Seasonal changes are not just about rising or falling temperatures in your city. Along with cool showers come a new strain of virus to make life miserable for us and our tots. I have dealt with some very difficult times with flu and the various versions associated with it. We as a family always fall sick together with a change in season. [That way we are pretty thick, doing things together ]. But this time I nearly lost my mind, with my girl and I down for weeks together with no respite. Turns out we are allergic to pollen.

A lot of you parents grapple with sickness, and it can be very harrowing. Even a simple cold can give you sleepless nights. We invest a lot of time in doctor visits and in fretting over thermometer readings. We try our best to make our child better with whatever it takes,  but we often forget that simple things help heal faster. You know, little things like a shift in focus.  Let me share a little experience. In all probability you’ve experienced this already.

After being sick for over a month I gave the whole deal a very serious thought, and tried to understand where we were going wrong.  We were falling sick too often and I usually gave my little one the flu bug instead of the other way round. And this was despite me being home and her at school, where children are more likely to catch bugs of all sorts. We ate right, and did the usual ‘right things to do to stay healthy’. But there was still something we (i) weren’t doing .

I think,  first of all the excessive fear of catching the virus literally invites it home. I am mortified of Spring. Instead of going out and admiring the lovely flowers in full bloom, I am terrified of catching a cold. And that’s exactly what I end up nursing- a terrible cold.

I think one’s state of mind matters a lot in dealing with sickness. And being positive is all that it really takes to bring the spring back in your feet.  No matter how many Apples and Oranges you gobble, if you are not in a positive state of mind, nothing will help. So, while I coughed and wheezed, I watched in amazement my 4 year old jump all over the house and play as normally as she usually does,  despite a very high temperature. Probably because she has little understanding of what ‘fever’ or ‘allergy’ is.  She was busy with her toys and pretend plays, where she build castles and went shopping with her pets and Barbie. On the other hand I was  Googling obsessively about every symptom of Pollen allergy and all the other miseries that go with it.  I looked for sympathy on Facebook and coughed some more. I chose to remain down, my little one chose to smile and be happy and focus her energies on everything, but sickness.  And its not such a big surprise that she bounced back to health much, much before I did.

It is a valuable lesson for adults. To be positive not just about your promotion and salary but also about your health! I recently read in a book by Rhonda Byrne, that the power to good health lies with us. It is just a matter of attracting it.  Cribbing about a running nose will apparently, only make it worse. Also, I feel a lot of parents go too far and restrict children with common cold and flu to bed and keep reminding them that they are sick. Instead, its a better idea to remain normal around them. That will help them much more. Besides, your child would much prefer a smiling happy parent than a grumpy, obsessive and nervous one.

So, smile often, love more, stay positive, stay healthy!

Posted by The Ketchup Girl

We set to make it for breakfast a few days back. Thought you might like to try this with your little cracker too .

As instructed I laid whatever she wanted, on the table.

1. Bread cut into triangles.

2. Sprinkles (pink ones please, mumma)

3. Butter (I want it soft, mum)

4. Plates

5. Knife for the butter

6. M n M’s (to be had after breakfast as dessert, please, mumma?)

My 4-year-old takes on from here!

So, mumma’s friends, this is how we make it. Look carefully, please.

1. First spread butter on the triangles. Like this.

2. Then sprinkle the pretty pink sprinkles ALL over the bread. Okay?

It can be messy. So wear an apron like I did.

3. Then look at it in amazement! And say ooooooooooooooo!

4. Take a big bite and enjoyy!!

I hope you enjoyed making Fairy bread with me?

Important Note : All pictures are protected and covered by the Creative Commons License . Please do not re-use, circulate or re-post without permission.

Contributed by

The Ketchup Girl for Rentoys

Be it a game of tennis, badminton or Lagori, we cannot ignore, how many friendships were formed while playing. Fair-play cannot be taught better than while playing a sport. I also think being passionate about a particular sport also promotes a healthy mind and conditions one to  pursue interests in life, with equal zeal.

It might be a good idea for parents to explore options for their child in their early  years itself– choose what kind of sports they might enjoy and eventually be good at.  Do remember, kids have a mind of their own and might sometimes out right reject playing a particular game. You might give up thinking he/she shouldn’t be forced into doing something. While it is fair to believe that a child shouldn’t be forced, do remember that a child is not fully capable of understanding and knowing  what might be best for him. So keep encouraging your little champ to give it a try.

Tennis classes, cricket / soccer coaching, basket ball or swimming lessons-  whatever be it, always give your child the thumbs up to play with friends in the field, for everyone can do with some fresh air and exercize!  And the next time you plan a family outing, remember to pack your cricket kit or what ever your family fancies.

