Women Lines

Its my love  and full attention I want to give to my baby!

This was the first thought which came into  my mind when I  delivered my baby. I never knew that journey will be so challenging. Mindfulmotherhood talks about being present to needs of your baby and giving full attention to him. Its all about being present for your baby needs and attending to his requirements with presence of mind. Its very practical for my mother as she thinks being a mother this should be my natural behaviour. But honestly its not. Its really challenging to put my all thoughts and attention for my baby as in today’s fast moving world there are so many inputs and outputs to attend.

Thanks to authors who write parenting books which really guides us about facts of parenting which we can only  realize once we read it. “Mindful Motherhood’ is one book which really opened my eyes regarding mindful parenting. Casdsandra Vietan, author of the book, guides you about practical tools for staying sane during pregnancy and your child’s first year.Casandra emphasizes that “Mindfulness can help you meet the challenge and approach every experience with your new baby with open eyes and open heart”.

Chapters like ‘The observing self’ and ‘The train of thought’ are amazingly described where you get a new vision about yourself and handful tips provided at the end of the chapter really helps in giving you new insight for motherhood.

Motherhood is a journey of bonding with your babies forever. Don’t miss those precious moments of life in everyday ratrace. The best gift which any mother can give to her kid is ‘ Mindful Motherhood’.

World is full of distractions and thus its very important to live in present. I am greatful to God that I came across this book while browsing parenting section of a library. The way different topics are discussed and various ways are suggested which can help you to follow mindful parenting is really helpful but only if you practise!

To be mindful always is really a skill which has to be developed by practise.

Sounds interesting!

If its vacation time and you are thinking of doing some activity with kids then  make a vision board with your kids?  A vision board is a collage of pictures, words, affirmations and goals.

Creating a vision board is considered better than making resolutions as when you are creating  it is going deep into your heart !While creating it you make a list of things to do and things not to do.This helps in motivating yourself to follow your dream board. Vision board for whole family will be fun activity which will involve every family member. The board becomes a positive reminder of things like:
What do I want to learn this year? ,What makes me smile? ,What is a “crazy” fun thing I would like to do? ,What can I do to make someone else happy?
How would I like to spend time with family and friends? How can I stay peaceful?What are healthy things I can do?
Don’t you think we tend to forget these important goals of our life while running our daily errands.If every family member jots downs the key issues he wants to improve in his life and starts working upon it then it will definitely contribute towards creation of a happy family.
You can get some glue sticks, scissors, poster board, or any stiff paper or paper plates, markers,  glitter, stickers, and pictures—lots of them. Use magazines or surf the Internet.

Writing  affirmations like:-“I live joyfully each day.” “I am grateful for all the blessings of my life.” on your key board can be good reminders to make these affirmation reality of life.
Sort through your pictures and begin to arrange them. You can cover up words, add words or do whatever feels creative and positive to you. The vision boards become powerful messengers working on different levels of your mind and being. It can be fun to recognize what you and the kids are experiencing and accomplishing through the months.

So don’t wait for right time , just do it!

As it is said by famous Harvard College Professor and experimental psychologist, Steven Pinker- “Babies are born with the instinct to speak; the way spiders are born with the instinct to spin webs. You don’t need to train babies to speak; they just do. But reading is different.” Very True! Reading Ability at an early age is a precious gift given to kids by their parents which can change their world for ever. Through books we get knowledge and knowledge is power .

Books always help us in enriching our mind and enjoying life fully. Swiss psychologist, Jean Piaget, who was known for his Cognitive Development theories, says that a little child knows more than he can verbalize. And in his Cognitive Development studies, Piaget discovered that by the age of one and half years old, a child develops what he refers to as mental representation which is “the ability to hold an image in their mind for a period beyond the immediate experience.” During this phase, especially between the ages of one and three, kids make big leaps in vocabulary, letters, shapes, and colors. Reading to toddlers at this age is imperative. When a toddler hears a new word, he may not understand it but he may absorb some meaning from the context which will deepen his understanding of the word the next time it’s used. Parents should focus on active reading with their kids. There are various stories in books which provide great lessons to kids like proper behaviour, and thus help in building their character. If we help our kids in becoming a good reader then it will help them in long run. First five years are critical in any kid’s life and in that period the active reading atmosphere which we provide him in home is going to help them to be a better reader. There are certain ways through which parents can make reading a fun activity for kids- Read them aloud-Kids will always enjoy listening to their parents. This reading time will be quality bonding time with their kids while they are looking into parent’s eyes when listening to stories and it will also help kids developing listening skills. Once they start enjoying story time with parents then learning to read will be as easy to them as how walking and talking is. Use the cover up: For many kids, the words on the page run and blur together, to overcome this problem parents can use a three by five index card to cover everything except the sentence that your child is reading. When they finish a line, they move the card down and repeat the process Add emotions to your reading- Enjoyment is must in the process of reading, it helps a lot when we make an effort to create a spirit of joy and fun, adventure and wonder, while we read with our children If as a parent we involve our self in our kid’s reading process then our kids can grow into adults who love reading and also respect the value of printed words. As our kids will be growing upto teenage then it will be difficult to inculcate reading interest in them so don’t let the time go from your hand and have fun in story time reading sessions. As per saying by Charles W. Eliot- “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers. ~” Let’s strive to make our kids a better reader for their better future.

