Is An Erratic Routine Affecting Your Child's Growth This Summer?

0:00 Foreign.

0:04 How do we ensure that the physical growth aspect, right, which is all of this, that they're, they're, you know, they're building. Well, how do we ensure that that is happening through the summers? Because for me that's growth. Right. Because the child has played enough, has had fun enough during summers.

0:21 Correct. So as we discussed earlier, there needs to be enough physical activity through the day in whatever form, be it day to day activities, be it some exercise, be it dancing. So one is that child has to be active through the day. The second thing is the child has to receive a balanced nutrition. The third thing is if the doctor is recommended, the child must get his vitamin mineral supplements. Fourth thing is the slight child should sleep well.

0:47 He has to have his correct 10 hours of sleep in a day. There needs to be a clear cut schedule because everything can go haywire. He's going to stay awake till one o', clock, plays video games and he's going to get up at 10 o' clock in the morning. And the message has to be very gentle but very clear and firm that even though the school is shut, there is a time for everything and life. So if you can set a good schedule by which there is time for everything, he may have his breakfast in the morning, he can play a little bit, do a little bit of studies, have his me time, have his friend time, have his exercise time and have his bedtime also clearly regulated.

1:30 So if they can ensure that his physical activities is adequate, her nutrition is good, that she is psychologically in a good mind and that she sleeps her hours of sleep well, that should ensure that her growth will be adequate.

1:45 What I understand is right sleep, make sure that you have a scan schedule, right nutrition, right nurturing and enough play. Right? So that's like our four building blocks of a strong immunity and the right growth. So how do you ensure that while they're eating there is balanced nutrition but those growth spots are being supplemented by the right food?

2:07 Okay, so, so when you talk about growth, Mansi, it can be vertical growth or horizontal growth.

2:12 Yeah, yeah, that's true.

2:15 Yeah. So while we are all keen about vertical growth, if you're going to stuff them, if the child is hungry all the time and you're going to provide them with fast foods, when your focus is on growth, I think you need to be careful about how you feed that hunger. So I tell all my mothers that you stuff your refrigerator with lot of fruits and nuts. If he opens a dabba, he gets either a chikki or a khakra.

2:46 So you know the kind of food. The moment there is packaged food in the house, he is going to eat that. So what is out of sight is out of mind. So the trick is when you sit on the table, there are fruits lying in front of the table. Also it is very important for us to set a good example. As a parent, if I am going to eat a burger and tell my child to eat an apple, he is not going to do that.

3:09 If you are eating a fruit. If you eat a fruit 10 times, she will eat it one time.

3:13 Yeah. And how do you ensure that the growth is not interrupted? Of course we are not saying junk food at all.

3:21 Our preaching will be thrown out of the window. There is no way we can preach this young generation. Also remember that in case there are one or two foods that a child distinctly dislikes, please don't insist that he must eat it because you don't need a food, you need some foods from that group. So suppose he doesn't like a banana. There is, it's pointless being obsessed with him eating a banana but try and ensure that he eats some other fruit which he likes.

3:55 And many times my mother's asked me which fruit is important.

4:00 Yeah.

4:00 So the trick is you go to the fresh fruit market and see which is the most widely available and cheapest fruit. And why is that? Because that is the fruit in season. It doesn't come out of cold storage. So if I, I just bought a kilo of lovely looking apples and when I cut them they were all spoiled from the inside. So just now is the time to eat mangoes.

4:26 Yeah.

4:27 So you, you need to choose a fruit that is season. You need to set a good example. Also we as parents need to present the food in a nice manner. One more thing, Mansi. What do you tell your child if you finish your meal? I will give you cake or I will give ice cream.

4:46 Yeah.

4:47 So what does the child think? That food is the boring part and the ice cream of the desert is a reward. So he sats attaching more importance to the ice cream and the desert. So by and large every food should come on the plate. As a matter of fact, I want

5:04 to touch upon immunity. Right. Because that's, that seems to be, you know, that seems to be something that everybody is really, really concerned, especially in the summers. Like you said that kids get diarrhea, they get, you know, they get vomiting, they feel dehydrated. So any, anything on immunity and how weak immunity can really slow down the growth of the child. Can we talk about how we can as parents build the Immunity of the child.

5:30 Okay, now, so you know, Mansi, I'm sure you have parents with older children, younger children, and some even expectant moms who will be part of this group. So now let me start off with pregnancy. The trick is when you're with a baby in your womb, there have been experiments that have shown that depending on how varied your diet is during pregnancy and how many tastes, textures, flavors you eat during pregnancy, the child is less finicky when he comes out in terms of his willingness to experiment.

6:05 So the first thing I'll tell you is when you are pregnant with a baby, eat a varied variety of foods. Next, it comes to when you start weaning from breast milk and you start giving semi solids to the baby. Once again, when at six months, you start feeding the baby, the critical period is from six months to 12 months and one and a half years. Once again, when you are weaning the baby, give him a large number of flavors, textures, foods, because whatever he has tasted in the second six months of life, he will take far more easily as an adult.

6:42 So you become less finicky. You know, there are children who don't eat vegetables, don't eat fruits. And it's possible the genesis is right in pregnancy and in the second six months of life. So expose your children to a variety of flavors, textures, foods. And now, coming to the older child, you know, you have to go back and think what your mother and grandmother did. They went out and they bought things that were available and they kept wearing.

7:11 For example, when it comes to cereal, use rice sometimes use wheat, sometimes use jawar, sometimes use bajra, sometimes use ragi, sometimes. So try and change the cereal that you're using. Try and change the pulse that you're using. Sometimes one dal, sometimes the other dal. Change the nuts that you are using. You might bring apricots one day, you might bring cashews one day. You bring almonds one day. Same way, change your fruits, change your vegetables, and don't wreck your brains too much about the technicalities, Right?

7:41 I would just like to conclude by saying that, guys, summer vacations are a great time to grow, to have fun, to have, you know, wholesome meals, to have family meals together. And also ensure sure that you know the four pillars which Dr. Mentioned, which is right growth, right, right sleep, right play, right nurturing, and right nutrition is all met. So let's all of us ensure that we are giving our kids all of that in the summer.

8:10 We're keeping their immunities strong. And I really want to thank Dr. Sankleta for taking our time and being with us today. And thank you to pdashore Abbott for supporting us on this initiative of building our child's immunity community, which is a topmost concern for every single parent at this point in time.