Food Choices and Pregnancy

Food choice holds the key to having a healthy pregnancy. Always eat naturally to avoid seeing the doctors. Always eat whole foods. Your food choice should be based on nutrients, neither availability nor convenience. Processed foods offer you nothing except convenience.

There are many reasons why you should avoid processed foods:

(1) Processed foods are dead foods, devoid of nutrients. For example, bleached flour lacks nutrients, and it contains unnatural products.

(2) Processed foods are often loaded with salt, and high levels of salt lead to high blood pressure. Remember, the salt in processed foods is not natural sea salt, but chemicals that contain brain-toxic aluminum.

(3) Processed foods often require high level of processing, which not only removes anti-cancer agents that may be present in the food, but also produces cancer-causing heterocylic amines during high-heat processing. In other words, processed foods provide an environment promoting cancer growth.

(4) During food processing, fiber is degraded, if not totally removed. Fiber is beneficial to the removal of pollutants and toxins from the body.

(5) During food processing, unnatural toxic amino acids are formed, and they may adversely affect the production of DNA.

(6) Processed foods are often loaded with trans-fatty acids and other oxidized fats that damage the arteries, and thus affecting heart health as well as brain health due to clogged arteries. In addition, neurotoxic chemicals are one of the causes of dementia and Parkinson's disease.

(7) Simple sugars are often added to most processed foods. The high levels of simple sugars affect mental alertness when blood glucose levels drop. In addition, artificial sweeteners not only affect the absorption of amino acids by the brain, but also cause toxicity and hyperactivity in children.

Most food items in the supermarket that come in a box or carton are processed foods. In grocery shopping, read the food labels before any purchase. If they contain chemicals or terms unfamiliar to you, they are additives, colorings, and taste enhancers. If the main ingredients contain more than five items, you can forget about that food item - it is processed!

To have a healthy pregnancy, you need wisdom not only in food choice but also in living. Get a copy of my book: The Book of Life and Living for more information on healthy living.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

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Enhance Immune System for Healthy Pregnancy

Do Enhance and Protect the Immune System

Do enhance and protect the immune system of the baby and the mother during 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).

Do 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).

Don't Get Depressed!

Becoming pregnant or being a mother may cause emotional trauma that results in depression. In this contemporary world, more and more people have become vulnerable to this disorder. Remember, medications cannot and will not solve your emotional problems over the long haul. 

My Way! No Way! TAO Is The Way!

TAO Wisdom To Live And Survive In A World Of Depression

This book is perhaps one the few books with an unconventional approach to depression, a universal mind disorder. Instead of the conventional ways of avoiding depression with distractions, such as exercise, suppressing its symptoms with affirmations and visualizations, and elevating its depressive moods with medications, this 180-page book uses the ancient wisdom from China, what is known as TAO wisdom, to experience anything and everything in depression, that is, going through every aspect of depression.  

TAO wisdom may enlighten you so that you can ultimately free yourself from depression, or at least look at your own depression very differently.

Here is the INTRODUCTION to the book:

“TAO is neither a religion nor a philosophy.

TAO is simply a way of life about the Way of life, that is, a general way of thinking about everything in life. It is a pathless path of humanity to live as if everything is a miracle.

TAO is the Way through anything and everything in life in order to fully experience them and live in balance and harmony. TAO is not about avoiding or getting out of anything unhappy and undesirable in everyday life, such as depression; rather, it is about going through depression by experiencing every aspect of it in order to become enlightened, if possible, with the profound human wisdom to continue living in peace and harmony in a world of depression.

TAO is looking at life not as a series of both happy and unhappy episodes, but simply as a journey of self-discovery and self-awakening to the real meaning of life existence. You are defined not by your words and thoughts, but by the ways you act and react, as well as the impact you may have on others around you. You exist not because you are simply here; you are here in this world to love and to learn how to live, as well as to help one another do the same.

TAO is formless, shapeless, and inexplicable in words; after all, it had existed long before there were even words. TAO is infinite human wisdom, which is a pathless path to the infinity and the origin of all things.

TAO is not about making your life any easier; it is about acceptance of all aspects of your humanity that need to be fully experienced, embraced, and then to be let go of in order to become wholesome at other times of your life and living—that is the essence of TAO wisdom, which is true enlightenment of the human mind."