Dancing is fun, as Lord Byron quotes “On with the dance! Let joy be unconfined”…dance has always been a source of unconfined joy, so why kids shouldn’t be involved in it?       

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic. It can be used as a form of expression or also presented in a spiritual setting. Whatever way you want to define dance, but nobody can ignore this fact everybody enjoys dancing. For kids dance can be a good activity to keep them busy and active too. In fact, I consider dancing with my baby as a good bonding time. The expression of joy which comes on my kid’s face cannot be expressed in words. I really love dancing with him. There are numerous benefits of dancing which makes it a must activity for every kid.
Dance fills kid with joy, dance helps in distressing, dance helps in coming across one’s inhibition, dance also is a good way to exercise and can keep your kid very active. Ooh lala …..Try always to make your kid do lip-sync while dancing, his memory skills will definitely improve and when they know the meaning of the song it will help them dance better. That can actually relate to it.
Researches also prove that dance can play a role of magician in improving learning difficulties in some kids.
This investigation carried by National Institute of Health was on effects of dance therapy on motor performance. This investigation studied effects of dance therapy on motor performance of children who have been learning disabilities. An experimental group of five subjects who received dance therapy was compared with a control group of five subjects who received their usual sensory integrative therapy. Pretests and posttests of motor performance were given before and after a four-week treatment period to assess changes. Results indicate improved motor performance for both the experimental and control groups, with slightly greater gains made by the experimental group. Results of the study indicate that dance therapy could serve as a form of vestibular stimulation comparable to the usual play activities in a sensory integrative therapy program. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7454796


There are many other benefits which dance hobby can help us achieve. When the movements are repeated in dance then it helps kids to improve muscle tone, helps gain more balance, and also improves overall cardiovascular health correct. Children who are overweight can lose weight while dancing regularly as dance is also considered as an aerobic exercise. Besides health there are many social benefits like dance activity can really help kids to improve their communication skills and also help build team spirit in kids. It also helps kids to overcome their shyness. Dance activity relaxes kids and then they feel so comfortable in their skin. Thus, this helps develop their self esteem and build their confidence.

Dancing is really a gem of all activities with multiple benefits for  kids and thus  is a must activity for every parent. This activity can leave you with so many Kodak moments  which you want to keep forever in your life. Let’s dance Baby!

I always felt that its so boring always to be strict to your kids and act like a policeman to them. Always we are asking to them that have you brushed your teeth properly, have you finished your homework, when you will get up, etc.Kids will be so bored always seeing mummy placing order for something or the other. I can understand that how important it is to raise kids in certain disciplined way but we should not forget the importance of fun element in life. Here are some ways in which you can spend some fun moments with your kids-      

1. Play indoor picnic with your kids. You can properly plan your menu with your kids help and then have fun the way you have in outdoor picnic.

2, Share your childhood stories with your kid. I just love doing this. Share the way you were scolded by your parents, how you spent your holidays,how you played with your friends, there are so many things to share , you know better, right?:)

3. Wrestle with your kids, have pillow fights, do lots of cuddling and jump together.

4.Play boardgames and card games and let them win few time.

5. Sing songs together and sing loudly.

                                                                         (contd)

1. Share

Share your past. Kids love to hear stories about when their parents were little.

11. Wrestle on the floor with them. Be gentle.

12. Ride bikes and take walks. Share nature.

13. Build a fort or treehouse.

14. Dance to their favorite music with them.