous situations entice readers to decide what happens in a story. The interpretation reflects the reader’s own state of mind. If you are optimistic, you would decide that things ended well, or if you are hurt or pessimistic, you might assume that a betrayal was intentional rather than accidental. Authors often deliberately write ambiguous endings in their books to enable readers to blend their life experiences with the words they read. Strangely, this literary device loses its respectability when it ventures outside the realms of literature. Ambiguity is a powerful tool of political science, and it is the despair of people when politicians use it to obfuscate the meaning of their words. Exercise There are many books which…

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My son is suffering severe constipation! Help!

My seven-year-old son suffers severe constipation, often relieving himself once in three days. He has a normal diet. Please advise. — Vaishali Meenakshi, Chennai By definition, constipation is not passing stools daily; straining and/ or passing hard or pellet-like stools. It’s one of the most common causes of recurrent abdominal pain in children. A daily diet with inadequate fibre, junk food containing flour, preservatives, confectionery and not drinking sufficient water are the common causes. There are other organic causes of constipation that need to be ruled out if a patient doesn’t respond to conventional treatment. Include fibre-rich foods in his daily diet, ban junk food, and encourage him to drink plenty of fluids. Drinking water mixed with child-safe stool softeners is also advisable. If despite these interventions the problem persists, consult a pediatrician. My daughter suffers mild asthma. When she runs fast, she begins to wheeze, though wheezing stops within a few minutes. The doctor has not prescribed any medication. Is it safe for her to play sports? — Shalini Shiv Prasad, Bengaluru Childhood asthma has different stages as well as severity classifications. Going by your description, your daughter may be suffering exercise-induced symptoms of asthma. When an asthma-vulnerable individual exercises, histamine is released from mast cells in the lung epithelial lining leading to bronchospasm or airway tightness. This can be prevented by prescribing Leucotriene receptors. Asthma is a genetic disease, but environment and lifestyle factors also do play a major role. Avoid asthma triggers to prevent symptoms. Yoga and endurance enhancing exercises improve children’s vital lung capacity, quality of life as well as exercise tolerance. Consult your pediatrician to diagnose her asthma severity so she can prescribe suitable treatment. My nine-year-old son loves to play basketball and practices four hours daily. His coach wants him to eat protein-rich non-vegetarian food. However we are vegetarians. How can I ensure he gets enough protein from a vegetarian diet? — Sachin Bansal, New Delhi Proteins are the building blocks of the human body. They improve muscle mass and support organ development. Animal meat is a good source of essential amino acids needed for protein synthesis. However proteins of plant origin are equally nutritious if ingested in the right proportions. Vegetarians can get their proteins from dairy products such as cottage cheese (paneer), yogurt, soya, tofu, pulses, and grains. In fact, the Indian vegetarian diet comprising cereal and dal is well-balanced and protein-rich. To ensure optimal physical growth, children should have 1-2 gms of proteins per kg bodyweight daily. For example, a child weighing 20 kg should have 25-30 gm of protein per day. So, despite being a vegetarian, your child can get the requisite protein from a vegetarian diet. For a detailed analysis of your son’s body and suitable diet, consult a dietician. (Dr. Yogesh Kumar Gupta is head of the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Fortis Hospitals, Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru) Also read: My daughter has UTI. Help!

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Software testing: high-potential career option

