TV – A Companion or A Foe?

Should children be exposed to television? Many felt that with parent’s supervision and by limiting the amount of television viewing, it would help educate the child instead. It’s often when things go beyond the boundary that the negative effects start to set in.

The American Association of Pediatrics recommends no more than 2 hours a day for children over 2 years old and no television viewing for children under two. That’s because they should spend more time exploring or interacting with other real things instead of being remotely controlled by the television.

Hmm… it looks like I have been violating this rule of thumb, since Sze Yi has been watching TV for more than 2 hours a day. It was our faults initially because we left the TV on most of the time. Well, maybe I should blame hubby, coz he’s a couch potato to begin with. Once he reaches home, the first thing he does is switch on the TV. But if I can stop him from doing that, I can’t with MIL. She’s also a TV addict and before Sze Yi was born, the TV is her great companion. So, Sze Yi grew up in such an environment where everyone is always watching the TV, and after she was introduced to her favourite channels, Ceria and Disney, she began to request her TV time too.

After we moved to our new condo, I got a better control of things. But it’s still difficult because Sze Yi was already addicted by then. And then the Baby Einstein’s fever began an attack on my breastfeeding buddies, and everyone started to be excited over it. I, being the kiasu type, wouldn’t want to be left out, so I bought one copy for Sze Yi as well. Not enough with that, when hubby went to US, I asked him to buy more. Here’s her total collections as of today:

It took me a while to get Sze Yi to watch these, as she still prefers Barney from the rest. Well, soon I started to get more Barney CDs for her, as I find it not good for her to keep on watching the same one over and over again. She could watch one non-stop for the whole day, and laugh along as if she understand what they are talking about. In fact, she could nearly memorize all the sequence of events, and could tell us what is coming next. I also noticed that her vocab has improved vastly, and she could hum and dance along the songs as well. Baby Bop has become her favourite character, she refered to her as Bap until at one time we were all confused if she’s Baby Bap or Baby Bop :)

Over time, she learnt how to operate the DVD player. She could turn on the player, press the eject button, place the CD in and then close it, and finally hit PLAY!

So, what have we tried to limit her from watching too much TV? I started by telling her NO, which of course did not work. We also limit her viewing time, which will always get extended when the limit is coming to an end, because she wouldn’t let us switch off the TV. And I’ve tried keeping all her CDs in my room, which she later found out where and would lead me to it and ask me to get them (they are very high up on my shelves). So, in the end, hubby have no choice, but would unplug the astro decoder and DVD player and hide them away (He even considered taking out the whole LCD screen and put that away). So when she asked for TV, we’ll just say it’s gone, and she seemed contented with the answer. Life goes on, but suddenly she chance upon the secret place where Daddy hid those things. So, she would request us to put them up again, which we sometimes comply, depending on whether she’s a good girl or not. Well, but since Daddy can’t live without his English Premium League, once in a while the Astro Decoder would appear again, and since it’s rather troublesome to plug and unplug them, he just left it there most of the time, unless Sze Yi becomes out of control. And we also found another way which does the trick – that is by setting the timer to automatically switch off after 30 minutes. Well, intially it worked very well, but later she found out that she could actually turn on the TV again to get it to continue showing. Sometimes, she would protest when it got turned off. So, we would normally leave the living room when we know it’s about to turn off, so that she wouldn’t suspect that we’re turning it off. Well, that still works most of the time

We’re still dilligently trying to get her to watch less TV nowadays, and I just chance upon this website on some of the tips to overcome this: http://www.wholefamily.com/aboutyourkids/child/television_1.html

Maybe I should try them out soon. Wish me luck!

A Terrible Experience

Since Sze Yi had been coughing for more than 2 weeks, we decided to take her to see Dr. Lim. It was not a bad cough, just occasionally and very rare. However, when it came, she could be coughing away until she sounded like wanting to vomit. This caused us really worried, as we’re not sure what’s causing this.

I asked her if she wanted to see Dr. Lim, she would laugh and then said “Ai”. I’ve been preparing her for the visit by imitating the way Dr. Lim will take her temperature, and say “Ah… open your mouth”. She played along happily.

