It’s been a long day for Anu. As she relaxes with her evening coffee, she feels a jab of pain close to her anus. A trip to the gynaecologist the next day confirms her fears. It is piles. Piles, which look like soft purple lumps protruding through the anal ring, are actually swollen veins. They are caused by the increased …

Grown-up children living at home is not an uncommon phenomenon and there are many cases where a child still lives at home, even when he or she is 21. This is especially the case when the children study or work in the same city as their parents and still don’t have a family. However, they may not move out even …

Grandparents play a unique role in children’s life. They not only provide unconditional love but also symbolize the continuity and stability that are so important for a child. Grand-parents play a vital role in establishing the child’s basic mind set, beliefs and cultural ideas. They are the roots of the tree of life on which the child gleams like the …

There is a sharp rise in the number of children who are being raised by persons other than their parents and in majority of the cases, these persons are none other that the grandparents. However, bringing up your grandchildren is no easy task. Even though grandparents are experienced parents and are quite aware of the developmental needs of children, there …

 Soon, I would have to move back to plain old tobacco – the no-nonsense smoke of a familiar, down-to-earth routine. I threw the butt away. The prospect of the familiar journalistic routine was paralysing: wading through innumerable takes of news, cleaning, polishing and making them suitable for public consumption… Then, for a moment, the depression lifted. There was a new …

After parents and teachers, it is the child’s friends who play a vital role in shaping his character. As parents, we should give due importance to his choice and pay attention to those he calls friends. Apart from family, the first relationship that a child forms in his own  right is with his peers. At a very young age itself, …

Do you want to get high? Go sniff a deodorant. Yes, a deodorant. According to a recent report by Alcohol and Drug Abuse Organisation, United States, deodorants are one of the many domestic products that people sniff for their mood altering effects. Inhalants range from gasoline, kerosene, lighter fluid, typewriter correction fluid to antifreeze, paints, glue, cleaning fluids, and nail …

When was the last time you and your kids rolled around on the floor together laughing yourselves silly? If you’re like me, it may have been a while! Sometimes I get caught up in household chores, give errands a priority or answer the phone when I know I should let it ring, instead of making time for my two daughters. …

Suman has been named the most toilet-friendly person at home because she visits the loo so often. She is into her third month of pregnancy. And whenever she is out of home, she is constantly looking for a toilet everywhere. Suman’s is a very common problem in pregnancy. In the early stages, the foetus releases certain hormones, which stimulate the …

Babies usually do not break bones since their bones are not hard enough. They bend rather than break. Occasionally, they may bend and crack like a green twig rather than rather than snapping like a dry one. This is what is called a greenstick fracture. There are no sharp ends of bone inside the limb to damage blood vessels and …