VITAMIN D SURVEY- ECA -PODAR

VITAMIN D AND SUNLIGHT/OUTDOOR PLAY RAPID SURVEY CONDUCTED BY EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSOCIATION AND PODAR INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION- COPYRIGHT @ SWATIPOPATVATS

THIS REPORT IS COPYRIGHT AND REGISTERED PROPERTY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSOCIATION, ANYONE WISHING TO QUOTE, USE, OR REFER TO IT SHOULD DO SO ONLY AFTER SEEKING PERMISSION IN WRITING FROM MS SWATI POPAT VATS (PRESIDENT) ON ecaorg@yahoo.com or swatipopat@podar.net

Children have stopped playing in the sun. Children are moving from one air conditioned environment to another and infact do not like to play in the sun. Are we sanitizing and plasticizing our kid’s environment too much? Children are losing their bonds with nature and are infact being warned by parents about the harmful effects of nature- don’t play in the sun you will become dark, don’t go in the grass there are ants, stay away from the trees you will hurt yourself etc. nature has two important health benefits for kids

1.     Oxygen- is required by young children’s brains as oxygen helps blood flow smoothly to the brain and that helps the brain feel alert and focused.

2.     Sunlight- there is natural vitamin D in sunlight that helps our bodies’ process calcium. You may feed many health drinks to kids but the fact remains that more and more kids and adults are growing up with health issues like skin problems, breathing problems, hair fall and weak bones all because of lack of sunlight.

We had a discussion with parents to find out if parents make the right choices about kids play and outdoor environment based on facts or are they just too overprotective of kids. We interviewed around 700 parents each in Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Chennai, and Bangalore and the results from these combined 3500 parents was shocking. Many parents made incorrect choices for their kids, many stopped them from playing in the sun, many were unaware about the benefits of sunlight and many did not know which part of the day the sunlight was harmful or helpful for the child. We did this survey to create awareness in parents about the need to gift ‘nature therapy’ to kids to keep them healthy so that they will remain healthy and happy as adults.

It was evident that doctors and schools need to educate parents about vitamin D and B12 deficiency that is directly linked to the lack of sunlight in kids lives. Parents should also be educated about what time of the day the sun is harmful and helpful and why. Infact given below an advisory that the Early Childhood Association has released for parents for the summer, weekends and other holidays of children.

Q1. How many hours a day does your child play outside in the outdoors?

Sr. No.	30 mins	60 mins	90  mins	120 mins	180 mins	Not at all	No Response
No
%	43%	20%	12%	2%	2%	21%	Nil

        

Q2.At what time of the day do you send your child to play outdoors?

Sr. No.	Morning 8.00am-12.00pm	Afternoon 12.00-4.00pm	Evening 4.00pm-9.00pm	Don’t Go Out	Total
	20%	30%	35%	15%	3500
%

Q 3. Why does your child not play outside at all?( for the 15%)

Sr. No.	No space where we stay	No garden around	No time, child has classes	Child uncomfortable with heat and sweat	Prefers indoors	No one to go out and play	No Response
No
%	23%	22%	36%	12%	3%	4%	Nil

Q4.Are you aware of vitamin D deficiency in young children?

Sr. No.	Yes	No	No Response	Total
				3500
%	76.59%	16.5%	6.83%

Q5. Are you aware what causes it?

Sr. No.	Yes	No	Not sure	Total
				3500
%	72.18%	20.21%	7.59%

Q6.Please state the most important cause?

Sr. No.	Lack Of Sunlight	Others (Weak Bones, Immunity,  Calcium Deficiency)	Not sure	Total
				3500
%	47.87%	16.41%	35.71%

Q7.Do you think playing in the early morning sun is harmful for children?

Sr. No.	Yes	No	Not sure	Total
				3500
%	20 %	63%	17%

Q8. Why do you think it is harmful? (Out of the 20%)

Sr. No.	Due To sun Rays	Other (Skin is effected) will tan	Don’t know	Total
%	49%	41%	10%

Q 9.Why do you think it is not harmful? (Out of the 63%)

Sr. No.	Proper Growth	Good health	Natural Source of Vitamin D	Don’t know reason	Total
%	27%	23%	43%	7%

Q.10.Do you think playing in the afternoon sun is harmful for children?