With IT’s increasing pervasiveness, software testing is a new and fresh option in this field, a promising career choice for today’s young and diverse workforce Especially in India’s fast-track IT (information technology) industry (aggregate revenue: $99 billion) where change is constant, new jobs and vocations which were not on the radar screen of parents, youth and even career counselors a decade ago, have emerged as lucrative and high-potential career paths. With IT’s increasing pervasiveness, software testing is a new and fresh option in this field, a promising career choice for today’s young and diverse workforce. The aggregate revenue of software testing companies is estimated worldwide at $40 billion, of which Indian enterprises are expected to corner a major share. “Software testing is a major business within the global BPM (business process management) industry. Almost every business process nowadays is computerised and software programmes have to be completely reliable. This makes the testing of the products/system at every stage mandatory,” says Suman Reddy Eadunuri, managing director and country head of the Hyderabad-based Pegasystems Worldwide India Pvt. Ltd. Currently the company has a headcount of 1,500 testing professionals, and is recruiting aggressively to maintain its phenomenal growth rate. According to Eadunuri, software testing is a very critical function within the software development and service industry. It’s a fundamental component of software quality assurance and a review of specifications, design and coding. Software testers subject newly developed software programmes to several stress tests to ensure they serve their intended purpose. “Some companies spend around 25 to 50 percent of their software development budgets on testing,” says Eadunuri. Study programmes. To qualify as a software testing professional, an engineering degree is the minimum requirement. Additional qualifications particularly a diploma in the subject is an added advantage. Among the well-known institutions which offer training in software testing are: Seed Info Tech and SQTL, Pune Webteklabs at Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata MindQ, Hyderabad Qspider, Bangalore Moreover QAL, ASQ, ISQTB and several other institutes offer certification. CQTM and PMP are additional certifications which could help testers to shinny up the executive ladder. Quick Test Professional (QTP) is a testing tool that allows the automation of user actions on a web or client-based computer application and almost every institute trains its students in using this tool. However, domain knowledge of software development is a prerequisite of a successful career in software testing. Remuneration profile. “The rapid growth of the IT industry has created a huge demand surge for software testing professionals. While testing was hitherto incorporated into the software development process, it has now become an independent vertical. Almost all big and medium-size IT companies boast independent testing centres to maintain quality excellence. Our projections indicate that around 1,65,000 new software testing professionals will be required in India by 2025. To sustain this growth, software graduates are rapidly absorbed in this field, with top bracket IT companies offering start-up salaries of Rs.700,000 per year. In Pegasystems, we recruit software testers at the same salaries as software developers and…

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My daughter doesn’t want to attend school. Help!

My daughter doesn’t want to attend in-person classes. Her school day begins early. Pre-pandemic she would wake up at 6 a.m to catch the school bus. But with schools offering the option of online classes, she insists it is better. She is in class VIII, and I believe it’s important for her to attend offline school. How do I get her out of the lethargy that has set in during the past 16 months of schools closure? — Divyasree Raju, Chennai While several children are thrilled at the prospect of returning to on-campus schooling, meeting friends, interacting with teachers and enjoying real life experiences, there are some who are hesitant to step back into normalcy. It could be a combination of lethargy and reluctance to face the real world and its accompanying pressures. As a parent, you need to coax her into understanding that in-class education is important and beneficial for her all-round growth and development. A starting point would be to encourage her to attend school twice or thrice a week. You could also request her class teacher to persuade and reassure her. Moreover it’s important to address any fears she has about attending school. The post-pandemic world has its own stress and challenges. She needs your patience and understanding to transition into in-class learning. My son gained a lot of body weight during the lockdown. Now that school has started, his friends are making fun of him, and he doesn’t like it. How can I help him? — Shilpa Diva, Bengaluru Twenty months of work-from-home, online school coupled with sedentary lifestyles and unmindful eating have left not just children but also adults, overweight. With pandemic stress high, many people turned to food for emotional comfort. On-demand delivery of fast food became a way of life for many families countrywide during the lockdown. You need to support your son and have zero tolerance for any type of bullying and body shaming by peers. My suggestions: Transition the family to a healthier lifestyle of home cooked meals to reduce high sugar and fatty foods in the daily diet. Encourage your son to become physically active and take up a team sport. Physical exercise also releases endorphins — feel-good hormones. Counsel your child to not take his friends’ comments to heart and laugh them off. This usually makes bullies lose interest. Highlight and praise his strengths and achievements to boost his self-esteem. This will also give him the confidence to make new friends. Encourage two-way communication and heart-to-heart conversations. Moreover you need to be vigilant about the level of bullying and if it becomes aggravated, report it to the class teacher and school counselor. My daughter is an introvert and reticent. How can I boost her social skills? — Manvi Shah, Mumbai You have not disclosed the age of your daughter. Nevertheless, for children of all ages school is an important place for socialisation where children learn to interact with peers and adults i.e, teachers. The past 20 months of schools…

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3 valuable Indian parenting books

