Good Parenting Tips

Yesterday we spent Mother's Day with loads of enthusiasm. While we talked about everything possible related to motherhood, I introspected what should we all as moms or as parents should do to raise happy kids. I am sharing few simple tips for being good parents for our lovely kids...

Spend Quality Time

Talk , read & play games with your child for a few hours everyday, however busy you may be. Give Proper Attention to him when its needed. Turn off the television or put the newspaper down when your child wants to speak to you. Avoid other activity when the child has something important to tell you.

 Build up a Healthy Relationship 

Let your child know and believe that you are interested and involved with him in whatever he does and that you are always there to help him/her. Don’t Tower over your Child. Get down to his level while speaking to him. Create a very loving atmosphere at home and let your child feel the warmth of the family.

Be Role Models

Do the right things. Behave just in the manner you want your child to behave. How can you expect politeness from your child if you are aggressive & speak rudely to him or anyone else in front of him?

Don’t Over-expect

Avoid Comparison with Siblings and Friends, because comparisons only induce a negative feeling and low self esteem in the child. All individuals are not the same. So don’t expect your child to score as much as his siblings or his friends. He may be better in other skills. 

Be Positive

When the child does not perform well, instead of saying “ you can never achieve”, say –”I’m sure you can do better next time.” Never Underestimate the capabilities of your child. The words like “You won’t understand”, “You are just a dumb” induce an inferiority complex in the child which can be a great hindrance in his growth and progress.

Avoid Hot and Cold Treatment 

Some times it is seen that parents react in a different manner at similar situations . Their reactions should be balanced.

Never Bribe or Blackmail 

Spend time with them to show that you care. Toys, gifts and chocolates can’t replace the precious moments that you can share with him.

The kids will love and respect the parents if we be lil careful of our behaviour too. Do give it a try..

World's First Roll-Up Educational Puzzle Unveiled By MadRat

We, the parents, are keen to help our children grow happy and healthy. The physical fitness is still under the scanner of the parents since it is visible. But to what extent are we successful to find parameters to measure our child's mental health.

Incorporating some constructive habits into the routine play of children is strongly recommended by me to all parents and it is easy to do it simply by having a some educational games in the vast collection of toys that we provide to our kids. Keeping a puzzle on a table ready to be played with parent and siblings is one of the most encouraging activity for children that excites natural sense of wonder and amazement in them and in turn they will want to learn more every passing day!

I had a very pleasant and satisfactory experience with one such educational game that was recently launched by India’s most innovative physical toys and games company MadRat.

About the Brand:

MadRat Games is India’s most innovative and fastest-growing physical toys and games company. MadRat has brought innovation to a dead industry where even after 30 years, the games are still sold in the ‘Mithai ka Dabba’. Based out of Bangalore, the company is dedicated to bring in the culture of learning through play to India. Since its inception in 2010, the company has sold over 275,000 game units and has partnered with Nokia, Google, Intel, Cornell & the Government of India for original game development. In the last year, MadRat launched 70+ game titles. For their efforts, they are ranked amongst the Top 10 Indian Innovators by the Govt of India in Dec 2012 alongside Tata Motors.

About World's First Roll-Up Educational Puzzle:

A break from new-gen troubles like iPad Addiction and Internet obsession, MadRat Games has unveiled Madzzle. Madzzle is a universe of engaging games which explore the most exciting worlds on our Planet & beyond! It is the World’s First Roll-Up Puzzle™ with patent pending Zero Gap™ Technology.

What Makes Madzzle A Unique Puzzle?

• Zero Gap™ Technology: Madzzle jigsaw pieces join together without a gap between them, unlike usual puzzles, for a perfect picture.

• Madzzle Mat: The frame & magnetic locking on all sides of the mat make assembling the jigsaw easier, and losing the pieces difficult and lets you play on soft surfaces.

• Madzzle Roll: No worry for keeping your incomplete puzzle safe when mommy calls you to study. Just roll up your jigsaw to preserve it in the same state for your next play session :)

• Object Hunt game: Gone are the days when you just sat and looked at the puzzle after completing it. Madzzle puzzles are equipped with fact cards that can be used for object hunt and exploring games, making it a new game every time with the same puzzle. So now, play an exciting object-finding game with the cards, full of amazing facts from around the world.

