Today’s Motherhood

The day you were looking forward to for so long has finally arrived! You are thrilled and excited about the prospect of your child trying a variety of foods. What a joy and relief to be able to introduce new textures and tastes!

For some mothers these are the feelings that surround this important milestone; but what if Baby is not willing or interested in trying? What if she refuses, or does not eat and meals become a battle ground?

Serene, mother of two children, says: “With my first child everything went smoothly. He loved food and would just try anything I gave him. With my second one… (long pause) she cries, throws food around, spits and sometimes vomits. I am desperate!”

If this sounds familiar, do not despair. Many children experience a difficult time during this transition. Often parents’ anxieties only exacerbate the situation, therefore keeping your cool and making it a pleasant experience is important.

Check with your paediatrician that your toddler is healthy and does not have developmental and/or feeding problems. If everything is typical, there are a few things that you can consider to encourage good eating habits:

• Let your child decide how much she wants to eat. ‘Force feeding’ your child will only create a negative association with food and reinforce her rejection for food, which might lead to eating disorder at a later stage.
• Introduce no more than one new food per day and mix it with at least two that she already knows. Familiarity is crucial to young children and creates safety as well as the confidence to try new foods.
• Do not expect your child to like the new food the first time she tries it. Different textures and flavours take time getting used to. Do not give up and try again after a few days!
• Let your child try the food at her own pace, give as much independence as possible like holding the spoon or even touching with her fingers (as long as she is not throwing food at you or around the house accept the little mess that will ensue).
• It is possible to use distractions to help your child eat, like having the favourite toy beside him or her, but be mindful of excessive distraction, which will only lengthen the eating process and reduce food intake.
• Your child will feel your anxiety and frustration. If possible, remove yourself from the situation if you feel that you cannot control your emotions. Take some time to cool down and return when you are calmer. Meals have to be a pleasant experience for both of you.
• Although it can be scary to see your child eat only a little for one entire day, consider the big picture. Weigh your child only once a week to keep track of her weight; if she falls within the normal range it means that she is developing appropriately. Avoid weighing every day as it only raises your anxieties and is not representative (liquid intake and stools can make the weight vary).
• Last but not least, remember that also children can have a day where they are less hungry or do not feel well, exactly like adults. Let your child be in control once in awhile.

If you see that your child is extremely picky or selective with food or he appears to reject certain food consistently you might consider consulting a paediatrician to rule out allergies or other difficulties, such as sensory processing.

Do your have toddler feeding problems too? How do you overcome it? We loved to hear from you. Simply leave us a comment below, thank you.

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PowerMoves Pilates in the Park offers you some tips on how you can put your Pilates exercise principles to practice in everyday action, easing the strain on your back and legs while perfecting your poise and posture. As you go about your daily chores, evening events and caring for the whole family, practise these pointers to keep your body in good form and alignment.

If you do a lot of standing:

• Keep your shoulders down and away from your ears and your chest lifted up.
• Have a slight bend in your knees so you can engage your buttocks.
• Don’t stand on one leg only; stay balanced with both feet firmly planted.
• Lengthen your waist until it feels higher than the table you are standing next to.
• Don’t hang your head; lift and lengthen your neck.

If you do a lot of sitting:

• Adjust your seat to ensure a straight spine.
• Don’t slouch into your lower back.
• Keep your back lifted from out of your waist.
• Don’t sit in one position longer than half an hour; get up and stretch or move around.
• Keep your legs at 90-degree angles, hip-distance apart.

Wherever you may be and whenever you remember:

• Keep your abdominal muscles contracted, lifting them in and up your spine.
• Keep your spine in a straight line from your crown to your tailbone, and
• Draw your shoulder blades down towards your hips.

Do these pilates exercise regularly and you will see the difference in you.

As parents, we take pride of our children’s ability to express themselves. Children who are able to talk out their emotions and thoughts are often viewed smart, intelligent and confident.

Whenever children speak up, we begin creating in our imaginations how good they could become in the future. But it is not always advisable that parents should allow talking back or speaking up all the time.

There is a time for everything and children should know when to say something. Distinct situations call for distinct actions. Children who know when the appropriate time to say something is are courteous and sensitive of others around them.

