As a parent do you commit these mistakes

Almost all parents meticulously follow their child’s growth plan and vaccination chart. Still, parents tend to gloss over certain facts which can prove detrimental to the health of the child. Keep reading to learn about most commonly committed health mistakes by parents. And yes, even educated parents tend to make such mistakes.
1. Did you de-worm your child

“When was the last time you de-wormed her?” asked Dr. Rajiv Chabbara, Consultant Paediatrician and Neonatal Intensivist to Mehak Aggarwal. She had brought Suhani, her three-year-old daughter for a health check, as she wasn’t feeling too well and would complain of a stomach pain after having food. Mentally, Mehak calculated and spoke weakly, “Never.” Dr. Chabbara wasn’t in for a surprise. Even educated and well-informed parents fail to de-worm their kids, comments he. Children between the age group of 5 and 15 should be regularly de-wormed, says he. The common worm infestations are thread worm, round worm and hook worm.

Lifestyle changes

To keep worm infestation at bay, parents should inculcate healthy habits in children.

• Make sure children always wash their hands after going to the bathroom and before eating.


• Keep fingernails short to reduce the chances of picking up worm eggs underneath them.


• Wash all the vegetables, fruits thoroughly before eating raw.


• Meat, especially pork should be thoroughly cooked before eating.


• Ensure that children don't play barefoot in soil.


• Neem powder and onion juice help remove intestinal worms.

2. The dosage dilemma
Though all medicines prescribed to the child contain instructions for dosage, still many parents tend to be lax when following it. The conventionally used method of administering medicines through spoon is highly flawed, comments Dr. Chabbara. Priti Prakash, mother of 10-year-old Tanu realized when the fever of her daughter refused to go down even after giving the medicine the doctor had prescribed. She immediately bundled the child to the hospital. When the paediatrician on duty enquired, he figured out that Prakash was giving way too low dosage for a 10-year-old.

3. Do you know your kids blood group?
Usually parents know their kids’ blood group, but Anita Dewan didn’t. When the time came to fill in the pre-school forms, she filled the blood group as B positive, because she and her husband were the same blood group and she suspected her son’s blood group to be the same. Dr. Chabbara warns against making such speculations on your own. Blood grouping should ideally be done in all the kids as they are born. It is, however, compulsory for those kids whose mother's blood group is O or Rhesus negative; as kids born to such mothers have increased propensity to get significant jaundice tells Dr. Chabbra.

Also, it is good to know the blood group of your child so that during emergency you can inform the treating doctor to avoid any medical delay in adverse consequences. Nowadays, schools also ask for it as a mandatory requirement.

4. Have you checked your infant for underactive thyroid
A bit of skepticism saved Jagruti Motwani. Her ten-day-old baby girl would sleep throughout the day and showed no interest in feeding. She felt that something wasn’t right with the child and got her tested for IEM (Inborn Errors of Metabolism).

The test revealed that the child was suffering from underactive thyroid, a health condition that could cause mental retardation. Experts are of the view that there should be compulsory inclusion of thyroid test at birth. In India, the incidence of thyroid hormone deficiency at birth is one in 2,500 newborn babies, while it is one in 4,000 newborn babies in developed countries. Untreated under-active thyroid can cause mental retardation in the infant. A simple heel prick at birth can reveal the condition and it can get treated with oral medicines.

5. Pay attention to your child’s hearing
The good news is, hearing problems can be treated if it gets caught early — ideally by the time a baby is 3 months old. And, the bad news is, most of the parents don’t have proper awareness that hearing loss is a common birth defect, which if evaluated at the right time can be cured. So it's important to get your child's hearing screened early and evaluated regularly to keep hearing loss at bay.

6. Get squint treated
Many parents believe that children will outgrow squint, and this includes educated parents too, says Dr. Ajay Sharma, Medical Director, Eye Q chain of hospitals. This is not true. Squint is a misalignment of the two eyes so that both the eyes are not looking in the same direction. This misalignment may be constant, being present throughout the day or it may appear sometimes and the rest of the time the eyes may be straight. Treatment plan for squint include spectacles, eye exercise and surgery.

7. Do you beg your paediatrician for antibiotics?
Many parents do this, says Dr. Chabbara. Antibiotics are just not needed for viral fever. Hence, listen to your doctor’s words of advice, urges he.

How to Foster Parent -Teacher- Child Relationship

“Easier said than done," you must be thinking! After all, there are teachers your child will love and teachers he may not. There are teachers you'll like and dislike as well. In fact, there should be a self help book stating Teachers are from Saturn Parents are from Jupiter to help navigate the difficult path of parent-teacher relationship. Priya Singh makes an attempt to provide some useful strategies on the subject.

Your child’s teacher is the second most important person in her life, but of course after the parents, says Mamta Singla, Consultant- Clinical Psychologist, Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon who witnesses about 80% of her OPD full of class room behaviour complains of a child! Keep reading to know what goes inside the mind of a teacher and benefit from the valuable nuggets of advice from the expert.

What Parents Should Do

Keep in touch with the school. Stay aware of what your children are learning, what their assignments are, and how they are doing. Make a point of visiting the school and talking with the teachers through parent/teacher conferences. If you can’t visit, schedule a telephone call to discuss your child’s progress. Remember that the teacher is on your side. Teachers truly care about your children and want them to be successful. "The child's success is our success," tells Kirti Mathur (M. Ed.) English Teacher, DPS, Indirapuram.

Create a problem-solving partnership, instead of confronting a teacher immediately with what's wrong. If your child's teacher contacts you about a problem or something that happened at school, understand that the teacher is trying to work with you to resolve any conflict that may be getting in the way of your child's development. Do meet with the teacher to brainstorm and to find out ways to help your child, instead of starting the blame game," recommends Dr Rohini Broota, Consultant Child Psychologist, Moolchand Medcity Hospital Delhi.

Try not to boast. Of course you think your child is brilliant, but bragging over his accomplishments may send a message to the teacher that you think he may not be good enough to teach your child. Always think before you speak as you don't need to sell your child to the teacher, notes Singla, rather you have to trust that your teacher will come to know what's important herself. Telling a teacher that your child loves to read will thrill the teacher. But challenging your teacher with statements like 'he read 50 new books over the summer,' may backfire.

Think like a child! Offer praise, support and encouragement. Parents and families play an important role in influencing a child’s confidence and motivation to become a successful learner. Encourage them to complete assignments and introduce them to outside experiences that will enhance their self-confidence and broaden their interests.
Also, you must be interactive with your child to know more about his behaviour in school. Ask child about his class work and school environment. And if you get to know that the child’s relationship with his teacher is not good, you must listen to the child and contact the teacher.

What Teacher Should Do?

Involve parents in classroom activities. Teachers can let child’s family know how they can be helpful and can ask for their assistance with specific activities. Parents can interact more with the teacher by participating in classroom materials, serving on a committee to select classroom equipment and materials, or by sharing information about their kids’ careers, tells Singla. At least quarterly activities of such kind can greatly help the child. The more involved parents are in what goes on in the classroom, the more likely they are to understand the teacher’s goals and practices.

Give parents a voice in decisions. Parents’ viewpoints should be considered in making decisions about their children’s schooling.

Foster good communication during parent- teacher conferences. During PTM’s create a comfortable environment in which parents’ feel free to share information, ask questions and make recommendations.

While these are no magic recipes that are easy to cook, but yes following these strategies you can help your child get close to the teacher and excited about learning (or at least get you through some tough spots along the way). Help kids plan their time, complete their homework, and make the most of school years. Before you realize, your child will be graduate to college and the memories of school days will rest in your heart forever.