Indian parents no longer have to rely on foreign parenting books set in alien cultures for information and advice. A new genre of well-qualified indigenous psychologists and parenting professionals are authoring high-quality parenting guides suited to local Indian contexts and situations. Far more relatable in content, these books provide Indian parents useful and relevant parenting advice. Some recent releases. – Cynthia John Active Parenting By Ram G Vallath Publisher: HarperCollins Price: Rs.299 Active parenting focuses on bringing out the best in a child through fulfilment of her unique personality. It advises nurturing attributes that will develop children into happy, confident and successful adults through mindful parenting. The author describes five foundational attributes that parents need to inculcate within children — social consciousness, happiness, authenticity, resilience and purposefulness (SHARP). The book also cautions parents against micromanaging children’s lives, which is certain to restrict them from realising their potential. It advises parents to step back and allow children to learn through experience. The key to successful parenting is enabling children to mix freedom with responsibility, says the author. All You Need is Love: The Art of Mindful Parenting By Shelja Sen Publisher: HarperCollins Price: Rs. 250 Child psychologist Shelja Sen encourages parents to introspect into their parenting motives, and examine whether they are best for children’s wholesome growth and development. Are our expectations from children sky-high? Do we make unnecessary demands on them? The book advises parents to be mindful of their thought processes and parenting practices, and change them to enable children to realise their full potential. A five-steps approach to mindful parenting is presented: connect, coach, care, community, commit. Refreshingly, the author details several real-life anecdotes to help Indian parents relate to common parenting dilemmas. Perfect Parenting: How to Raise Happy and Successful Children By Sushant Kalra Publisher: Rupa Price: Rs.295 Most people assume that parenting comes naturally to every parent. Parenting expert Sushant Kalra differs. According to him unlearning this assumption is the prerequisite of learning right ways to parent. The book explains that there is no perfect formula for successful parenting, as the situation and needs of every child differs. Identifying and addressing a child’s unique needs during the varying stages of development is a continuous and evolving process. As a child grows into adulthood, one’s parenting style also needs to change to accommodate her growth. Illustrated with endearing examples, this guidebook provides interesting insights into changing parenting behaviour to enable children to develop into emotionally balanced and confident adults. Also read: Best Parenting Apps 3 parenting guides

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‘Parental alienation’: What it means and why it matters

Parental alienation – defined as when one parent’s relationship with her child is harmed by the other parent – can have devastating consequences. Parental alienation — defined as when one parent’s relationship with his or her child is harmed by the other parent – can have devastating consequences. Legal professionals and psychologists have known about parental alienation for decades. But for political and personal reasons, there are others who deny that such a thing exists. Unfortunately, these legal and professional debates have led to misconceptions about what are parental alienating behaviors. As a result many people do not have a word to describe or label their experience, or to understand what they see happening to others. That makes it challenging to find solutions. It is time to look past the controversy over whether parental alienation exists and to instead understand what the actual behaviors are so that we don’t allow them to be used to hurt others anymore. So what are these behaviors and what does the research that’s been done so far tell us about them? What is it? First, let’s distinguish between the term ‘Parental Alienation Syndrome’ and parental alienation. Parental alienation involves behaviors that a parent does to hurt or damage a relationship between a child and the other parent. Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS), on the other hand, was coined by Dr. Richard Gardner in 1985 and describes the ultimate outcome or impact of those behaviors on a child. There is debate among clinicians and legal professionals as to whether PAS is an actual syndrome or not. The focus in this article is on parental alienating behaviors rather than parental alienation as a syndrome. The term ‘parental alienation’ is not in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), which is a manual that offers a common language and standard criteria that mental health providers use to classify mental disorders. However, “child affected by parental relationship distress (CAPRD)” is a term that has been added to the most recent edition of the DSM, the DSM-5. CAPRD includes parental alienating behaviors such as badmouthing a parent to a child. And several of the manual’s authors have clarified CAPRD to include an entire range of parental alienating behaviors and outcomes. What are alienating behaviors? The alienating parent might badmouth the other parent in front of the child to gain her loyalty. Or the parent might reconstruct past events to make the child believe horrible and untrue things about the other parent, or prevent the other parent from spending time with the child. A parent may also intrude excessively (e.g, frequent texting) into the other parent’s parenting time with the children, or make false claims of abuse to limit their time with the children indefinitely. The result is the child can feel extremely negative toward the targeted parent for unjustified and often untrue reasons. These behaviors often occur when the parents’ relationship ends and can be particularly acute if, after separation, one parent can’t let the relationship go. The…

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Designing a cheerful nursery room

