Is my child growing well?
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Shazzad Khan
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Most of us Bangladeshi parents focus primarily on our children's physical growth. Unless there are extreme symptoms, such as severely delayed speech abilities, we don't worry about a kid's cognitive development until they head off to school. Psychological well being almost never comes up, unless our kids are hitting parents or siblings regularly.
"How can I convince my son and daughter to eat more?"
On Babui, the digital platform I co-founded to support Bangladeshi parents with young children, the most common concern we hear from parents is that children lack a good appetite. Parents aim to maximize the food their children consume, often employing many creative tricks to make them eat more. A number of parents share that they always turn on cartoons when they are feeding their children because it makes it much easier to get them to finish their good. This unfortunately is not what children need: most young children eat the amount of food they need, and it may vary from day to day. By forcing more food on them, parents may inadvertently be overriding this and increasing the risk of health issues like diabetes and obesity. In Bangladesh from 1980 to 2013 obesity rates in adults grew from 2% to 4% and this has been linked to several serious medical conditions.
One insight we've gained from talking to parents is that despite their careful observation of children's eating habits, they lack other important information that might alleviate some of their worries. We ran a poll last week with parents using Babui and found out that only 1 in 4 parents know their children's height and weight. Almost half of them have never heard of a physical growth chart, such as those available from the World Health Organization (also locally reproduced by many NGOs). We encourage parents to look at these resources so that they can better understand their child's growth.
One of Babui's primary goals is to equip Bangladeshi parents with scientific information and practical tips to teach children life skills and foster cognitive development. Since so many parents seek information on feeding their children, we offer many suggestions on how to help children enjoy eating and start developing life-long healthy eating habits. Since these ideas are relatively new in Bangladesh and may feel foreign, we look for ways to make them feel natural in a Bengali household.
For example, parents with toddlers know just how stubborn these little people can be when you try to force them to do something! Offering children choices gives them a much-needed sense of autonomy and control, even if it's a little decision like whether to use their blue cup or red cup at dinner. Some are much more willing to eat a snack if they get to choose what fruit they eat, or may be more willing to try new foods when it's framed as something fun.
Young children often like to know what's coming next. Sharing the menu in advance creates anticipation. Many children see food being prepared in their household; preparing Bengali dishes from scratch often takes several hours. This preparation offers a great time to talk to them about what's being prepared and in some cases, they love to help! My son really enjoys cleaning the lentils and rice by himself and then proudly tells us that "he made dinner". He also smells various spices and herbs, which makes him more curious to try the food when it's prepared.
It's natural for parents to worry about their children's growth. We hope that we can help parents channel their concerns into new ways to engage with their children so that meal-time ceases to be a battle or a nightly TV binge, and instead a chance to co-create delicious meals to enjoy together.
https://www.facebook.com/babuitip/
#behaviourchange #earlychildhoodeducation #parenting #bangladesh #BabuiTip
"How can I convince my son and daughter to eat more?"
On Babui, the digital platform I co-founded to support Bangladeshi parents with young children, the most common concern we hear from parents is that children lack a good appetite. Parents aim to maximize the food their children consume, often employing many creative tricks to make them eat more. A number of parents share that they always turn on cartoons when they are feeding their children because it makes it much easier to get them to finish their good. This unfortunately is not what children need: most young children eat the amount of food they need, and it may vary from day to day. By forcing more food on them, parents may inadvertently be overriding this and increasing the risk of health issues like diabetes and obesity. In Bangladesh from 1980 to 2013 obesity rates in adults grew from 2% to 4% and this has been linked to several serious medical conditions.
One insight we've gained from talking to parents is that despite their careful observation of children's eating habits, they lack other important information that might alleviate some of their worries. We ran a poll last week with parents using Babui and found out that only 1 in 4 parents know their children's height and weight. Almost half of them have never heard of a physical growth chart, such as those available from the World Health Organization (also locally reproduced by many NGOs). We encourage parents to look at these resources so that they can better understand their child's growth.
One of Babui's primary goals is to equip Bangladeshi parents with scientific information and practical tips to teach children life skills and foster cognitive development. Since so many parents seek information on feeding their children, we offer many suggestions on how to help children enjoy eating and start developing life-long healthy eating habits. Since these ideas are relatively new in Bangladesh and may feel foreign, we look for ways to make them feel natural in a Bengali household.
For example, parents with toddlers know just how stubborn these little people can be when you try to force them to do something! Offering children choices gives them a much-needed sense of autonomy and control, even if it's a little decision like whether to use their blue cup or red cup at dinner. Some are much more willing to eat a snack if they get to choose what fruit they eat, or may be more willing to try new foods when it's framed as something fun.
Young children often like to know what's coming next. Sharing the menu in advance creates anticipation. Many children see food being prepared in their household; preparing Bengali dishes from scratch often takes several hours. This preparation offers a great time to talk to them about what's being prepared and in some cases, they love to help! My son really enjoys cleaning the lentils and rice by himself and then proudly tells us that "he made dinner". He also smells various spices and herbs, which makes him more curious to try the food when it's prepared.
It's natural for parents to worry about their children's growth. We hope that we can help parents channel their concerns into new ways to engage with their children so that meal-time ceases to be a battle or a nightly TV binge, and instead a chance to co-create delicious meals to enjoy together.
https://www.facebook.com/babuitip/
#behaviourchange #earlychildhoodeducation #parenting #bangladesh #BabuiTip
