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The following blog post was submitted by Lalith Perera - father to two grown up sons and my father's eldest brother, residing in Sri Lanka.

CHILDCARE

"Children will not remember you for the material things you provided, but for the feeling that you cherished them. "

CHILDCARE or Baby care is the act of caring for and supervising children. For instance, in the United States childcare is increasingly referred to, as 'early childhood education' due to the understanding of the impact of early experiences of the developing child.

The three main types of childcare options for most American working families include in-home care, family child care and child care centres. Many American working families are two job households and this means that childcare is often delegated to 'Child minders ' or creches on a full-time or part-time basis. The child is watched inside their or the child-carer's home reducing exposure to outside children and illnesses, thus making parental vigilance essential in choosing an appropriate 'Caregiver'.

Breastfeeding is always considered a very important aspect of childcare.

Breastfeeding

In our own country Sri Lanka, 98 percent of child births take place in hospitals and almost 80 percent of the infants receive breast milk within the first hour of birth and 75 percent of infants receive only breast milk during their first six months. Sri Lanka is well ahead of other countries across the globe when it comes to breastfeeding and health indicators.

Free health services and high literary rate of the public are some of the reasons that stand behind Sri Lanka's success.

No company in the world has ever produced a substitute to breast milk. Scientific studies have revealed that during different times of the day the nutrients of the breast milk change and the milk offer different nutrients at different times of the day. The infant receives different nutrients when it sucks breast milk from mother at different times (morning, mid-day, evening, night, etc.)

In some hospitals mothers do not have a proper environment to breastfeed their babies. It is very important to establish such an environment and train health staff to assist mothers to breastfeed.

Educating policy makers on the importance of breastfeeding is essential.

Every dawn with the crackle of the first crow, a feeling that flashes across the minds of young Mothers and Nannies will be the routine and the time table one draws up for the day pertaining to childcare.

A mother quite naturally takes a great deal of pride over her new born child and will be prouder than a hen that had laid its first clutch of eggs in looking after her baby. Therefore, the mother will often prefer to offer the breast than the bottle, when it comes to feeding during infancy.

There are numerous methods of breastfeeding and some of them are highlighted hereunder.

Rugby Tackle Hold.

If the baby prefers to suckle one breast over the other, try tricking her by holding her in the 'rugby tackle' position. For example, if the right breast is the favourite, then position the baby as if the baby was going to be fed from the right breast but move her to the left breast and place her around the mothers body under her left arm.

Breast to bottle

Some babies can be reluctant to take milk from a bottle after being breastfed. If the mother decides to offer her baby a bottle, it can be made easier by asking a trusted friend or a family member to do it on behalf of the mother until the baby is used to it, if the mother has to do it herself, try putting the baby in a car seat and holding the bottle away from the mother. If the mother holds the baby in the traditional way, the baby is more likely to refuse the bottle expecting the breast.

Drinks

When you are breastfeeding, you do not need to offer your child extra fluids, which means it can be difficult to remember that you do not need to give your child water if you change to bottle feeding. When you are making up your bottles, make up an extra one with just water and leave it on your baby's high chair - this will help you to remember.

Milk Feed First

Try giving your baby a drink half an hour before a solid meal time. This way the baby will not be thirsty when it is time to eat and will be happier to take her solids. If you are breastfeeding, this will ensure that you are offering your baby adequate milk and if you are bottle feeding, you can be sure the baby is having enough fluids.

Milk Measuring

When you are starting to give your baby solids and you are bottle feeding, it can be difficult to keep track of how much milk your baby is getting, so instead of making up of bottles, simply make up 1 pt. formula and keep it in a sterilized covered jug in the fridge. Dose out feed from this jug and mix it into her solids. This way you will easily be able to calculate how much more milk you need to fit in at any point in the day.

Portion sizes

Try to be guided by your baby's appetite and not by what you think the baby should be eating. A baby will tell you when he/she has had enough.

Dummy versus thumb

If the baby cries a lot, a dummy can be a wonderful relief, when the baby is too young to find its own thumb. It is worth deciding before you offer your child a dummy whether you would prefer the baby to suck its own thumb, as it will be difficult to change from dummy to thumb later. There are benefits to both:

1. A dummy can be taken away, when you feel the child is old enough to be without one, while thumb sucking can be more difficult to stop.

2. With younger babies, you can be regularly woken in the night to find a lost dummy, but once baby is able to find its own thumb, you never need to worry about loosing it.

3. If your baby drops a dummy certainly in the early days, it will need sterilizing; a thumb doesn't.

One further point to consider if you are breastfeeding, giving your child a dummy can sometimes prevent the child from wanting to suckle.

Natural painkiller

Breastfeeding can act as a drug free painkiller for baby because it causes the release of natural pain relieving hormones called endorphins into their system. So if your baby is hurt, try offering the breast immediately, as this will often calm him more quickly than a cuddle or medicine.

