In thinking about the spiritual growth that often happens in children, I am reminded of a sense I sometimes have of having touched a hidden wellspring in a child. That was the way I described the experience the first time it happened with David. It seems to be related to inner growth, but not as permanent. Usually when I worked …

Using bad words or abusive language is increasingly becoming a problem in growing children. Most of us have experienced it but when it comes to dealing with it, we often don’t know what to do. First of all, we need to determine exactly our child is picking up this language from. Let us honestly examine our own language and see …

You are feeling giddy and nauseus. Your menstrual cycle has been delayed. Things don’t seem quite right. Consult a gynaecologist. You might be pregnant. Early symptoms Absence of menstrual periods: Although this is one of the first pointers to a pregnancy, remember, you could have missed your periods for other reasons like stress, psychological problems, systemic diseases such as anaemia, …

Swelling of the ankles and feet is normal up to a certain limit unless it is accompanied by high blood pressure and excessive weight gain. The average weight gain in pregnancy is about 10 to 12 kilograms. Part of the natural weight gain during pregnancy is due to water retention in the body. The water content, which varies from individual …

Most babies suckle easily and naturally. They are born with the suckling reflex. To start the suckling reflex, a stimulus has to touch the baby’s hard palate. The stimulus is provided by the nipple, which has to be offered to the baby. But, occasionally a baby has to learn to suck. Especially in cases where the mother has flat or …

While there is no doubt that breast milk is best for the baby, it will always be true that for one reason or another, a small minority of mothers will not be able to adequately breast feed their babies and will have to resort to feeding by bottle or a cup. Usually a four to five month old baby can …

You are planning to have a baby. But you are worried that you will get marks on your stomach. Well, stretch marks are something that may be unavoidable. Nearly every pregnant woman gets them. Actually the number of marks you will have depends entirely on the pliability of the skin on your stomach. The skin has elastic fibres underneath which …

When my sister was carrying my nephew, all she did was look in the mirror and complain at the amount of weight she was putting on. Although she did go for walks in the evenings, her efforts were half-hearted as she was afraid of over-doing the exercise routine. She thought it might harm the baby. After consulting her gynaecologist, she …

I remember being spanked, but I don’t remember for what. The lessons were lost. My teacher was blissfully unaware that you cannot teach any lesson by spanking. What she did manage to teach is that it is acceptable to be a bully if you are bigger. And I always fantasied about becoming big – bigger than him – and beating …

A green hedge encrusted with white mountain roses – the smell I carry in my nostrils to this day. Pure and heady. I was three. It’s a snapshot of memory. I put a name to the memory much later. Lansdowne, a quiet and picturesque cantonment town set in the hills of Uttar Pradesh. My father had arranged the trip. He …