Why my child refuse to nap?

Sleep is vital especially to baby and children. It is the time where brains and bodies are developing at an extraordinary rate.

How can we know whether our children have adequate sleeping hours?

It depends on their age actually.  Generally, baby of the age of one year old and below needs as long as 15 hours in total of sleep. This includes of 5 to 7 hours of day time sleeping time. As they grow older, the total of sleeping hours will decrease to 10-12 hours daily (inclusive of 1-2 hours nap time) for children at the age of 3 years old. No wonder my daughter refuse to take longer nap time and prefers playing rather than sleeping!

But, why my children seem to just have a short nap time? Can they get a nap any longer?

Yes, they can! But how, once they opened their eyes; that’s it! It’s just like “Yeah! It’s time to continue playing and playing!”

The first thing that we need to understand is that when our children grow older, they do not taking nap as much as they were before.  They are reducing their nap time gradually, for instance from 1-2 hours in the morning till none and only nap in the afternoon.

source: google

Tips to encourage your children to nap

1)      Try putting them to sleep at the same place as their night sleeping time, where they will associate that they are going to sleep

2)      Make sure they are well dressed in a comfortable clothes during the day

3)      Avoid letting them playing in a loud noise or stimulating play especially when nap time is approaching.  This is to ensure that they would be easier to settle down and get their nap effectively

How do we know when will our children stop taking nap?

As long as they have the adequate total sleep throughout the day, parents should not to worry much. However, it is better for them to continue taking nap as they cannot stay awake for long stretches as much as older children and adult. They normally skip the morning nap and start to feel tired when afternoon comes.

Besides we can continue with the house chores and our ‘me time’ when they nap during the nap, there is actually an advantage for the children themselves if they nap. Researches as per Healthy Day News here says that babies who nap are more likely to exhibit an advanced level of learning called abstraction i.e. the ability to detect a general pattern contained new information!

Is she (or he) is ready for potty train?

How do we actually know that it is the right time for our children to be potty trained? Is the age of 2 is still considered as still young or is it “do you mean your child is still in diapers at the age of 2?” sounds the critics?

There is no exact age on when our child need to be potty trained. Some parents’ only starts to potty train until their children reach the age of 2 ½ to 3 years old, while some just wait until them 3-4 years old.  It actually depends on the children itself, whether they have developed the necessary cognitive or physical developments in order to determine their readiness to be potty trained.

4 Signs of readiness of our children for potty train

-          Able to walk, run and sit properly

-          Able to urinate at a fair amount each time and have at least 3-4hours of ‘dry’ hour; which means that their bladder are developed enough to control the bladder

-          Able to give physical signs such as squatting, grunting or talk to you when it’s time for bathroom (any bowel movements)

-          Able and have interest in learning to use the toilet or bathroom

source: google

3 Tips to ensure achievement in potty train

-          Be very sure to only start the potty train when everyone is ready; i.e. the children, parents, grandparents, care giver etc. This is to ensure the child is not being potty trained too early or too late

-          Avoid starting to potty train at the wrong time. For instance, not to potty train when you are changing the caregiver or nursery, on a busy week for a holidays etc

-          Avoid putting on pressure to your child. Children might get nervous and starts to hold bowels that might lead to constipation if they worry they might get scolded or punished once they fail. Try to encourage with gentle reminders and avoid scolding them out loud.

-          Reward and give supports and encouragements with either just a simple pat at their back, kiss and hugs them, saying “great job dear!” etc

Should I give vitamins to my child?



source: google



Before you can get the answer for the above, you need to know on what is your children’s eating behaviour. Is your child a picky-eater, aren’t eating regularly or your child does not have any problem in eating all that you serve?

If the former is your answer, then definitely your child might need the vitamins.

If the latter is how your child normally having meals, then your child are not encourage to take the vitamins; at least until they reach 4-5years old.

According to the experts, it is not necessary for children to take the supplementary vitamins.  By right, they can get their vitamins and minerals needed for their development through their healthy and balanced diets. This includes calcium and vitamin D from milk and dairy products, vitamins C from orange juices, protein from chickens or fishes, healthy fats from olive oils etc.

But, if that is the case, why are there are so many different types of multivitamins being offered in the market nowadays?

In today’s world, it is quite impossible for the parents to provide healthy home-cooked meals for their children; daily. Most of the time, the children normally had take-away meals or frozen foods. Since our children do not eat right most of the time, then taking vitamins may offset some of the lacking. However, it is best to consult with the medical doctor or paediatrician to best assure that what we give them is necessary and suitable for their age and development. Wrong information or wrong products given to them might become a toxic and can be dangerous to them. Vitamins can be a good thing for them but too much of good thing can be a fatal.

Children who need vitamins are those:-

-          Picky eaters i.e. who do not simply eat regularly and always avoid eating healthy meals

-          Kids who normally have fast food, processed foods, snacks etc

-          Children who is on medication; in a chronic medical conditions such as asthma

-          Children who is on vegetarian diets i.e. need minerals such as zinc or iron

Tips on giving vitamins to your kids

-          Try to get a chewable vitamins or in the shape of cartoons or animals if your kids try to avoid taking the vitamins

-          Be alert and monitor your child when giving the vitamin. They may not finish them or throw it out of our sight or might be taking more doses than their needed.

-          Keep the vitamins out of their reach

-          Avoid relying too much on the supplementary; instead try to commit and focus more on natural and fresh minerals in providing them a healthy and balanced nutritious meals

Supplementary vitamins may be beneficial as a back up in the development of our children but be rest assure that we provide them the necessary minerals through the freshness and nutritious balanced meals.