Parenting 101: 30 November 2012

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 eating vegetables and teeth brushing, among other things.  

* 16 days of activism for No Violence Against Women and Children is an international campaign that takes place yearly from 25th November. Ways to make changes are to report child abuse, encourage silent female victims to seek help and to look at personal attitudes that could be sexist.

* The taste buds on the tongue are receptive to green vegetables from 7 months of age. I encourage all my clients to up the greens from this age. The more you expose your child to different tastes and flavours the more likely it is that they’ll eat these veggies later in life.

* Two things are not negotiable when raising children: the one is car seats and the other is brushing teeth. Start brushing twice daily once the first few teeth appear, a firm hold, a quick effective brush whilst singing very loudly may be necessary to drown out the protests.

* Education from playschool level includes protecting the environment and ‘being green’, support this at home by having a vegetable garden. Prepare and plant chosen veggies with your child in their special area and teach them how to tend to them. Carrots, tomatoes and strawberries are fun.

* To develop skills that will help develop your child’s speech, Talk to your newborn, Play peek – a – boo with your 3 – 6 month old, Say nursery rhymes to your 9 month old and Sing songs with your 1 year old.

* 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.