If you are not breastfeeding then a dummy or drink from a bottle will also work.

Immunizations

Try to make your appointment for a time just before your baby needs feeding. This way you can comfort your child with a feed immediately afterwards. In fact, if you are breastfeeding, you could try feeding your baby through its injection and if you are lucky your child might not even notice the jab.

Swaddling

Young babies love to to be swaddled. It gives them a feeling of security and helps them sleep. Use a light cellular blanket or a sheet and wrap them firmly with their arms either by their sides or across their chest, placing them on their back. If the baby is particularly difficult to settle down, try swaddling them and whispering a steady rhythmic' whoosh, whoosh, whoosh' sound close to their ear. This can calm a fretful baby quite quickly.

The repeated whooshing is a similar sound to those heard in the womb and this familiarity will help to make a baby feel more secure.

Cry baby

Listen to your baby's cries before you offer comfort. Try to learn to differentiate between them. In time you will learn a hungry cry from a tired cry, a painful cry from a bored one. This skill will help you to understand your baby's needs more effectively.

Clothes

Emergency Supplies

When you think you know how many clothes the newborn needs, double it and add some more. Go to the local market/second hand baby shop and buy as many babygrows and vests as you can. They don't have to look nice; they just have to be clean. Keep them in a bag for emergencies and if you don't use them, you can always donate them to charity, but there is nothing worse than running out of clothes.

Changing Bag

Check and refill your baby changing bag every evening.

Changing Mat

One of the very first purchases should be a plastic covered changing mat. Do not whatever you do, attempt to change your baby directly on top of your duvet or in fact anything that needs to be washed.

Nappy change

Do make sure, you have everything you need to hand, before attempting to change a nappy. Most importantly ensure you have enough baby wipes or cotton wool ready.

In the line of fire

A Mother or a Nanny should never position herself in the line of fire when changing the newborn's nappy; when the baby decides to go (and it is usually when you are changing her nappy), it escapes with the force of a bullet from a gun, so the Mother or the Nanny should always stand sideways on.

Nappy rash

When a baby has a nappy rash, you can help assist a speedy recovery by simply putting on a layer of Vaseline over the top of your usual nappy cream. This serves two purposes: it keeps your baby's bottom completely water proof and helps to prevent the cream rubbing off on the Nappy.

Baby bath

If it is possible, get in the bath with the baby. If you sit in the bath resting the baby on your knees, you can use both hands to wash your baby and you both benefit from that lovely skin to skin contact. You must also remember to wrap baby up in a warm towel whilst you are getting out.

Socks for Mittens

Forget about Mittens for babies, use socks instead: they are much cheaper to replace and if you buy a value pack of the same colour, you will always have a pair to hand. They are also less bulky and if your child chews her fingers and soaks her 'glove' just replace it as necessary.

Crawling

This is one of the most exciting times in a baby's life. As soon as the little one has discovered that he is able to move around unaided, life becomes suddenly more interesting. The saying that 'you must have eyes in the back of your head' really holds true here. No longer can a Mother or a Nanny put baby down in the middle of the living room floor, go to answer the front door and know for certain that he will be right there where you left him when you return. Safety suddenly, becomes an immediate issue, stair gates, fireguards, cupboard locks and even the toilet brush becomes a danger.

Mothers and Nannies must be ever vigilant on all these matters.

Precautionary steps must also be taken to avoid the following situations.

Well known Child Specialists have vigorously campaigned for the scraping of milestones, such as requiring five year olds to be able to write their own name and use punctuations as they now consider such requirements as unfair ' Toddler targets' which could result in very unpleasant repercussions due to mental stress.

Studies also indicate that about 1.5 million children under the age of five die each year because of water and sanitation related diseases. Every endeavour must therefore be made by the relevant authorities to overcome such chaotic conditions forthwith.

The following valuable information should always be borne in mind.

1. At birth, a baby's brain contains 14 billion cells and this number does not increase till death.

2. Babies are born with approximately 300 bones.

3. Babies are born without kneecaps, which form only at the age of 2 to 6.

4. The strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue.

5. Finger nails grow four times faster than toenails.

A reputed company in the United States - Celebrities Staffing Services, which supplies a steady stream of Nannies to the rich and famous have advised their clients mostly celebrities, not only have one Nanny, but one for each child. Such is the emphasis laid in the United States for childcare.

Finally, all those who indulge in childcare work in all earnest should take serious note of the following advice too.

"There is a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstances permit. However, when you are committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results."

In view of the foregoing, Childcare should retain its ethos and traditions at any cost and should not permit it to be boring, dull or even a huge yawn.

Children will not remember you for the material things you provided, but for the feeling that you cherished them.

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LALITH PERERA