The Daily Dos and Don’ts of Smart Parents for Their Smart Babies

The Daily Dos and Don’ts of Smart  Parents for Their Smart Babies

Thomas Edison once said: “Genius is one percent inspiration, and 99 percent perspiration.”

This applies to both the baby and the parents. Perspiration means effort and endeavor, both of which involve consistent and considerable time consumption. Do spend time with your baby if you want him to be smart. If you are the parents who wish your baby to become a super baby—not necessarily a genius or prodigy someday—there are many things you have to do, as well as many things you shouldn’t do.

Repetitions

Do repeat and repeat. Repetitions strengthen the neural pathways in your baby’s brain. Do any activity with your baby again and yet again.

Do encourage your baby to repeat his activities again and yet again.

Don’t stop an activity just because your baby has already acquired the skills or learned how to do it. Repeat it not only to reinforce it but also to improve his memory skills. 

Don’t get bored yourself. Instead, do observe the subtle differences in the repetitions of those activities to better understand how your baby has managed and mastered those memory skills.

Stimulations

Do give your baby stimulations as many and as often as possible. Any physical stimulation enhances brain cells and motor skills development in your baby.

Do stimulate your baby’s auditory sensations. Do speak in different tones: whispering and shouting (of course, don’t frighten your baby).

Do articulate your words slowly, syllable by syllable. Do sing to your baby, even creating your own words and rhythms.

Do touch your baby as often as possible, especially his fingers and toes.

Do create movements: exaggerated facial expressions; clapping hands; and even jumping up and down.

Do vary your stimulations, the types, as well as the duration.

Do encourage your baby to respond to your different stimulations. If he makes noises, let him. If he smiles, repeat it.

The bottom line: don’t let your baby get bored; but don’t over-stimulate your baby (no more than 5 minutes each time).

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Enhance and Protect the Immune System Throughout the Pregnancy

Enhance and Protect the Immune System Throughout the Pregnancy

Do enhance and protect the immune system of the baby and the mother throughout the pregnancy, in particular, the overall health and well-being of the baby before and after birth.

    

The Dos and Don’ts

Do eat only living foods: fresh, whole, and, preferably, organic foods. Don’t eat processed foods (supermarket foods), which are loaded with colorings, preservatives, and taste enhancers.

Do eat sea salt, which is loaded with minerals. Don’t eat table salt (why not: research showed that increased salt intake proportionately increases cancer risk in the bladder, esophagus, and stomach).  

Do get your sugar from fruits and vegetables. Don’t take refined sugar or, worse, artificial sugars, such as aspartame, saccharin, or sucralose (why not: they are more dangerous than refined sugar, because they are loaded with chemicals that impair the immune system).

chew your food thoroughly—at least 10-15 times before swallowing (why: thorough chewing activates enzymes for better digestion facilitates the absorption of vitamins and nutrients, and reduces the production of stomach acid, which is a source of heartburn).

    

Foods to Boost the Immune System

Apples

  

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Do eat two to three apples a day to keep you healthy throughout your pregnancy (why: the pectin in apples may decrease your cholesterol levels, facilitate your bowel movements to keep you internally clean and to avoid constipation, which may be common during your pregnancy, and improve your lung function).

  

Don’t peel the apples (why not: the nutrients are in the skin). Get organic apples, if possible, to avoid pesticides.

Brown Rice

  

Do eat brown rice, which is one of the few pain-safe foods (foods that do not trigger body pain). It is one of the best staple foods for lowering high blood sugar. Brown rice is loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, and nutrients essential for a healthy pregnancy.

  

Don’t get white rice (why not: while rice is stripped of its nutrients).

Sea Vegetables

  

Do add sea vegetables to your salads and soups (why: sea vegetables have more concentrated nutrients, such as calcium, iron, and protein, than land vegetables).

Sweet Potatoes and Yams

  

Do include sweet potatoes and yams in your daily diet (why: sweet potatoes and yams are rich in beta-carotene, fiber, protein, vitamin C, and DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone)—a precursor hormone).

The Burdock and Daikon Drink for a Healthier Immune System

  

Burdock root has been used as both food and medicine in Asia and Europe for thousands of years. Recently, it has been used as a nourishing tonic for cancer, liver disease, and rheumatism. Burdock root is a staple diet of the Japanese, who are among the peoples with the longest lifespan in the world.

 

Fresh burdock root is available at many greengrocers, Asian supermarkets, and natural food stores in the United States.

  

Daikon is Japanese radish. Its phytochemicals have recognized healing and anti-carcinogenic properties: it cleanses the blood (the kidneys); it promotes energy circulation; it increases the metabolic rate (a weight loss remedy in Asia); it decongests the lungs, clears sore throat, colds, and edema.

These are the ingredients to make the burdock and daikon drink:

One burdock root (about 24 inches long)

One daikon with green tops

One small carrot with green tops

Here is how to prepare the drink:

Cut all ingredients into small pieces.

Place them in a pot with water double the volume of the ingredients.

Bring to a boil.

Pour out the content, and drink it.

You can repeat the process one more time. This time, after bringing it to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer it for another 20 minutes. Let the ingredients steep in the hot water for another 20 minutes before drinking it.

    

The burdock and daikon drink is a healthy drink for the immune system throughout the pregnancy. Do follow the Asian wisdom for a healthy pregnancy.

    

Stephen Lau

A Better and Happier You in 2018

A Better and Happier You in 2018

There is an old Latin axiom: “nemo dat quod non habet” — meaning, one cannot give what one does not have.

If you don’t have the wisdom to know your real self, you won’t have the wisdom to understand others, especially who they are and what they need. In order to understand others to have better human relationships, you must first and foremost have the wisdom attained through asking self-intuitive questions throughout your life.

Then, with mindfulness, you observe with a nonjudgmental mind what is happening to you, as well as around you. Gradually, you will be able to see things as what they really are, and not as what they may seem to you: anything and everything in life follows its own natural cycle, just as the day becomes night, and the night transformed into dawn. With that wisdom, you may become enlightened, which means you begin to know your true self—what you have and what you don’t have, and you were created to be who you are, and not what you wish you were or want to become. Knowing what you have, you can then give it to others. It is the giving, rather than the receiving, that will make you become a better and happier you in 2018.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau