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 The pandemic has increased anxiety in new moms
Says this newspaper article. Oh yes it has! Being a new mom is extremely stressful as it is Nature programs new moms to be more alert and anxious so that they take care of their babies conscientiously. A pandemic raging - the threat of infection - and the lack of support from friends and family - has only made it worse. It makes me really happy to look back at all my blogs on the Morisons Baby Dreams platform that were aimed at helping new moms through this difficult phase. Here are some of them https://www.smartmums.in/how-to-care-for-your-newborn.../ https://www.smartmums.in/breastfeeding-through-the-covid.../ https://www.smartmums.in/mental-health-for-pregnant.../ https://www.smartmums.in/meditation-and-relaxation.../  For ages people have been talking about carrying 'work stress' home.
And for over the past 40 years I have seen a lot of workshops etc being conducted to help manage that But very few people speak about carrying 'home stress' to work. Does that happen? Yes. Does it adversely affect performance at work? Yes it does. If you have a toddler who doesn't eat well - won't you constantly worry about them at work? If you have a teenager who is not studying - won't you constantly worry about that at work? Yes you will. And what has happened now that work and home have merged and become indistinguishable from each other because of WFH? Things have got worse. You are not leaving your crying toddler behind and worrying about them. You have to watch them crying all day as you work. So many parents are reaching out to me because they can't take the emotional exhaustion anymore. Of course every case needs a personalized approach. But reading my book "15 tips for WFH parents" can be a starting point. Published by Juggernaut Books You can read the book on their free app in the personal growth and wealth section. Happy to DM the link. Please reach out  Many parents have been asking me for a workshop on Discipline.
And now I am conducting one 🙂 It is called "Discipline without Tears" The workshop is organized by Vidyashilp Academy and they are inviting all parents to attend. Please fill the form by clicking on the link below to register. http://bit.ly/39eXYFQ Please reach out with questions if any. Happy to help 🙂  "What goes bad is good for you"
This is a line I repeat to myself over and over again when I shop for groceries. And as a result I come back with shopping bags full of greens and whole grains. Is it easy? No it isn't. The greens spoil quickly and must be consumed rapidly. They come with soil on them and I have to spend a lot of time cleaning them The whole grains have a short shelf life. I have to buy them in small quantities and use them quickly. But I keep reminding myself That if the bacteria and fungi - that are brainless organisms - think something is not worth eating... Then I with my highly evolved brain should definitely not eat it. Because it simply has no nutritional value!! If we plan to win the battle against microorganisms and live on the earth... we need to follow their lead and eat what they eat. This pandemic has taught us how precarious our hold over the world is. Let's not lose that hold. What do you have on your shelves? PC: Photo by CDC on Unsplash  What an amazing workshop this was today at the Trio Tots Preschool Sahakar Nagar !!
I spoke to parents on how - just following the child's lead and joining the child in play is enough to ensure learning. Children want to learn. They try to learn what they are being taught. But very often we think of their way as 'time wasting' tactics. We try to teach them the way we would learn. Even when we play with them - we play in the way that we think will facilitate learning Not only is this stressful, it also leads to the child refusing to learn. In this workshop I helped parents identify their children's behavior when they were attempting to learn And shared what they can do to amplify the effect by joining their children in play. Through preschool the child progresses from hearing and seeing - to listening and observing - and finally doing. When we join children in this journey through play - it can be a truly memorable experience. I loved the interactions with the parents today And I was thrilled when Tots Head Greshma Geeta Bharat Momaya(@greshmamomaya) said that the workshop content was amazing. Thank you so much!!  Sleep has been one of the greatest casualties of the isolation caused by the COVID 19 pandemic.
There are many children - especially teenagers - who hardly sleep nowadays. It is easy to push aside the inability to fall asleep at first because there are so many ways in which you can occupy your busy mind if you are not sleepy nowadays. And there are invariably other people who are willing to stay awake to give you company. But when sleep completely eludes you - it can become frightening. Especially when you have an exam or something else coming up for which you know you need to be alert and awake at a certain time to perform well. In times of stress the sleep deprived mind goes into overdrive and it becomes even more difficult to sleep A lot of teens and their parents have been reaching out to me in the past few days because they are unable to sleep. They have usually gone through the well known recommendations of turning off devices early and stuff when they meet me. And they insist that they have no stress. But there always is. That is the reason they started pushing sleep back in the first place. Offloading thoughts that move in a vicious cycle through the brain is important In the past few days I have received thank you messages from several teens who were just grateful that I facilitated offloading for them. That in addition to some physiological suggestions - got them sleeping and getting up like they wanted to. Are you struggling with sleep? It is best not to postpone getting help. PC: Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash  Parents of Trio Tots Preschool Sahakar Nagar
I am so excited about meeting all of you at this workshop this Saturday. Eagerly looking forward 🙂 Thank you Greshma Geeta Bharat Momaya(greshmamomaya) for inviting me Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/233614591507994/  When pregnant moms attend my prenatal classes - I encourage them to keep munching as they listen because they need the nutrition for themselves and their babies.
When I do - I find that many of them fish out a packaged cake or packet of biscuits from their bags and start munching on those. It is best to avoid packaged food through pregnancy and I tell them that and encourage them to eat fresh food cooked at home. But they tell me that they are always hungry - and need to munch constantly - and they have no idea what they can cook at home to eat at 8 meals every day. So when Morisons Baby Dreams asked me to share a daily meal plan for pregnant women - I jumped at the opportunity to put together a meal plan that specifies what you can eat at 8 meals a day for a whole week - when you are pregnant. Here is the plan - 48 nutritious meals !!! Use and share with other pregnant women who may be struggling. Link: https://www.smartmums.in/the-daily-meal-plan-for-pregnant-moms/  "I want to send my daughter to you. She is 15. She is careless, disorganized, disobedient and arrogant. She is not studying and her life is all about clothes and friends.
I want you to change her." A mom said to me over the phone the other day. Well - I can speak to her. I replied. But my speaking to her will only make a difference if we can first create the right environment for her. And for that I will first need to work with you and her father - the adults in the family. Both of you will have to commit to change first. Then and only then can you hope for your teenager to change. I only work with teenagers when their parents are open to examining their role in the behavior of their teen and changing it. If parents change themselves - I usually never need to speak with the teen. Teens look big - but they are really small. A lot of their behavior is beyond their control. Just like you cannot expect a newborn to stop crying unless you are willing to find out why they are crying and attend to that need. You cannot expect your teenager to change unless you understand and fulfill their needs. And the needs of teens... May not be obvious to every parent. If you are struggling - reach out for help. PC: Image by PublicDomainPNG from Pixabay  The first Monday of the year.
And it's a deep dive into parenting workshop preparation for one of my most favorite schools 🙂 The Trio Tots Preschool Sahakar Nagar I am conducting a parenting workshop for them this Saturday (9th January 2021) I love it when I can do such focused - audience specific - preparation for my workshops. In this case the school asked the parents what they would like the workshop to be about. I then had a detailed discussion with the school to fine tune the topic and subtopics. After that I plunged into all the latest research on the topic... And am now finalizing the action points I am going to share with parents. The topic is "Secrets to Learning in the Early Years" I am going to talk about building concentration and focus. I am also going to talk about how parents can teach while children play. What a great beginning to 2021. Happy New Year!! |
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