Sr. No.	Yes	No	No response	Total
				3500
%	10%	88%	2%

Q. 11.Why do you think it is harmful? (Of the 10%)

Sr. No.	Due To sun Rays	Other (Skin is effected , Catch a Cold)	We were not allowed to play	Total
%	42%	45%	13%

Q 12.Why do you think it is not harmful? (88%)

Sr. No.	Proper Growth	Good health	Natural Source of Vitamin D	Everyone plays	Total
%	27%	14%	37%	22%

                                                             

Advisory to all Parents from Early Childhood Association- India

Sunlight is what helps plants create photosynthesis; sunlight is what helps humans thrive. But today many parents think that sunlight is harmful for their kids and keep kids indoors all the time. Yes, global warming has increased the incidence of harsh sunlight causing skin cancers etc. but there are benefits to sunlight too, so we appeal to parents to give their kids a healthy balance of ‘sunlight diet’ to their kids.

Lack of sunlight causes the deficiency of vitamin D in our children which in turn leads to calcium deficiency in their growing years as the processing of calcium in our bodies requires vitamin D. You can give children calcium supplements and milk but the natural vitamin D that kids receive from sunlight cannot be replaced with supplements etc. another deficiency is that of vitamin B12 again related to lack of sunlight. All these coupled with the side effects like brittle bones, depression, hair fall, skin allergies is endangering the health of our young children and youth.

It’s time to make it fashionable to let children play in the sun. the sunlight, fresh air and ‘sweat’ will in fact infuse a natural health glow and give your child the benefit of healthy bodies which will lead to healthy minds. So if you want smart kids, make a smart choice today and ensure that kids play in the sun for at least 20 minutes every day.

The early morning sunlight is the best for vitamin D, as the sunlight is harsher after 10 am so  try to avoid kids playing directly in the sun after 10am . It’s time to rise and shine with the sun and get your regular vitamin D, B12 dose directly from Dr Sun.

For more details contact your family doctor or pediatrician, and remember Google is not a doctor!

From the team at EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSOCIATON

Write to us on ecaorg@yahoo.com and join us on this initiative on www.eca-org.com

It all started when a little girl took a biscuit from another child-creative intelligence

It all started when a little girl took a biscuit from another child’s snack box, when the teacher gently prompted her to ask permission before taking from someone, the girl said,’goldilocks did not ask permission’. This got us thinking, where life’s values are concerned, is Goldilocks an apt story for young growing minds? On one hand we teach them about please, thank you and sorry and on the other hand, this story teaches them the contrary!

To change all that, the level three (age 5) children of Podar Jumbo Kids, discussed a new version of Goldilocks- GOLDILOCKS AND THE 3 MAGIC WORDS, in this story they change the end where some kids teach Goldilocks to go back to the bears home and help her learn to say thank you, sorry and please. The kids have even drawn their own version of the new story. This little new version is an attempt by children, for the children and of the children.

This started the ball rolling and we initiated discussion starters with all our senior kindergartners, we retold them all the traditional fairy tales and rhymes and then we asked them if they would like to change anything  and the reason why they would like to change them and what a fantastic discussion starter it was, here are some excerpts – (T signifies teacher and K signifies kids)

About Hansel and Gretel-

K- I don’t think there is anyting like witches, I think it was an old grandmother who liked to

     give sweets to little kids, my dadi(grandmother) does that.

T- But then why did she call them inside the house?

K- Maybe so that they can sit and eat the sweets.

K- Or maybe she wanted them to wash their hands after eating.

T- Hmm that’s a good idea, so the old lady wanted Hansel and Gretel to wash their hands?

K- Yes and maybe rinse their mouth too so that germs don’t attack.

K- And maybe Hansel and Gretel were scared because she asked them to brush their teeth and they did not like to brush their teeth

T- That sounds interesting, so the old lady called them in to brush their teeth…

K- No to teach them how to brush their teeth and keep them healthy….

