Dev is one of those children whose mother always keeps complaining about his "hyper-active" nature. At his kindergarten we got the same feedback. Infact, till recently his teacher in school was doubtful if she would allow him to go to his next class! She said, he learns, he is intelligent, but he doesn’t have patience to sit and WRITE! Then she went on to add. He is very expressive. In his class there are children from various nationalities - Italian, Spanish, German, English, American, Scottish, Turkish, Indian and all these children didnt speak much amongst themselves till Dev joined them this January. He could not only converse in English but interact with everyone in his class and seniors with equal ease and that she found very commendable in a child of 3 yrs. Here, I’m here to present to you, my son, Dev Acharya Menon who completed his 4th yr this March.
In this cross-cultural and multi-lingual environment, the child is exposed to more than one language especially in a country like India.
In India, apart from the mother-tongue, a child has to learn English, as the medium of studies and then a second language is introduced as early as 6-7 yrs, be it Hindi or the language he already speaks. The concern of "teaching" a language is very prevalent in the mind of parents if they do not speak much English or Hindi at home.
My writting is based on my experience with my child just to assure you that its easier for a child to communicate than you can even imagine.
It might be hard to believe that a 4 yr old can understand partially/completely English, German, Bengali, Hindi, Malayalam... so Ive attached a few vedios which randomly recorded at different ages.
Dont worry too much about "teaching" a language to your child. They pick up things so fast that you would start wondering, where & how they learnt this! Main point is, to learn any language, first a child should be able to express in his MOTHER TONGUE - the first language or the language he speaks most with his parents.
In my case I spoke Bengali with my child from the very beginning. My husband speaks Malayalam and Tamil, but he chose not to use either with the child in an attempt not to confuse him too much with different languages. The languages spoken at home was mainly English, Bengali and Hindi amongst ourselves. Krish was exposed to all the 3 from the first day. While conversing with my in-laws my husband still maintains Malayalam. So, he knows thats a different language and now at 4 yrs he is inquisitive about this language too.
At 2 yrs he was trying to tell this story in Hindi with the actions of a lion pouncing on everything around, till we got the camera to record!
Krish is narrating a story in Hindi
Krish spoke only Bengali initially, say upto 2 years with a very little English. Then when we shifted to Germany, as I knew he would visit kindergarten at 3 yrs, I started to speak to him in English, little did I realise that his kindergarten would use German as their first language. He didnt want to go there and would cry his heart out, as he had never heard the language before. He couldnt converse with them but then within 3 months or so he would speak German with me at home and his Papa would come pleading to speak in English. It was extremely humorous watching father and son speaking to each other and then me being interpreter most times. I had my share of pleasure of acting pricey at time.
Krish reciting Bengali poem - Kathberali at 3 yrs.
At 3yrs 9 mnths he started with his International School with English as first language. I was amazed at the ease he shifted from German to English. Now at 4 yrs he doesnt use much of German, sadly neither Bengali or Hindi, but he speaks beautiful English replicating the accent and style of his Scotish teacher, Anna.
Intially he used to mix up English and German, though he knows they are different when he cant remember a word in either or even slip of tongue.
Now he is amused at the way his father seaks to his Ammuma & Appupa and wants to be a part in that. He has started singing in Malayalam and says a few words too.Infact, he speaks both Hindi & Malayalam in Bengali.
Any idea how he manages?
I shall record and post that.... its hillarious..
Krish singing Malayalam lullaby for Appupa-Ammuma at 3 yrs. (composed by his father)
Just discovered he is made a close friend at school. She is an Italian girl, Melissa. Not sure if he has picked up a few Italian words.
I would love to see him do that :-)
For my Mom:
May peace fill all the empty spaces around you.. may happiness answer all your wishes!" Happy Mother's Day !
I wish I could tell you Ma,
...how much you mean to me... but there are no words to say...
...how much I admire you...
...how much I appreciate you...
...how much I thank you...
Love you Ma!
My son:
On Friday at school, they made a card written "Mom" on it, and paper flowers. Today we had a Schwazwalder Torte... Amazing!!! Did he realise why he did that?
never mind, I njoyed it :-)
Whatever problem your child is facing, the best option is to consult his/her pediatrician or atleast a call. The suggestions mentioned below is based on my experience and the advice carried from generations of grandmother and my friends.
Repeated vomitting or Diarrhea/Diarrhoea:
BRAT Diet:
B - bread (white,not brown), bananas- raw and ripe
R - Rice (phen, kanji, pori, avil, khoi, rice cakes, Rice Krispies cereal, Horchata (Mexican rice drink), Suero (Puerto Rican rice drink, Rice Dream packaged milk)
A - Applesauce (mash boiled apple), apple juice- in limited quantities
T - Tea , Toast
Other than above - Jelly Pudding (Jello), Marie biscuit, noodles - only boiled with little olive oil or little butter, Fruit Loops cereal, light fish curry + rice, Potato chips(home made) , mung dal khichri- punjabi style), Aloo boiled, raw banana mashed, chicken soup (clear- no vegetables), Chicken noodle soup, chicken rice soup
Preferably NO Milk or if u really want to - Soy milk or Lactose Free milk- like Lactaid.