Click here to get your Amazon digital copy today!

Stephen Lau

Teaching Your Smart Kid to Read

Smart kids are not born, but made. Therefore, as a smart parent, if you want to make your kid smart intellectually, you must begin teaching your kid to read at an early age, as early as possible. From my own experience, I began teaching my daughter to read when she was only eight months old. I have written this book based on my past experience. 

29 Smart Steps to Teach Your Smart Kid to Read

This 117-page is based on how I taught my daughter to read some 30 years ago. 

Like all proud parents, I was and still am proud of the fact that I could teach her how to read when she just turned three (most children learn at the age of five). The TV and all electronic devices may not be as effective as YOU, the parent, to teach your child through everyday intellectual interactions, games, and activities. 

This book provides 29 steps that could begin as early as your baby is one-month-old. My daughter became a proficient reader when she was five (reading books with little or no illustrations). By seven, she would not let me teach her anything -- she could find everything from books. It paid off and it's worth all the initial efforts in teaching her to become an early reader. Now she's an attorney in the United States.  I wrote this book because she has recently become a mother herself, and that's why I wrote this book to share my experience some three decades ago.

Also, read my book" Make Your Smart Baby Super Smart.

Stephen Lau

Which Type of Parenting for Smart Babies?

Smart babies come smart parents, who know how to raise and nurture smart babies. However, to be smart parents, you must know your real self.

“Knowing others is intelligence.

Knowing ourselves is true wisdom.

Overcoming others is strength.

Overcoming ourselves is true power.”

Lao Tzu, “Tao Te Ching” (chapter 33)

Lao Tzu, the ancient sage from China, rightfully said that to know one’s true self is not easy: it requires profound wisdom. Sometimes we think that we know ourselves—who we really are—but in fact we don’t. Asking probing and self-intuitive questions may help us get to the bottom of the truth about ourselves.

Who are you as a parent?

First and foremost, best parents are not infallible; nobody is perfect, and you are no exception.

Look back at your own childhood. You may have been influenced by how your parents acted towards you. There might have been positive and negative experiences. Now, your goal as a parent is to emulate the positive aspects of your parents, and to avoid repeating their mistakes.

Types of Parenting

Parenting style generally falls into three types, although there may be overlaps and variations.

Authoritative Parents

Authoritative parents often provide an environment of freedom and democracy. They set rules and regulations that their children must follow or obey. However, within these boundaries, children are encouraged to act, speak, and think independently without any restrain or restriction. Authoritative parents are always in control of their children, but they also encourage from their children’s verbal exchange and creative thinking based on different situations and circumstances.

Authoritative parents generally produce happy, smart, and self-reliant children.

Permissive Parenting

Permissive parents are generally accepting and non-punitive regarding their children’s attitudes and behaviors. In many ways, their children’s actions and reactions, as well as their desires and impulses control and determine the parent-child relationships. The only drawbacks are that these children tend to become less self-reliant and initiating.

Authoritarian Parenting

Authoritarian parents are always much in control of the behaviors of their children based on their own standards; they attempt to shape the growth and development of their children. Other than obedience, there is not much room for any compromise or even flexibility. Children under authoritarian parents are generally distrustful, discontented, and withdrawn. Worse, they often become rebellious in adolescence.

The style of parenting is based on the parents’ beliefs, values, personality, and upbringing. To make your baby smart, you need to give him an environment of safety, peace and harmony. Parenting, like marriage, is partnership; make sure that both of you are on the same page.

Which type of parenting do you belong to?

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Knowing Your Baby's Personality

To make your baby smarter, you need to know your baby's personality, and change it if need be.

Observing and Bonding 

Your baby grows incredibly fast. Observing your baby’s unique personality development is critically important. In general, babies may be grouped into three types: the easy, the slow, and the difficult.

If your baby is “easy,” congratulations! You must have done an excellent job throughout your pregnancy. If your baby happens to be “slow” or even “difficult,” don’t get disheartened; you just need more energy and effort to help your baby turn around to live up to his fullest potentials and to reach his personal best.

How do you know which classificatiogen your baby may fall into during the first few weeks?

For one thing, there are no hard-and-fast rules governing each classification. Just do your best to observe your baby’s behavior, personality, and temperament.