• Magic Beans: Since a lot of paper has been used to create these games, Madzzle includes special Magic Beans inside the puzzle pack. It’s a small way of giving back to the Earth what has been taken from it. So plant them, nurture them and see what blooms!

Where To buy:

Wanna gift your child a seamless play experience, order Madzzle at madratgames.com.

Price: between Rs. 500 to Rs. 1000.

My (Child's) Experience With Madzzle ;)

Madzzle is a fun puzzle that influences a child's brain development. It is available in 5 variants, viz. Madzzle Worldopedia, Madzzle Worldopedia Megastructures, Madzzle Worldopedia Animals, Madzzle Bermuda Triangle, Madzzle Mysteries of the Amazon (seen in the pic below). Each of these focuses on different genre/theme and is crafted thoughtfully for the children in the age group of 7-12 yrs. 

My child liked the Madzzle Worldopedia Megastructures the most. The pack includes 120 Puzzle pieces, 55 Building cards, 120 Counters, Madzzle Roll and Mat, Magic Beans, Rulebook & Pamphlet with reference image.

Its been more than a month now playing with Madzzle and he has cultivated a multi-skilled bend of mind in such short span of time. This educational puzzle has actually worked upon some of the weak areas of my child's personality that I always wanted to polish without any harsh methods.

Lack of concentration can lead to disastrous results in whatever we do. And I could not notice much change in my child's level of attention after my religious efforts. Interestingly, since the day I cut down 15 or 20 minutes every day from his TV exposure and told him to complete the puzzle in minimum possible time; he took it as a challenge. Initially he used 'trial and error' method to solve the puzzle and later got much engaged in the activity with lot of concentration and right hand-n-eye coordination. He himself devised some brainy tricks for manipulating the puzzle in easier manner with every passing day and the result is Improved Concentration.

Playing with Madzzle with a confident approach after few days', this roll-up puzzle practically improved my child's memorization capability. Because when he tried to place a wrong piece while working through the puzzle, he put in his best effort to recall the size, color and shape of various pieces that may fit in there. It is helping in sharpening his mental practices with Better Retention.

Object Hunt has been a stage in the puzzle game that he enjoyed the most playing with his peer group. It generated the open-ended imagination in the children while boosting their self-confidence. The competitive spirit reached at its peak point. I felt immense joy to see my child excitedly learning the unheard names of grand monuments across the globe, trying to spell them and trying his best to spot that monument in the puzzle and discover its fascinating facts.

And when the alloted time ends after a playful happiness on his face, he carefully rolls his Madzzle for the next day's learning session to resume from same position.

All in all, Madzzle Worldopedia Megastructures is an innovative transformation of a board game into roll-up style that preserves the last played game without a mess. The educational benefits that Madzzle can offer to a child are extensively valuable for raising the level of his comprehensive learning. Not only it proves productive from educational viewpoint but also helps in shaping up child's fine motor skills, team work, classification strategy, Vocabulary building and much more. Its a game that every parent would love their children to play everyday :) I give this roll up puzzle 5 star rating!!

Feeling curious to know about other games by Madrat, visit madratgames.com.

I hope my lovely readers would find this post helpful.. Do leave your valuable views in the comments..I would be waiting to read them :)

Winners for Summer Delight #FuschiaGiveaway

Hey Everyone!!

What a great enthusiasm we experienced during #FuschiaGiveaway. Everybody showed the unbeatable spirit to be better than the best :) And the day has come to reward our well deserving winners...

Before calling out the lucky names, I pay my sincere regards and hearty thanks to team Fuschia by VKare Bio Sciences Pvt. Ltd. for being so supportive and kind to offer luxurious gift hampers to the winners.

We have been wanting everyone to be a winner, but could select the 3 BEST ones among the valid entries. 

So join me in congratulating the 3 lucky ladies who have made it this time : 

Best Answer:         Divya Asha 

Max. Interaction: Aishwarya Krishnammachary PS 

Lucky Draw:         Kavita Nayak 

Congratulations Winners!! Do mail me your complete postal details including Pin Code and Contact no. with a valid photo id proof on shilpa.bindlish@gmail.com within next 24 hours, else we will choose another winner.

Your hampers will be sent by team Fuschia at the earliest. And we expect you to acknowledge receiving your prizes as soon as it gets delivered by posting a picture on our facebook page.

