This week I was reminded that being a father is a priviledge and not a right. I remember thinking that in disgust that violence against children is something that needs to stop and it needs to be stopped ASAP so why isn’t it? Why is violence towards children especially in a small country like New Zealand occurring on an ongoing basis.

I found this article which made me mad and also want to do something about it and addressing it and not sweeping it under the carpet is something that I want to make sure happens.

- Scott

Three children repeatedly beaten with a broom handle were so hungry they had to rummage in rubbish bins, and yet neighbours were too scared to report the cruelty they witnessed.

Kylie Tekani, 30, of Porirua, has been sentenced in Wellington District Court to eight months' home detention after pleading guilty to three charges of cruelty to a child and assault with a weapon. ... read more >>

There is so much worry about child abuse today, that many people are afraid to give their children the loving care they need, for fear of being accused of abuse. A certain amount of sexual play is common in preschool children, and it is easy to confuse a child’s normal sexual behaviour with signs of possible sexual abuse.
Most well adjusted children will customarily pass through several stages of sexual interest and play.

Small babies may discover that touching their genitals can feel good, and can be comforting. As far as they are concerned, it is rather like sucking their thumb or rubbing their nose - they won’t attach any other meaning to these actions. Baby boys may have erect penises when nappies are removed.

Many two-year-olds will show an interest in the way boys and girls urinate, and in the physical differences between the sexes. ... read more >>

The human brain is particularly susceptible to the effects of poor nutrition during the early years of development, and most preschool diets are either average or impoverished.[1]

Young brains need many nutrients for learning. Food additives and Deficiencies in some nutrients have been linked to ADD and ADHD.

Some guidelines that can help are:
No Soft Drinks - At least till the age of 5, and then only as an occasional treat. Replace Soft drinks with Water, Natural Fruit Juices (Without corn Syrup or Fructose Sweeteners), and Low fat Milk.
Limit Potato Chips, Donuts, Pop-Tarts, and Cookies. These should be a treat and healthier alternatives like whole grain pretzels or baked chips, fruits like bananas, sliced apples, grapes, and watermelon are ideal snack choices. ... read more >>

Spend enough time taking care of children and it becomes an inescapable part of your psyche. It makes it way into your dreams in sometimes overt, sometimes subtle ways. Last month I dreamed that Clara was trying to get Kate to swim in a pond where a shark was swimming. I'm no psychoanalyst but I think such dreams show I have some pretty deep fears about the safety of my children. Even when your children are at school or you have a babysitter you are not free from what I have found is the most common form of parental paranoia: Phantom Cry Syndrome. Randomly, out of nowhere, you will hear your child's cry. ... read more >>

Ava has a birthmark not just any birthmark but one referred to as a Strawberry Birthmark. As a concerned and interested parent, I am interested in knowing more about this Strawberry on my baby girl.

What is it? How did it happen? and why did it happen?

- Eric

What are strawberry marks?
They are soft raised swellings on the skin, often with a bright red surface, and some may look a bit like a strawberry. They are also known as ‘strawberry naevi’ or as ‘infantile haemangiomas’. They appear after birth, usually in the first month, and can occur anywhere on the skin. They are more of a problem when they affect the face or nappy area.

What causes strawberry marks? ... read more >>

Greetings! A father named Terry writes:

“My definition of time is that it’s the most valuable thing in the world I can give my son. Though I’ve believed this since he was born, I have a different perspective now. My father is dying of pancreatic cancer and during my visits with him, I’ve been flooded with memories from when I was a young child. One memory that stands out for some reason is that when I was probably three years old, I watched him use a post hole digger at the end of our driveway to put a mailbox in. He was big, strong, and invincible. He seemed like Superman to me. While visiting him at the hospital recently, I told my dad about that memory and he couldn’t remember it at all. ... read more >>

Becoming a father again, I would had thought I would already know many tips and tricks with looking after and raising a baby, and I do...

However getting wind out of Ava has proven to be a struggle, normal techniques of patting and rubbing her back while over my shoulder while gets some results after some time is not enough, to clear the blue colouring around her face (sign of gas in the body). Even the football hold with Ava lying face down on my arm then patting her back gets more farts than burps... farts are ok too I guess.
Changing her position from horizontal to upright over the shoulder sometimes helps shift the gas inside her. ... read more >>

Now that our little champ has pushed out his first two teeth and we are (anxiously) awaiting the next ones to emerge I was wondering what the usual sequence for teething is anyway. Well - as it turns out the good people of the "Journal of American Dental Association" already did some research back in 1974 to answer exactly that question.

[image by sedron.com]

Eruption Sequence of baby teeth (also called "Deciduous Teeth" or "Primary Teeth") in months after birth:

This interview has been posted with the kind permission of Warwick Pudney.

-Stef

This interview has been posted with the kind permission of Warwick Pudney.

-Stef