Snacks to Pack for Your Kids

Every morning or let’s admit that from almost last night prelude, one thing that constantly hits the brain of any Mom is the kids’ School Lunch. You keep looking for something healthy, appealing, nutritious, easy to make in the morning and something that will survive a few hours in the lunch box. Again a change is must for every day a week. Priya Singh pitches in recipes of some yummy to taste, amazing to look and yet easy to cook snacks to pack for your kids. Read to select what would you pack for kid.

Veggie Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients: 6 – bread rolls, 15 gm – butter, salt to taste, 2 pinches – white pepper powder, 20g – cheese, 5 – black olive, 4 tbsp – chopped carrot, 2 tbsp – chopped onion, 3 tbsp – chopped mushroom, 4 tbsp – chopped beans, 1 tbsp – chopped garlic, 1 tbsp – chopped green chilli, 15 gm – refind flour, 150 ml – milk , olive oil

Method:  Melt butter in a pan & mix it with flour. After mixing butter – flour, pour milk in mixture. Heat olive oil in the other pan and fry garlic. Once garlic changes colour add all vegetables. When vegetables are soft, mix prepared sauce in it. Add salt, pepper and prepare a thick filling and keep a side. Cut the rolls in half and toast in a toaster. Then fill the toasts with the prepared mixture topped with grated cheese, a little chopped carrot, chilli and black olive rings. Toast this under salamander or oven. It makes a good snack pack option as cheese always delights kids.

Colourful Parathana

Ingredients: 1/4 cup wheat flour, 1/4 cup rice flour, 1 tbsp. soaked moong dal (soaked for 2 hours), 1 tsp. bombay rava, 1 tbsp. spinach chopped, 1 tsp. paneer or cheese grated, 1 tbsp.carrots, beans, peas, cabbage etc. 1 flake garlic crushed, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp oil, 2 spring onion stems finely chopped, salt to taste, oil for shallow frying.

Method: Cut vegetables very fine. Grind spinach to a paste, add chillies if you want. Now mix all ingredients except oil and cheese to make dough of the mixture (consistency like that of paratha). Roll into small parathas . Heat the tawa and make parathas. Cook till even browned and golden on both sides. Garnish with grated paneer or cheese. And pack it in hot wrap for lunch. Ketchup, chutney or jam woul make great add on, select as per your child’s taste.

Moong Flour Pancake

Ingredients: 1 cup moong dal flour (green or yellow), 1 tbsp corriander finely chopped, 1 carrot grated, 1/4 tsp. grated ginger, 1 green chilli ground (if your kid prefers), 1/2 pinches soda bicarb, salt to taste, oil to shallow fry.

Method: Mix all ingredients in a bowl with enough water to make thick batter. Pour the batter in a big spoonful on a warmed dosa tawa or non-stick tawa. Make dosa out of the dough. Cool and pack. If desired with green chutney or sauce.

Paneer Pasta with Garlic Bread

Ingredients: 1 bowl boiled Maccaroni, diced onion, 100 gm paneer, bell pepper, tomato ketchup 2tbsp, voila, red pepper, olive oil 2 tsp and salt to taste.

Method to prepare pasta: Boil the maccaroni with a pinch of salt and keep it aside. Cut the onions into small cubes. Cut the tomatoes, paneer and bell pepper and keep it aside. Now heat the oil in a pan and put the onions in it. Cook for some time till onion changes colour to golden brown. Now add the boiled maccaroni and cook for 15 min. Now add bell pepper and paneer and cook for 2 mins. Take care to see that is does not stick to the bottom. Now add salt and red pepper. Finally add tomato ketchup and voila its ready. Serve hot!!

How to prepare garlic bread Mix some minced cloves of garlic with butter and apply on sliced bread. Wrap it with foil paper and toast it in the oven for 2 mins and it ready to eat.

So now try these recipes and see how you win the fight of getting your kid finish the lunch pack. With these, no more after school lectures would be required.

Common Health Mistakes That Parents Commit

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.

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. And the symptoms that needs to be observed includes intermittent abdomen pain particularly after eating food, lack of appetite, weak child, anaemia, itching around anal region, etc.

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.

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.

Have you checked your infant for underactive thyroidA 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.