Those who didn't win this one, please don't get disheartened. We have another cute giveaway that is currently open. So feel hopeful and do join in..

Keep Participating, Keep Winning!!

Celebrate Mothers' Day With #PlumAndMum Giveaway

Mother's day is around the corner! It's the time when you all will be planning to gift a token of love to the most affectionate woman of your life. I am soooo excited to choose the best gifts for my mom and apparently decided to send some love to other great mommies out there too ;) Sounds exciting !!

I present a cute Mothers' Day Giveaway in association with Plum that lets 3 lovely mommies win a Green Tea Renewal Shower Gel ...yippie :) 

Read the rules below--

• Follow Plum and Alive n Kicking on Facebook. 
• Follow me and PlumSpeak on Twitter. 
• Subscribe to my blog via email. (Don't forget to verify by clicking on the link received in your email)
• Post a mother-child duo picture on my Facebook timeline and answer in not more than 3-4 lines, "Why do you think is Plum as loving & caring as mum?" Tag both the pages with hashtag #PlumAndMum while posting the pic. (Posting only 1 pic is allowed) 
• Share the giveaway on your Facebook timeline tagging the pages n hashtag. 
• Retweet the giveaway post link on twitter tagging the pages n hashtag.
• Don't forget to leave all your details including email id in the comment section of this blog post after doing all the steps. 
• The giveaway is open to all male and female residents of India above the age of 18. It starts on 6 May,15 and ends on 21 May,15. 

Winner Selection Criteria:
There will be 3 winners, each of those will win an awesome full-sized skin care product from Plum. And this is how we will choose them...

• 1 winner for Best answer to the question.
• 1 winner for the most adorable picture.
• 1 winner for maximum interaction on the blog.

So get into the groove..We are waiting to see your lovely pictures :)

P.S. Its a sponsored giveaway and the prizes will be sent by the sponsors directly to the winners addresses.

Kachhe Kele Ki Sabzi - Raw Banana Curry

I have been cooking ripe banana vegetable in sweet n sour taste for many years. But never gave a thought of making raw banana vegatable until my hubby insisted me yesterday. It was my first trial with this side dish. So here is how it turned out...

Ingredients:
Raw Bananas/Kachhe Kele - 5

Onion (Finely chopped) - 2

Tomato Puree: 1 cup
Oil for deep frying
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

1. Properly wash the raw bananas to remove the dirt etc.

2. Peel them off using sharp knife as the peel doesn't come out as easily as a ripe banana.

3.Chop the peeled bananas into small cubes.

4. Heat the cooking oil in a heavy bottomed cooking pan and deep fry them till golden brown. Do take care not to fry the bananas for longer as they dont need much time to cook or soften.

5. Keep the fried banana cubes aside and heat 2 tsp cooking oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and allow them to crack. Then add chopped onion and saute until transparent. (you may grind the onions as per you taste).

6. Pour the tomato puree in the pan and stir fry it till the oil is separated. Now add ginger garlic paste, and dry spices including red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt. Stir gently and cook for 3-4 minutes in open on medium flame, stir at regular intervals. (You may add some fresh cream or curd for rich gravy, which I didn't do in this recipe) 

7.  Now add the fried banana cubes, mix well with gentle hand movement. Cook covered for 3-4 minutes on low flame so that the spicy mixture penetrates the banana cubes. Sprinkle some coriander powder.

8. Serve hot with tadkewali daal and enjoy tasty bites of your roti or parantha :) 

 

Tip: You may skip using onion and garlic in the recipe & can enjoy it while fasting too.

Hope you enjoyed the tasty treat ;)

Sand for Soapaholics Drunken Locks Shampoo Review

Hi

Today's review is again a natural product for hair care. It a liquid shampoo called Drunken Locks that comes from Sand for Soapaholics range that I introduced few days ago.

Product Claims:  Drunken Locks promises to give you a beauty buzz like never before! With the trifecta of hair as our star ingredient, the malt and yeast in our fresh brewed Beer will leave your hair silky, shiny and bouncy! To give you a thorough scrub Aloe Vera Gel is added which also acts with the Castor Oil to weigh down frizz and give your hair the shape and body it so deserves. To complete this shampoo, Ylang Ylang Essential Oil is added to soothe your scalp and calm your mind.

Recommended for: All hair types. Perfect for when you want more volume!

