I’ve been meaning to show you this image for months, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet.
Early morning mist on the mountain
First published on Parent24.com:
Did you know that pigeon toes (or intoeing) occurs in 2 out of every 1000 children? But wait, there’s more.
Soon after my little girl was born, I noticed that she was very bowlegged and I couldn’t remember any of my other kids having legs like that. When she started walking at 10 months I noticed how her right foot was pointing inward as she walked. She was also more prone to falling than her brothers were. So I made an appointment with an orthopaedic surgeon.
The doctor confirmed that she was intoeing and explained the reasons why. During foetal development the lower limbs start rotating inward around the seventh week, this makes the toes point towards each other. Later the legs gradually rotate out again and this may carry on during childhood, but by the time of birth, the feet are approximately pointed straight forward.
A small amount of twist in infant legs is considered normal. With my little girl, the rotation was slightly more than normal resulting in feet pointing inwards when she walked.
Since this condition usually corrects by itself, no treatment is planned for now. However, if she still suffers from it at 12 years of age, we will look at it again.
There are three types of intoeing :
1. Metatarsus Adductus (curved foot)
Metatarsus adductus, is the most common congenital foot deformity.
In Metatarsus adductus, the front part of the foot curves inward. It is usually due to the way the baby was positioned inside the womb and is normally noticeable directly after birth. In most children this corrects itself by the age of 4 to 6 months. Should the curve be unusually severe or rigid, the doctor will probably do a cast or give stretching exercises. Although this condition isn’t painful at all, it could present a problem with finding shoes later in life.
2. Tibial Torsion (twisted shin)
The most common cause of intoeing is tibial torsion, which usually becomes apparent when infants begin to walk.
Tibial torsion is a twist to the main shin bone. When you look at the leg from the front and the knee is straight, the foot joint is obviously turned inward. This is usually noticed around the time that the baby starts to walk. Most babies have a slight twist to this bone that disappears by the age of one year. The cause is thought to be due to the way the baby was positioned inside the womb, but can also run in families. This used to be treated with boots connected to a bar, but research showed that children that went untreated showed the same recovery as children that were treated. Most children will grow out of this by the age of 8 years. Even if the problem persists, research has shown that it doesn’t cause arthritis or problems with jumping and running.
Tibial torsion:
- Affects boys and girls to an equal degree
- Two-thirds of the time both legs are affected, but in most cases legs are not affected equally, with one leg rotated more than the other.
- Occurs more frequently in the left leg than the right leg when in both legs
3. Femoral Anteversion (twisted thigh)
When intoeing starts in early childhood, it is most frequently due to medial femoral torsion.
Femoral anteversion is due to a twist in the femur close to the hip joint. It is less noticeable at a young age and usually comes to the parents attention around 4 to 6 years of age. The child will stand with knees and toes pointing inward. This too corrects on its own. Children with femoral anteversion tend to sit in the W position – with their knees bent and the feet to the side. Since this position reinforces the femoral anteversion it should be discouraged.
Femoral torsion :
- Is twice as common in girls than boys
- Almost always affects both legs equally
- Is believed to be inherited, to some degree
- Sometimes causes an abnormal gait and difficulty running
More about intoeing
Generally, children with intoeing are otherwise completely healthy and do not suffer from other abnormalities or diseases.
- It usually does not cause pain.
- It usually does not interfere with learning to walk.
- It has not been linked to arthritis in adulthood.
- It does not cause clumsiness.
- Occurs in about 2 out of every 1000 children.
- Is more common in infants and young children than in adolescents.
Useful websites
First published on Parent24.com:
My child won’t get head lice. Right?
This mom does some research into head lice after the initial shock of seeing them in her son’s hair.
Last night after a haircut, my oldest boy was sitting on my lap before bed time when I decided to check if the rash he had on his scalp had returned or not. That’s when I found it. It was a small baby one at first and a minute later the Big Mamma Louse! To tell you the truth, that Mamma Louse, was a lot bigger than I ever expected.
Yes, we got a notice from school that there had been an outbreak of head lice, but I wasn’t worried about it. I mean, we’re not head lice kind of people, right? Turns out we are. What a major shocker that was. I keep the boys clean, wash their hair myself, mostly so that I know the sand has been properly washed out. I even remember to clean their ears every now and then. But head lice?
Well, when mommy’s faced with a subject she doesn’t know about, she hits Doctor Google, that’s after arranging to go to the pharmacy for head lice shampoo the next day. It turns out the shampoo is not foolproof, and it might be hazardous to the little one’s health. Yikes.
Of course the moment you admit that your child has head lice, you get the advice and recipes. Everyone has the best method of getting rid of the little buggers. And some of them are down right scary.
Here’s what I found:
Head lice facts
- Head lice are not a dirty-hair problem, it’s an all-kinds-of-hair problem.
- They jump right? Wrong, they crawl. They spread mostly by head-to-head contact, sharing clothing, bed linens, combs, brushes, and hats. Oh, and they can’t fly either.
- Head lice only survive on human heads, so you can’t get it from your pets.
- They’ve got six legs with claws that hold on to the hair.
- The Big Mamma Louse is about the size of a sesame seed, and a clear colour except after they’ve fed on human blood, then they’re a reddish-brown. Or in the case of the one I found, a combination of the two.
- They live for about 30 days and Big Mamma Louse can lay up to 100 eggs (called nits) in that time.
- The nits are really small oval shaped eggs glued to the side of the hair shaft at an angle. They can be dark brown to light yellow before they hatch. They hatch 7 to 10 days after being laid. The females start laying eggs 7 to 10 days after hatching.