Pay attention to your child’s hearingThe 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.

Get squint treatedMany 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.

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 Help Your Child Beat Bullying

Bullying is a universal phenomenon. No doubt, it hurts. Though years later you may recover from the effects, while you are undergoing it, it makes life difficult and miserable for the victim. Bullying erodes confidence of the victims and when they decide to beat back bullying they can resort to unthinkable means. Newspapers are splashed with children resorting to violence to settle scores and bullying may be somewhere ingrained in the psyches of children who do so. Every day in our schools and communities, children are teased, threatened, or tormented by bullies. A very competitive school environment can contribute to bullying.

Decoding bullying

There are many different forms of bullying; it isn’t all-physical violence it is also verbal or social abuse, this can be by way of intimidation, making nasty comments and excluding the person. The most common types of bullying are–

Verbal bullying

Girls very often do this type of bullying; it is a very cruel form of bullying and can have deep lasting mental effects on your child even when the bullying has been stopped. Verbal bullying consists of —

• Name calling
• Sarcasm
• Teasing
• Spreading rumours, etc.

Social bullying

Ostracizing child is another form of bullying. The bully never misses an opportunity to humiliate the victim.

Physical bullying

Usually boys do this but girls are not immune to it, it takes forms of

• Hitting
• Pinching
• Poking
• Pushing
• Chasing
• Destroying or stealing possessions.

Cyber bullying

This form of bullying is becoming more widespread and consists of

• Sending hateful text messages
• E-mails
• Spreading rumours by these methods.

Symptoms

Whichever form of bullying takes place it can have serious health related issues in future.

Some signs of being bullied may be:

• Not wanting to go to school
• Finding excuses for not going to school, e.g. feeling sick or being sick
• Being very tense, tearful and unhappy before or after school
• Talking about hating school or other children
• Showing bruises or scratches
• Damage to or loss of personal belongings
• Showing problems with sleeping, e.g. not sleeping, nightmares.
• Not having any friends
• Refusing to talk about what happens at school.

Psyche of a bully

Studies have shown that children who bully are more likely to engage in other criminal and anti-social behaviors, such as:

• Fighting
• Vandalism
• Dropping out of school
• Stealing
• Smoking
• Drinking
• Drug addiction, etc.

The stress from being bullied can create problems for children at school. The effects of bullying can impact not only the direct victim, but also other children who witness such acts. It can cause children to experience —

• Fear
• Depression
• Loneliness
• Anxiety
• Low self-esteem
• Physical illness
• Even suicidal thoughts.

For bullies and bullied

Parental intervention, love and guidance often help in rectifying bullies and give courage to the bullied. If your child is a bully you can—

• Tell her the behavior won’t be tolerated.
• Teach her non-violent ways to express anger.
• Let her know there will be negative consequences if the behavior continues.
• Praise and reward appropriate behavior.
• Consider counselling.
• Don’t allow siblings to taunt him or call him names.
• Teach her to appreciate the differences in others instead of ridiculing them.

What to do if your child is bullied?

Parents

• Praise and encourage your child – a confident child is less likely to be bullied.
• Help your child develop new friends – new peers can provide a new chance.
• Maintain contact with your child’s school. Keep a detailed record of bullying episodes and communicate with the school.
• Encourage your child to participate in sports or physical activity to improve esteem.

Schools

• Establish a bullying prevention committee at school.
• Create a long-term anti-bullying plan and raise school and community awareness and involvement
• Survey to determine if there is a bullying problem.
• Involve parents in planning, discussions and action plans.
• Establish classroom rules against bullying.
• Initiate serious talks with bullies and victims of bullying.

Children are intrinsically innocent. If they are reacting in a way that is not suited to their age—(read bullying), somewhere they need help to channelise their energies or are calling for time and attention of parents. Respond to their calls before it is too late.

Can A Dad Really Be A Mom?

