Health Blog — Parents

Parents will so often face that dilemma on whether they are being too strict or too lenient with their children.

And the use of smart phones is a typical area of conflict.

When you child starts to crawl and then to walk, don't be in too much of a hurry to put him or her into shoes.

For example, many parents will buy children their first pair of shoes before they are even walking.  However, research has shown that wearing shoes may actually be doing more damage than good.  While parents may feel that children need a good pair of shoes to protect their feet and ankles as they grow, the shoes themselves can actual hinder muscle development - even causing problems for muscle development from toes right up to hips. 

We share a host of benefits for children who can go barefoot...

We have written on this subject before but now new research published in the British Journal of Dermatology has found that babies had a lower risk of developing atopic eczema in their first year IF their mothers take a Vitamin D supplement.

We all need a daily dose of drama and this can be by reading a story, by watching a drama on TV or by listening to a play on the radio - and ten minutes is long enough to improve our mental wellbeing and creativity.

W-sitting can be a sign of poor balance and/or poor coordination. You child needs both these skills to not only to ride a bike, jump or play ball, but to read, write and speak.

In the past, every child would get chicken pox – it was an expected childhood illness – and most would get over it very quickly. At the same time, parents and grandparents would be regularly exposed to the virus which would help them to produce antibodies to protect them from shingles (all in the same virus family).

It can be very distressing, both for the child and the parents, when nightmares or night terrors become a regular occurrence. But there is a difference between night terrors and nightmares and children can have both at different times in their young lives.