XSEED - iDiscoveri

iDiscoveri, a social enterprise to revamp education in India, has initiated a programme, XSEED, to help children develop a strong foundation in the primary years, which is critical for a child's development.

The new scheme of education is to be adopted at Perks Junior School from June 2010.

They are planning to be adopted by 300 schools. Good for the kids...

For more info, go to their website http://xseed.idiscoveri.com/

What Indian parents need to know and do?

So that was funny but what is coming next is no laughing matter. Read it and keep your family safe.

• If your child has fever, throat infection, body ache, consult doctor.

• Must go to a doctor at any government facility meant for swine flu.

• Swine flu testing is done only at government hospitals.

• Nose and throat swabs will be taken and tested.

• Child will not be quarantined if there are no symptoms.

• If clinical symptoms exist, child will be hospitalized, and tamiflu will be given only if the tests are positive.

• Act early to ensure quick recovery.

• Rapid screening advised by private hospitals not legal.

• Do not go for rapid screening as it's not 100 per cent accurate.

In times of crisis the worst thing is to panic so if you or your family member is having flu-like symptoms without wasting time go to the nearest designated hospital or doctor and get tested if he advises. If you have any queries don't listen to rumours and panic, call toll free helplines: 1075 or 1800-11-4377. Swine flu is certainly curable with timely intervention, correct diagnosis and a five-day medication.

Some specific precautions to be taken against H1N1:

• A mask to cover your nose and mouth is a must. These are not just regular masks but a special one called N-95 which filter microbes in the air that you inhale and exhale.

• A mask is a must when you are in a high-risk situation particularly when you have to go to a hospital to get tested and you have to be in the waiting room. Also keep the mask on when you are in a crowded place.

• Cover your mouth surely while coughing and sneezing turn your head and cough into your shoulder.

• Wash your hands in case there is body contact with someone who's got cold and cough.

Mums have a soft spot for first borns

Younger siblings’ suspicions have been confirmed: Parents, especially mothers, favour their ‘Precious First Borns’ (PFBs) over the children they have later, concludes a new study.

Among examples of attention lavished on the PFBs, mothers admit to rubbing shampoo into their own eyes to test it doesn’t sting, pulling prams backwards for miles to avoid direct sunlight and even sterilising the steriliser, reports The Telegraph. Others change their newborns so regularly they go through 150 nappies a week, while some spend half an hour bathing just their baby’s head.

But ‘NSCs’ - Neglected Subsequent Children - are regularly left to scream for attention, play with toys that the dog has licked and stew in their own juices until their parents are ready to deal with them. The term PFB and NSCs were coined by members of the parenting website Mumsnet.

Justine Roberts, co-founder of Mumsnet, told the Daily Mail that most mums agree that they treat the first child differently to later children. "Precious First Born syndrome is something we can all relate to – most mums will confess to having checked on their sound asleep firstborns several times a night, whilst Neglected Subsequent Children are liable to bawl for an age before we even notice," she said.