What is Letdown Reflex? Is it normal to get hurt?

What is Letdown Reflex Is it normal to get hurtWhat is Letdown Reflex Is it normal to get hurt

Being a mom is the hardest thing for women. Whether the baby hurts or not, you have to go through all the blues along with the excitement. Well, as from sleeping to feeding you never know in how many ways you can get hurt. Most of the time, breastfeeding could be painful as well. Whether your baby bites or not but the baby bites that triggers nerves while sucking the nipples for feed. This is called letdown syndrome or milk-ejection reflex. This process is so painful, as the nerves lead the hormones to enter the bloodstream. One of those hormones prolactin which performs as the milk-making tissues, another hormone is known as oxytocin is involved in pushing the milk or let down it. 

Letdown reflex is the process of making the milk available for the baby to feed. Well, if the baby bites, it hurts but there is nothing wrong with you or the baby. Painful letdown reflex is nothing big or to think about, but it is the part of your breastfeeding journey and there is no way to run from it. As you will become used to it, it will not take much time to adjust to the new role, after some time it becomes painless. 

Well, if you notice you are not adjusting to it, there might be some other issues that need to be discussed with the doctor. But there are things you must know and should take care of it. 

What is Letdown? 

In this complex dance, here you and your baby are partners. When the baby cries with hunger it makes the hormones to respond due to the input from the babies when they start feeding. Moreover, it has been noticed that the process of the letdown reflex begins when you think of feeding the child or just push the breast to pump the milk out. 

How does it feel?

During the feeding sessions, the milk letdowns so many times, but it makes you feel like the first time. Well, normally most of the women don’t feel the letdown, some feel it once, some moms feel it for a few minutes, and some feel it second when their baby starts sucking the milk. 

As you never know what happens and when in your body like everything. There is no timetable set for the disorders, or you cannot expect the flow. Here is something you can notice. 

  • Maybe due to the release of the hormone oxytocin, you may experience immediate thirst. But still, the researchers are not sure about it. 
  • An immediate feeling of warmth and fullness.
  • Scratchy feelings like pins and needles become intense and painful. Most of the women do not feel it, some moms feel it while feeding their children then it disappears after some time, and other women feel it throughout the breastfeeding. 
  • When your baby didn’t adjust to sucking, the long or quick sucking rhythms during milk flow, the breast starts inflaming. 
  • Letdown cause dripping from one or both breasts. However, it is recommended to keep breast pads in hand. 
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Tips to Take Care of your Twin Babies All Alone!

Tips to Take Care of your Twin Babies All Alone MAMA BLOGTips to Take Care of your Twin Babies All Alone MAMA BLOG

The news is so exciting for the couple who are having twins. On the other hand, mommies got scared of how they will handle two together. Well, your mother has already extended the stay, and the time is near when she is heading home back, and dad has to resume his work. As you had someone to take care of your kids with you, now you have to take care of them alone.

Whether your family lives nearby, but they can never live with you all the time as they have their own lives. Now, who left? You and your two little angels. You may have to go through double troubles, no sleeps at night, more work, double diaper change, double feeding, and bathing of two. The chores start when they both wake up together. Now you have to listen to the cries of both at the same time and feed them. With all this hit-or-miss situation, you can make things smooth by following some of the tips that might make your life a little easy!

Set a Routine of your Twins!

Well, this would be a little hard for you to schedule the twin, and you might not be a scheduler in past, but you have to be! God gifts you with two, and you are now a mother of two, and it is pretty hard to feed both at the same time.

In the first three months, the infant feed after every 3 hours. See when your little ones wake up and from that time feed them after every 3ish hour. If they are not waking up at the feeding time, break the rule, and wake up to feed them. This would take some time, but you will learn it very soon.

Be a Multitasker

With twins, you have to be a multitasker. You have to manage the households one-handed, as there is one baby in the other arm all of the time. It is important to work on one-handed dishwashing, laundry, and cooking skills as you have no choice.

Prepare yourself when your Babies are sleeping!

The best time to prepare for them is when they are sleeping. Don’t waste a minute or two as you know you cannot do anything for them when they woke up and start crying together. Their sleep time is power time. Quickly get some stuff done before they woke up. Wash their bottles, prepare stuff for their bathing, take shower, make some snacks, and refill supplies. You have to make yourself ready for them, so be prepare and save yourself.