Children should speak when:

• In times of danger. Talking in times of danger could mean two things: whether to get someone in trouble or to get someone out of trouble. Teach children that crucial situations that are life-threatening or injurious top them and to others around them cal for speaking out. Let children communicate dangerous situations quickly and accurately
• When asked. Children should answer correctly when asked. Being asked is the best time to give an answer. Let them understand that belonging to a conversation is the best reason for talking. When not involved, then they should keep quiet and wait for their moment to speak.
• Violated personal space. Children can speak up when they think that their personal situation has been interfered improper touches into body parts should be spoken about so that they could protect themselves against threatening situations.



• They don’t want something. Being force to something they don’t want to do is a good tie to talk. Encourage children to explain why they don’t like the thing and what they want instead. Listen but be careful with granting children what they want. In excess, you might be honing a brat in the future.
• They want something. There is nothing wrong with expressing what they want. This could save the parents from a lot of guess work. This could also prevent instances of misunderstanding and feud.
• They need help. Children should always ask for assistance if they don’t know anything about a situation. This could drive accidents away from them and could even help them accomplish their tasks efficiently.

Words have always been a powerful medium of communication. Using words at the right time and the right place for the right person would develop a sensitive, respectful and courteous child.

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Do you have problems organizing your things at home and in the office? Do you find it hard to remember your vacation plans, birthday celebrations, and important appointments? Do you want a more organized way to label your smoke detector batteries, leftover and other items that are dated? If yes, now you can have the chance to live with ease and comfort without having to struggle against forgetting the labels and other important aspects of your life through the new Brother Label Printer PT 1090.

Conceived and manufactured by the makers of the stylish P-Touch line of products by Brother International Singapore, PT 1090 is a big help to those who would want to organize their things anywhere they are. Perfect for home and office use, this labeling gadget could help you create a label of the things you use at home and in the office. It has a 12 built in Deco-mode patterns which will help you creatively compose labels so that organizing would never be a boring and daunting task.

Labeling your products the easy way is indeed a rewarding endeavor for those whose times are precious and do not have the luxury to remember everything in mind. With simple chic designs, the Brother Label Printer PT 1090 is manufactured to meet your labeling needs with easy-to-use function keys that anyone could manipulate and use for more efficient labeling tasks.

The PT 1090 is very useful to those who find it hard to organize and label wires, cables and other electrical supplies. It would also be great help to homemakers who can now use of it to label and keep track of the life span of food items which are stored in their refrigerators and kitchen cabinets. Moreover, this gadget is also beneficial to those who need to put time, date and name to their piles of documents and other professional output.

PT 1090 comes with a variety of choices for font styles and symbols for creative tagging. It has specifically 178 attractive symbols on large screen which you could use to categorize your labeling for more uniform and organized look. The menu incorporates different function shortcuts to give you instant access to editing tools like auto format, memory and a lot more. Portable and convenient to use, the PT 1090 also comes with optional power adapters.

There is no more reason for you not to be able to fix your homes and your working environments with the emergence of the PT 1090 labeler. Boost quality time and save your resources as you buy one of those organizing gadgets like Brother Label Printer PT 1090 that’s not only practical but also beneficial to anybody in search for the best way to organize things.

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If you don’t have any plans for your children this coming Sunday afternoon 28 Feb 2010, you can bring them down to Shaws Little League @ The Cage between 1pm to 4pm and you can join in too.

There will not be any of the usual Shaws Little League structured classes during this time but instead a wide range of sports activities that you can play against your children - it will take about one hour to complete all the activities (subject to practice shots, airswings, disputes and crowd distractions).

The sports activities include baseball, basketball, golf, tennis, soccer, rugby and a couple of other co-ordination activities.

There’s no charge for this, but there is a need to register (via email to fun@shawslittleleague.com) for the day. In your email, please let us know your child’s name, age, and the approximate time you will be coming down. First come first served, so register now!

Venue Details:

Shaws Little League @ The Cage

38 Jalan Benaan Kapal (near Leisure Park Kallang)

Time and Date: 28 February, 1pm to 4pm

Tel: 64409545

What to bring:

Drink bottle, comfortable clothes, sports shoes and your gameface.

Parents coming onto the field need to wear sports shoes too.

Any further questions regarding the above, please call 64409545, fun@shawslittleleague.com or visit www.shawslittleleague.com

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Shaws Little League @ The Cage
38 Jalan Benaan Kapal (Near Kallang Leisure Park, close to Tanjong Rhu)
Singapore 399635


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