jared's nook

calculate your child's risk at allergy

No Comments

kids, babies, allergies

It is best to be aware of your child’s risk at allergies so you would know how to manage it + deal with it properly. That is why when I saw this ad about KIDS Allergy-O-Meter in  my Facebook’s sidebar, I did not hesitate to check it out. Knowing that my son is a little sensitive (not to mention more susceptible to allergies as most babies born via C-section), I can use all the help I can get about allergies, alleviating them + preventing them altogether (if it were possible).

The link directed me to the MomCenter site + this is what appeared when I clicked the Begin button:

kids, babies, allergiesIt is a well-known fact that a child’s risk to allergies can very well be connected with his parent’s very own allergic reactions. Using this tab, I was prompted to enter my + Jared’s dad’s (+ in some other cases, you will also be prompted to include allergies experienced by your other children) experience with different types of allergies. I had a few on several occasions + Jared’s dad has his share, too.

Here is the result:

kids, babies, allergies

Jared has about 60-80% risk at allergy. Somehow, I expected it, as his allergies actually manifested earlier on in his infant days which resulted to him taking a lactose-free formula until he was a year old.  We have also delayed giving him solids so as to prevent further allergies from manifesting earlier than necessary, as per his pedia’s advice. We’ve also purchased a nebulizer to be on the ready in case coughs + colds as severe as he experienced in May happens again, which I hope will never happen again 🙁

It was no good news, but at least I am now aware of it + can take some necessary precautions to prevent him from having allergies.

Go ahead + check out your child’s risk at allergy. Simply visit Momcenter + look for the KIDS Allergy-O-Meter’s tab.

Continue Reading

mum musings

teaching toddlers some manners?

3 Comments

Mind your manners

Don’t we just love our little angels when they are being exactly that? Of course, they can’t be mister + miss nice 24/7 + there will be times (a lot of them, really!) that they will get into our nerves. It would’ve been heaven on earth if our little ones behave nicely on every single occasion, but,  alas, they don’t + in comes our little problem.

If you were like me who’s a mum to a toddler (an almost -two-year-old-bundle-of-jostling-energy), it really isn’t a bad idea to be thinking of teaching our little ones to mind their manners this early. In fact, the earlier we instill the value in them, all the better, since they are not born with an innate ability to mind manners + it will require  constant teaching + reminding before they get the hang of it. Now is simply the best time to instill this in them.

Here are a few things you might want to try to encourage your kiddos to learn about manners:

  • be a good role model to your tots – children’s minds are like sponge, they absorb everything around them + are sensitive to what is going on around them, the best way to inspire manners with your toddlers is to set a good example for them. they simply love to mimic what mum does anyway, right?
  • bust the myth: it is never too early to teach it – as early as when your toddler started mumbling his words, you can try teaching him some pleasantries. My son started saying his “thanks” (or something that distinctly sounds like it) when he was a little over one year old, right after he heard us saying the word.
  • inspire your tot to talk to adults -notice how they’d automatically recoil in front of an adult stranger? Mine does almost all the time. To make them feel comfortable, you can try practicing at home by teaching him some gestures when seeing someone for the first time, like shaking hands or giving high fives or just waving “hi”. At home I’d usually ask Jared to wave to anyone who arrives to say hi, that way, he’ll be accustomed to the gesture + it will also be a cool way to break the ice during first meetings, too.
  • inspire your tot to share his toys + shine during playdates – sometimes they can be just so uncooperative + won’t simply share their toys no matter how you coax them. Real pain, right? But to encourage them to share their toys, expose them to a lot of different kids they can play with + after each playdate session, ask all the kiddos to put the toys away. That way the kiddos will realize that it will be a whole lot of fun to play with other kids + to share their toys with them.
Continue Reading