Speaking of Child Care & Nutrition

Parents have a vital role in their children’s development. Many different factors can influence a child’s growth. Genetics and environment are two important influences.

As a children grow from infancy to adulthood, they develop motor skills, strength, coordination, and intellectual and social skills. During this process of growth, innumerable hows and whys assail a parent’s mind.

This book tells you how to help your child grow up healthy in mind and body through proper care and nutrition.

Dr. M. Raheena Beegum is an authority on Home Science, with a specialization in Food and Nutrition.

The quality of life of almost one-third of the population of India is "deplorable, even after 50 years of independence. Most young mothers and health workers have very little idea about a child's needs and its proper care. Therefore, malnutrition begins in infancy itself, which is the most crucial period in a person's life. As per the 1991 census, the population of children under 15 years of age is 305 million, of which 111 million are under five. Of the 25 million children born every year, close to 2.7 million die before completing five years of age.

Malnutrition and infection coupled together block the growth and development of children. The concept of positive health still remains a mirage. Present-day advances in the field of nutrition and child care have to be propagated to parents, health workers, anganwadi workers, nurses and doctors to minimise human wastage. Information about conception till birth, for healthy gestation, nutritional care of newborn babies and low birth-weight babies, weaning, supplementation, immunisation, special care of mentally retarded children, habit formation, the growth pattern of children, the modification of family food for children, food and water-borne diseases, behavioural disorders and the prevention of mortality the are some of the topics discussed in this book. Multipurpose health workers and anyone involved in maternal and child care will find this work extremely useful. The book is mainly aimed at the layman who needs to know the rudiments of child nutrition and child care.

My long association with young children and their mothers, 'throughout my field studies, and adolescent girls throughout my career, strengthened the need to reach out to them with scientific knowledge in a simple form. That is what prompted me to write this book. Several thousand copies of a similar book in the regional language were welcomed by readers in Kerala-the miraculous model State of health.

I thank all well-wishers around me who appreciate my small efforts. My thanks to my daughter Vidya and son Vinod, who always supported me in my work. My late husband, Mr V.A. Abdulkhadar, used to render his support in a special way and encourage me to pursue my academic work. I also thank Mr P. Thomas who helped me to prepare the manuscript. Let me express my gratitude to Mr S.K. Ghai, M.D., Sterling Publishers, for helping me in bringing out this book.