Well, the moment she stepped into Pantai Mutiara Hospital, she panicked and directed me to turn back. I was carrying her, but at the way she’s struggling, it was quite difficult to handle her. I tried to tell her it’s ok, that she needed to see a doctor because she’s coughing, but to no avail. So, I had to purposely make a few rounds and told her that we need to find Daddy (hubby dropped us off at the entrance to find a parking) to go back. Everywhere I went, she could sense the direction was not correct and pointed to the entrance. Finally I managed to convince her that there’s a play place up there, and thank goodness she agreed. So, I quickly took her into the lift, up we went and finally we arrived at Dr. Lim’s clinic. When she saw the slide, play house, etc. she started playing there happily. Then the nurse asked to have her weight taken, but she struggled away. I’m not sure if we finally got an accurate measurement, but she’s 11kg That’s a relieve, because she’s been sick and I don’t expect her to gain any weight since the last visit.

Well, Daddy then arrived and played with her. Before long, we were called in. It was a great parents-baby struggle (2 vs 1, and yet she seemed stronger than us). She wouldn’t want to go into Dr. Lim’s clinic! And when we forced her, she was very stubborn and gave a very good fight, struggling with all her might and crying non-stop, as if some terrible monster were coming at her. We tried to soothe her, coax her, and reason with her, but she was crying and struggling too much until we need a few more pair of hands to hold her, or she’ll drop off. Gosh, it’s really a terrible experience, not only for her, but for me as well. She seemed so helpless, but never wanted to give in. From here, both hubby and me realised what a stubborn and strong-willed girl we have. She never once rested or gave in, and fought all she could with everyone, kept calling Mama and Mai at the same time.

In the end, Dr. Lim gave up and told me he can’t diagnose what’s wrong with her, since she wouldn’t let him hear her breathing. Hubby quickly took Sze Yi out while I stayed on to find out what’s wrong with her. According to Dr. Lim, there were a few possibilities that caused her to cough- either a blocked nose, lung infection, or sore throat. So, since he’s not able to hear Sze Yi’s breathing properly (due to her screaming), he decided to give her the following to try out:

i. Rhinathiol Promethazine, which is for unproductive and irritative coughs particularly nocturnal coughs – this is to cure the phlegm and throat 

ii. Ventolin Syrup (Salbutamol Sulfate) – to treat the lung

iii. Fluimucil A (N-Acetylcysteine), in sachets form, need to be disolved in water – this ia also for the phelgm.

I was told to bring her back if her cough didn’t stop in 3 days. So I thanked him and left. Sze Yi and Daddy were happily waiting for me outside, at the play place. We went to get the medicine and went home. Throughout the journey, Daddy kept teasing Sze Yi, “We go and see Dr. Lim, ok?”, which would start making her cry again. But after a few times, she got the joke and replied him with a laugh and a big ”hahaha” instead!

We’ve been feeding her the medicine diligently, and started to see some improvements after 1 day. But when I read the description on the Rhinathiol that an overdose could cause the child to be in coma (and it’s only supposed to be given to children above 1 year old) I was worried and called Dr. Lim to check. Furthermore, MIL told me that after Sze Yi took it for the first time, she’s been sleeping for really really long. Before calling him, I told Sze Yi that I’m going to call Dr. Lim to check on something. She was very apprehensive and stood near the phone, looking at me intently. After I finished talking to Dr. Lim, she was relieved and went back doing her things again. Well, according to Dr. Lim, that’s what stated for all cough syrup and he’s already prescribe a lower dosage than recommended in the description. He told me that if I’m still worried, I could further lower it down to 3.5ml (previously was 4ml). So, we continued the medication for 3 days, with a lower dosage for the Rhinathiol. She seemed to love the sachet type drink, but it was not so easy with the other 2. Anyway, a treat on Barney CD always did the trick. And of course the thought of going back to see Dr. Lim would make her take the medicine too. Since then, everytime I asked her if she still have cough after I returned from work, she would reply me with “Boh”.

After this experience, I started to ask myself if it’s wise to change her PED? Since Sze Yi just wouldn’t give Dr. Lim a chance, it’s so difficult to diagnose her and she needs to take so many medications to actually know what’s wrong with her. Well, that’s something to consider, will see how… 

Leftie Vs Rightie

Recently a friend of mine asked me if Sze Yi is left-handed or right-handed. I was taken aback because I have never really thought about it. I just remembered once when I first taught her how to eat, I noticed that she would use her left hand to feed herself. I tried to correct her then, because my father corrected me to write with my right hand too when I was small. Besides that, I also observed that she prefer to use her left hand when she shook hand with people. Other than that, I couldn’t really remember if she used her left hand more or the right more when it comes to picking things, writing, etc. My friend told me that we could tell if our child is a leftie or rightie by as young as when she’s still a baby, by observing which hand is more active.

