One may ask, of what importance is it to get a health insurance? And to answer that, I am reminded of the Scouts’ motto, “be prepared”. As such, I feel it is important that one adopts it even when it comes to life-preparedness for unknown eventualities should rattle you out of your comfort zone and…

Children love to play. They have to as it is part of learning and growing up. Denying children time to play is denying them a very important requirement for their development. Games are either outdoor or indoor. The latter involves toys as well as electronic games, while the former are virtually limitless and include age-old…

You often hear people saying they are allergic to dust. But did you know that it’s hardly dust they are allergic to? Allergies are caused by tiny dust mites that you cannot see with your naked eye. Dust mites settle on carpets, curtains and cuddly toys and other house furnishing. But their favourite places are beds, where you mostly…

The cold season, which tends to bring its fair share of trouble, is here. This is when our immunity against the biting cold is truly tested. The chilly weather may bring your child a few shivers leading to sneezes then coughs. You may dismiss it as a common cold and give a little mild medication.…

A bright smile lights up Mary Wambui’s face as she kicks a ball and frolics around her compound in a city estate, as energetically as her young charges. It is clear that she loves children and time with them provides a welcome break from her busy schedule. However, the 40-year-old mother of three children aged…

By speaking to the child and imitating the child’s sounds, a parent not only teaches the child sound patterns, but encourages taking turns, a process necessary for conversation. Studies have shown that babies whose parents spoke to them more often know many more words by age two. Children who are unable to communicate effectively through…

Bathing your new born o Until his umbilical cord has fallen off and his circumcision has healed avoid giving your baby a bath in the basin. o Start the bathing by wiping his eyes from the inside to the outside using a clean damp soft cloth or a wad of cotton wool without soap. o…

Is that the time? I think to myself as the clock stares back at me unflinchingly. It is 11 am. I thought it was eight. But I am still tired from last night’s singing. You see, lately, Tebogo has taken to watching television and he seems to love a particular commercial which always leaves him…

Where my ancestors came from, when a child got mumps, they would be advised or led to a certain tree and urged to sing certain songs and dance around the tree to cast away the mumps. After which the child will be required to walk back to their home without looking back. It was believed…