Doing some comparative math in the weeks before Father’s Day, a recent study at Fordham University, United States, has calculated that the number of single-father families, around the world, has jumped up to 30-35 percent in the past decade. This declares that single dads are growing 6 percent a year-that's double the rate for single moms. And this means almost 15 percent of men are running a ‘dad-only household’! But, despite all the facts, a question that pops in the mind immediately is ‘can a dad really be a mom?’ No matter how much you love and care for your bundle of joy, rearing a child is a difficult task under any circumstance and for a man, without a partner, the stakes are even higher. You are not only supposed to show the firmness of a male but you also need to show the gentleness of a female. Single dads are supposed to raise kids like moms do, which actually turns the scene upside down, making both, the kid as well as the dad very miserable. Sure, moms have a way of raising kids, but dads do too. So as a single father, try staying natural and simply remember to raise them as a ‘man’ would. To guide you better to handle the challenges, Guardian Health Chronicle comes to your rescue. Start reading!

Tips To Nurture a Confident Child Adults and children do better when single parenthood is perceived as a viable option and not as a pathological situation. Follow the given tips to start with a positive attitude:

1. Talk a lot - You need to be open and completely honest with your children. Make them feel comfortable about asking your questions. Let them know its okay for them to wonder, and to ask questions. Most of all let them know that none of the events that happened is their fault. We all know children jump to that conclusion. It’s important to show them love and understanding during this time.

2 . Keep your promises - Try recalling what it’s like to be a kid. When you asked your parents for something, and they didn't follow through, you kept grudges. During this delicate point in a confusing child's life, it’s no time for them to turn against you. Let them know you are always there for them, and they can trust you. Even if it is something small, your kids remember so better to keep your promises.

3. Adjust to waking up earlier - Most school buses come around 7:15 on average. Make sure you are up and ready before your children are. Have some breakfast on the table, and let them know that they aren't alone. Wake them up for school, pack their lunch and etc. They depend on you now, even for the small things.

4. Set a chore chart - Adjusting to doing new things around the house can be a hassle. On top of working, and taking care of your kids, now there's a whole house and clothes to take care of. Don't let all of these things pile up. Make a planner or chart. Plan out each day, and what you'll be doing. For example, you could do laundry every Monday and Wednesday, grocery shopping every Tuesday and Friday and etc.

5. Accept help - Most likely, there will be people to offer their help. You can’t do it all! Swallow your pride and take the gracious offer. They wouldn't offer if they didn't want too. Take it!

6. Create few strict routine structures such as scheduled meals and bedtimes — this helps your child know what to expect.

7. Set reasonable limits. Explain house rules and expectations to your child — such as speaking respectfully and picking up after yourself — and be careful to enforce them. Work with the other caregivers in your child's life to ensure you're providing consistent discipline. Consider re-evaluating certain limits, such as your child's computer time or curfew, when he or she demonstrates the ability to accept more responsibility.

8. Don't feel guilty. At time you may feel low about the situation but under any circumstances don't blame yourself or spoil your child to try to make up for being a single parent.

9. Set aside time each day to play, to read or simply sit with your child.

10. Show your love. Remember to praise your child. Give him or her unconditional love and support.

11. Most important, never miss to take care of yourself. Include physical activity in your daily routine, eat a healthy diet and get plenty of sleep. Arrange time to do activities you enjoy alone or with close friends. You need not lost your personal self as it would get frustrating in long run.

12. Stay positive. Your mood and attitude can affect your child. It's OK to be honest with your child if you're having a difficult time, but remind him or her that things will get better. Try to keep your sense of humor when dealing with everyday challenges.


Remember, if you're too tired or distracted to be emotionally supportive or you can’t consistently discipline your child, behavioural problems might arise in your kid. So go slow and keep calm!

Now, think no more just try these great tips to make things a little easier and enjoy being a great ‘dad’.

 By Priya Singh

How to Foster Parent's Teacher 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. 

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.

So take action now else, it may happen that before you realize, your child will be graduate to college and the memories of school days will rest in your heart forever.

You Can Overcome Stammering

When I was a kid I would be very afraid when we had guests at home, because I stammered, says Rahul Shukla, 28 years old, accountant। By adolescent years, I had become a loner and shunned company of friends and relatives। My approach changed when I visited a speech pathologist, who helped me overcome stammering. Gradually, I regained confidence. I do stammer at times, when I am under too much of stress. When that happens, I know that I need a break from whatever I am doing and concentrate on my breathing to deflate stress.

Stammering is an obstacle that affects the verbal communication abilities of a significant proportion of the population within our community। And there is no denying the fact that it can become a serious issue, but if handled appropriately one can definitely overcome stammering, informs Dr Vijay Aggarwal, Speech Pathologist at AIIMS।

Basic causes:

Stammering usually begins between 2 and 5 years old. This is the time when a child's language skills are developing and he uses new words, expresses new ideas in longer sentences, and also asks questions. The child suddenly stops in between while he is talking or narrating an incident and struggles with a word. The common reaction is to interject and help the child with the word or to make fun of him. Both the approaches are wrong, as they erode self confidence of the child.
Bilingual Problems: For some children, learning two languages at the same time can be difficult to manage and it impacts their fluency, making them stammer.

Social and Environmental Factors: In everyday living kids have to handle a lot of stress too. In such moments kids who are otherwise normal, tend to stammer.

Genetics: The same way we inherit our eye colour, height or personality trait from our parents and grandparents, we inherit stammering too. It can be a combination of nature and nurture.

Gender: Males are four times vulnerable than female. That’s the reason you may find a boy mispronouncing words more than a girl.

Oral motor skills like planning and co-ordination of the movements of articulation - tongue, jaw, voice box, etc। also play a vital role in stammering. Some research studies have shown differences in the oral skills of some people who stammer - these may be slower or less coordinated.
Emotional disturbances: Stammering can be an indication that the kid is not able to cope with the environment around him. He may be bullied or is facing sexual trauma, or feels neglected. Talk to your child to get the real picture.

How to overcome
It’s important to accept that you have a problem and work on it consciously, tell experts. Do not let it affect your confidence or self-esteem. Worrying about it is only going to increase the problem. So first analyze and then act.

If the reason is emotional, then address the root cause. Talk to the person to gauge what’s hurting him. Help him come out of his shell. Appreciate his achievements. Bit by bit build his confidence and this will help him overcome stammering.

Delayed speech and language development may be associated with hearing impairment, mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy, cleft palate and other neuro-psychological disorders। Hence, if your child is not able to speak well, get him evaluated by a doctor.

Treatment plan
Speech therapy is highly recommended for stammering/stuttering treatment, where in one can expect improvement in results by 90% in about 20 sittings time; sittings can be daily or weekly or even twice in a week. The therapy includes:
a) Three hours of speech therapy sessions, audio-video recordings, speech practices with most advanced “Professionally Licensed Softwares”,
b) Complete psycho-speech therapy programme under guidance and supervision of your speech therapist, psychologist
c) Tele-therapy including phonetics, vocal and fluency exercises
d) Group discussions
e) Unlimited follow up support
f) E-mail consultation

Echo earpiece. Some s find that they can sing along with others, and that their stammer is not as bad when they are with a lot of people all talking together in the same room. To reproduce this effect, an earpiece has been developed that sends out an echo of the user’s voice. It helps to ‘unblock’ the impediment to speech. According to the British Stammering Association, it helps some people but not all.
But remember that in spite of all these, stammering may not cease permanently. What is important is the smartness to stylize stammering, which will actually be beneficial to the individual. Stylizing stammering in itself is a different concept which has to be dwelled in depth separately.
Don't hope for medicines. Although some drugs are available in the market but various studies have shown that drug treatment does not truly help.
Most importantly, stammering can’t get treated on its own. You have to work on it, as it can scar your child.

By Priya Singh

ADHD in Children

According to various medical researchers, nearly 5 million children between the ages of 4 and 17 suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which till 1994 was known as ADD or attention deficit disorder. Kids are supposed to be naughty, but ADHD is entirely different! Kids suffering from this disorder suffer from conduct disorder, coordination problems, learning difficulties, anxiety or depression, or problems with social interaction, communication and obsessive behaviour, tells Dr Vandana Tara, Clinical Psychologist, Child Development and Adolescent Health Centre, Moolchand Medcity, New Delhi. The symptoms of ADHD vary depending on the type of disorder.

Inattentive Type

• Inability to pay attention to details or a tendency to make careless errors in schoolwork or other activities


• Difficulty with sustained attention in tasks or play activities


• Apparent listening problems


• Difficulty following instructions


• Problems with organization


• Avoidance or dislike of tasks that require mental effort


• Tendency to lose things like toys, notebooks, or homework


• Distractibility


• Forgetfulness in daily activities

2. Hyperactive-Impulsive Type

• Fidgeting or squirming


• Difficulty remaining seated


• Excessive running or climbing


• Difficulty playing quietly


• Always seeming to be "on the go"


• Excessive talking


• Blurting out answers before hearing the full question


• Difficulty waiting for a turn or in line


• Problems with interrupting or intruding

3. Combined Type involves a combination of the other two types and is the most common among kids.
Although it can be challenging to raise kids with ADHD, it's important to remember they aren't "bad," "acting out," or being difficult on purpose. And they have difficulty controlling their behaviour without medication or behavioural therapy.

TREATMENT
Awareness among parents and teachers in terms of identifying the early signs such as distractibility, over activity, inability to follow instructions etc. can truly help the child. If you suspect that your child may have ADD/ADHD, seek experts’ help who have experience in diagnosing and treating the disorder. You can also enroll your child in a wilderness camp or a therapeutic boarding school that specializes in treating children with attention disorders.
In case of late diagnosis, a course of neuro-stimulants are offered to the patient that work by changing levels of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. These medicines work by ‘controlling’ and ‘inhibiting’ part of brain, making the brain work in a more efficient way – so your child can concentrate better and behave more calmly informs Dr Tara.

What Parents Can Do
There are a number of approaches parents can take to make daily life more comfortable and positive for children with ADHD.
1. Minimize corrections and criticism. Remember, kids with ADHD often suffer from low self-esteem and high irritability. While parents should address negative behaviours, be especially conscious of balancing negative feedback with affection, encouragement, and quality bonding time with the child so as to boost his morale.
2. Make home a safe haven. ADHD makes your kid face a rough world out there. So home should be a place to regroup, refuel, and rebuild confidence for them. Be polite, if he wants to relax, unwind, and discuss the challenges faced during the day. Don’t multitask while he tries to speak to you, as they might feel ignored, and in turn lose their patience or retreat in a shell.
3. Nurture talents and soft skills. When it comes to academics and social life most kids with ADHD face failure. Counteract the negativity by helping your child identify a skill or ability he enjoys. Speak to therapist or take school’s guidance to teach your kid essential life skills like being on time, staying organized, and setting priorities. Areas to explore may include part-time work, volunteer work, participation in community projects, or trying new activities like horseback riding, sports, or arts. Finding a talent or activity to feel good about can be a positive turning point for ADHD.
4. Be patient. Remember that ADHD has a neurological basis, and therefore your kid can be vulnerable to extreme reactions during times of stress, fatigue, hunger, or PMS. Identifying the potential triggers and stressors will help the whole family manage tough situations.
5. Set up a "quiet zone. ADHD kids quickly feel emotionally overwhelmed. So allow your kid to have an emotional "time out" after an upsetting episode. And teach the techniques of stress management in a friendly manner.
6. Use reward technique for positive behaviour by breaking a task into smaller parts. Setting a structured daily routine helps a lot in dealing with this problem at initial stage.
7. Talk to teachers. Inform your kid’s teacher about ADHD and the special needs your kids require। The child needs encouragement and support to handle one another.

What teachers can do
Empathy, understanding and cooperation from the teachers can help children with diagnosed problem improve their coping mechanism, have better self esteem and be motivated to learn and grow tells Shweta Suchak, HOD Special Needs, Billabong High International School, Malad. Few basic interventions Shweta suggests to make at the child's school life include:
• Children with ADHD should be allowed to take regular breaks; they also need to be trained to get back to the tasks.
• Making the classroom more structured.
• Reducing the various distractions in the classroom including the display material.
• Helping the child to be organized with class work and soft skills
• Inform parents and discuss things with them to help the child.
When it comes to treating ADD/ADHD, early intervention is the key। Kids with undiagnosed ADHD as adults have increased likelihood of suffering from depression, anxiousness and lower self esteem. So if your kid gets easily distracted, can't concentrate, and is chronically disorganized, take him immediately for an assessment. He too could have ADHD!

Priya Singh