Today’s Motherhood

Is my child’s teeth coming out on time? What can happen if there is a delay in eruption? These are some of the questions parents often worry about. The good news is that there is a large variation in timing of tooth eruption because each child is unique in his or her own way. Below is a chart you can use to track your child’s dental development.

An important aspect to monitor is the sequence of eruption of the different tooth types. It is also helpful to check that the same tooth type on both sides erupt within six months of each other.

If there is a significant delay between the right and left sides, the tooth on the delayed side could be erupting abnormally. A dental X-ray can reveal any underlying problems. In the event that a tooth has problems coming out normally, early braces treatment may be required to assist its eruption.

When all the baby teeth have erupted, it is common to see gaps at the front. This is an ideal situation because gaps are needed to accommodate the larger adult teeth when they come out a few years later. If there are no gaps between the baby teeth, it is an indication of a lack of space. In such instances, the adult teeth will likely come out crooked.

Baby teeth are important as they reserve space for the developing adult teeth. If baby teeth are lost prematurely, usually due to decay, the surrounding teeth can drift into the space. This can lead to the underlying adult tooth getting trapped beneath the gums. When this happens, braces treatment will be needed to guide the adult tooth out from the gums so that it can continue to erupt properly.

This article is contributed by Dr. Boey Pui Yunn
Dr. Boey is a Specialist Orthodontist at Neuglow Dental @ Somerset and specializes in conventional braces treatment, braces for jaw problems, invisalign treatment, lingual orthodontics, and modification of growth and eruption for young growing children. For more info of Dr Boey, please click here.

Practice Address: Neuglow Dental @ Somerset, TripleOne Somerset 111 Somerset Road #02-02 Singapore 238164
T: +65 6732 2237

Are you a part-time/freelance/flexi-hours working mum or used to be?

Share with us your experience on how you did it and made it! If you had switched to non-full-time work for your children and family, we want to hear your stories. Find out more on

www.careermums.com.sg/share_your_experience

Selected stories will be featured on our portal as an inspiration to all mothers!

Congratulations to the winners of Innokidz and Today’s Motherhood Nouky And Friends DVDs Contest Giveaway Singapore. They have won themselves a set of Nouky And Friends DVDs (4 DVDs) worth $60 each. The winners are as below

Below are the names of the winners:

1. Aisha Wang
2. Goh Nee Yan
3. Nur Aisyah Bte Othman
4. Wee Seow Lee Alicia

**Winners will be notified by email/phone individually.

** Terms and Conditions apply

The prizes are sponsored by Innokidz

The Children’s Therapy Centre Has a New Home!

Open House on 9 to 10 Sep 2011

• Mini-talks by therapists
  (10.30am - 12pm, 2.30pm - 4pm)
• Free speech-language / fine-motor skills screening*
• Free goodie bags
• Games and activities

* Limited availability on first-come-first-served basis

To register, contact mth@thkms.org.sg or 6488 1271

Address: 150A Mei Chin Road #02-01 Singapore 140150

Website: www.moraltherapyservices.org.sg

“Authentic Learning Experiences that Cultivate Lifelong Passion for Learning”
Charmaine Teo
Director & Curriculum Coordinator of Mustard Seed Early Learning School

Stepping into Mustard Seed, one will notice how children’s works are valued; the walls of the school are adorned with children’s art works and writings. In line with its school philosophy, the environment here has been created to be aesthetically welcoming, yet provocative.

A sister school of Between Two Trees Preschool, Mustard Seed Early Learning School provides drop-off playgroup and enrichment programmes for children aged 18 months to 6 years old. The curriculum is designed to help young children foster creative thinking skills, explore, discover and master the three domains - Language Arts, Math and Art.

Charmaine, the Director of Mustard Seed explains, “Although these programmes offered are subject-based and taught in its own entity, it is interdisciplinary as well. For example, through our Language Arts programme, children learn reading, comprehension and test skills. These skills will come in handy when solving mathematical sums, as they need such skills to understand the content of the problem sum.” She adds “During our class, it’s not just about the teacher giving instructions. We always pose children questions to provoke and scaffold their thinking and inferring skills.”

Below are the four core programmes offered by Mustard Seed:

Language Arts – Be an Early Reader and Creative Writer!
The Language Arts teacher, Mei, starts the lesson with some simple warm-up activities such as skywriting, where children say the sounds of each letter of the alphabets while writing it in the air with their fingers. She moves on to simple drawing and colouring, and asks the two girls in her class to talk about what they have drawn, and write something about it.