For the 3 little pigs-

·         K- Why is the wolf always bad? Are wolves bad?

·         T- Well, I have not met one so I really don’t know if they are bad.

·         K- Yes they are because they eat other animals.

·         T- But lions and tigers eat them too then why don’t these stories have lions and tigers? Why only a wolf?

·         K- And some wolves must be good too, right?

·         T- o.k so lets assume that this wolf was a good wolf, then why was he chasing the pigs?

·         K- Maybe to teach them to make better homes

·         T- Better?

·         K- Yes stronger……

The Jumbo Kids Senior Kindergarten classrooms (age 5) have been busy drawing, coloring, writing and creating new versions of old fairy tales and songs commonly sung in schools. These kids want to change their world and make it more relevant to ‘their’ childhood. These kids want to innovate, create and change the way teachers and parents entertain and teach them.

And that is what we have done in this unique project AVISHKAR- change and creativity, we identified certain rhymes and songs commonly sung in preschools, which have a negative message or have an incorrect message for growing children. We discussed these with our senior kindergarten children and helped them come up with new versions that were more positive. The kids then drew pictures of the old and new versions and we have compiled them into a book that can be used by all preschools and parents.

Books made by children, for children and for the healthy language, moral and socio-emotional development of children. Here is a little information of the  new versions-

1.   ‘Piggy On The Railway’ became ‘Piggy On The Railway Revisited’ - where the engine driver was more considerate and said I will take more care, instead of saying, I don’t care.

2.   ‘3 Blind Mice’ became ‘3 White Mice’ - in which the mice are not blind, but are white and the farmer’s wife did not cut their tails with a carving knife.

3.   ‘Humpty Dumpty’ became ‘Humpty Dumpty Did Not Fall’ – the rhyme now teaches the kids to be more careful and so does not fall down and is in one piece today.

4.   ‘A Hunting We Will Go’ became ‘On A Picnic We Will Go’ - so there is no fox to catch and put in a box, but pictures to click and animals to enjoy.

5.   ‘Ding Dong Bell’ became ‘The New Ding Dong Bell’- and pussy is not thrown in the well.

6.   ‘Ringa Ringa Roses’ became ‘The Healthy Ringa Ringa Roses’ - a death song sung during the plague in London is now changed with more healthy words.

7.   ‘Hansel And Gretel’ became ‘Hansel And Gretel Meet The Kind Old Lady’ -  who taught them about dental hygiene,

8.   ‘Goldilocks And The 3 Bears’ became ‘Goldilocks Learns The 3 Magic Words’- where Goldilocks does not run away from the bears, but learns how to say sorry, thank you and please- the 3 magic words.

9.    ‘3 Little Pigs’ became ‘The 3 Little Pigs Love The Earth’ -and instead of the wolf trying to eat them, the pigs learn a lesson in environment from the wolf.

10.                ‘3 Billy Goats’ became ‘The 3 Billy Goat’s New Friend The Troll’ – and the pigs actually find out what made the Troll angry and they helped him keep the river clean.

11.               The Elves And Shoe Maker - had no changes but we added about healthy shoe habits for the kids.

These path breaking books have been created by them, to celebrate the world of kindergarteners, a world that is buzzing with brain growth, neural connections and 5D (5 senses) stimulation. Read these books to see their world with new eyes, eyes that will not only see their chubby cheeks but also their cherubic happy involved thinking skills.

Pick up a copy of these books and join us in helping kids listen to  and read healthy stories and songs. Come, support the true  ‘generation next’ redefine-  AVISHKAR - Creativity and Change for a happy Childhood.

Write to us on talktous@podar.org or @swatipopat

Teenagers and their cell phones

Teenagers and their cell phones.

