Parenting success relies on understanding developmental benchmarks, managing maternal health during and after pregnancy, and implementing effective behavioral strategies for toddlers and teenagers.
Contrary to your dreams of what your baby will look like, a newborn is not always pretty. Skin discolorations and eruptions, including bruising, are common in newborns and most of the time, are nothing to worry about. Discuss concerns about your newborn's bruising with your pediatrician.
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How you respond to and discipline your children greatly affects how they develop, both cognitively and socially. A childβs development process is influenced by a mixture of all the stimuli he comes into contact with, both with individuals and with his environment.
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Nightmares and night terrors are common for small children, but night tremors are a rare occurrence. Night tremors may or may not be a cause for medical concern, but parents should note symptoms and consult a medical professional.
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Colds are common during pregnancy. Since pregnancy affects your immune system, your symptoms might last longer than they would otherwise.
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The American Pregnancy Association advocates feeding your baby breast milk instead of formula, if possible. Your breast milk gives your baby the essential nutrients he needs and is safely digestible.
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One of the most common cravings during pregnancy is pickles or pickle juice. While small amounts of pickle juice are safe, the high sodium concentrations in pickle juice are dangerous for both the expecting mother and her developing baby.
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In addition to being rich in protein, which is a nutrient that growing babies need, salmon also supplies omega-3 fatty acids, which support normal eye and brain development. At about 6 months of age, your baby is ready to eat solid foods, in addition to her usual breast milk or formula.
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Many expectant mothers might adopt a "grin and bear it, it's only nine months" attitude as they cope with the aches and discomforts of pregnancy.
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Puberty marks the entry of a child into adolescence and sexual maturity. During puberty, your body goes through many changes that affect the way you look, feel and behave. Eating a healthy diet affects the age at which you reach puberty as well as your growth during puberty.
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Many women question the safety of taking dietary supplements while pregnant. Diindolylmethane, or DIM, is a product of a compound found in cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage. As a dietary supplement, DIM might be beneficial for various health conditions.
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For many women, irritability, cramps, joint pains and other signs of premenstrual syndrome are sure signs that the menstrual period is about to begin. The absence of these symptoms can often cause a woman to wonder whether she may be pregnant. Pregnancy can cause the absence of PMS symptoms, but so can other factors.
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When your child reaches the age of 6, he may start to experience some wiggling of his baby teeth, signaling the impending arrival of adult teeth. Losing teeth is a milestone for any child and parent, but it also can be a source of anxiety and pain.
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Pregnant women eagerly anticipate feeling their baby's first movements. However, since perceptions of fetal movement can vary widely, you might worry that the amount of movement you feel at 18 weeks indicates that something is wrong -- whether you feel a lot of movement or none at all.
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Any mother who has breastfed will tell you about a certain food that she ate that made her baby fussy or gassy. If something as innocuous as eating a green pepper has an adverse effect on your baby, you may think taking a pain killer is out of the question.
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In the movies, labor is usually preceded by a dramatic and public breaking of the water, but in real life, only a very small percentage of women experience their water breaking before they go into labor.
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As a parent, you try to create a bedtime routine that enables your toddler to transition easily and peacefully to sleep. But your child might have other ideas. Many toddlers, even those who could fall asleep easily as babies, have difficulty falling asleep at bedtime.
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After watching your belly grow for nearly 10 months, you may be eager to lose baby weight. While breastfeeding may actually expedite your weight loss, you shouldn't make a concentrated effort to shed pounds during the first two months postpartum.
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Pregnancy nutrition focuses on eating healthy, which means choosing foods from all food groups and eating the right number of calories daily. Eating eggs every day can have some benefits during pregnancy, but there may also be risks associated with eating the same thing repeatedly.
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Children with keen observation skills collect information and form questions. This is the basis of inquiry and it leads to discovery and learning. Observation involves the senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste.
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Most toddlers aren't particularly adventurous eaters, but some are adamant that they want to eat whatever Mom and Dad are eating. While most foods are safe for toddlers to sample, as long as there are no food allergy issues, hot sauce might be one you want to reconsider.
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