Be Organized

When you are with twins it is really important to keep yourself organized. It doesn’t mean you have to label the drawers and select the color-coded dresses. Make sure diapers, clothes, bathing stuff, feeding stuff, and toys are at their place. You must know where the things are; if your baby cries, rush to the closet, get the things and run your way!

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Is Animal fur and Pets are harmful to your Newborn?

Is Animal fur and Pets are harmful to your Newborn MAMA BLOGIs Animal fur and Pets are harmful to your Newborn MAMA BLOG

You and your husband definitely love your fluffy and cute dogs and cats, but there is another thing to remember, now you have a little baby in your home! Newborns are sensitive to even a small intention, they are more vulnerable to get exposed to infections as their immune system is not fully prepared to fight against germs and bacteria, during infancy, the immune system is weak. 

It is something not weird that you and your husband love to create a farm in your home name the cats and dogs, you may imagine they will play with your newborn, but have you ever imagine the numbers of hair all over the house? Is it safe for your newborn? Are they allergic? 

Well, you definitely vacuum them, but still, they are everywhere because the dogs and cats cannot stop walking and roaming around the house and rolling on the couch and bed. Some of the studies have shown that the presence of dogs in the home is observed to have fewer allergies in the children, moreover, children raised in the farms have decreased chances of asthma and certain allergies. There are no possible allergies on the skin of your newborn because of the dog fur. 

But still, you need to be careful when you have pets in your home, as there could be some minor or somatic problems that could happen. You never know, your pets are as gentle as they appear or not, so do not ever leave your child alone with your baby. The safety of your baby comes first! 

Pets and Risk Factor to Infants

It is important for the parents to keep an eye that the children are not close to the parents, keep both of them away from each other. It takes time for both to recognize each other, it is essential to always supervise. If the baby makes any louder noise, the pet becomes scared and react. The reaction of the pet may harm your baby. 

Possible Health Issues with your Child Due to Pets 

As parents are recommended to keep the pets away from the infants, as they can cause illnesses or injuries. Take health advice if you see any of the uncertain problems. The common health issues are;

  • Asthma or allergies due to saliva, fur, skin flakes, or feathers of animals. 
  • There could be breathing problems if the pet stays close to your child’s mouth. 
  • Risk of animal bites and scratches.
  • Transmission of diseases and allergies from animals to humans through food, poo, or water. 

Risk of having Salmonella

Salmonella is a common bacteria, which can be transmitted by touching the infected pet and then touching the face. People could get these bacteria through contaminated food. The common symptoms of Salmonella are;

  • Vomiting
  • Nausea
  • Diarrhea
  • Headache
  • Temperature
  • Stomach pains

If you observe any of these symptoms in your child, take prompt medical help, and do tell them that you have a pet at your home. 

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How to Give Bath to your New Born?

How to Give Bath to your New BornHow to Give Bath to your New Born

Mothers usually get worried when it comes to bathing the newborn. It could be a nerve-wracking experience to bath a slimy baby. Well, until the kid starts playing in the mud, bathing very often isn’t needed. However, the newborn needs a bath only two to three times a week. Instead, every day you can clean your baby’s neck, face, hands, bottom, and feet to prevent germs. Which is commonly known as topping and tailing. 

When you think of bathing you just wonder, whether the infant feels comfortable or not, or you are doing it well or not. But with a little run-through, you will become a pro in it! As mommies can do anything for their little chipmunks. You can start learning by watching videos or following the tips of baby bathing. Here are some basics you need to learn and will help all the new moms! 

How often you should Bath your Baby?

Well, there is no need for bathing very often for the newborn. Your baby will need a bath two to three times a week, however, a bath only once a week is also fine for the infants. The skin of the infants is very sensitive, and too much bathing will dry it out. With a soft cotton towel and warm water, you can clean the uncovered areas and bottom of your baby. When you are bathing, make sure you are not cleaning up for more than 10 to 15 minutes. 

At what time the bath should be given? Morning or at Night? 