Treatment
There are a lot of different treatments available for head lice. The most common are the head lice shampoos that contain a pesticide. These have strict instructions that you should adhere to. Now it might just be me, but I feel strangely uncomfortable using a pesticide on my child’s head.
Various alternative shampoos and treatments have now reached the market, claiming natural remedies instead of the pesticide approach. These are also very expensive and each one claims it’s the only one that can guarantee effective treatment.
These shampoos share one common fact. They advise you that the only way their product will be effective is with the combined use of a special fine toothed comb.
With a bit more research I found this interesting fact: If your child is under the age of 2, manual removal is advised. Use a fine toothed comb on wet conditioned hair every 3 to 4 days for two weeks after the last louse was seen. The water temporarily immobilises the louse and the conditioner makes the combing easier.
After all my research, this mommy is off to the chemist to buy a fine toothed comb.
First published on Parent24.com:
Do parents have to choose between structure and playtime for 5-year-olds?
My fondest memory of Grade 1 was building a huge clay crocodile. My mother remembers me selling my new pencils for 50c each on the first day. With Rivan turning 5 this year and the soon-to-be compulsory Grade R, I decided to find out what all the hype was about. I’d heard rumours of how tough Grade 1 is these days, but could it really be that bad?
The Department of Education has postponed the compulsory Grade R implementation with two to three years, now only to be rolled out in 2012 or 2013. Although crèches and pre-primary schools will be allowed to have Grade R classes, they will have to register and follow the departmental curriculum. This will then also allow them to apply for a subsidy from the Department of Education.
I could keep him in crèche for his Grade R year, allowing him one more year to be a little kid whose only job it is to play, or enrol him in the primary school’s Grade R and give him that added benefit of a structured and easier start to Grade 1.
I toddled off to my local primary school and put the Grade R teacher through the wringer. My first impression of the classroom was: ‘this is what my Grade 1 class felt like’. With little chairs and tables, pictures on the walls and everything marked with a big name tag.
The teacher explained that the workload the kids have to deal with in Grade 1 these days is miles away from what we did as kids. Sorry kids, no more playtime with clay. She showed me some of the Grade 1 school books. The school year only just started and already they are expected to write complete words. And not only the ‘See Spot Run’-type either. By February they start to write sentences. Without the foundation of Grade R, children cannot cope with what is expected of them.
I asked what the difference is between letting your child do Grade R in a crèche or in the primary school. She replied that it helps if your child becomes familiar with the big school environment. The work is structured and age appropriate, whereas a lot of crèches are just not geared towards providing the necessary foundation work. Some race ahead, placing too much pressure on the children, and others deal with the teaching of the basics incorrectly. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t any good pre-primary schools out there.
But for me, I think the structure of the primary school’s set up is the way to go.
Want to know what’s wrong with SA?
The sense of entitlement and disregard for others.
I saw it again today. Driving into town in the fast lane on the speed limit. I was passing a truck, when out of the blue this guy and his girlfriend/wife drove up behind me. Without even slowing down he proceeded to overtake me. Disregarding the safety of the truck next to me, myself or the two oncoming vehicles. Why? Because he believes he has the right to break the law. Because those laws don’t apply to him. Because he is entitled to break the speed limit and traffic laws when it suits him.
So, if traffic laws don’t apply to him, why should any of the other laws of our country apply to him? If he is entitled to break the law when it suits him, how about if the opportunity to steal something comes his way. Do you think he will abide by the laws of the country and not steal? Or will his sense of entitlement extend to taking something that doesn’t belong to him?
For that matter look all those people who download movies from the internet and sell it cheap. Do you really think that they are doing something legal? Or does their entitlement to making a profit cover the fact that they are stealing from the business people who made that movie a reality?
Believe me this is not a race thing. I’ve seen it in all the races in South Africa. It’s also not a poor thing, since I’ve also seen it among the rich and middle class. What is interesting is that most of the people I know have that sense of entitlement to one degree or another. They are entitled to a job, money, housing, name it and they have to have it. Without any input or justification for what they want. I’m entitled to drive a fancy car. I’m entitled to a fancy title at work, whether I’ve actually earned what I believe I’m entitled is another matter all together.
Look at the strikes that have just ended. Our economic climate is terrible. These unions called a strike while demanding more than double the inflation rate. Yes, R4000 minimum wage is extremely little. But forcing the companies into retrenching workers because of the increased manpower costs, is not going to solve the problem. The only thing it’s doing is creating a larger unemployed sector of society.
Then there’s the people that believe white males cannot achieve success in a post apartheid South Africa. Why? The opportunities are still there. If you’re prepared to work for it. If you’re prepared to go the extra mile to get a job in NZ, why won’t you do it here? Don’t you think you might get the same reaction if you were prepared to give it your best here? Do you honestly believe that the companies in SA have to keep you on if you aren’t prepared to extend yourself at all?
I was brought up to believe that in order to make money and be successful, you have to work for it. You have to invest time, effort and sweat. If you have to make do with a small salary in the beginning, to accept it and work in such a manner that your superiors see what you do and give you promotions and increases. That if you carry on in this fashion, you will better yourself and be able to afford all those nice things you’ve always dreamed off. If you want something, get your butt in gear and work for it!
No, you’re not entitled to things just because you want it. No, you aren’t entitled to break the law because it’s convenient for you. Because if you think you are, you are no longer part of a lawful society. You’ve become a part of society’s problems. You are what’s wrong with South Africa.