Teach your kids to protect the Earth

Whether you’re a first-time parent or a nappy veteran, you’ve got to admit that raising children can be daunting! That’s why we’ve asked one of Durban’s top child-care practitioners, Jenni Johnson, to help us out…
 

Teach your children to put a bucket of water outside to catch the rain, give them a small watering can and show them how this water can be used to water indoor plants and dry areas in the garden. Teach them about water and drought and floods and how to help protect the earth.

Nappy rash can cause such worry. Most parents use an average of 6-7nappies per day once baby is a few months old. Prevent nappy rashes by changing frequently, changing immediately after a poo, avoid using harsh wet wipes and if your baby is prone use cotton wool and water for a while. Pat bottoms dry and if a spotty bum rash persists it could be fungal. I have put a nappy rash crème recipe on jennisays.com

 Positive discipline means working at building good communication, listening to your child's views, but not being afraid to set clear limits and boundaries. Always look for your child's good behaviour and praise it. Turn a blind eye to minor annoying behaviour. Be realistic. A lot of what parents call naughty is a normal part of development. Younger toddlers want to touch everything to find out how it works. Older toddlers try to assert their independence.

Talk about food. Toddlers are learning colours, shapes, and textures, and food is the perfect teaching tool. During conversations, discuss what a healthy food is. They don’t have big understanding of health, so start with basics. Instead of classifying food into good and bad, teach them to think of a healthy food as something that will help them grow, get tall, become strong, play more, or run fast.

If you have a baby that seems to cry more than sleep firstly ensure that he/she is not hungry, pop into your clinic for a weight to be done. If your baby is a few weeks old a routine will help enormously. Your baby may be crying because of wind and there are good over the counter preparations to be bought but use these sparingly. For many babies it’s a matter of time and patience until this phase passes so support for yourself is hugely important.

* Catch Jenni on-air every day just after 10am with her tip of the day.

Jenni Johnson, our resident ‘Baby Whisperer’, has been a practicing child-care practitioner for 15 years, and owns a busy ante and post natal clinic in Durban…

At Jenni’s ante and post natal clinic in Durban, parents are taught a system that gives them structure and routine to the baby and childhood years. Jenni has a nursing background. She’s a registered nurse, midwife, psychiatric nurse and a practicing child-care practitioner for the past 15 years. Jenni’s online clinic, can be accessed online via www.jennisays.com. For appointments, e-mail [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter via @JenniSays or on Facebook by 'liking' The Berea Baby Clinic.