BTW, are you having a FIFA finals party at home? I think it’s a fun idea.  Involve your children in it and cheer for your favourite team. (Spain, please?)

Contributed by The Ketchup Girl

Quite like the Ceebeebie’s ‘Big Cook Little Cook’ show, my four year old and I cook up fun things. And the best part about this is she eats what she makes, no matter how bad it turns out !

So then, do try baking cup cakes, fun shaped cookies or for the less adventurous moms and dads, simply hand over a ball of dough and a toy rolling pin to your little one and watch them. This is the best way perhaps to keep them well within your eye-sight while you are in the kitchen, and for sure, is a great way to bond with them. Little minds are like little scheme-engines. Its a little mortifying, the kind of things they can come up with in these play sessions. Don’t be surprised if you five year old rolls out a ‘snake’ or a ‘monster’ and devours it with equal enthusiasm. I assure you, it is a lot of fun.

They say it is good to start your children early on vocational training. Motor skills improve and it is a great opportunity for parents to observe what their child is good at/enjoys/has potential for. A little girl I know loved baking with her mom, but eventually, she enjoyed doing the colour frosting and icing more than anything else. Turns out she is a keen painter and loves experimenting with colours in her drawings.

Its is a great idea to have a birthday tea party, and get all your kid’s friends to bake their own little mini cup cakes. Give them little things to do. Have them all in aprons and watch the little chefs create a mess and have a ball of a time. It can be a lot more fun than a cliché Birthday bash.

I hope you will do these little nothings with your child, who is growing at a lightening speed  and fill up your album of fun memories.

So, how about starting with getting a toy kitchen set for your little ‘un? Or even better, try renting Rentoy’s Tinker Bell Disney Fairies Tea Set! It is available in the trial catalogue too. Buy it if your child really enjoys making you tea later on. Rest assured, you will get your tea right in your bed!

Stay cool and have fun!

The Ketchup Girl

So just imagine the impact children this generation will have on growing up, if you give them the gift of green. Catch them young, and inculcate green habits today, and secure a beautiful world for them. Teach them to love, nurture and appreciate. Here are my top 5 green things to do with your child -

1. Put together a garden kit with a little pot, a small shovel, a few soaked  bean sprouts and soil. Get them to plant the sprouts in the soil. teach them to water every day. And watch with wonder, the amazement in their eyes when they see the sprouts sprout!

2. Give a weekly prize for saving paper.

3. Encourage them to use a slate for practicing their alphabets.

4. Teach them not to waste. Not with a scolding, with a story may be? (Remember, your mom scolded you for wasting, but it had little impact on you )

5. Recycle your toys – donate them, pass them over to friend’s kids, exchange toys your child is bored of with other kids’ toys. Am sure mothers will be more than willing to do this instead of making weekly/fortnightly shopping rounds at toy shops.

5. And last but most certainly not the least, buy them eco-friendly toys.

These are little things, but remember these things will amount to big changes in future.

Stay green!

Contributed by The Ketchup Girl

The fact is that kids play by themselves with whatever objects they find around them. For all you know your toddler finds a little block of red wood, the most fascinating thing he has ever encountered, or your fingers for that matter. Wiggle them a little and watch your wee baby’s eyes widen and face break into the happiest chuckle.

Toys are mere facilitators. Doesn’t mean they have no role and are a waste of money. Heh, not at all. On the contrary, what I am driving at is the importance of child initiated play and the role toys have in it. Observe your little one and you’ll see them invent a whole lot of games by themselves. When they do that you should  introduce toys to aid the process. Toys can be great stimulators and help in enhancing your child’s all round development – motor skills, cognitive skills etc. To give you a quick example- remember how your kid dragged that pillow all over the house? May be if you introduced toys like  a train with a string/ a dog with a leash/a wooden horse/a cart etc, it will have the intended effect on your child’s mind. What you did only just furthered your child’s creativity. My girl, cuts her toy cake once, everyday. I gave her that one, when she turned two and had just enjoyed cutting her second birthday cake. With that toy cake, its a little unimaginable the kind of stuff she churns out- birthday parties, tea parties, quick snack for her ‘hungry baby’ and a few days back, she had me buy it from her ‘bakery’.

Having said that, please bear in mind, to introduce age appropriate toys and more importantly not to over stimulate them. There is not point in dumping toys of all shapes and sizes and giving them little room to discover each toy at a time.

We know you love your kid and want to give the world and nothing less. But may be you should re-consider your strategy of buying the entire store at a go! Like clothes, children out grow toys too. And when you introduce too many toys at a time, it might just result in the opposite- instead of engaging them, your child might just get plain bored, or as it happens often, stick to one toy leaving behind a mound of toys you affectionately bought for him last evening!

