Tag Archives: parenting

Going Healthy, Going Strong, Health, Life, Parenting

Coping with a Child’s Diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy

Leave a comment

Hearing that your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy can be devastating. It is natural to feel overwhelmed by the news, and it can be challenging to know how to cope. While there is no easy answer for dealing with this kind of news, there are some steps you can take to help you move forward and provide the best life possible for your child. This blog post will discuss helpful tips for coping when your child is diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

parent holding child's hand, love, parenting, motherhood, mother, fatherhood, father, strength

Via Pixabay

Get Educated About the Condition

One of the most important things you can do after your child’s diagnosis is to educate yourself about the condition. Learn about the different types of cerebral palsy, its symptoms, and its potential treatments. Knowing as much as you can about CP will help you better understand what your child is going through and make it easier for you to advocate for them if needed. Additionally, talking to other parents with children with CP can be incredibly helpful in understanding how they cope and what tips they have for providing optimal care.

Seek Support From Family and Friends

No one should ever have to go through this alone; seek support from family members and friends who understand what you are going through. Ask them for help caring for your child, or ask them to listen when you need someone to talk to. Additionally, finding a support group in your area of other families with children with CP can provide emotional support and advice on how best to care for your child’s needs.

Find Resources That Can Help You

There are many resources available that can help make life easier when dealing with a CP diagnosis. These include financial resources such as government benefits or charity programs that assist with medical expenses or equipment needs; educational resources such as special education programs; therapy resources such as physical therapy and occupational therapy; and recreational activities such as adapted sports teams or social groups specifically designed for children with CP. Researching these options now will give you peace of mind knowing that help is available.

Get The Right Medical Team

It is essential to ensure you have the right medical team. This includes finding a doctor specializing in CP and a nurse practitioner or social worker who can help coordinate care and provide emotional support. Working with these professionals will ensure your child receives the best care possible. There are also some online solutions to talk to a nurse directly. 

No two children are exactly alike regarding CP, and the path forward will differ for each family. But no matter what, it is essential to talk to a nurse or other healthcare provider about your child’s diagnosis so they can provide advice and resources that best fit your family’s needs. These steps will ensure you have the knowledge, support, and help to navigate this unique and challenging situation. With proper guidance, you can provide your child with a happy, healthy, and fulfilling life no matter their diagnosis.

Going Healthy, Health, Lifestyle, Parenting

Building A Healthy Bedtime Routine For Your Kids

Leave a comment

A healthy bedtime routine can help your child fall asleep on time, stay asleep without needing to come to you, and even ensure they feel safe and secure in their room throughout the night. And when they know there’s no monster under the bed, everything else gets easier! But how can you build a healthy bedtime routine? 

It’s important to set one as soon as possible, but you can still make changes here and there as your child gets older. If something doesn’t work, you don’t have to stick with it; a routine can be flexible while still providing structure and stability! As such, let’s go through some good bedtime routine habits below. 

parenting, bedtime routine, father, daughter, mother, son, kids, sleep, mood

Pexels Image – CC0 Licence

Don’t Take Too Long

Bedtime routines feel like they can stretch on for hours at a time. But if they actually do, that’s not necessarily a great thing. This can delay your child’s sleep, and cause them to be more grumpy and restless in the morning. 

So try to keep things moving at a steady pace, and try to finish it all up in about half an hour. 30 minutes is longer than you might think, and you can get pyjamas on, clean teeth, and finish a story well within this deadline. 

Offer Your Kids a Choice Between a Story or Something Else

Reading to your child to help them drop off at night – it’s one of the best feelings as a parent. Knowing they feel safe with you there, and going through a story that ensures they’ll have sweet dreams instead of a nightmare, are two simple actions that form a big foundation for good parenting. But if the stories aren’t doing it anymore, you can swap them out for something else! 

Give your child the choice here. Do they want to read a book, or do they want to cuddle and talk about their favorite cartoon instead? Give them the options to choose from, as they might get stressed out trying to come up with something to do themselves (and they may ask to continue playtime, which would be unsuitable for the bedtime routine!). 