Types of Baby

Easy Babies

Easy babies usually eat and sleep well, and they are generally very responsive to your attention and the environment. In addition, they do not cry that often, and are less irritable.

Slow Babies

Slow babies take time to warm up, as well as to respond to your attention and the environment. They generally smile less often, and require a stronger stimulus or greater attention.

Difficult Babies

Difficult babies cry a lot during their sleep. They fuss a great deal during their waking time; they scream and struggle, and are more difficult to be comforted.

Which type does your baby fall into? Pay attention to how your baby eats and sleeps, how your baby moves his arms and legs, how your baby reacts to the environment with different sounds. Be very observant of your baby’s unique behavior and personality development.

Does your baby react strongly and quickly to different sounds?

Is your baby eager to touch, grasp, and mouth anything within his reach?

Is your baby easily contented?

Is your baby moving a lot?

Does your baby easily become restless during sleep?

Does your baby easily become accustomed to any new stimulus?

Finding answers to the above questions may help you know the personality of your baby. For example, if you ring a bell, and your baby easily becomes accustomed to the sound of a bell—that is, without becoming startled or turning his head; that means your baby has the capability to “block out” the distraction and to concentrate on something new or specific. This is often a positive sign of early cognitive development.

Remember, nothing is set in stone: you can always help your baby grow out of any type.  

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Make Your Smart Baby Super Smart - Emotional Intelligence

All parents want their babies to develop and grow up smart. Smartness has much to do with the genes of the parents: that is, how much time they are willing to spend on cultivating an environment for their babies to grow and learn.

The following is taken from my book: Make Your Smart Baby Super Smart:

The first three years are critical to emotional intelligence and intellectual development that ultimately affect and shape the adult life of your baby.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the use of mental skills to understand, perceive, and explain certain human emotions and feelings in order to promote better thinking and to enhance greater cognitive activities. Most importantly, it helps an adult to manage his or her own emotions in a positive way—this is vital to living a happy life through better relationships and greater understanding of others.

Building emotional health and personal identity of your baby is the groundwork of his subsequent emotional intelligence.

Do give your baby the best first three years of his life. Do understand that your interactions with your baby define his expectations of the world, and shape his attitudes towards life in general.

According to famous psychologist Erik Erikson, trust holds the key to openness to new experiences, and new opportunities for leaning; your baby’s trust stems from being loved and nurtured, as well as feeling safe and secure, in the first few years of his life. Do give your baby that love and sense of security. Remember, you can never turn back the clock.

A baby’s feeling of trust is built upon good bonding between the baby and the parents. These are some of the dos and don’ts to build your baby’s trust:

Do establish direct physical contact: do make every effort to snuggle your baby as much and as often as possible. According to research studies, babies at age two, having had better bonding with their parents, demonstrate better social and problem-solving skills, as well as more creativity in their play.

Do spend time with your baby. One interesting study found that one common characteristic of all who did well in the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SATs): they all ate dinner with their parents on a regular basis. If you must go to work, make sure that your spouse or the grandparents can spend some time with your baby.

Do learn to read and interpret your baby’s signals to communicate his needs to you, and respond appropriately. Do teach him sign language so that he can communicate with you even before he can speak.

Do meet all your baby’s needs. You can spoil a toddler or a child, but you can never spoil a baby. Secure emotions enhance the development of emotional intelligence in the brain. Do make every effort to meet his needs to help his brain develop his emotional intelligence at an early age.

Do create a stress-free environment for your baby. Don’t argue or fight in front of your baby. Stress increases your baby’s hormone cortisol, which can make your baby become anxious, impulsive, and hyperactive later on as he grows up.

Do provide affirmative messages to your baby. Before three years old, your baby will instinctively absorb all messages you send him, and will automatically internalize them in his subconscious mind. Repeat and repeat as often as possible affirmative messages, such as “You’re a smart kid” or “You’re super smart; you can do anything you want to.” Do make use of this timeframe to help him create a positive self-image. Don’t say any damaging remark no matter how frustrating you are with his behavior; he will remember your words for the rest of his life even though you may not mean what you say.