Night time is not suggested for the baby bath. However, choose the time when your baby is alert. Setting the time throughout the day is totally up to you. Give a bath when you are not rushing and relax. If you are giving a bath after feeding your baby, wait until the tummy is settled. Nighttime baths are not completely prohibited, some parents consider the baths at night as it keeps the baby calm and sleeps longer. But take care of the room temperature and give the bath with warm water. 

Safe Bathing Tips

Bathing the baby very often is not necessary, however, until they enjoy it. The bathing room should be warm, do not give a bath when your baby is starving, and everything used for bathing should be in your hands! 

  • Things you need: warm water, two towels, clean clothes, cotton swaddle, and a new diaper. 
  • Check the water at your wrist or elbow to make sure it is not too hot for the baby. 
  • Clean the face of your baby first by holding him on your knee. 
  • Wash the hair, by keeping their chin up and with the support of the bowl.
  • When their hair is a little dry, take off the nappy without making any discomfort.
  • Put them into the bathing tub by supporting their head and shoulders. 
  • Hold the baby from one hand gently and clean the body from the other hand. 
  • Now take them out of the water and dry them with a towel. 
  • Wrap them with the swaddle tightly. 
  • It’s a good time to give them a gentle massage, and after that put on their clothes. Make sure anyone holding the baby should not have cold hands. 
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Babies do not sleep at Night? Here are the reasons!

Babies do not sleep at Night Here are the reasons MAMA BLOGBabies do not sleep at Night Here are the reasons MAMA BLOG

In new parenthood, the most combating time is handling the sleeping issues of babies. Setting the sleeping patterns in the baby from the first month is likely to be a very stressful part of parenthood. The sleeping issues grow up as the infant grows. 

Most of the time, sleep issues appear due to normal illness, stomach aches, sleep disruption, teething, routine changes, and developmental breakthrough. However, still, these sleeping issues create problems and discomfort for you and your little ones. When women become frustrated, they start googling the question, how to cope up with the sleeping issues? How to take rest with a newborn? How to make parenthood smooth? Well, these questions are normal, and the answers let you go back to the beginning. 

Mothers also become worried about, why their babies do not sleep at night? But, you can never convince your little one to sleep until he feels sleepy. It is hard to absorb for women that there is a new lifestyle and entering it will make disturb the eating and sleeping routine, bring physical changes, and put forth you in huge responsibilities and tasks. Still, you have to deal with it, and it is necessary to find out the reasons. 

Sleep Disturbance Due to Late Night Feeding

The babies in their 2 to 3 months are on breastfeed. During the night, they need to fill up their tummies about two or three times. Feeding them in the middle of the night is good for the babies, however not even more necessary on the other hand. For this, talk to the pediatrician about the overnight feeding routine and make sure the tummy of the baby is filled appropriately in the day time. 

Your baby won’t know whether it Day or Night 

Newborn babies do not know what is day and night. You should need to set the routine that develops the recognition of day and night. There are a few things that you should need to consider.

  • Take your baby in the sun, the sunlight when strikes will naturally set the inner clock. 
  • Swaddle your baby at night snuggly and tightly, so they do not move and sleep long. 
  • Make them awake at the day time longer. 
  • Turn the lights off during the night, and your goal should be zero disturbance in the area where your baby is sleeping.
  • Don’t try the sleep-inducing activities during the day time. 

Your Baby Might have Some Illness 

When your baby isn’t feeling well, he/she most probably do not sleep at night, check if your baby is having a gas, cold, allergies, constipation, stomach aches, teething, fever or other health-related problem. 

Baby Needs Mother In the middle of the night, most of the time babies wake up and cry as they want to know where the mother is. Babies are attached to mommies or sometimes daddies, they want them most of the time. It has been suggested to sleep with your child in the same room, near the crib. When the baby feels close to their parents they sleep comfortably. 

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Baby Sleeping on Stomach: Is it Safe or not?

Baby Sleeping on Stomach Is it Safe or not MAMA BLOGBaby Sleeping on Stomach Is it Safe or not MAMA BLOG

New parents got confused in the beginning, different information keeps them chaotic every day. Along with setting a good sleeping routine, feeding timings, and bathing schedules for the baby is the major chores mommies usually think for. But one more thing that keeps them worried is the sleeping positions. When you suddenly wake up in the middle of the night and see your baby rolling and sleeping on his stomach, you begin to lay him on his back. 

Among all the information you got from your kinsfolks, they also give you pieces of advice about sleeping positions. Questions are still here. Sleeping straight on the back is best, or they can also sleep on their stomach? Here are some important guidelines you must know. 

Is it Safe if Babies sleep on their Tummy? 

The simple answer is no! When your baby is sleeping on the stomach that means he is breathing less in the air. This also leads to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. This is the major reason, mothers are recommended to check their babies while sleeping. Infants should not sleep on the side either as they can easily roll to their tummies. Through the first year of the babies, pediatricians recommend laying them only on their back, which increases the airflow in the infants as well. 

What to do if the Babies Rolls on their Tummy at midnight?

Once babies learn to roll on their tummy usually between 3 to 6 months, there is no way to turn them back. Mothers are highly advised to make their babies sleep straight on the back till they turn one year old. Well, if you wake up and see your baby rolled on the tummy, let him sleep, and slowly turn on the back. This all, of course, disturbs the nap, however, it is advised not to give the babies enough space from the beginning that he learn to roll. 

When you are putting your baby on sleep, keep pillows, bumpers, blankets, and cushions around him, which give them firm sleep as well as no space to turn or roll. Continue it till your baby turns one. 

Safe Guidelines 

It is always important for the mommies to look for the possible steps they can take to avoid any mishap or problems in their babies while sleeping. Always follow the important guidelines, if your baby is anytime sleeping on the tummy, these guidelines are crucial and recommended to consider.

  • Lay your baby on his back when he sleeps. 
  • Mommies are recommended to create a cool environment for the babies but don’t forget to cover them properly under the fan. 
  • If your baby sleeps in the crib, it should be near you so you can check the sleeping positions of your baby. 
  • Run the fan in the room, as it reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. 
  • Your baby should be sleeping on a comfortable surface and tightly covered with the sheet, and swaddled properly. 
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Infant care:

Infant care MAMA BLOGInfant care MAMA BLOG

Pregnancy and childbirth, in the simplest of explanation, are overwhelming. An infant is a bundle of joy one day and becomes a package of poop the very next day. No matter how much the new parents disguise themselves to be coping well, infant care is challenging. 

It comes with so many first moves of life that the most intelligent people can oversee small details that require attention. Countless sleepless nights on the mother’s part, and zillion attempts to calm that kidzilla down on the father’s end marks the onset of the parenting journey.
A lot of aspects require meticulous effort while one is handling an infant. This article will cover some of the basics of infant care such as:

  • Sleep pattern:

Most of the new parents struggle with the sleep pattern of their infants. It has been dark and cosy for months before it became loud, bright and noisy. It is a transition from the fetal stage to a newborn that takes a toll on both the infant and the parents.

Most of the time, when the exhausted parents hit the bed, the infant cries their lungs out for a diaper change or a night time feed.

Babies with colic issues can create fuss at night due to their aching bellies that don’t want to adjust. A warm bath, a gentle massage, some cycling movements to calm the abdominal muscles, and a swaddle can be the parents’ best package of night time routine.

  • Feeding time:

This part of the infant care is especially hard for the new mothers. Breastfed or formula fed, the infants require milk. In case of breastfeeding, the mother is on call 24/7 for the months to come. The breastfeeding positions and best practices is another topic in itself to discover.

Some small tips to avoid discomfort while breastfeeding the kids is to take a position that is the best-fit for both mother and baby. A nursing pillow can be a life saver for many moms.
Cluster fed babies can be hard to handle, but patience is the top most outcome of parenthood, so hang in there, this too shall pass.

Bottle fed babies’ bottles should be properly cleaned and sterilized. Doesn’t matter if you use a sterilizer or the old method of boiling the feeders, make sure to clean every part of the bottle before feeding the baby.
The milk should be lukewarm and never hot to avoid injury to the oral cavity of your infant.

  • Baby hygiene:

Handling an infant with dirty hands can cause serious problems, so be careful to sanitize hands every time someone holds a baby.
Bathe the baby either daily or on alternate days depending on the weather.
Take special care of the infant’s ears and oral cavity to avoid any kind of infection to start.

  • Overall health indicators:

A visit to the paed is a must when you’re dealing with your infant. The doctor will guide you about the growth indicators of your baby and any alternate actions such as, vaccination or introduction of vitamins; you need to take to improve the infant care process.

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Common Causes of Acid Reflux in Infants

Common Causes of Acid Reflux in Infants MAMA BABY CARECommon Causes of Acid Reflux in Infants MAMA BABY CARE

What is Acid Reflux?

Acid reflux happens when the sphincter muscle, which is present in the esophagus’s lower end that relaxes at the wrong time and supplies back the stomach acid to the esophagus. The disease is also known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), people usually experience acid reflux time by time, a person may have mild to moderate acid reflux once or twice a week.

In babies, acid reflux is a common disease. However, it’s not a big problem that does not have any precautionary measures to follow. If you are the parents of the little one, you should take care of the feed your baby is taking and at every malfunctioning. Here are some causes that we should know so that we could control the disorderliness.

Poor Diet 

The major cause of acid reflux is a poor diet. Whatever your baby is eating directly triggers acid reflux. If you have started giving your kid some solid food, depending on your baby’s age, make sure you are not giving any food that causes acid reflux. Commonly tomatoes and citrus fruits are supposed to enhance the production of acid in the stomach.

If your baby is breastfeeding, make some changes in your diet plan. Peppermint, high-fat foods, and chocolate keep the lower esophageal sphincter wide open for a long, which leads the stomach reflux.

Feeding Positions

After and during feeding positioning when ignored can lead to acid reflux in infants. While feeding, make sure you keep your baby in the upright position may lessen the risk of acid reflux.

Immature Lower Esophageal Sphincter 

The Lower Esophageal Sphincter is at the bottom of the esophagus of babies, which allows food into the stomach. These ring muscles are not developed in babies when they are premature especially. If the LES remains open it may push back the food into the esophagus from the stomach, which leads the baby to vomit. It is commonly found in infants, however, acid reflux can weaken the lining of the esophagus.

Overfeeding

Mommies are so concerned about feeding their newborn, however, they never know overfeeding can cause acid reflux. The frequent feeding causes digestion problems and acid reflux as well. It is common in the babies who are on top feed rather than the babies who are on breastfeed.

If you are worried about the feeding routine of your little one, get the right guidance from your doctor. In other cases, if your baby spits out, but he is growing well, here you don’t need to change your routine.

Common Signs of Acid Reflux

The signs and symptoms can create discomfort in the feeding routine and most of the time, infants have mood changes also.

  • Infant not gaining weight
  • Chronic cough
  • Spits up yellow fluid
  • Unusually short-tempered after eating
  • Refuses food
  • Projectile vomiting
  • Blood in stool
  • Spits coffee grounds kind of material or blood

If you notice any of the above-mentioned symptoms, promptly take advice from your consultant and observe whether you are not allowing any reason to dominate over your children.

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WHAT ARE THE SIDE EFFECTS OF FORMULA MILK?

WHAT ARE THE SIDE EFFECTS OF FORMULA MILK MAMA BABY CAREWHAT ARE THE SIDE EFFECTS OF FORMULA MILK MAMA BABY CARE

Being concerned for your baby for not getting enough milk is okay. Parents sometimes are more concerned to give babies need a formula for any other reasons as well. All you must know that giving formulas to your baby is a bit risky if there’s no medical cause for doing that. Feeding your baby powder milk increases the risk of infection, bacteria, and some other problems, which are written below.

  • Ear infection
  • Breathing problems
  • Obesity 
  • Itchiness (Skin problems)
  • Lungs issues etc. 

DIGESTION PROBLEMS:

Difficulties your baby may face while having formula milk is that, it’s hard to digest formula milk for a newborn than breast milk. Milk stays in the baby’s body, which could cause a decrease in production. Also, it contains a high amount of protein called casein.

ASTHMA:

Before giving powdery milk to your baby speak to your baby’s doctor. It is also stated in some studies that formula-fed babies have a higher risk of having breathing issues, asthma, and wheezing problems, etc. Always check on your baby and immediately visit the doctor if you see any discomfort.

