Through her eyes #8 - Project Tooth Keeper

"When you wake up in the morning, brush your teeth. <>

When you go to bed at night, brush your teeth <>"

(To the tune of "When you're happy and you know it")

"Mama, I like the tooth fairy because her dress is pretty. I like Baby Cat because she is funny and a bit naughty, just like me!" 

 

(From left to right: Baby Cat, Sister Cat & the popular Tooth Fairy)

:: The skit
Dumpling and I had the chance to watch a short skit put up by these 4 final year students from Nanyang Technological University’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information. Centred around a family of cats - Mama Cat, Sister Cat and Baby Cat, the story aims to educate the little ones on the importance of hygiene and dental care. 

The skit is interactive and is filled with funny moments where Dumpling was left giggling over Baby Cat's funny antics - how she tries to sneak in candies and 'outsmarted' Mama Cat by eating peanut butter (since it is not sweet!) instead.

From a parental viewpoint, I like that the main song is catchy and the message was very effectively put across. The team was also able to establish an easy rapport with the audience (the toughest kind I'd say with a bunch of active preschoolers) and it was clear that they won the hearts of these kids with their brilliant smiles through the lovely tale.

Dumpling loves the skit and can still recall the song that was being sung. So how did she rate the skit? 

She gives it "two thumbs up"!

She added and recommends for "all mummies and daddies to bring their children to watch this because it is very funny and very cute. I like the show."

:: The History
Project Tooth Keeper is a final year project a group of final year communication students from NTU (Grace Chow, Nina Zainudin, Emily Ho & Susmitha Changaroth) on children's oral health. The project came about due to a worrying statistic that showed more preschool children in Singapore are getting tooth decay. Project Tooth Keeper, in partnership with the Singapore Dental Association, aims to promote good parenting and education on children's oral health, focusing on parents with children from 0 - 6 years old. 

So, who will win the most beautiful smile in the land? Keen to find out more? 

Join the team this Sunday, 9 March at Woodlands Regional Library, where your kiddos can learn about the importance of "Brush Well, Eat Right & Visit the Dentist" while you parents can learn more about how you can help the kiddos in the various talks at the Forum. :) 

Here's where you can sign up! 

Website: http://www.projecttoothkeeper.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/projecttoothkeeper

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu4krGqONxOxsf-snzg_jcA

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Rise & Shine - A breakfast challenge for Moi!

I am pleased to share that Beanie N Us is proud to be part of a breakfast campaign and one of the Ambassadors and Partner Bloggers of Rise & Shine.  Rise & Shine is a community initiative started by a group of mothers and four Nanyang Technological University students. The mission of this initiative is to provide parents and educators alike an opportunity to learn, share and identify holistic approaches in raising healthier and happier children.

What was interesting for me was to see these data which the NTU students put together when they conducted a primary research with 363 parents of primary school students in Singapore. Here's what they found! 

As a mum, the scary part of the statistics for me is that 1 in 3 children skips breakfast and that 46% said that there is not enough time to eat. Whoa!!!!! *Alarm bells sounding off here* It is scary to me because I can only imagine how hungry the child would be waiting all the way till recess for a chance before he/she can finally have a bite!  

 

The NTU students have come up with some interesting outreach activities as part of this Breakfast Campaign. For those who wish to find out more and educate your child on the importance of breakfast and healthy breakfast options and choices (important for children to know as they will be buying their own meals during recess!), the team puts up educational information and does story telling sessions at various shopping malls and libraries using an interesting story - Daniel and his Mystery Friends, which introduces Breakfast Friends.

For parents who are looking for ideas, the team also provides cooking demos too!
Here's where you can view the schedules.

 
Additionally, you can find a link to healthy recipes here should you be looking for inspiration like me!

Now, as a working mother, for me breakfast is something which I do struggle with. Daily. I am usually the first to wake up, herd and chauffeur everyone out of the house to work, etc. I will be the first to also admit that I do not take breakfast (yes *gasp!*) simply because I do not have the luxury of time to sit by the dining table, read the papers calmly and snack on my sandwich. (That, I feel, seems to happen only on TV or in families with no kids! :p)

I am, however, very anal about Dumpling having some 'power bites' packed for her daily in her snack box where she eats them at her Chinese class at 10+am. So far, my choices of breakfast for her have been ok, nothing exciting, just ok. So, it is no wonder that lately, Dumpling started "rejecting" the snack boxes because she is well, just not interested in eating. Sigh...

It is a personal challenge for me now to google for interesting (and enticing) breakfast ideas which I will pack for Dumpling daily. Not only should it be yummy, it should also be healthy. My helper and I have been attempting to make things more interesting for her with cute bento stick picks for her sandwiches, etc. I do realise that this is not enough and it is a personal goal to put in more effort on packing healthy and yummy breakfast boxes for her. 

The Rise & Shine Breakfast team helped me kickstart this breakfast challenge by sending me a breakfast kit last week. :)

 
I will be sharing my breakfast journey with Dumpling, the recipes and also will be pinning them on my pinterest board. Do join me on this little journey of mine! 