Teenagers are ‘die hard’ users of electronic media; they are busy on their computers, cell phones, and personal digital assistants 24x7.  Experts propose meeting youth where they are—‘riding the airwaves’—with positive messages that compete with and offer attractive alternatives to the negative, unhealthful, or illegal messages they are exposed to every minute

What are we afraid of? Early sexual activity, drugs, violence? Then it’s time for parents to speak up and face the reality that technology is here to stay and thus what is required is a change in parenting, stop trying to keep your teen away from it and start educating your teen about it.  It’s time to change, change our ways of looking at technology rather than thrashing technology use of teenagers lets teach them technology literacy.  Worried that social media, video games will drive them off course from a healthy life of learning? Well, this quote should help us understand and relieve our worry,

When flying between the Earth and the Moon, the Apollo spacecraft was off course more than 90 percent of the time. On their lunar voyages the crew would constantly bring the craft back to its intended trajectory. They were not on a perfect path but a critical path. Because they knew their intended target they could correct their spacecraft whenever it wandered off- Anon

Teenagers are on a voyage to adulthood, they will veer off course like the Apollo but we need to know that as long as they come back to the intended trajectory which in their case is a healthy, happy life, we can be there to correct their spacecraft as and when required. No teenager will be perfect what is critical is that they are given a perfect chance.

Kids are fascinated with all kinds of technology not only because it fulfills their need for ‘exploring’ but also fulfills their need for ‘independent exploring’. This is where we adults lose touch with them, we are unable to share their enthusiasm for this kind of quick learning and hence are unable to talk, share, discuss the uses or abuses of technology to them, we end up nagging, lecturing them on the abuses and that drives them away into their technological world.

Teenager's Use of Electronic Media- According to a survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project covering media use by adolescents aged twelve to seventeen has increased rapidly in recent years and continues to grow! One important trend captured by the Pew survey is that nearly 65 percent of teens who use the internet are now actively creating content—sharing artwork, photos, stories, or videos; creating Web pages or blogs for themselves or for friends or organizations they support; writing online journals; maintaining a personal Web page; and remixing content from online sources to create their own material. Isn’t that wonderful? So then lets ensure that they seek out the correct programs, apps to learn and grow with. (Reference- Fools Gold report on technology)

Here are some interesting apps being used by global teenagers that are interesting for teenagers and help them with their focus in learning and help them take charge of their lives. (References- Karen Finucan Clarkson- - Washington parent.)

·         Distractibility is something that teenagers grapple with; make them responsible for their own distraction with these apps. An app named Self control- allows teenagers to decide which applications to block out for a given period of time while they are concentrating on exams, deadlines, tests etc. it’s like the parental lock on television but instead of the parent the teen decides and takes responsibility. Another app Freedom also does the same.

·         iStudiezPro app is an organizer for kids, helps them keep track of project deadlines, homework. So it’s like having your own personal assistant. Teach your teenager to use this and no need to nag him/her all the time.

·         myHomework app helps track homework assignments, teachers can use this app to send student’s announcements, links, written materials, also links with desktop. Maybe parents too can try using this app, since teenagers respond more to something that comes on the screen!

·         epicWin, this is a fantastic app, it is a video game cum organizer, it helps the child roleplay a character that completes each task of homework etc, and thus earning them points , it is also like a task alarm clock.

·         studyBlue. Is a fantastic app that allows kids to prepare memory cards in the form of flashcards  from their notes to test themselves. It  also helps them see 30 of the top cards created by others and helps them compete with peers and check scores.

·         cheggFlashcards also has similar features. flashcards+ designed by Harvard is another favorite with an additional benefit of multiple languages.

·         ankiDroid is another app for lesson videos, audios etc.

·         eduPort allows them to search lectures, videos on the topic of their choice from you tube, Khan academy etc

Some of the above are paid apps and some are free. Many of them may have different versions in India. The whole point of these apps is to help your teenager become independent from you and take charge of his/her life and learning.

Let’s not forget that the ultimate goal of parenting ‘teens’ is to reach youth with positive messaging rather than criticism and nagging. . Embracing positive media rather than trying to counteract media use, will be a more effective way in shaping teen behaviour. Let us help them become ‘netizens’ and teach them ‘netiquette’ after all this is the cyber generation!