A well-designed cheerful nursery provides a stimulating environment where infants rest, play and learn – Mini P. The birth of a child is a special occasion, and many expectant parents begin preparing and designing the nursery room months ahead. Especially because once the infant is born, life becomes a whirlwind of never-ending baby-care chores. A well-designed cheerful nursery provides a stimulating environment where infants rest, play and learn. Here are some guidelines to design a cheerful nursery room. Choose the right room Select a room in the house that gets natural light and is shielded from traffic noise. A room with west-facing windows is best to avoid harsh sun rays. Plan and design Your aim should be to design a nursery in which your infant has ample space to crawl and explore without bumping into or knocking over objects. Spread a quilt, or light mattress or carpet on the floor to cushion falls. But ensure carpets/quilts are vacuumed and/or cleaned frequently, to avoid dust inhalation. Opt for open shelves (safer) or a closet (keep it locked when not in use) for storage. You’ll also need a diaper changing table — place a rubber sheet over a table. Ensure shelves/drawers are easily accessible to stock nappies, wipes, creams and clothes. If your little one likes sleeping in the nursery during the day, you will need a durable baby cot. Invest in a sturdy cot which will last a few years because even growing infants enjoy sleeping in baby cots. Ensure the pillows aren’t too soft (there is the danger of smothering) and hanging toys are out of reach (long cords can pose the danger of strangulation). Use safety devices such as dummy plugs on electric switches and door safety blocks. Check all furniture for sharp ends and install safety/round corners. Décor Use non-allergic, toxin-free paints and get the room painting done in advance, so that the room is odourless before your child is born. Infants love bright, colourful pictures and toys, especially black, red and white. So ditch pastels and get some colourful pictures and toys. Wall decals for nursery rooms come in many varieties. They are cost-effective and add necessary colour and cheer. Stock up Stock the nursery room shelf/closet with all things you need — your child’s daily wear, warm clothing, diapers, nappies, nappy rash cream, soap, oil, towels, bed sheets, etc. Differing toys should be placed at a height where your child can reach and choose them. Also Read:Dental hygiene for toddlers

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Health hazards of popular packaged beverages

There’s an emerging consensus that most packaged drinks are as harmful as junk food, with the potential to provoke a wide range of ailments including high blood pressure, cholesterol, juvenile diabetes, obesity, and heart disease – Nikhil Jayadevan, Mini P. & Cynthia John India’s prolonged 60-weeks Covid-19 induced lockdown of schools and education institutions — the longest of any major country worldwide — which forced 260 million children to learn from home as best they could, has had the under-reported incidence of widespread eating disorders among children, including rising obesity in middle class India. However, most discussions about children’s nutrition and health are focused on food rather than the fluids they have been consuming to their detriment. The focus of debates has been on junk food with health and nutrition experts unanimous about its devastating effects on children’s long-term physical health and well-being. But latterly, health and nutrition professionals have brought many packaged fluids/drinks within the ambit of junk foods which are adversely affecting children’s health. There’s an emerging consensus that most packaged drinks are as harmful as junk food, with the potential to provoke a wide range of ailments including high blood pressure, cholesterol, juvenile diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. During the pandemic, numerous beverage companies offering children a plethora of sports and energy drinks ranging from milkshakes to fruit juices, mushroomed countrywide with parents — unaware of the harm that some of their ingredients cause to vulnerable children — falling for their glitzy advertising. According to a study, Health Effects of Energy Drinks of Children, Adolescents and Young Adults published in the Journal of Paediatrics (2016), “some beverages” contain caffeine, ginseng and other stimulants that can cause “seizures, cardiac abnormalities, behavioural disorders, mood disorders and diabetes” in children. The study highlights that unregulated caffeine content in energy drinks “has been associated with serious consequences such as seizures, mania, stroke, and sudden death.” “Most parents are unaware about the dangers of children consuming packaged beverages, including widely advertised health and energy drinks. Most of them contain high levels of caffeine and sugar and cause serious ailments such as metabolic disorder, behavioural problems and heart palpitations. Over-consumption of some energy drinks can also result in renal diseases such as kidney stones. Parents mistakenly believe that allowing children to consume energy drinks, especially while they are engaged in sports and/or preparing for exams, will give them a much-needed energy boost. Parents should restrict consumption of packaged beverages,” says Subhashini Satish, nutritionist-dietitian, Colours, a wellness centre in Chennai. In particular, during the pandemic-induced schools lockdown with children confined 24×7 to their homes with limited physical exercise, in middle-class homes, many of them have been bingeing on junk food, aerated beverages and packaged health drinks. Sheila Sharma, a Bengaluru-based IT professional and mother of 12-year-old Rishabh, laments that lack of awareness about the dangers posed by aerated/health drinks resulted in her son being diagnosed with diabetes during the pandemic months. “During the lockdown, I was balancing long hours of work from home with…