Due to the small class size (of six or less), every Language Arts class is rich in content and tailored to the individual learning needs of each student. Essentially, Mustard Seed’s Language Arts programme is designed to provide a holistic approach to learning the English language – besides general English concepts like phonics and reading, the programme also covers penmanship, test skills, story-telling, and creative writing. Teacher Mei reminds the girls, “Remember, big nice letters, with a finger space in between.” To end off the class, Teacher Mei asks each child to select a book from the well-stocked library area, for some read-alouds.

Mustard Seed also offers an intensive and accelerated Language Arts programme for non-native English-speaking children who need to pick up the English language very quickly. The programme has proven to be very successful – the children (from Germany, Italy, Vietnam and China, to name a few) started off with being unable to read and/or having limited/no English but they are now capable of reading, writing and speaking English fluently, and are able to assimilate into the international schools (in Singapore) very well.

Art Studio Hour
During Art Studio Hour, children are given the freedom to choose what art medium they want to use, and what they want to draw. Unlike a typical classroom setting, where the teacher demonstrates and the students follow, activities here are highly child-directed and initiated. Hui Hua, the Art teacher, starts the lesson by recalling what they have done in the previous lesson (The children drew self-portraits and used clay to outline their face shape).

Hui Hua, who holds a Masters degree in Art Therapy explains, “Mustard Seed’s Art lessons differ from others in that the children are offered choices, which is a powerful empowerment tool. At the same time, the children are also given the freedom to express themselves and forge their own sense of identity, as an artist and an individual.”

Math – Be a Math Whiz!
Children are exposed to engaging and creative ways of learning Math at Mustard Seed. Manipulatives such as bottle caps and shells, and board games are used to help them learn math concepts in a more interactive manner. To integrate children’s understanding and ability to apply Math concepts, learning is not just confined to the classroom. From time to time, lessons are brought outside of the classroom. Children will take a walk outside to the nearby pet and fruit stores, where they can experience Math in daily contexts. Besides math concepts, test skills such as reading and comprehending mathematical instructions are also taught and developed, thus ensuring their readiness for primary school education.

Project Play ̶ Learning Naturally
A holistic playgroup programme that caters to toddlers from 18 to 36 months old, Project Play offers a bite-size B2T programme in a small group setting. Although the main focus is on early literacy and numeracy, children are also exposed to other learning domains such as visual art, music and movement, Science and technology, while developing their motor skill and social skills as well, during the two-hour class. Project Play also serves as a good learning platform for the children to develop their independence and slowly transit from home to school life.

Where small seeds grow to Be Extraordinary!
Mustard Seed aims to provide authentic learning experiences to each child through the development of the whole child, and in so doing, have each of them grow up to Be Extraordinary!

For more information, log on to their website or email info@mustardseed.sg

Congratulations to the winners of Baby a2z and Today’s Motherhood JD Bug Training Bike Giveaway Singapore. They have won themselves a JD Bug Training Bike Worth $298 each. The winners are as below

Below are the names of the winners:

1. Ho Hai Ting
2. Ivy Ng

**Winners will be notified by email/phone individually.

** Terms and Conditions apply

The prizes are sponsored by Baby a2z.

Observe your confinement rules with a Ease of Mind and Great Convenience

Origins Jamu Massage distributes an effective range of confinement essential products from Lemongrass Shower gel to Pure Ginger cream that will banish your excess wind and tone up your body after birth.

Get a Booster to increase your Breast milk fast with its 100% natural and Organic Sacred Nursing tea .

Having unsightly Caesarean Scars or darken and rough skin? Check out Star Product under Origins Spa Lemongrass & Ginger Goat’s Milk Body Scrub that will leave a refreshing scent, whiten and soothe the body instantly.

Origins Jamu Massage carries a wide range of Natural and Holistic products that is suitable for children, women, men and elderly.

They are having an Anniversary Super Sale with prices slashed up to 40% off.

Sale period : 1st August 2011 - 31st August 2011

Anniversary Link: www.originsjamumassage.com/Anniversary-Sale.html

Order / Enquires : Sales@OriginsJamuMassage.com

Contact : 9791-7008 / 9090-8108

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A PR event by Abbott Nutrition, 3 August 2011

During pregnancy, the mother’s body undergoes many physiological changes that increase the need for nutrients for both mother and child. A complete and balanced diet that contains adequate amount of nutrients is essential for the growth and development of the unborn baby. Post-pregnancy for a lactating mother, good nutrition can further support the nutritional quality of breast milk.

Dr. Peter Chew, Obstetrician & Gynaecologist at Peter Chew Clinic For Women, and Mr. For Wei Chek, Dietetics Manager at Mount Alvernia Hospital, who were present at the event also stressed the importance of maternal nutrition, and how it can greatly change the genetic materials of the baby.

