Offer Both Breasts at Each Feeding for Equal Amounts of Time

mythIf you are breast-feeding, you must always offer both breasts at each feeding for equal amounts of time. reality It’s more important to let your baby fi nish with one breast first, even if that means she doesn’t take the second breast at the same feeding. the factsEach time you breast-feed, you produce different types of milk. Foremilk is the initial breast milk that a baby drinks when she nurses at the beginning of a feeding. It resembles skim milk — high in volume but low in fat and calories....

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Babies Who Breast-feed Very Often

myth Babies who breast - feed very often probably aren’t getting enough milk.reality The frequency of feedings is not an indicator of whether or not your baby is getting enough breast milk.the factsIf you are feeding on demand, which many pediatricians and breast - feeding advocates recommend, then you might feel that your baby is constantly at the breast and you may worry that he’s not getting enough milk. But assuming you have developed a steady supply of milk, that you aren’t limiting feeding times, and that your baby is latching on to the breast correctly, it’s likely that he’s simply having...

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The Truth About Feeding and Nourishing Your Child

My oldest child ’ s fi rst solid food was not an organic apple slice, a calcium - rich cheese stick, or free - range chicken. It was a half - sour pickle. Perhaps after all that milk, she was looking for something with a little zing. One friend had a baby who loved licking slices of lemon and lime. Another had a toddler who preferred “ spicy ” water (sparkling mineral water or seltzer) over fl at, and salad greens dressed with garlicky olive oil. All these children, like millions of others, then proceeded to go through the “ picky eater ” phase, but managed to survive, thrive, and eventually expand...

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How can I encourage ravenous curiosity in my kids?

Think of curiosity as the link between wonder and understanding.Wonder s the “wow” moment: “Wow, look at all the stars!” “Wow, look at the way that chameleon changes colors!” Curiosity is the next step—the desire to understand: “How do the stars keep burning?” “ How many stars are there?” “How does the chameleon do that?”If curiosity is what you’re after, your main goal in responding to a question shouldn’t be giving the answer. In some cases, an immediate answer can even extinguish curiosity.What...

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Social Competence in Children

Social competence is an ability to take another’s perspective concerning a situation and to learn from past experience and apply that learning to the ever-changing social landscape. The ability to respond flexibly and appropriately defines a person’s ability to handle the social challenges that are presented to us all. Social competence is the foundation upon which expectations for future interactions with others are built and upon which children develop perceptions of their own behavior. Social...

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The rise of provisional truths

What we know of the inner world of children and their parents is what we learn by listening to them. We shall hardly understand them if we look at them from the outside and seek objective measures. We can only try to recognise what is happening if we approach them as sensible subjects making meaning of their lives. The same goes for the performances of child welfare agents. We shall only learn about child welfare work if we acknowledge professionals as human agents who try to do a significant job...

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Dialogue - Where human development begins.

Human development begins in dialogue, children learning to organise their world through interaction with others. Children need a responsive environment in order to develop agency at different levels. Only then do they learn to become active participants in everyday life. Parenting demands both acknowledgment and restriction of the child. Child rearing is a social undertaking that depends on suitable dialogical conditions in family proximity and in the wider society. People emphasise their individuality...

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