Directions to use: Apply on wet hair, massage gently and rinse off.

Ingredients: Every 10gm contains Barley Seed Liq. (Hordeum vulgare) (39.10%), Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulphate (22.02%), Distilled Water (12.02%), Aloe vera Leaf Gel (8.93%), Oil blend of Coconut Endosperm (Cocos nucifera) & Castor Seed (Ricinus communis) (3.93%), Phenoxyethanol (0.89%), Ess.Oil blend of Tea Tree Leaf (Melaleuca leucadendron), Juniperberry Fruit (Juniperus communis) & Ylang Ylang (Cananga odorata) (0.44%), Colour (0.09%)

Price:Rs. 246 for 60 gm
Rs. 492 for 120 gm
Rs. 2050 for 500 gm

Availability: You can buy it here

Packaging: The shampoo came in a usual plastic bottle. The transparent bottle shows the content from outside. There is a screw cap on the bottle neck. I found the bottle little uncomfortable to use when trying to pour out the shampoo, because you tend to take out much more than required quantity. The packaging also gives no detail of the ingredients.Though I expect the full-sized packaging would be considering these issues.

My experience: 
The shampoo is in nice pinkish color with brown tint in it. The shampoo is not as thick as usual shampoos sold in the market. Its neither of very runny consistency, so I found it quite the proper liquidity to smear and rub on hair as well as scalp. I could actually relate the color and consistency of Drunken Locks to the freshly made Guava juice in a bottle ;)

The fragrance is absolutely uplifting. I liked how refreshing and herbal feel it gives as you smell it. The fragrance actually remains locked in your tresses even after hours of head bath and makes you feel good.

The shampoo produced no lather on my hair as I massaged it on my wet hair. In course of taking out the dirt, grime and oil from my hair, I ended up using almost one third quantity of the shampoo from the bottle. Sadly, it could not perform to my expectations in terms of cleaning the scalp and hair. The strands felt not completely cleansed. Though I believe the mildness of the shampoo due to the less usage of surfactant will be suitable to sensitive skinned people.

My family members also gave it a try to check if it suits the texture of their hair. I generated very mild lather on very-short hair of my son n hubby that works towards gentle cleansing of the hair.  
Overall, I am not very happy with the product on my hair, but can recommend for short hair. The shampoo has no harmful constituents that would cause itching or irritation of scalp. It is little ineffective to cleanse the hair, but doesn't strip hair of it's natural oils.

Pros:
No chemicals
Not animal tested.
Suitable for all hair types.
Smells lovely.
Can be used on daily basis.
Causes no itching.

Cons:
Very mild lather.
Quite expensive.
Need a lot of quantity for long hair.

FEAR - Face Everything And Rise

Dad had met with an accident and got his legs badly injured. He had been bed ridden for many months. The helplessness of being dependent on others was written all over his face. Everyone in the family tried best to hide the sadness in hearts and pretended to be hopeful. My mom, the 'not-so-religious' kind of woman, in her deepest emotions committed to herself to pay her reverence to Nau Deviyaan at the holy shrines when dad recovers with all family members.

Time gradually passed and the day came when dad could get up and took another step forward on his weaker legs. Few more days of physiotherapy and he successfully borne his pain to be able to walk without any help :)

Mom wanted to fulfill her Mannat by visiting Nine Goddesses for their blessings. So the whole family started for the auspicious journey in the pleasant weather of October. Me as a teenage gal with my siblings took the whole episode as an adventurous as well as enjoyable trip to various destinations starting from Chamunda Devi, Kangra Devi, Jwalaji, Chintpurni Devi, Naina Devi, Kalika Devi, Shakumbhari Devi, Mansa Devi to Vaishno Devi.

This was the first time I had realized my fear of suffocation at Vaishno Devi when I found myself almost paralyzed outside the holy cave of Maa Vasihno Devi situated amidst the folds of the Trikuta Parbat. I felt dread of being inside the tight enclosed space without any opening for ventilation and could not dare to step in. Further continuous compelling by my parents to get in for Divine Darshans put me in tears and I puked right there. I could experience death-inducing fear under this panic attack of "what is there is no exit?" "what if there is a stampede?", "what if I die in there?"...  and I got unconscious. My aunt suggested my parents to fulfill their Mannat and stayed with me until I regained my senses. I felt guilty of spoiling  her trip, but could not help it. That incident left me in a thinking process whether I had been getting through some physical trauma.....