Make Changes One at a Time

Routine changes can’t happen all at once. Say you want to extend their bedtime by another half hour as well as stop helping them with bathtime; do this one at a time in different weeks to ensure your child doesn’t become overwhelmed. 

Similarly, it’s common for children to have braces fitted, and if your child is dealing with them, focus on getting them used to sleeping with them. Purchase some custom-fitted night guards, for example, and integrate them into the routine slowly. During this time, make no other changes to ensure your child can get used to something new before moving on again – they might end up finding bedtime stressful otherwise. 

A healthy bedtime routine is a little different for every child. Make sure you craft one with your kids in mind, and be as flexible as you can about it!

Going Healthy, Health, Parenting

How To Look After Your Children’s Eyesight

Leave a comment

As a parent, it’s important to be mindful of your child’s eyesight. Just like their teeth, your eyes are a vulnerable part of the body that if mistreated are going to be damaged over time.

There are many causes for poor eyesight but there are plenty of ways to help ensure your child has a good vision for as long as possible. If you’re already a wearer of glasses or contact lenses, you’ll appreciate how useful it is to have 20/20 vision. With this being said, here are some tips that will help look after your children’s eyesight in the future.

glasses, eyesight, vision, eye exam

Image Source

Minimize device usage for tablets and mobile phones

It seems like all new generations nowadays are growing up with a mobile phone or tablet in their hands. Grateful generations above will appreciate the ability to switch off their electronic devices but for younger generations, it’s not so easy.

It’s useful for a parent to try and minimize screen time and device usage when it comes to their tablets and mobile phones. Too much screen time can do some damage to their eyesight, especially if they’re spending hours on it at a time.

Not only that but if they’re using these devices late at night, their eyes will naturally start straining in order to see the screen. This only gets worse when they’re tired. With that being said, set times in the day or evening when screen time isn’t allowed. It’ll help curb their reliance on these electronics too.

Ensure they’re wearing sunglasses when out and about

When they’re out and about, make sure they’re wearing sunglasses if the sun is shining. As children, they may find themselves looking up at the sky and towards the sun. Obviously, this is dangerous for your eyes as it’s burning away that exposed tissue on the eyes. 

For children though, they don’t know that until they’re told not to. Sunglasses can help them enjoy the sunshine without having to worry about damaging their eyesight. It’s also great for helping them avoid squinting when the sun gets too bright. Children’s eyesight is a little more vulnerable, especially when they’re still developing.

Teach young children the importance of eye safety

The importance of eye safety goes beyond just their early years. The potential damage caused now could have a long-lasting effect on their eye health in the future. With that being said, be mindful of young children when it comes to eye safety. 

For example, make sure they know to wash out their eyes with sterile water when there’s a potential infection or something has gotten into their eye. Ensure they’re not poking anything into their eye that could cause damage. There are a lot of simple eye safety tips that as an adult, you’d know, but for children, they won’t learn until they’re told.

close up of human eye, eyesight, vision, optometry,

Image Source

Encourage them to let you know if they’re having any trouble with their eyesight or if there is any pain or discomfort within the eye itself.

Get regular opticians checkups

Regular opticians checkups are essential for children and should be introduced from a young age. Just like other healthcare appointments, a trip to Merivale Vision Care is a must. It’s worthwhile getting them used to the opticians from a young age, especially as the experience can be a little daunting.

By providing them with eye care from an early age, it’s helpful to ensure they are being checked over properly and have any potential underlying problems ruled out.

Provide them with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables

Fresh fruit and vegetables are great for eye health and for the little one’s health in general. Make sure you’re incorporating plenty of fruit and vegetables that are known for being good for eyesight. These include:

  • Carrots
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Green leafy vegetables.

The more fruit and veg they have in their diet, the better it’ll be for their health in general so ensure they’re getting their five a day every day.

Be mindful of any changes in their vision

It’s important to be mindful of any changes within their vision. As a parent, it’s easy enough to notice something different in your child’s behavior or mood. This may be done to a problem with their eyesight whether it’s noticeable now or not. Make sure to be mindful and to question if they’re experiencing any pain or sudden change in their eyesight.

Looking after your children’s eyesight is essential so with that being said, be mindful, attentive, and encouraging toward your child’s eyesight this year and beyond.