Mi Choza De Nipa

By Dr Bill Maier Are you wondering if your 12-month-old is ever going to walk? Babies don’t always develop as quickly as we’d like and parents are natural worrywarts. A good friend of ours recalls watching his 13-month-old boy crawling around the room, while a 10-month-old playmate walked circles around him. At the time, he wondered if something might be wrong with his toddler . Of course, he was worried about nothing. Within a few months, he was running with the rest of his friends. No two babies develop at exactly the same rate, and it has nothing to do with intelligence or maturity. Physical skills are linked directly to brain growth, and brains develop at a pre-determined rate. It’s all written into our genetic make-up. Babies walk and talk when their bodies tell them it’s time. Obviously, nutrition and fitness are important, but beyond that, there’s not much we can do to hurry them along. From TODAY, Voices – Thursday, 07-May-2009

By Dr Bill Maier When it comes to organised sports for kids, there’s the good, the bad, and the downright ugly! Sports can be a great way for kids to keep fit and learn the importance of teamwork and competition. They can develop strength and coordination, and increase their level of self-esteem. Sports also give kids an opportunity to build friendships. And good coaches make great role models. The downside is some parents and coaches focus too much on winning, creating an air of tension and pressure. When kids lose, their self-image takes a beating. And unhealthy competition is a breeding ground for physical and emotional injuries. Team sports are great for kids, but they need to be kept in perspective. Let your children choose which activities they participate in, and get to know their coaches. Praise them when they do well, and praise them when they don’t! It’s only a game, and kids need to see it that way. From TODAY, Voices - Thursday, 23-April-2009

By Dr Bill Maier And you thought it was safe to send your children to the playground! Most parents are pretty good about steering their kids away from outdated equipment and rickety monkey bars, but still, children find a way to get hurt. There are a few important guidelines to remember when sending your children to the playground. First, make sure they have adult supervision. If you cannot be there with them, see that someone else is. Second, check the equipment for safety. Toddlers should never be allowed on anything higher than 1.2 metres, and the ground beneath should have plenty of sand — between 8cm to 23cm is the standard. Finally, watch out for peeling paint, sharp edges or exposed bolts — anything that could cause a cut or splinter. Parents assume most playgrounds are safe, but nothing can replace diligence and careful supervision. From TODAY, Voices – Wednesday, 22-April-2009

From TODAY, Voices Friday, 16-January-2009 Drug and Alcohol-free kids... we would want them to be ours. We have our part to play...

From TODAY, Voices Wednesday, 14-January-2009 Just when you think you knew everything about babies, here is one more advice, a tip that will be of much help... read on...

From TODAY, Voices Monday, 12-January-2009

From FOCUS ON THE FAMILY Today • Monday • June 16, 2008 By Dr Bill Maier Hey parents, if you’re still trying to “argue” your kids into minding, maybe it’s time to try a little “reality discipline”. “Reality discipline” was coined by Dr Kevin Lehman, and it’s all about shifting the responsibility for bad behaviour onto your kids, where it belongs. For instance, let’s say you can’t get your kids to keep their rooms clean. The solution is to clearly write out what’s expected of them in the form of a contract. The contract could go something like this: “Johnny will clean his room to Mum’s expectations before lunch every Saturday. If he fails to do so, he won’t be able to go out with friends for the following week.” You could also add an addendum that Mum will clean Johnny’s room and deduct a certain amount from his allowance. All parties should then sign the contract. What this does is hold Johnny responsible for his actions, and removes the need for argument. When kids know what’s expecte...

from Coffee with Joni Ong, Today, 13 Feb 2008 edition “Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff” The plan was to have six children. So, you can imagine Joni Ong’s disappointment when she couldn’t conceive. Later, in-vitro fertilization treatment gave her twin daughters – now 18 and the first identical twins born under the programme in Singapore . Two more girls (17 and 15) and a boy (12) followed naturally. Today, Ms Ong is president of ‘I Love Children’, a group set up in 2005 to advocate and celebrate parenthood. The vivacious mum, community member, human resource consultant and “other half” of MP Ong Kian Min, tells Sheralyn Tay (of Times) about the joys and challenges of parenting, and juggling roles. A bona fide supermum. How d’you do it? I’m not a supermum (laughs), just a mother who loves being a mother. How do I do it? I have “me” time. My husband is very supportive and… I have a very good bunch of girlfrien...

From FOCUS ON THE FAMILY, Today, 15-Feb-2008 Edition by Dr Bill Maier "KEEPING KIDS INNOCENT" Here's one of my biggest worries -- how am I going to keep my kids from some of the corrupting influences in our sex-saturated culture? If you're a parent of young kids, I'm sure you worry about the same thing. It seems you can't turn on the TV without being assaulted by profanity, violence and sexual images. Even many so-called "family shows" aren't safe to watch with your kids. And a lot of secular music these days has reached an all-time low on the morality scale. So, what is a parent to do? First of all, we need to pay attention. It's naive to think that our kids aren't affected by what they see and hear. Our first job as parents is to monitor what they're watching and listening to. Young kids should never be allowed to flip through TV channels or surf the Internet without supervision. And finally, we need to talk to our kids about making...