We further discussed if being a leftie has any advantages or disadvantages over a rightie. I thought that being a leftie means that you’re more gifted and creative because you processed the info with your right brain.The right hemisphere of the brain is where we know a lot of the creativity is centred. In fact, many of my leftie friends are talented people. However, since this is a rightie’s world, many things were designed for their convenience, and thus a leftie could lose out from this perspective.

We were then wondering if it’s ok to correct a child if she’s left-handed. I felt that it’s ok, because my mother told me that I started to write with my left hand but my father managed to correct me and I’m now using my right hand to write. But I noticed that I still do some other tasks with my left hand, for instance brushing my teeth and listening to the telephone. So am I also a leftie but was transformed into a rightie? However, my friend thought otherwise. She felt that we should not correct the child because that would make her less comfortable in completing a certain task, and thus reduced her confidence.

After this little conversation, I went to do some info-searching from the web. I found there’s another term – ambidextrous, which means that you can do things equally with each hand. Hmmm… since I can only write well with my right hand, but not equally good with my left hand, so I’m actually called mixed-handed! That is interesting.

The main difference between lefties and righties up in the brain is that the right-handed individual is going to be controlled predominantly by the left side of the brain while left-handed people are controlled by the right side of the brain – according to Melbourne psychologist Simon Forbes. However, being a mixed hander, there is a side of the brain which is more dominant – we could find out with a brain scan. And the telltale test is how our brain handles language. If our language centres are all in the left hemisphere, then our brain is organized like that of a typical right hander – when it comes to language. However, different aspect, like creativity might be different. That could explain why some people are mixed-handed.

I then chanced upon this site written by pediatrician Dr. Lewis First from Vermont Children’s Hospital, which I think answered most of my questions about this issue. Here’s a summary of that:

1. Left handed is hereditary. The percentage of a child being left-handed depends on both parents’ handedness. However if both of the parents are right-handed, there is still a 2% chance of the child being a leftie.
2. Some sources said that the first clue to predict whether a newborn will be left-handed or right-handed is to see the way the babies turn their heads. If like most newborns it’s to the right, then they are more likely to be right-handed. Lefties turn to the left. However, according to Dr. Lewis, it is not until the child is approximately two years old that parents can fairly accurately determine which hand is preferred. That’s because most infants will begin to reach for things with their right hand beginning at 5-6 months, and they will shortly begin to use the left hand as well.
3. While some studies suggest lefties are more accident prone, it is actually the simple result of having to survive in a world largely designed for right-handed people.
   
4. It is better not to transform a leftie into a rightie, because studies have shown that this leads to problems with reading, writing, speaking, and other motor skills, along with frustration with school and school work. Instead, if you’re a rightie trying to teach a leftie, just sit opposite your child, and be their mirror – they will learn a task like tying shoes more quickly.

And I also found out that there is another theory which postulates that prenatal experience does influence handedness, explaining that increased levels of testosterone exposure in the womb decreases development of the left hemisphere of the brain. That would explain the higher incidences of left handedness in males, but also among multiples, since hormone levels are increased during pregnancy with multiples. However, I have also read about there are more women being left-handed, so now I’m not sure which theory is correct.

Anyway, I went home to check on Sze Yi, and started to ask her to pass me her toys, books, etc. She used her right hand. Then I gave her a pencil and asked her to write something on a piece of paper. She automatically use the right hand too. So I’m quite convinced that she’s a rightie afterall!

 

A Battle Against the Virus

I’m not sure if I’m being superstitious. I’ve been commenting on how big Sze Yi looked compared to the rest of the kids her age. Actually I was rather worried if she would be a very big size girl next time. And not long after that, she started to fall sick. There’s a chinese myth that forbid us to say things like that in front of the child, but I don’t really believe this.

However, last Sunday, I noticed that Szeyi was suddenly quite attached to me again, without any apparent reason. She wanted me to carry her and go for a walk, so that she could sleep on my shoulder while I carried her. She normally does this when she has difficulty in getting to sleep. I noticed that she was a little bit warmer than usual, but I didn’t suspect anything. However, after the walk, I felt that her temperature was not improving. I quickly measured her temperature, 36.8′C. Mine was 36.2′C. Still not considered as fever, but since it didn’t get better I decided to give her a dose of paracetamol.