Do teach your two-year-old (known as “terrible two”) self-control; his personality may have become defiant and uncooperative because he is learning and struggling with his own self-control. Do respond with a clear and definitive “No!” followed by a calm explanation; this may help your child understand why he cannot always have his way. Don’t criticize or physically intervene his action while losing your temper; you may be cultivating his defiance towards authority figures.

Do teach your baby orderliness, which is putting things where they belong. For example, you can show your toddler where to put his toys or how to clean up after playtime. Orderliness will help him see how the world works later as he grows up. Your child needs to get the satisfaction from doing things himself, such as cleaning and tidying his room or playroom. Don’t spoil your child by doing everything yourself.   

Intellectual Development

You are the most important role model for your baby’s intellectual development. If you like to read, your child will learn to read at any early age.

My Own Reflection

Wanting my daughter to have the best intellectual development, I began teaching her how to read as early as she was eight months old. Surprisingly, she learned how to read as soon as she was thirty months old. Before long, she could read faster than I. My point is that any intellectual development has to be cultivated and nurtured. If you want your baby to be an early reader, spend time reading

Emotional intelligence is essentially awareness of one’s emotions and feelings, as well as those of others. Likewise, intellectual development in a baby is contingent on the parental awareness of the emotional development of the baby. Do become aware of your baby’s development, which is a reflection of his own emotional growth; the following usually occurs within the first year:

Your baby begins to show sensitivity to loud sounds and bright lights. Do hold and snuggle him more.

Your baby begins to recognize your voice and turn to make eye contact with you. Do look at your baby more often.

Your baby begins to develop his social smile. Do reward it with your warm smile.

Your baby begins to enjoy the company of other people. Do have people, such as grandparents, around your baby.

Your baby begins to imitate movements and facial expressions. Do make movements with your hands and fingers, as well as with your eyes and mouth.

Your baby begins to laugh when playing to express his pleasure. Do laugh while playing with your baby.

Your baby begins to raise his arms to be picked up. Do pick up your baby.

Your baby begins to complain when confined to his crib or playpen. Do let your baby out.

All of the above may develop in your baby before age-one. Do try to meet all your baby needs to comply with his emotional development, thereby instrumental in enhancing his intellectual development. 

 Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Exercise During Pregnancy

Exercise on a regular basis not only helps you overcome many of the physical challenges but also offers many health benefits throughout your pregnancy.

    

Exercise increases the brain’s production of serotonin, dopamine and endorphins, which are brain chemicals to balance mood swings, reduce stress, and promote positivity.

Exercise enhances body posture, which ultimately affects breathing.

Exercise improves heart and lung functions.

Exercise reduces digestive discomfort.

Exercise strengthens muscles, relieves muscle aches and cramps.

Exercise controls weight gain.

Exercise provides stamina to get through the long hours in labor.

Exercise helps faster recovery from childbirth.

The Dos and Don’ts of Exercise

Do exercise on a regular basis.

Do exercise safely based on your physical fitness level.

Do exercise to maintain, and not to improve, your physical fitness.

Do exercise preferably with a friend or your partner.

Do keep your breathing even and regular throughout the exercise.

Do maintain a healthy body temperature throughout the exercise, especially in the first trimester (why: a core temperature of over 39.2°C may harm the baby).

Don’t over-exercise or push yourself to the limit.

Don’t exercise with the intention of losing weight.

Don’t exercise with reduction in fetal movement.

Don’t exercise with respiratory disorders, or cardiovascular diseases, such as high blood pressure.

Don’t exercise when bleeding occurs.

Don’t exercise when diagnosed with severe anemia (due to lack of iron in the blood).

Don’t exercise when diagnosed with placenta previa (a low-lying placenta, diagnosed in routine scan after 20 weeks).

Don’t exercise when diagnosed with an incompetent cervix (a high risk for miscarriage in the second trimester).

Do Select the Right Exercise

Stretching

   

Stretching is one of the best exercises during pregnancy. It focuses on flexibility, which plays a pivotal role in body balance, posture, physical fitness, and overall well-being. Flexibility, one of the essential components of fitness, is much needed during pregnancy. Unlike many other physical exercises that emphasize fitness strength and endurance, stretching focuses on reducing muscle tension and the potential for fall. Stretching also emphasizes correct breathing which is essential to a healthy pregnancy, especially during labor.

