Imagine spending the night out in the open with no heater to keep you warm and only a tattered sweater or jacket to protect yourself. A scary thought isn’t it? Sadly, thousands of homeless people in the city live this nightmare day in and out and of them, many – 7,472 till the last count – are children. After the …

With Father’s Day approaching, I have been wondering what to buy for my dad. Would he like an all-purpose toolbox for the innumerable repair jobs he finds at home – an interest he picked up during the one year he was unemployed. Or, would he like a new golf mallet? Perhaps I shouldn’t . Isn’t this what had kept him …

Ameya’s parents were shocked. The doctor attributed the plump 12-year-old’s lack of concentration and attentiveness to malnutrition. How could a chubby-looking child from an upper class family be undernourished, they wondered? Obviously Ameya’s parents have mistaken their obese child to be healthy. And obese child usually grows up to become an obese adult. What are the effects of obesity? Parents …

Children born to older fathers are not just at an increased risk of autism and some other diseases but are also more likely to be ugly, scientists say. Previous studies have shown that extra-genetic mutations that build up in older men’s genes can raise their children’s risk of autism, schizophrenia and other diseases. Now researchers say the impact is so …

Baby love routine and rituals, from six month your baby will settle more happily if whole process of going to sleep takes place in exactly the same way every evening. Try to impose the normal routine (even if you’re away from home) as your baby will not be quite ready to sleep in strange surroundings. Baby will easily get upset …

To have a child is every parent’s delight. Then, somewhere along the way, there creeps in a feeling among parents that despite their nurture and care, their child has not “come up to expectations”. Here it becomes imperative for parents to introspect and identify areas of concern before jumping to conclusions regarding the behavioral pattern of the child. As parents …

Ever since your baby’s birth a few months ago, one worry bothers you more than any other. What is the right nutrition for the baby? Am I feeding her right? What happens when she grows up a little more? What are the foods I have to feed her then? While every child has his or her own likes and dislikes …

You looked away for what seemed like a minute and your piggy tailed play school going baby has flowered into a young teenager, all gung ho about going out for an evening with a complete stranger! While dating might be a concept Indian families are slowly familiarising with, nothing short of hell breaks lose, when you realise that your daughter …

The most likely reason for milk drying up is the inhibition of the ejection reflex (the mechanism by which milk is ejected from the breast). This reduces the production of milk and gradually stops it completely. Often, the drying up has psychological reasons behind it – when people ask the mother whether her milk has dried up or is drying …

When relating to children, especially when they feel threatened, let them know they do not have to prove themselves to you. Let them know there are no strings attacked to what you do or to what you ask them to do. I took Tommy, one of my tutoring students, to the library and I let him take out a book, …