This fear controlled my life for many years and escaped myself of situations wherever I could expect myself trapped in small spaces.... But like all of us Earthlings, I wanted to live fearless and had the willingness to deal with darkest of fears coz I could not imagine myself as a brain-dead being... Without letting my mouth utter a word to others, I started working upon minimizing the exaggerated sensations in my mind that arose out of scariest feeling of suffocation.  Though it was harder to convince myself that my plan is succeeding when I had no idea how long I’ll have to keep trudging along before some meaningful change comes my way.

I remember my intentional entries within subways, rooms with least space and lower ceiling and over crowded public place so that I might ensure that my 'fear-confronting' project worked to some extent. Slowly and gradually, my discomfort turned his back towards me and unhelpful situations got friendly with my inherit courage.
The darkest labelled 'FEAR' had gave my personality a new dimension to flip upside down the deadly panicky feelings. It was nothing but 'Fear' that became my life's survival mechanism. In those days of celebrating my victorious moments, I came across this line that read --

"When the going gets tough, the tough gets going" 

 I'm a firm believer of this fact now that when life leaves you with no choices, then only YOU tear off the veils of non-existing fears and blow the drums of winning over the situations. I take pleasure to give my 'FEAR' that much-deserved credibility of making me confident and mettlesome. :) The similar idea is depicted in this Mountain Dew film.

I'm proud to #RiseAboveFear and whats your story all about!! 

This post has been written exclusively for #RiseAboveFear Happy Hours activity by Indiblogger in association with Mountain Dew India.

I Have Learnt To Live With Pride Now

I flip back a chapter of my life today to tell you the story of a low-confidence gal. I was not the same confident personality by birth. By the grace of God, I was blessed with physical fitness, but still I had a negative image of myself in my mind. This is the first time that I am openly accepting the fact that most of the time I used to refrain myself from doing a thing just because I had a sound echoing in my subconscious mind "I cannot excel in this and its not meant for me.." The constant feeling of comparing myself with everyone else in a negative way and then putting myself low had become a psychological stress that I was battling with ...This silent disease of my thoughts caused low self-esteem in me which in turn hindered my academic and social functioning to a greater extent (for which I am actually repenting till date).

Though its my only public confession here, it doesn't mean that nobody could notice my behavioural pattern that time. I never knew that I was under the scanner of those observant eyes most of the time; the eyes of a affectionate and concerned dad. I heard my dad talking about of challenges of his early life and the trial-plus-success instances he had undergone. It was his way of injecting the fuel of self-assurance in me to keep me high-spirited. He prompted me to engage myself in activities in which I had been more proficient at home as well as school and neighbourhood so that a sense of achievement pierce in me to blow away my apprehensions. He himself acted in the best possible manner to make me learn new things by imitating him and also taught me to learn from mistakes, admit my weaknesses and work on them to turn them into my strengths. There were incidents when teachers, friends and family members noticed remarkable changes in my attitude towards life. 

The struggle had not ended so easily, because stepping in adolescence gave me yet another reason to confine myself due to my fright of interacting with opposite gender. Dad was still there with his courageous words and practical advice for raising me into a confident person. As a trustworthy friend, he portrayed in front of me, an image of a girl who deserves all good things and can succeed in life without merciful advantages in her baggage. He demonstrated the appropriate manner to express myself and cautioned me not to explode with whatever is stuffed in my head-n-heart without striking a balance between various factors underlying in the situation. As some more maturity set in my personality, I eventually was able to open the tight lid suffocating my inner self and emerged as a well-behaved, bubbling with energy, brimming with confidence and responsible woman attributed to win over the toughest hurdles and living life without being dependent on others. 

The person whom you see in the pic below is the one who deserves the title of my Motivational Guru and so I take privilege to voice my feelings for #MyFamilyMyPride that -

"Apno Ko Apne Dum Par Jeena Sikhao, 

Aur Duniya Ke Liye Misaal Ban Jao" 

I hope many of you would be able to relate to my story.. but don't forget to watch this touching video by HDFCLife of a lovely dad-daughter duo like me n my dad :) :) 

 This post is exclusively written for Indiblogger's #IndiHappyHour #MyFamilyMyPride campaign in association with HDFCLife.