Do get the book STRETCHING by Simon Frost (Barnes & Noble).The book provides many simple and easy-to-follow illustrations of how to perform many different stretch exercises to attain total flexibility of different types of muscles to help labor and childbirth.

    

Yoga

Yoga is an ancient exercise that teaches body awareness through breathing and relaxation, thereby instrumental in facilitating labor and childbirth.

Yoga poses relax the mind and relieve muscle tension. Certain yoga poses also help indigestion and constipation frequently experienced during pregnancy.

   

Walking

Walking is an ideal exercise, especially during the first two trimesters.

Do practice awareness walking, which is walking with full attention to what you are doing—noticing the movement of your limbs, the shifting of your body weight as you move your right and left foot. Awareness walking enhances your concentration and mental focus, which play a pivotal role during labor and childbirth.

Don’t walk while talking on the cell phone, or listening to music. Avail the opportunity to focus on your body, or any subliminal message you have created, such as “I’m going to have a healthy baby.”

Stephen Lau

Storytelling for Teaching Reading

Storytelling is one of the first steps teaching your child to read.

Between the eighteenth and thirty-sixth months, your child may begin to be aware of happenings around him or her, over which your child may have little or no control; also, your child’s thinking may have become more complex. It is now time for storytelling. Reading aloud is one thing that you can do to help your child get ready to read. Reading aloud helps your child expand his or her listening and speaking vocabularies as well as to extend your child’s experiences. In addition, it teaches your child how a book works: pages turn from the right to the left, from the beginning to the end; reading goes from the left to the right across a page, and from the top to the bottom of a page.

For your child, reading is very real, and a story is just one of those happenings. Stories are good for your child: they have a beginning, a middle, and an end; they tell the sequence of events; and they show the cause- and-effect of actions.

Your child usually prefers to have each new book read and re-read until he or she has mastered the vocabulary and sentence patterns before you give your child another book. Do not give too many new books to your child at one time lest he or she become confused and careless. Your child does not mind reading the same book over and over again! You may not have the patience, but your child does.

Reinforce the parent-child interaction by talking through picture books: help your child understand words and use them in the context of pictures.

Introduce exciting new characters; try to describe them as vividly as possible. Induce your child to participate in the depiction, such as the color of their clothes, and their sizes.

Repeatedly and deliberately use such phrases as “because of,” “and then,” “afterwards,” and “so that” to teach your child sequence and cause-and-effect.

Focus on the details of the story; ask your child questions that require more elaborate and thoughtful answers.

For example, in The Arabian Nights, instead of simply saying “Ali Baba climbed up a tall tree when he saw some 40 thieves coming on horsebacks,” also ask your child: “Why do you think he climbed up the tree?” or “What would have happened if the thieves had seen him?” If your child responds by saying, “They would have killed him,” then ask: “Why do you think they would want to kill him?” or “With what would they have killed him?” If your child tells you they would have killed him with a knife, then ask your child, “Do you think they would have used a long knife or a short one?” If your child cannot give the answers, help him or her. It is important that your child is aware of the need to look for details and that he or she learns to proceed from the general to the specific.

After finishing the pages, develop discussion by asking such questions as the following:

What was he story about?

What happened?   

Where did it happen?

What happened in the end?

Can you think of a different ending for the story?

Which was the most exciting part?

Which of the pictures do you like best?

Who did you like or dislike in the story?

Why do you like or dislike him or her?

Can you describe him or her?

How do you think the character in the story feels?

Would you like the events to happen to you?

How would you feel if it were happening to you?

What would you have done?

Encourage your child to interrupt your reading with  questions and comments, which are more important than the story itself.

Read aloud to your child only when you are feeling relaxed and leisurely; avoid reading only at bedtime when you tend to be more concerned with getting through the story than relaxing yourself.

To start with, base your choice of books for reading on the following:

The books should have large, simple illustrations in bold, primary colors.

Pictures should be clear with not too many objects on a page.

The books should have a picture story that makes sense without the printed word.

The story should be appropriate to your child’s age level.

Alphabet books, picture dictionaries, and books that teach speech sounds, concepts or morals are good reading  materials. Poetry is another source of reading materials. Children love poetry: they enjoy the rhythm of the language even though there may be many unfamiliar words. Newspapers are also a good source of materials for reading aloud to children. Read headlines from news stories.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau