Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the unexplained death, usually during sleep, of a seemingly healthy baby less than a year old. SIDS is sometimes known as crib death because the infants often die in their cribs. Although the cause is unknown, it appears that SIDS might be associated with defects in the portion of an infant’s brain that controls breathing and arousal from sleep. Researchers have discovered some factors that might put babies at extra risk. They’ve also identified measures you can take to help protect your child from SIDS. Perhaps the most important is placing your baby on his or her back to sleep.

Symptoms and causes

Causes

A combination of physical and sleep environmental factors can make an infant more vulnerable to SIDS. These factors vary from child to child.

Physical factors

Physical factors associated with SIDS include:

• Brain defects. Some infants are born with problems that make them more likely to die of SIDS. In many of these babies, the portion of the brain that controls breathing and arousal from sleep hasn’t matured enough to work properly.
• Low birth weight. Premature birth or being part of a multiple birth increases the likelihood that a baby’s brain hasn’t matured completely, so he or she has less control over such automatic processes as breathing and heart rate.
• Respiratory infection. Many infants who died of SIDS had recently had a cold, which might contribute to breathing problems.

Sleep environmental factors

The items in a baby’s crib and his or her sleeping position can combine with a baby’s physical problems to increase the risk of SIDS. Examples include:

• Sleeping on the stomach or side. Babies placed in these positions to sleep might have more difficulty breathing than those placed on their backs.
• Sleeping on a soft surface. Lying face down on a fluffy comforter, a soft mattress or a waterbed can block an infant’s airway.
• Sharing a bed. While the risk of SIDS is lowered if an infant sleep in the same room as his or her parents, the risk increases if the baby sleeps in the same bed with parents, siblings or pets.
• Being too warm while sleeping can increase a baby’s risk of SIDS.

Risk factors

Although sudden infant death syndrome can strike any infant, researchers have identified several factors that might increase a baby’s risk. They include:

• Boys are slightly more likely to die of SIDS.
• Infants are most vulnerable between the second and fourth months of life.
• For reasons that aren’t well-understood, nonwhite infants are more likely to develop SIDS.
• Family history.Babies who’ve had siblings or cousins die of SIDS are at higher risk of SIDS.
• Secondhand smoke.Babies who live with smokers have a higher risk of SIDS.
• Being premature.Both being born early and having a low birth weight increase your baby’s chances of SIDS.

Maternal risk factors

During pregnancy, the mother also affects her baby’s risk of SIDS, especially if she:

• Is younger than 20
• Smokes cigarettes
• Uses drugs or alcohol
• Has inadequate prenatal care

Swimming Tips for Babies

Getting your baby used to water early in his life makes sense from a safety point of view. Swimming is also great fun and good exercise. Here’s some advice on taking the plunge with your little one.

When can I start swimming with my baby?

It’s best that you wait until six weeks after your baby’s birth before you go swimming. If you go sooner, there’s a chance you could pick up an infection. If you’ve had a caesarean section or a perineal tear, your health visitor or GP may recommend that you wait longer than six weeks, usually until after your postnatal check.

Even if you gave birth with no intervention or tears, you will experience some bleeding as your body gets rid of the lining of your womb after birth (lochia). It’s normal to bleed for anything up to six weeks after birth.

However, your baby can go swimming at any time from birth, although most baby swimming classes start at six weeks. If you are keen for your baby to be introduced to swimming before he is six weeks old, your partner or someone else can take him. Some private baby swimming classes start as early as four weeks. There’s no need to wait until your baby is immunized before taking him to a pool.

If your baby is younger than six months old only take him to a pool that’s heated to about 32 degrees C. It’s best to go to baby swimming lessons that use warm pools for young babies. Big, public pools are too cold for young babies.

What will I need to take?

Top of the list will be reusable swim nappies. Accidents can happen! You’ll also need to pack:

A warm bottle for after the swim if you are bottle-feeding.

A towel, preferably one with a hood, or a toweling dressing gown.

A snack if your baby has started solids. Swimming makes babies hungry.

A few of your baby’s bath toys to encourage a relaxed and fun atmosphere.

Changing mat and nappy bag.

How do I keep my baby safe in the water?

Make sure the pool is warm enough. If necessary, ask the pool attendants to check the temperature for you. Babies under six months need a temperature of about 32 degrees C. Make sure the water comes up to your baby’s shoulders to keep him warm, and keep him moving in the water.

As soon as your baby starts to shiver, get him out of the pool and wrap him up warmly. Babies lose heat more quickly than adults, so they shouldn’t stay in the pool for too long.

Start off with sessions of 10 minutes and build up to 20 minutes. If your baby is under a year old, limit your time in the water to 30 minutes’ maximum.

If your baby has a bad cold, a temperature or seems unwell, don’t go swimming. Also, your baby shouldn’t swim with a tummy bug and shouldn’t go swimming until he has been clear for at least 48 hours.

If your baby has a skin complaint, check with your GP to make sure that the chlorine won’t irritate him. Always rinse the chlorinated water off your baby after swimming and apply a moisturizer all over his skin, especially if he has dry skin or eczema.

I’m taking my baby to the pool on my own. Any tips?

Start by getting your baby used to the water. Make bath time fun. Gently splash water over his body or lie him on his back and move him gently through the water.

When you first visit a public pool, pick a time when it’s not too busy. Phone ahead to find out if there is pushchair access and changing tables. Ask a friend to come with you or join a mum-and-baby session. If you feel relaxed and confident, your baby will too.

There are lots of things you can do to make swimming fun for your baby and help boost his confidence in the water:

When you get in the pool, hold your baby close and keep eye contact with him.

