How come some children have lots of energy?

I met a grandfather this morning and he commented to me about his grandson who is always on the move, doing this and that throughout the day with just a short nap in the afternoon.

"As a man who have lived more than seventy years, I have seen and noticed that some children are slow not just in development but also in movement whereas there are some who seem to have a lot energy throughout the day just like my grandson," the proud grandfather observed.

Yes, some children, like my own sons and this man's grandson, have lots of energy and are always alert and active. I believe it has to do with two factors.

One is the nutrition of the mother during her pregnancy. Once a human egg has been fertilised, a foetus is formed. With formation of the first stage of the foetus, nutrition is required for its development as from then on the foetus develops at a fast rate, the various organs and parts of the body. If the mother does not consume sufficient nutrient for both of them, both may have to suffer from some form of malnutrition. I believe a lot of mothers suffer osteoporosis earlier than man because of pregnancy when the developing foetus may have to take calcium from the mother.

Another factor is the baby's nutrition. Some babies are weaned off milk too early. I have seen parents giving milo, a beverage drink their babies. Upon questioning such mothers, they would claim that their babies prefer the beverage drink to milk. Of course, as milo is sweetened with sugar. It is sweeter than milk. A wise mother would not allow the baby to make that choice and even prevent it as the babies are too small to know the existence of such a drink except through the introduction of it by the mothers or guardians. Mothers or parents, sometimes the problem lies with the fathers, should know that mother's milk is the most nutritious drink or food for babies, and to exchange the best with something else is certainly not advisable.

Without sufficient nutrition for growth and development of the organs, how can a child function at its best; how can there be sufficient energy for play which at that stage is a learning process. Without lots of play, there will be less opportunities to know the various texture on the many surfaces he/she feels or the development of strength in carrying things around, riding tricycles and pushing objects or the development of the brain as he/she thinks of improvising objects to become a vehicle, a pet or some other things within his/her imagination. Without sufficient nutrition, the body and the mind will not work as well and development can slow down while others are many steps ahead in growth, strength and intelligence.

Nutrition is important at every stage of our lives starting from the day we emerge from the egg as foetus. And even when we age we need even better nutrition for it is then that absorption of nutrients may be slower or not as efficient, unless we wish to slide fast downhill during our retirement. Anyway, we can retire from our job but never retire from life as much awaits us and that is when we need the strength and energy to enjoy life truly.

Pros and Cons of rich calcium supplement for the foetus.

During pregnancy, women who take a lot of nutritious food, especially food which contains a lot of calcium such as milk are bound to have bigger babies; babies who at the time of their birth are approximately ten pounds.

When babies are too large, ordinary birth becomes a problem as the size of the foetus does not allow its whole body to move easily from the womb to the vagina and then out of the mother's body. As I have related a day ago about the woman who had to suffer the trauma of difficult delivery because of the huge size of the foetus, there is a need for a machine to suck the baby out (according to the husband of the woman) or go through a cesarean birth. The best procedure to choose would be the cesarean birth but usually gynecologists advise women not to have a third cesarean birth, possibly because of danger.

As for the lady in the previous day's true story, she told me her doctor advised her to drink a lot of milk during her pregnancy. I suspect she needed a rich supply of calcium and in her case the child also benefited with larger bones.

From observation of children I have found that those who are well nourished during life as a foetus and throughout early childhood have better energy and strength than the rest. Possibly the early excellent nutrition has put the child one step ahead of the development of the others. Of course, I have never done a proper research into the subject and am just making a layman's conclusion.

Teach our children to be adventurous, to explore.

Our children ought to be encouraged to be adventurous. Help them to explore the many places in his world. It is especially helpful for children who are too timid. The child here is one of my two sons. See how confident he is when the bond between mother and child is good.

Baby and us.

Why am I so lucky? She hugs me so lovingly. And what a lovely smile she beams at me!
It's a loving mother and her cheerful bundle of joy!

Look how cute he is! He certainly loves to be carried and hugged.

A child is so lovable.

It's so easy to love babies. Giving them sufficent attention should not be a problem. Yet, many problems arise in this world because someone neglected the children or did not give them the right attention.

Dangers to babies.

Almost everyone would agree that honey is good because of its nutrients. Besides its antibacterial effect which helps to heal wounds and cuts, it contains antioxidant properties. Easily digested, it boosts energy levels of athletes fast.

However, when it comes to babies up to a year of age, parents must be aware that honey can cause infant botulism due to allergic reactions which may lead to death.

Do you know that apple seeds contain amygdalins, a cyanide and sugar compound that degrades into hydrogen cyanide when metabolized? Fortunately, the cyanide and sugar compound is not easily available as you need to chew and break up the seed to avail yourself of it. According to the experts, a cup of seeds, chewed or mashed up, when ingested, can be fatal for adults. How many seeds, chewed or mashed, can be fatal or bring problems for a child when ingested?