So, it might be a good idea to introduce one/few toys at a time, depending on the stage your child is in. Ensure the toy you are introducing are non-toxic, colourful , age appropriate and stimulating. And like we have harped earlier on this blog- recycle them! Children do not understand the meaning of new/old. Its in our head .

May be, we can help you?

Contributed by The Ketchup Girl

But, wait. Did I forget to mention something? Where’s ma? Yes, the same one who pushed me out of her over 3 decades back? Shouldn’t she be the first one on my must-consult list on motherhood? Actually she was- just that she was taken for grated. She was a given, after all. And might I add, despite the information overload and the treasure trove of knowledge available online, I always fell back on what Ma had to say.I had ma’s number on fast dial, so each time my girl cried, out went a call and in no time, I had not just advice, but so much comfort and reassurance that I was doing just fine as a mom. I needn’t panic, just yet.

I talk of Mum, because, I think all that I really learnt of Motherhood was wholly from her. And she was carrying in her the age-old ‘nuskas’ and tricks that were free hand-me-downs from generations before her. Sure, I had my set of qualms about traditional methods vis-a-vis modern, American Certified Pediatricians’ approach. But as I gained more and more experience as a Mother, I realised that the greatest lessons I learnt about Motherhood were not so much about whether water was an ok thing to give or not to an infant, but about patience, love, and perseverance. And these lessons, Ma taught me.

My mother is not modern in the literal sense, but is well ahead of her times. To me, Ma was my Google. She taught me what the online forums or even this little bit of maternal rant can’t teach. She taught me to be calm. She taught me the meaning of freedom. I knew along with what the word meant, it came with a whole bunch of responsibilities. She taught me about spirituality and righteousness, in her own little ways. And I try to instill these things in my 4 year old.

With every phase of my little one, Ma passes on to me Motherhood-isms, which to her is more a way of life.  I hope I pass them on to my mini-me with as much expertise as her !

While I am still active on every online forum and discuss ardently about issues pertaining to toddlers and babies, I still always run back to Ma first for any advice at all, on Motherhood.

Isn’t it rightly said, ‘As is the mother, so is her daughter’.

Hope you all had a great Mother’s day!

Contributed by The Ketchup Girl

Thought I’ll share a few fun things to do that makes for great bedtime conversations with your buttercup !

1. Pick up an incident from that day – a fun, naughty, happy incident. Pick an incident that might have had a great impression on him/her. For example a play-time tiff, a birthday party she enjoyed etc.

2. Use the same story line with an ending that will make her happy. Its important that they sleep with happy thoughts. The happier the story ending, the better it is. Create happy images- a pink fairy with a soft pillow was sleeping with her favourite little friend ..

3. Sprinkle your story with big words. Big, complicated words amaze them. Even if they do not understand at first, it registers in their mind and with repeated use it makes sense to them.

4. Be funny. Make sounds. Twist your face. Widen your eyes. Use your hands.

5. Egg them with questions. Like, so do you think the thief escaped or got caught? Trust me, you’ll be amazed at their imagination and the outcomes they want from the story. My little one never lets the thief get caught by the police. Its always her dad that does the job!

6. Create characters that inspire them- give them a name. Not a character from TV  or books. A character that you and your child create together.

Try this and watch your tot stump you with his/her absolutely resplendent imagination!

Wishing you happy times ahead with your bundles of joy!

Contributed by The Ketchup Girl

And of that 40 million, 13 million toys ended up in the dustbin?

The numbers are quite incredible aren’t they? I was pretty shocked when I read them especially since I am in the toy rental space! I now realize that I have to do something about this because if toy buyers aren’t recycling their children’s toys then I can’t sell toys/Rentoys with a clear conscience.

And so this initiative was born!

So How do I Recycle toys?

When our children receive ‘new’ toys they are a source of endless fun and amusement. They’re faces light up at the prospect of something new to play with. Children don’t really care whether they’re brand new or not, they’re new to them and that’s all that matters to them.

When your child outgrows his or her toys they can then be turned into ‘new’ toys for other children who will again see them as a source of endless fun.

Instead of throwing away unbroken toys you can donate them to a good cause. You can also get your children involved by asking them to sort out what toys they don’t play with. Then come to a decision together about donating the toys. This can create the perfect chance for discussion on the environment and recycling as well as helping good causes.

Here’s what you can do -

Rentoys.in has tied up with an NGO which is a non-profit organization that has been set up with the aim of providing toys to all children.

Our aim in this is -

• To ensure that children from under privileged backgrounds receive toys as well

• To sensitize and advocate amongst individuals from all sections of society the need and importance of the right to play and the right to leisure for all children.

Send me an email at shilpa@rentoys.in and we will have the toys collected from your home for this cause!