After Diarrhoea subsides curd rice can be given, or buttermilk.
For Stomach Ache
- For infants: Add small amount of Asafoetida powder to half spoon warm water. Rub it on the naval regions.
- Warm castor oil and rub it around naval.
For Cold
- Boil big (black) Cardamom(seeds powdered) with Milk and give to your baby to drink.
- Heat Mustard oil in pan with few Ajwain / kala jeera and garlic till they turn black -> strain this oil and apply it every night on baby's feet, palm and back of ears.
- Give Honey with Ginger juice (1+ yrs)
- Add Turmeric powder with baby's milk. Boil it and make your baby drink it with a spoon of honey.
- A herb called "Doddapathre" or "karpuravalli"...this works wonders.
You can wash the leaves in slightly warm drinking water, heat the leaves on the tava till u feel it is really hot(this kills bacteria). Now squeeze the juice, mix few drops of honey and administer.
Alternatively, heat the leaves on the tawa and give hot-formentation(check on ur skin b4 u place on baby). Include areas such as head, forehead, bridge of the nose, chest and back. Gives fantastic relief.
In case if you want 2 know the name of the leaf in English here's the link:
Panikoorka : Naturemagics Home
Ginger and Mango
Ayurvedic Tips
HerbNews.org
For Loose Stools
- Steam a raw Banana with a pinch of salt and feed him.
- Nutmeg powder (1/8 of a nutmeg) in honey can stop loose motions.
But, meically if there is any foreign object in the body which causes loose motion one shud let it go & not worry for 4-5 times of loose stool. After that if it's continuing without control you can try the options mentioned.
- also juice of vilvam leaves can help in loose motions.
Constipation problem
- Raisins, Prunes, Boiled Palak,Plantains and Musambi juice
Body Heat (not same as fever)
- good oil massage and bath preferably coconut oil
- less spicy food
- include more of fresh juices and veg salads ..
- Buttermilk and not curd. NO CURD after sunset.
- Raw Mango juice is good.
- Pudina is very good for stomach too.
- Head bath is important.
Recently we had a guest visting us for dinner.
He is a very well-known "Wiki" personality. I shall address him as Dr. This article is not about him, but the way my son interacted with him.
I was in AWE when I met him and just couldnt be "myself" those few hrs. unlike my son... He was all over him asking him the weirdest questions and he calmly answered the child and played with him. His manners and decency showed how down-to-earth he was inspite of his stature. He actually walked up to the kitchen and asked me to join him for a drink, not being bothered about cooking. I was stunned! Never expected a person dealing with such high-profile leaders would be so cordial and straightforward & simple in style.
So here goes my 3 yr old almost as soon as he enters:
Krish - Hey! you r a old man !
Dr. - NO Im a young boy!!
Krish - NO NO, Im a boy, YOU ARE OLD!!!
(ohh God! I didnt know where to look)
Dr. hands him over a chocolate box and then the topic changes.
Krish - Hey! whats your name?
Dr. - Im Dadu. Whats yours ?
Krish - Im Dev Acharya Menon!
Dr. - ohh.. you are the best boy in the town...
Krish - I KNOW
After some funtime.
Krish - Dadu where is your old MOTHER?
Both my husband and Dr. didnt understand this part and was blank. Not knowing what to answer, I pitched in to explain him. Krish is missing his grandparents big time. He knew that a "Dadu"(grandpa) will be with "Dida"(grandma).
Mamma is everyone's "Mother". The concept of husband-wife was still not familiar. So, what he means is - Dadu, where is Dida(grand-ma) ?
I just hope we didnt offend him(Dr.) and Krish's behaviour can be considered acceptable at his age and Dr. would forget and forgive those errors.
PS: incase you are reading this Dr.
Thanks for your visit and it was a pleasant and charming change for us, esp my little one.
Next day was Holi. Krish specially made a card with his handprints for Dadu. Still he is speaking about him and the chocolates. We will cherish this memory forever.
Aahhh... Ive heard this so often... Have you ever thought what the reason could be?
Here are few I tought off and you could ad on your list to this. Children love whats natural and not tampered with our spices.
Like:
- Eat rainbow colour vegetables.
- Cooking style should retain the colour and flavour of the vegetables used.
- Show the actual vegetables, cut them, go infront of the mirror and show the similarity with the body parts.
- Explain how beneficial each one them are.
- Check out the examples below.
A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye.
The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...
And YES, carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
A Tomato has four chambers and is red.
The heart has four chambers and is red.
Tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure "heart and blood" food.
Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength.
Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium.
If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak.
These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.
Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.
Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.
Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.
A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums.
Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. Walnuts help develop more than three dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart.
Each grape looks like a blood cell and grapes are also profound "heart and blood" vitalizing food.
Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.
Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow.
Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase
the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.
Onions look like the body's cells. Onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.
A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.
Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs.
When a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers.
And how profound is this? - It takes exactly nine months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods.
