HAVE you ever arrived at home from work eager to feed your baby, only to be met by a fierce and blatant rebuff? No matter the pleading or coercion, your baby says and acts a strict ‘No!’ Many career mothers eager to enhance their bonding with their new babies find this kind of incident disheartening.…

Many mothers say that despite having many children, each pregnancy is unique. And upon delivery, the babies take on their own personality. So, how come one child will be very neat and responsible while the other is carefree and clumsy? Is there an explanation to this contrast or is behaviour engraved in the genetic code? Apparently, the sequence in which…

In the previous edition of Pregnant, we discussed why some babies refuse to be fed by their mothers, sometimes preferring auntie’s (nanny’s) feeding. We now focus on babies who refuse to eat irrespective of who feeds them. There are foods which we, as adults, loathe to taste, let alone eat, irrespective of where they are…

According to one tribe from Western Province in Kenya, a woman should not look at a cooking pot during the first week after she has delivered. If it is a baby girl stay away from the kitchen for up to three days and if a baby boy keep away for four days. The reason? The…

Funny things parents say If you don’t finish your food Richard (neighbour’s younger kid) will grow taller than you. To a crying six-year-old boy. ‘A-a-ah! Stop that. Men don’t cry.’ I am going to the market, take of care my child. If I meet the child crying or if you make him fall, you will…

It was a warm, sunny day-perfect for the outdoors. Pete went out to play soccer with his friends. In Pete’s neighbourhood, it was common to see young boys playing with no protective gear, and parents even thought that this would toughen them up. However, for Pete, that was no ordinary day and a few playful…

A wise parent understands that saving money in a bank for future use or for an unforeseeable emergency is a necessity. Saving for the baby not only shows that the parents care to dot their young one. but they are also thinking of their child’s survival, comfort and prestige in the future. A few years…

The sight of blood-can be scary even to the strongest of us. Children too get scared of nose bleeding. The truth is most nose-bleeds are actually not as bad as they look, and a panicky child will only make the bleeding worse. Most nosebleeds occur in the front part of the nose and last only a few…

We had just been introduced to each other and were now having tea. ‘Ah, so you are a doctor! I have a concern that has been disturbing my mind.’ I sat up and listened. This is a common line and quite frankly, as a doctor, I enjoy it, even in a social setting. It reminds me of my role in…