According to a report in Healthy Lifestyle (1998), there was a case of cyanide poisoning in a woman with apricot kernels. It seems peach seeds present the same problem.

Besides, seeds, when swallowed accidentally, can cause problems to passageways of lungs and intestines of children.

In ionizing radiation, food is exposed briefly to radiant energy such as gamma rays. Ionising radiation is necessary to reduce spoilage or sprouting in food as plants, fruits and seeds cannot continue their natural ripening or aging. It can kill or stop the microorganisms, such as bacteria, virus parasites and insects, from multiplying or continuing their activities.

According to the US Food and Drugs Administration, Irradiation of food does not make food radioactive, does not cause harmful chemical changes but may cause some loss of nutrients which is similar other methods of food processing.

For further reading go to:
www.fda.gov/opacom/catalog/irradbro.html

However, there was a report of chromosomal abnormalities occurring in children from India who had been fed freshly irradiated wheat.

In fact early research by the US government revealed a wide range of health problems in animals which ate irradiated food. Animals died of premature death, fatal internal bleeding, cancer, stillbirth and other reproductive problems.

Experts revealed that not or microorganisms or virus die through irradiation. For example, prion which causes mad-cow disease and hepatitis virus as well as the Norwalk virus are not killed.

So, when there is no clear cut evidence on the safety of a food processing method, parents ought to be cautious.

For further information, go to:
www.mercola.com/article/irradiated/irradiated_food.htm

Bath time for your baby can be joyous, but never leave your precious child, even for a minute, in the tub of water as it can be a tragedy. Once in a while, we have read of mothers; of course it can happen to fathers as well, it is just that most of the time it is the mother who attends to baby; who leave their children in the tub to do some other work. Misfortune strikes at such times; the baby could have moved and slid to have the head go below the surface of the water. The baby struggles but is unable to upright its body and thus drown in the tub. Whenever, we attend to our babies at such times, forget the ringing phone, forget a neighbour’s call at the gate, in fact forget everything else and be one hundred percent attentive to our precious ones. Nothing is more important than them at such times.

I have seen parents leave their very young children on their bicycles or motorcycles as they run into a shop to purchase something. Most times, everything is fine and by the time they return, the child is still safe and sound. Thank God for that! We all know all kinds of everything can happen while we are not around. Somebody may crash into our bicycle or motorbike. The child may be bitten by a mosquito or a sand-fly and moves because of the pain. What can possibly happen? The child may fall from his precarious perch. Well, it has happened before and that parent could be the one who arrogantly claim it can never happen to his child. Any parent must realise that all it takes is one fall, just once, and it could result in brain damage. There is no point in regretting. Even if Lady Luck were to smile upon us, the trauma of the incident will be with the child always. Your child is too precious to risk it.

And just last year, 2008, we read of a family resting in a car under a tree with its air-conditioning on. All the occupants, adults and children, did not live to appreciate any more the warmth of the sun. The carbon monoxide from the engine brought on the tragedy. And that was not the first time death occur under that same conditions. A few years back, a dating couple in a park near Jelutong, Penang Island, passed away in their car in the same manner.

There was a case of a child left in a locked car under a very strong sun succumbing to the heat.So never leave a young child locked in a car.

Unless a test is made on the toys we buy for our children, we can never know if lead had been used for the paint or the plastics. As such a kit to test for lead is expensive, the government, like what is being done in the United States, must test all toys, furniture and things within the reach of young children for lead.

Lead poisoning can happen when the toys our children play with are put into the mouth and this putting into the mouth is a natural action of every young child. Sometimes he might lick the furniture or bite a part of it.

Toxic lead can come from the dust of flexible plastic toys which have been broken down by sunlight, air or detergents. Lead is found in plastics which have been treated with it to make the plastic soft and flexible.

So, as parents, we should as far as possible avoid toys made by countries where there is no ban on lead in paints. If we see paint peel off the toy, we should stop the child from playing with it. There is the danger of the peeled paint being ingested. As for the plastic, if there is deterioration and dust is seen to form, that plastic object should also be discarded.

Lead poisoning can lead to learning disorder and brain damage. Beware for the future of our children rests in our knowledge and wisdom.

Here is another plastic item which can be dangerous, the simple plastic bag. Children, when given the opportunity, like to play with them. They may even imitate some of our masked superheroes and put it onto the head. Plastic bags can cause suffocation if the child inadvertently gets the handles of such bags entangled.

Dangers can come through carelessness, as we have seen in the case of the bath tub. A reversing car with the driver unable to see well what is behind his boot, may go over an unsuspecting infant. This has happened a number of times and sometimes death is the outcome. Before entering the car, we must make sure there are no children behind the car.

Finally, a child must be put into a child’s seat. Once someone put his infant child in the front seat, drove the car down a slope and watched in horror as the child fell forward onto the floorboard of his car. Fortunately for him, the child was not hurt. But, there is no guarantee that everyone will be that lucky.

If there is anything missed out, please be kind enough to put it in as comments. Let us share our knowledge.