Healthy Child, Happy Child

Health is wealth.  In fact, possibly health is the only wealth we can successfully build in a conscious manner. I often tell my son it is sort of like a life insurance account – unless you put in, you can’t take out. You’ve got to invest constantly to build on and benefit from, in the long run. Miss a premium, and we pay heavily in doctor’s bills, not to mention the physical suffering. And we cannot deny that a healthy child is a happy child.

The last couple of weeks have been somewhat “in limbo” for us, what with falling sick one after the other. First it was me with viral fever combined with food poisoning where I found out how it felt to be a total rag. It was a drag. Then it was Sury taking over, like a relay race, and he’s recovering now. And now, it is the light of our lives, Vidur, who is suffering his own health issues with a dry cough that has turned into a sore throat.

November and December and January are not easy months where we live, because it is the time when the dust levels, allergy and pollen is maximum in the air. The school campus has the highest level and of course, we’ll find children in various stages of cold and cough as they carry on with their routine, regardless. I love that about them. A physical ailment that lets them come to school does not deter them from playing or being happy. There’s a lesson there for the rest of us.

And so, as a now regular contributor to Parentous my post was naturally about health.

Healthy Child, Happy Child

Few quotes are more appropriate to parenting than this one.

 

“Worrying is like a ROCKING CHAIR, it gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere” – Unknown

 

And if there is one thing parents worry about most, it is the health of their children. I am no exception. The anxiety of ensuring that I was doing the right thing was almost palpable at home. Added to that, all the stories we heard about the negative effects of junk food – read chocolates, chips, fizzy drinks, crazy bakery products.

 

Now, my son suffered from severe wheezing until he was about eight years old. This is a common ailment in the city we live in. Every other day, we’d be running to the doctor and return home, armed with a prescription for inhalers, antibiotics and syrups.

 

Getting him to swallow that syrup was a major challenge. So I had a brilliant idea (or so I thought). I got a large syringe and used it (without the needle of course) to squirt the syrup right into his mouth. The next thing I knew – he would instantly squirt it back on me, value adding the contents of his tummy to it.

To read the rest of this post, may I please request you to visit Healthy Child, Happy Child

I would love to know what you think.

I often fantasize about a world where children under five are blessed with health and as they grow up, receive the gift of a strong immune system from the Almighty. Not to much to ask, is it?

Also, my heart goes out today to the parents of the victims at the Connecticut school massacre. My thoughts and prayers are with them. What motivates a heinous act like this? How could someone bring themselves to hurt little children? I felt miserable waking up to this tragic news today and could stop the tears, thinking of all the plans, all the dreams they must have had.

Please let us consciously practice being more loving and strive for a peaceful world. It is time to:

• Let go of grudges
• Say our I love yous
• Be more tolerant
• Forget petty issues
• Say goodbye to hate
• Stop worrying
• Live better, consciously
• Be kind

I am hugging my child a little extra tight today.

P.S.: Here are some posts that have tips to cope with tragedy:

• Resources to help parents, teachers and children cope in the aftermath of school shootings
• Sending Love to Sandy Hook
• Talking to children about death
• Newtown, Connecticut: Grief, meaning, and the questions before us
• Prayers for the Sandy Hook Elementary School Community