Dr. Chew explained how a mother’s diet can contribute to long-term health consequences. “It is critical that maternal nutrition is taken seriously, especially more so for those who are expecting or breastfeeding, as it will affect their unborn child…If food choices are limited or not easily available, mothers should consider nutrition supplements that offer the same dietary value.”

Mr. For added on, to how there is no truth in ‘eating for two’ or doubling the amount of food and calories intake when mothers are expecting. On the contrary, doing so may promote excessive weight gain or over-indulgence in certain food types and lacks certain key nutrients. “What expecting and lactating mothers need to do is to adopt a well-balanced diet which includes variety of foods from every food groups. They should also increase their fibre and vitamins intake from fruits, vegetables and whole grain products; and calcium intake from low fat dairy products or high calcium foods.”

The New Similac Mum with Advance EyeQ Plus®, by Abbott Nutrition, is specially formulated to support the nutritional needs of pregnant and breastfeeding mums. By far, it has the most complete* and lowest in fat* maternal milk supplement for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.

*Among maternal milk supplements in Singapore as of Jun 2011.

Similac Mum with Advance EyeQ Plus® 900gm is available at all leading supermarkets and pharmacies at S$28.50 (including GST).

For the students of Odyssey, The Global Preschool understanding the importance of charity and giving back to society begins at the tender age of two.

On 20th August 2011, an exhibition will be held at The Arts House, to sell more than 300 original artworks created by students aged two to six with all proceeds being donated to the Make A Wish Foundation, Singapore.

More Information

Based on the theme “Sustainability”, the children explore their individual interpretations of the topic and display their creativity through a wide array of mediums ranging from print to water colour paintings and even glass art.

The artworks will then be showcased and sold at a day-long, public exhibition titled “Colours of Odyssey – Our footprint. Our future” on Saturday, 20th August at The Arts House (1 Old Parliament Lane).

First started in 2009, the programme is in line with Odyssey’s innovative approach to curriculum development and teaching and is aimed at imparting the values of social responsibility and empathy towards other children in our community. It is also closely aligned with the emphasis on developing love and respect for nature in the students and augments other curriculum based activities at the school including gardening and eco-related projects.

This is the third year running that the children of Odyssey will be raising funds to benefit charitable institutions with Make A Wish Foundation being the benficiaries in 2010 as well, and Singapore Children’s Society in 2009.

Core Facts

1. An exhibition titled “Colours of Odyssey – Our footprint. Our future” will be held on Saturday, 20th August at The Arts House (1 Old Parliament Lane) from 11.00am to 4.00pm
2. Preschoolers of Odyssey, The Global Preschool, have created close to 300 artworks to be sold at the exhibition.
   The funds raised will go to Make a Wish Foundation Singapore.
3. The theme of the exhibition is “Sustainability”, in line with the school’s emphasis on respect for nature and environmental responsibility.
4. This is the third such exhibition since 2009, and embodies Odyssey’s innovative approach to curriculum development and teaching

Finding Happiness In A Scoop Of Fresh Ice Cream

All the way from Houston, Texas, Marble slab’s dedication is to bring the most exquisite taste out of freshly made gourmet ice cream. Famous for their “frozen slab” technique where the ice cream and toppings are mixed, served in either handmade waffle cups or normal cups. Most of the chocolate snack toppings are different from other ice-cream parlors in Singapore, as they are imported from America.

We tried the smooth mint masterpiece, one of the pre-chosen flavours from the tasty creations menu, consisting of cool mint ice-cream, with chocolate sprinkles, mint candy and fudge. For the first timers and fickle-minded, you might want to stick to the tasty creations flavours, to prevent overloading your ice cream with all the tempting toppings available. We also tried a chocolate nutty gourmet shake. The texture of the shake was smooth, thick and not too creamy. The shake had an extra crunch to it as there was a generous serving of nuts. Perfect for a hot, sunny day, or simply to curb your sweet cravings.

For waffle, ice-cream and chocolate lovers, or anyone with a sweet tooth, marble slab is your happy place to be. Come and visit any of their stores to give your kids a sweet treat!

Iluma
201 Victoria Street #04-01
Iluma at Bugis, Singapore 188067

Cluny Court
501 Bukit Timah Road #01-05B
Singapore 259760

Central
6 Eu Tong Sen Street #01-27
The Central, Singapore 059817

Junction 8
9 Bishan Place #02-52
Junction 8 Shopping Centre,
Singapore 579837

Marina Bay
8A Marina Boulevard #B2-40
Marina Bay Link Mall,
Singapore 018984

Kallang Leisure Park
5 Stadium Walk #01-09A
Kallang Leisure Park
Singapore 397693