About Rise & Shine Breakfast Campaign: 

The Rise & Shine is a nationwide campaign that is strongly supported by major government agencies including Health Promotion Board, People's Association, Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports and the National Youth Council and many others. It is the first campaign of its kind in Singapore to drive greater attention to raising healthier and happier children.

 

The team at NTU (from left: Hui Ying, Wayne, Wilson & Xi En)

 
For more information, you can visit Rise & Shine's Facebook page.  

Photo and Infographics source: Rise & Shine NTU Team

Home remedies for common ailments

Being a nazi mum, I am one of those who is not very into medication and would always question the use of antibiotics, side effects of medication given and if they are steroid based. I must add that I have a PD who respects my preference and so far, Dumpling has only taken antibiotics twice in her life. 

We do take administer the prescribed medication but I draw a line at piling her with 5 - 6 different cough and cold meds. Even with fever, we have so far stuck to just Paracetamol without using any Neurofen and just sponging her down and keeping her hydrated and cool. 

We do use some simple home remedies and here's some to share:

Cough

1. Crush a few slices of ginger and seep it in hot water. Add honey and lemon. (. Ginger is known for its antioxidant properties while honey is known for its soothing healing properties. Some replace ginger with turmeric but I find it hard to get the little ones to take anything with turmeric in it.)
2. Make Chuan Bei Snow Pear Soup to help dispel and thin phlegm (I do this on alternate days)

• 1 tablespoon of sweet almond and bitter almond each
  (南杏, 北杏) 
• 1 tablespoon of Fritillaria Bulbs “Chuan Bei Mu” (川贝母)
• 1 - 2 honey dates
•  1 snow pear cut to 1" cubes
• Wash well
• Place all into double boiler and add in 2 - 3 bowls of soup and bowl over 4 hours minimum 

Source: http://babyhomefavourites.blogspot.sg/2009/08/herbal-pear-soup.html

Sore throat

1. Tomato juice (The brand "Just Juice" works for us because it is salty. The salt in it usually helps me fight against the start of a sore throat.)
2.  Starfruit juice with salt (for the same reason as above)  
3. Manuka honey with a dash of lemon juice

Colds

1. Chicken Broth with loads of onions, garlic and served hot to aid the nasal congestion
2. A few drops of Eucalyptus oil on pillow case OR add it to a basin of hot water and breathe in steam.

 
Diarrhea

1. BRAT diet: 

• Bananas
• Rice (we cook porridge)
• Apples (we steam ours and mash them)
• Toast 
  

The above helps to bind the stools but if it is a stomach virus, it will take a few days to ride out. It is important to also continue to hydrate your child along with any oral hydration to replenish the loss of electrolytes (we have tried isotonic drinks before). Additionally, do note that with the intake of bananas, you may see visible black fibre in stools which are usually less than a cm long. These are normal. However, do approach your PD if you are concerned - I did ask about it initially as they looked like worms! LOL

What are your simple home remedies? Do share!

 

Disclaimer: These are some simple home remedies which have worked for us and are by no means meant to replace medication or a need for medical advice. Please do discuss with your PD / GP for further advice. 

Wet, Lather and Rinse!

Sponsored Post:

I have been sponsoring a child for more than 5 years. One of my greatest moments was when he was finally able to write me a letter. It feels good that I am able to make a difference in someone's life. 

M, my sponsored child, lives in Honduras. Honduras is one of the countries that participated in the Global Handwashing Day (GHD), an initiative by Lifebuoy. Celebrated on 15th October, each year, GHD is celebrated in more than 100 countries where activities are held to support, educate and encourage the habit of handwashing. 

Did you know that:

• Every year, more than 2 million children don't live to see their 5th birthday?
• At least 3000 kids die each day as they succumb to diarrhoea?
• Most of these can be prevented by something as simple as handwashing which is often overlooked?

Having a preschooler means that I am very careful with such practices because they do become life habits. So, from the homefront, I read various articles on the internet with Dumpling on the importance of handwashing as well as this title below :

Source: http://www.chinasprout.com/shop/BSE170 

And while we were at it, I asked if she would like to make a poster to remind herself on the 3 simple steps of: Wet, Lather and Rinse based on the GHD logo below. 

GHD logo

It turned out to be a fun activity for us. :) 

Dumpling decided that she wanted to do a show and tell! So, off she went to create / draw her own monster germs...

Left Germ: Hi, I am germ 1!

...You can run but you cannot hide!!!

Dialogue:

Dumpling: OH NO!!! HELLLLP!!!! 

I had a very good laugh as she went on for a good few minutes re-enacting her 'play'. LOL

So, what can we do to eliminate the germs? 

3 Simple Steps:

1) WET!

2) LATHER!

3) RINSE! (And a "Hi-5" for a job well done! ;p )

This year, I am proud to be part of this awareness drive. Help a child reach 5! 

Make a pledge on  LIFEBUOY's Facebook page. With every pledge, LIFEBUOY will commit to teach a child hygiene education through PSI, a Unilever Foundation Partner to help them reach the age of 5.