Amra Circle

Deeksha

Amra Circle brings weekly conversations and discussions about all things parenting and child development. This is a platform that brings parents, educators, experts and members of the village to shed light on different issues, questions and topics relevant to the early parenting community for we all know it takes a village to raise a child.

  1. 08/26/2023

    Nurturing Sleep in the Early Years

    Navigating sleep during the early years can be anything but dreamy. It's a rollercoaster ride of sleep regressions and bedtime battles. From newborns who seem to have no concept of day and night, to toddlers resisting bedtime like champions of protest, each stage comes with its own set of sleep patterns. And just when you think you've figured it all out, a new milestone or developmental leap can tip the scales once again. As parents, understanding these ever-evolving sleep patterns is crucial. It helps anticipate challenges and adapt the strategies accordingly. On this podcast episode, we'll delve into the details about age appropriate sleep requirements, indicators of readiness for various stages of sleep and shed light on transition from co-sleeping to independent sleeping. Sleep is vital for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. In this guide, we explore age-appropriate sleep needs and readiness indicators to establish healthy sleep routines, nurture growth, and ensure peaceful nights for both you and your child. Newborns (0-3 months): 14-17 hours of sleep per day, typically in 2-3 hour stretches, with frequent feeding. Newborns need frequent feeding and sleep cycles.  Infants (4-11 months): 12-15 hours of sleep per day, including nighttime sleep and naps. Nighttime sleep may become more consolidated. As babies grow, they might show signs of readiness for sleep training, longer nighttime sleep stretches, and established nap schedules. Toddlers (1-2 years):  11-14 hours of sleep per day, which may include one or two naps. Toddlers tend to consolidate sleep into one nap during the day and longer nighttime sleep. They may start showing an interest in bedtime routines and may resist going to bed. Preschoolers (3-5 years):  10-13 hours of sleep per day, with most children transitioning to one daytime nap. They may start resisting naps altogether, indicating readiness to transition to no daytime nap. Transition from co sleeping to independent sleeping: Transitioning from co-sleeping to independent sleep is a significant step in your child's development and a milestone in their journey towards sleep independence. Here are some dos and don'ts to follow while transitioning. Do:  >Create a calming and consistent bedtime routine that helps signal to the child that it's time to sleep.  >Pay attention to your child's daytime naps. Ensure they are age-appropriate and not too close to bedtime, as excessive daytime napping can interfere with nighttime sleep. >Bring familiar sleep associations from co-sleeping into the baby's new sleep space, such as a favorite blanket or stuffed animal. Don't:  >Rush the transition. Give your baby time to adjust to the new sleeping arrangement at their own pace. >Abruptly stop co-sleeping if it's been the norm. This can be distressing for the baby.  >Allow excessive screen time before bedtime. The blue light from screens can interfere with the child's ability to fall asleep.

    Nurturing Sleep in the Early Years
  2. 08/13/2023

    Handling Big Emotions : Role of an adult

    Sometimes it might seem like the littlest kids have the biggest emotions. Emotions that come out in loud, unpredictable, and sometimes aggressive ways.  When big emotions are too much for our little ones, we can see tantrums, mean words, or impulsive behaviour. Some of the most common emotions children feel are: Anger, Sadness, Fear, Jealousy to name a few. While it would be wonderful if children were naturally equipped to stay calm and respond to disappointments or anger in a manageable way, that's not how they work. Young children lack the vocabulary to express their desires or articulate their emotions fully. The resulting frustration can make them susceptible to being overwhelmed by intense feelings. This is where children need adults to step in and help them constructively. It’s important to help our children learn how to talk about their big feelings. We can give them the tools they need to express how they’re feeling, before their emotions take over. Every outburst is an opportunity to steer them in a different direction and to strengthen the skills they need to name and manage their emotions in a way that works for them. We want our children to know All emotions are okay and normal, and want them to understand that it’s okay to feel whatever they are feeling. We also want them to know that emotions aren’t permanent, and if they ride that emotional wave it will eventually end. Big emotions and tantrums are NOT a sign of bad parenting or bad children. They are never that. Taking tantrums or wild behaviour personally can make it more difficult to use them as an opportunity to nurture valuable skills in a child. It can be easy to feel judged when your child choose the top of the escalator on a busy Saturday morning to throw themselves on the ground because you peeled their banana all the way to the bottom and nothing – nothing – can ever be the same again, but you are raising humans, and it’s hard and it’s important and the path is a crooked one with plenty of uphills, downhills, and hairpin curves.

    Handling Big Emotions : Role of an adult
  3. 05/25/2022

    Toddlerhood : Communication Development and Delays

    The first 3 years of life is the most influential period for acquiring speech and language skills. These skills develop best in a world that is rich with sounds, sights, and consistent exposure to the speech and language of others. This is when the brain is best able to absorb language. So, it’s a nobrainer to expose children to language in as many ways as possible in this critical period. Children vary in their development of speech and language skills. However, they follow a natural progression or timetable for mastering the skills of language. Sometimes a delay may be caused by hearing loss, while other times it may be due to a speech or language disorder. Verbal communication is interpersonal communication that includes oral communication, written communication, and sign language. Nonverbal communication encompasses a whole host of physicalized nonverbal cues that convey emotional states and complement verbal messages Reading is one of the best ways to encourage communication and language development. As an infant, hearing words and seeing pictures helps a child understand the two are connected. This lays a foundation for speech, which begins around nine months and typically increases as a child grows. Parents and caregivers play a big role in a child’s communication and language development. Here are some suggestions for how to encourage this development: Answer when your baby makes sounds. This will help him/her learn to use language. Read to your baby. This will help him/her develop and understand language and sounds. Help to develop your toddler’s language by talking with him/her and adding words. For example, if your toddler says "baba,” you can respond, "Yes, you are right – that is a bottle." Encourage your child to tell you his/her name and age. Help your child develop language skills by speaking in complete sentences and using "grown-up" words. Help your child to use the correct words and phrases. Children who have trouble understanding what others say (receptive language) or difficulty sharing their thoughts (expressive language) may have a language disorder. Specific language impairment (SLI) is a language disorder that delays the mastery of language skills. Some children with SLI may not begin to talk until their third or fourth year. Children who have trouble producing speech sounds correctly or who hesitate or stutter when talking may have a speech disorder. Apraxia of speech is a speech disorder that makes it difficult to put sounds and syllables together in the correct order to form words.

  4. 05/08/2022

    Maternal Health: Medical Model of Care for Childbirth - Making Informed Decisions

    Making informed choices during childbirth can be complex and multilayered. Understanding the various interventions in childbirth, pain relieving methods, common misconceptions and risks involved can go a long way in helping families understand the implications of every decision they make. Normal labor and delivery is the term used when the baby is born in head down position at full term (9 months) through the vagina (birth canal) after spontaneous labor pains. Typically, for first-time mothers normal labor may last anywhere from 6 to 18 hours. In low-risk births, a normal labor and delivery is safer for the mother and baby over a c-section. It allows you to breastfeed your baby sooner and helps you recover faster. Normal delivery process has the following three stages Stage I is when the contractions in uterus cause opening and shortening of the cervix i.e. the mouth of the uterus. Stage II is when the  cervix is fully open and the baby descends down the birth canal. The mother pushes and gives birth to the baby. Stage III is when delivery of placenta (i.e. the organ that supplies nutrients to the baby) occurs.  A pain-sensitive woman requires one of many pharmacological (using medications) methods using intravenous medications for short durations which have their limitations due to temporary undesired side effects during labor affecting both mother and the child. Inhaling (Entonox) Nitrous oxide and oxygen mixture relieves anxiety, helps to tolerate mild pain in the early 1ststage and during the 2nd stage of labor from second delivery onwards. Interventional techniques like spinal and epidural would give us maximum safety profile and comfort to the delivering mother. Spinal may be used in urgency when pain relief is needed for a short duration towards the end of 1st stage. Epidural is the gold standard and gives at least 90% pain relief.

About

Amra Circle brings weekly conversations and discussions about all things parenting and child development. This is a platform that brings parents, educators, experts and members of the village to shed light on different issues, questions and topics relevant to the early parenting community for we all know it takes a village to raise a child.