EARLY
CHILDHOOD
The first five years
of a
child’s life is of great
importance as its impact can be
life long. It may be noted that
growth and development
especially of the brain is
maximal in the first year of
life. Parents particularly the
mothers must be aware of certain
basic facts regarding childcare.
1.The child needs a diet
that supplies adequate
calories and proteins for
his growth and play.
They should be strictly
prohibited from buying
non-nutritious food items
like ‘chalia, ‘gola ganda’,
‘pepsi’, ‘chewing gum’,
slanty, and instead
mothers be instructed to buy
for the same amount of money
egg, milk, fruit etc. |
| 2.Clean water for all is
still a dream for the nation.
However, on a small scale
effort can be done at home.
One cheap and affordable
method is using alum to
precipitate the solid
particles in water in a
bucket, filtering this water
through muslin and pouring it
into a water cooler and then
adding a few crystals of
potassium permanganate (pinky)
to kill the germs. Diarrhoea,
worm infestation, typhoid and
other water borne diseases can
be prevented by this simple
maneuver.
3.Cleanliness is next to
godliness. This culture
must be inculcated in the
children as good habits learnt
then last a lifetime. washing after toilet and
before meals, regular cutting
of nails, disposal of garbage,
etc must be ingrained in them
not only for their health but
also for that of the nation.
4.Vaccinations protect
the babies from a number of
preventable diseases. They are
given in the first week of
life against
tuberculosis,
polio and hepatitis, and then
different vaccines are given
according to the protocol, to
protect the baby against life
threatening infections. The
government EPI programme
covers diphtheria, whooping
cough, tetanus, polio, measles
and
hepatitis B. In the
private sector other vaccines
are also available.
5.Accident prevention
requires parent’s continuous
care and supervision.
Children love to explore, and
without stifling that natural
desire, hazardous objects
should be out of their reach –
pointed things, glass objects,
acids, bleaches, medicines
etc.
Small objects like beads
and nuts should not be given
to children under three as
they may inhale and choke
themselves.
Walking on the
roads they should be on the
side of the pavement, not on
the side of the road.
6.Love and respect your
child, so that he develops
into a well-balanced, warm
human being. Never lie,
humiliate, or harshly
punish
him. Children repay back in
life what impressions they
retain from their childhood.
Right now is the time,
his bones are being
formed.
His blood is being made,
his senses are being
developed.
To him we can not answer
"Tomorrow".
His name is "Today"
By Gabriela Mistral,
Chile's Noble Prize winning poet
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