CHRONIC DISEASE:

Breastfeeding prevents chronic disease. In the future, there’s a risk of having the chronic disease if you fed the baby formula milk also, increases the chance of diabetes and various celiac diseases.

ALLERGIC REACTIONS:

Some babies can digest formula milk, but some babies can have allergic reactions that cause excessive vomits, crankiness, etc. Maybe your baby doesn’t show up the symptoms fast, but it could be a cause to worry.

Some Important Things to Know:

  • Providing formula milk to the infant when you can breastfeed them can affect your breastfeeding. It will only work best when you put your baby on breastfeeding again and again.
  • This settles the baby more than the babies who are on formula milk.
  • It’s hard for the baby who usually sucks from a bottle teat to suck effectively from a breast sucking from a teat is way more different from the breast.
  • If you are offering the baby your breast milk it can lead you to pain because of the overload of milk in your breast, and because of that, you can’t comfort the baby.
  • If you already have a history of allergy in your family then you should avoid giving formula milk to the infant, or else it will increase the risk, which causes high fever, asthma, etc.
  • Formula milk is a reason for having a bacterial infection in the baby’s gut. If you are not breastfeeding the baby, there will be a higher chance to develop infections like diarrhea, chest issues, urine problems, etc.

IMMUNE SYSTEM: 

Breast milk makes an infant’s immune system better. Also, formula milk doesn’t contain natural nutrients, which develop certain illnesses in your baby’s immune.

Feeding your baby formula milk from a teat cannot be convenient, and babies may experience a loss of fluid from the body.

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HOW TO PREVENT OBESITY IN CHILDREN FROM 0-5 YEARS

HOW TO PREVENT OBESITY IN CHILDREN FROM 0-5 YEARS MAMA BABY CAREHOW TO PREVENT OBESITY IN CHILDREN FROM 0-5 YEARS MAMA BABY CARE

Consuming an excessive amount of food and move a little is the result of obesity, which is a chronic disease. If you eat an excessive quantity of energy, especially fat and sugar, but then you don’t burn off the energy by doing physical exercises then the energy will be stored in your body as fat.

Infantile weight problems called (Obesity) worldwide affects millions of children below five years of age. The kids who are overweight or obese are more likely to become obese adults with all the sickness or illness involved.

FOCUS ON HEALTHY LIFESTYLE:

Guardians and parents can stop childhood obesity just by focusing on a healthy diet for their children under five years. They can give kids healthy snacks, help them to do physical activities, and give them nutrition education. If your kid is into physical activity it lessens the health risk and gives benefits to weight management. It’s important to give your kid nutrition education because it helps them with a lot of awareness about good diet habits for a lifetime.

  • Kids can adopt healthy eating and be physically active only when parents make effort to keep their toddler health good by teaching them positive attitudes without stressing about body weight.
  • Start eating a meal together regularly, make a variety of healthy items, and let your kid decide what and how much to eat.
  • Try to give attention to the family along with the overweight kids in your family and work altogether to transform the family’s habits and routine.

NEWBORNS:

There is research by AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) that kids who breastfeed have less chance to get overweight. The longer they breastfed, the less they become overweight as they grow older. Usually, the kid who fed formula milk is more likely to grow as a healthy adult. Also, if you have never breastfed your kid it doesn’t mean that your kid is not healthy.

GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP:

Kids who do not get good sleep end up getting more weight. A parent should focus on their toddler’s nighttime routine, and make their every day’s sleep schedule that’s a part of a healthy routine.

ENCOURAGE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY:

Don’t allow your kids to spend more time on screen because if they spent more time on screens, online games, etc. mean less time for a healthy diet, physical activities, and good sleep. Exercise and good sleep play an important role in a healthy life routine, and one should encourage such activities over the screen.

KEEP THEM HYDRATED:

Drinking a lot of water keeps everyone hydrated, and it’s crucial to teach them to drink water as much as possible.

BE A GOOD EXAMPLE:

As we all know kids learn from adults if you are being a good role model for them, it will help them adopt a healthy lifestyle it’s means if you are eating well like vegetables, fruits, etc. your kid will automatically follow the same. Be good and be an example for your kids.

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