Parenting 101: 25 February 2013

Jenni Johnson, our resident ‘Baby Whisperer’, has been a practicing child-care practitioner for 15 years, and owns a busy ante and post natal clinic in Durban. This week she talks about bullying and lunchtimes, among other things.

* If you're exclusively breastfeeding it's best to give nothing but breastmilk - even in hot weather. Once formula has been introduced it’s fine to offer sips of water from a bottle for a baby under 10 months old - or a sippy cup. I like to encourage water as the best fluid to drink. Your baby may not like it initially but if you persevere you’ll have taught your child to prefer water rather than juice or colddrinks.

* I read an interesting article on teaching children why it is not nice to bully. A good exercise to do with your children 4 years and older: ask them to take a piece of paper and crumple it up, stamp on it and mess it up but not to rip it. Then ask them to straighten the paper and to notice how dirty and scarred it is. After getting them to see how they’ve damaged it, apologise to it and point out to them that although they are sorry all the scars are left behind forever.

* It’s easy to fall into the habit of saying to a small child: ‘Do you want to sit down and have your lunch?’ The trouble is that the natural response of the child, particularly between ages 1-3, is ‘No’. If you’re having this problem when it’s time for lunch, lead or carry your child to the table, still chatting about the thing that was on the child’s mind before. You’ll have saved a 1000 words.

* If you don’t want to hear it repeated don’t say it! Children have the most amazing ability to copy your worst language or to repeat your worst observations about people who annoy you. Children’s ears are also uncannily good when you’re having a gossip in the next room or sneakily eating a sweet behind their backs!

* For party fare for one-year-olds, set up an eye-level table with dry cereal like Oatees or coco pops, some tiny sandwiches, squares of cheese, tiny sausages plus a bowl of fruit with watermelon pieces, strawberry, mango and small bunches of grapes that will be squished and squashed and eaten with relish.

* Catch Jenni on-air every day just after 10am with her tip of the day.

At Jenni’s ante and post natal clinic in Durban, parents are taught a system that gives them structure and routine to the baby and childhood years. Jenni has a nursing background. She’s a registered nurse, midwife, psychiatric nurse and private nurse practitioner.

Jenni’s online clinic, can be accessed online via www.jennisays.com. For appointments, e-mail [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter via @JenniSays or on Facebook by 'liking' The Berea Baby Clinic.