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Interesting & enjoyable Thanks for the Kidzone section — it’s interesting and enjoyable. My children love solving the puzzles and DIY creative activity. Also your selection of reference books was very useful. Moreover, I enjoy reading the Ask the Doctor column every month. The October column by Dr. Gita Mathai about urinary tract infection in children was very useful as was her advice about preventing and reducing asthma attacks. Shalini Kumar Chennai Developing children’s life skills Your October cover story ‘Reviving children’s life skills in the post-pandemic era’ was timely and relevant. The intermittent pandemic lockdowns and school closures of the past 20 months have adversely affected children’s life skills development. Personally, I have observed that my children have lost their social graces and presentation skills. Impersonal online classes have also taken a toll on their creativity. Sitting long hours in front of computer screens without any physical interaction has also made them uninterested in extracurricular activities. They have begun to believe that school is only boring academics. Now that schools are reopening, teachers and educators need to provide children opportunities to re-build their social and life skills. Academics should take a backseat and children should be allowed to play with friends and participate in co-curricular activities that promote life skills, art and creativity. Veena Shankar Bengaluru Suggested: Reviving children’s life skills in the post-pandemic era Avoid packaged infant foods My daughter just turned a year old, and I have been researching different weaning food options. Your Early Childhood story on homemade infant foods was very useful (PW October). Many parents have a misconception that packaged baby foods are more nutritious than homemade meals. The advertising labels on packaged baby foods detail ingredients which are supposed to be ideal for infant growth and development. But what they fail to mention, as my paediatrician told me, is that pre-packaged infant foods contain high amounts of sugar and salt, and harmful preservatives and flavourings. I strongly recommend homemade ragi porridge for infants. Shyama Vincent Pune What about parents’ mental health? With most companies still mandating work-from-home and primary schools yet to open, parental stress has become more pronounced. Parents are doing double duty of monitoring children’s online education and office work. Through the pandemic, the media was full of stories about children’s mental health issues. What about the mental health of parents? I know parents who are financially anxious, depressed and frustrated because they cannot be the best parents they can be, in this unprecedented pandemic situation. Many schools are talking about hybrid education. For a full-time working parent, this is very impractical, as they can’t go to office one day and stay home the next, when online and offline classes alternate. As India’s premier parenting magazine, you need to highlight the phenomenon of pandemic-related parental stress. Jaspreet Kaur Mumbai Social skills building activities I read with interest your cover story about reviving children’s life skills in the post-pandemic era (PW October). Definitely the pandemic lockdowns and social restrictions have affected social…

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Parental stress negatively impacts children’s eating habits

The high parental stress experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic has negatively impacted children’s eating habits, says a study conducted by University of Houston College of Education and published in Current Psychology (October). When stay-at-home mandates were ordered and school went online during the pandemic, millions of parents had to suddenly discharge the roles of caregiver, employee and educator. Leslie Frankel, associate professor of human development and family studies at University of Houston College of Education, says all these responsibilities took a toll on “parents’ mental health, and in turn, what and how much their children were consuming”. “These parents do not have the time, energy or emotional capacity to engage in optimal feeding behaviors, so they resort to maladaptive feeding such as using food as reward, or pressuring their kids to eat. As a result, their children are not able to self-regulate what or how much food they are putting into their bodies, which could have harmful consequences in the long run,” says lead researcher Frankel. For the study surveying how parental stress negatively impacts children’s eating habits, researchers surveyed 119 mothers and fathers of children aged two-seven between April and June 2020. Mothers reported experiencing higher levels of stress and anxiety. Less sleep in infants linked with obesity New born infants who sleep longer and wake up less through the night are less likely to be overweight in infancy, according to researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital. For the study published in the journal Sleep (October 2021), researchers monitored the sleep patterns of 298 infants using ankle actigraphy watches while parents kept sleep diaries, recording their children’s sleep and wake episodes. They found that just one additional hour of sleep correlated with a 26 percent decrease in infants’ risk of being overweight. “This study underscores the importance of healthy sleep at all ages. Parents should consult their pediatricians about best practices to promote healthy sleep, like keeping consistent sleep schedules, providing a dark and quiet space for sleeping, and avoiding having feeding bottles in bed,” says study co-author Susan Redline, senior physician in the division of sleep and circadian disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Also read: Preventing childhood obesity Breastfeeding improves women’s postmenopausal cognitive power Researchers at UCLA Health, Los Angeles, have found that women aged 50-plus who had earlier breastfed their children performed better on cognitive tests compared to women who had never breastfed. The study, published in Evolution, Medicine and Public Health (October 2021), confirms that breastfeeding has a positive impact on postmenopausal women’s cognitive capabilities with long-term benefits for brain health. “While several studies have found that breastfeeding improves a child’s long-term health and well-being, our study is one of very few that has looked at the long-term health effects of women who had breastfed their babies. Our findings, which show superior cognitive performance among women over 50 who had breastfed, suggest that breastfeeding may be ‘neuroprotective’ later in life,” says Molly Fox, lead author of the study and assistant professor, UCLA.…

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