Towards evening, her temperature stayed at around this level, but her body was very warm. We put a wet towel on her forehead, which she eventually pushed away. Hubby wanted to take her to our paedetrician, Dr. Lim but I asked him to wait, since she hadn’t reach 37′C. From our past experience, the paed won’t do anything if there’s no fever. Night came, and she went to sleep. We were monitoring her temperature closely. She didn’t show any sign of discomfort, like flu or cough, so it was beyond us why she could suddenly have fever. At around 2am, she woke up. Her whole body was hot. The thermometer showed 37.3′C. We fed her paracetamol (she was very good this time, didn’t really push it away but took it from the spoon directly since we told her she’s having fever). I continued to sponge her forehead until it went down to 36.8′C and then I went to sleep.

We took her to see Dr Lim the next morning. When Sze Yi saw Dr. Lim, she quickly insisted to be taken out from his clinic. She wouldn’t let him touch her and cried so pitifully. Poor girl, she asscociated him with jabs and pain, so everytime we took her to see him, she would grow very apprehensive. In between all her stuggles, Dr. Lim managed to check on her quickly, and confirmed my suspicions that Sze Yi was having a bad sore throat. However, he didn’t prescribe us any antibiotics since he prefered her to fight the virus on her own. According to him, it’s just another viral infection. So he prescribed us Ventolin expectorant (for her cough, since she coughed occasionally, although not serious), Polaramine Syrup (for her runny nose, also just a mild one) and Paracetamol for her fever (her temperature was 37.3′C when he measured her).    

It was not that hard to feed her the medicines, as she was very co-operative. But she hates the cough syrup (whitish in color) and it took hubby some persuasive power to convince her that it’s ok. Hubby would say “sweet sweet” and we gently coaxed her to take it. She was very good. It worked well with both the syringe and the spoon. However, she was very demanding especially when it comes to Barney. She would keep on insisting to watch Barney. We relented because she was sick. We also used that as a bribe for her to take her medicine (chuckled)! 

That night, after she slept (the 2nd night that she got fever), MIL went in to check on her. She noticed that her temperature suddenly shot up and so she sponged her body. However, Sze Yi was shivering. Hubby got really worried so we took her to the Hope Specialist in Tanjung Bungah because Pantai was already closed by then. If we went to Pantai, it would be considered as an emergency and they had to page for Dr. Lim.

When we reached Hope, we had a hard time trying to get Sze Yi’s weight. She wouldn’t want to stand on the weighing scale, so I have to weigh both of us, and then minus my own weight. Her weight was around 10.4kg. Later, when she saw all the toys and indoor playground there, she suddenly grew very active and started to play with the slides, the car, etc. We didn’t wait long before we were called in. The doctor in charge measured her temperature – it was 38.6′C! We all got a shock. So, he prescribed her antibiotics (Zithromax Susp), Actihist Co Syrup (for running nose/cough) and Paracetamol. He also asked the nurse to administer the suppository for her since she’s having such a high fever. We were given some to take back with us, in case her fever couldn’t subside. We were told that if she’s still having fever after 48 hours, we should bring her back to the clinic again.

We went home, but Sze Yi wouldn’t want to sleep. She wanted to see Barney instead. It was already 1am in the morning. So we had to accompany her. If we insisted of not letting her, the little monster would scream until the roof came down and still crying.  We have no choice.

All of us were really tired and drained out during this period. Despite her being sick and taking all the medicines, she still slept very late and demanded to watch Barney. So we took turn accompanying her, there’s once when I could only sleep after 4am. Later, MIL woke up to relieve me. Guess what time that little girl slept? 5am! That was a great record.

Well, it had not been easy feeding her medicine after that. She hated the antibiotics, and it took us lots of coaxing to get her to eat. We didn’t use force since the medicine would surely spilled instead of going into her mouth. So, we use Barney as the bribe. “If you take this medicine, Mommy will let you watch Barney”. It didn’t work all the time, so I’ll need Daddy’s creative idea. Sometimes I would accosicate the color of the medicine with strawberry, orange, etc… Or hubby would say “Szeyi, come mum mum…” since she loves food. It’s getting harder to get her to eat the medicine each day, but thank goodness she finally completed her antibiotics and so now I only gave her the cough/runny noise syrup once at night, since her cough was very rare and mild.

We also noticed that she’s much stronger this time. Hubby commented that she fought the battle well because she recovered very fast. She looks thinner now, because we didn’t feed her rice or porridge for fear of her getting a fever again. Her appetite went down, and only drank milk for the past one week. However, I noticed that she’s very active again by Wednesday, no more fever at all and I have never been so glad. Maybe I should refrain from commenting about her size again, since each child will grow according to her own pace and rhythm.  I think I’ve learnt my lesson