When you feel more confident, try extending your arms and swishing your baby around.

Talk to him and praise him all the time.

Let your baby splash and play with his bath toys. Throw one a few feet across the pool and “zoom” him through the water to retrieve it.

Put your mouth under water and show your baby how to blow bubbles. This is an important lesson for him, as he can’t inhale water if he is blowing. If your baby is very young, blow a toy across the water and get him to blow it back or at least copy you blowing.

When he can sit up, put him on the side of the pool and sing “Humpty Dumpty”. When you get to the line “Humpty Dumpty had a great fall” lift him down into the water with a splash.

Lay him on his back with his head resting on your shoulder. Encourage him to kick his legs.

I’m not confident in the water, should I still take my baby swimming?

Even if you’re not keen on being in the water, you can make sure your baby gets the benefits that come from learning to swim.

You could try going for a few swims on your own in your local pool before taking your baby with you. Or you could join a baby swimming class. This will boost your confidence as much as your baby’s, and is a great way to meet other parents.

Learning to enjoy the water with your baby will strengthen the bond between the two of you as well as making you feel more positive about swimming.

What happens at baby swimming classes?

Baby swim classes are usually made up of a small group of parents and babies. The classes are usually arranged by ability. If you join a beginner’s class it will be everyone else’s first time too.

Baby swim teachers aim to make their sessions relaxed and fun, and to encourage learning through play. Young babies are born able to do primitive swimming strokes. Your teacher will build on these natural reflexes until your little one is completely happy moving in and through the water.

Once the two of you are in the pool, hold your baby in a way that allows you to keep eye contact. Give him constant praise to build his confidence. Your support and encouragement helps him to feel safe and secure.

Once your baby is confident in the pool, your teacher may encourage your baby to try swimming under water.

It’s natural for you to feel anxious the first time you and your baby try this. Rest assured babies have a natural affinity with water. Plus, your baby’s inbuilt gag reflex is generally strongest up to six months old. This reflex allows him to hold his breath under water without even thinking about it.

What do seeing babies in a dream mean?

Dreaming of babies may represent an immature aspect of yourself or a new aspect of yourself that is still maturing or developing. It may also symbolize a part of you that is feeling neglected or needs to be nurtured, loved and accepted by you.

Alternately, a baby may represent someone that is acting like a baby or someone who is naïve or innocent (possibly you).

A baby dream may also be prodromal and is telling you that you are pregnant.

Other dreams with babies

Changing a baby’s diaper or seeing a baby that needs to be changed may suggest changes that you need to implement in some aspect of life or within yourself.

Dreams about babies dying may suggest that you are maturing and letting go of your babyish thinking and behavior.

A dream about a baby drowning may suggest that your emotions are overwhelming you and you are crying like a baby – you need help to keep from drowning in your emotions.

A sleeping baby may represent peace of mind, being happy and content with no worries in life and a clear conscience.

If you are trying to get pregnant in waking life then dreaming about a babies may be a continuation of your waking life thoughts; or wish fulfillment. It may also be a rehearsal dream, preparing you for when you do become pregnant in waking life.

Having baby dreams may also be due to a fear of being or getting pregnant, especially if you’ve recently had unprotected sex and don’t want to be pregnant.

Seeing baby animals in a dream may indicate you are recognizing a basic animal instinct or behavior within you that is beginning to emerge and grow stronger. Consider your associations to the animal and its characteristics and traits for further analysis.

Meanings of the Sex of the Baby in a dream

If you are a woman, a dream about a baby girl may represent your inner child or an aspect of yourself that needs to grow up or mature. A dream about a baby boy may represent an aspect of your Animus that needs to be nurtured and encouraged to mature.

If you are a man, a dream about a baby girl may represent an aspect of your Anima that needs to be nurtured and encouraged to mature. A dream about a baby boy may represent your inner child or an aspect of yourself that needs to grow up or mature.

Truth behind Annabelle (The Haunted Doll)

According to claims originating from Ed and Lorraine Warren, a student nurse was given the Raggedy Ann doll in 1970, but after the doll behaved strangely, a psychic medium told the student the doll was inhabited by the spirit of a dead girl named “Annabelle Higgins”. Supposedly, the student nurse and her roommate first tried to accept and nurture the spirit-possessed doll, but eventually became frightened by the doll’s malicious behavior and contacted the Warrens, who removed the doll to their museum after pronouncing it “demonically possessed”.

Texas State University assistant professor of religious studies Joseph Laycock says most skeptics have dismissed the Warrens’ museum as “full of off-the-shelf Halloween junk, dolls and toys, books you could buy at any bookstore”. Laycock calls the Annabelle legend an “interesting case study in the relationship between pop culture and paranormal folklore” and speculates that the demonic doll trope popularized by films such as Child’s Play and The Conjuring likely emerged from early legends surrounding Robert the Doll as well as a Twilight Zone episode entitled “Living Doll”. Laycock suggests that “the idea of demonically-possessed dolls allows modern demonologists to find supernatural evil in the most banal and domestic of places.”

Commenting on publicity for the Warrens’ occult museum coinciding with the film release of The Conjuring, science writer Sharon A. Hill said that many of the myths and legends surrounding the Warrens have “seemingly been of their own doing” and that many people may have difficulty “separating the Warrens from their Hollywood portrayal”. Hill criticized sensational press coverage of the Warrens’ occult museum and its Annabelle doll. She said, “Like real-life Ed Warren, real-life Annabelle is actually far less impressive.” Of the supernatural claims made about Annabelle by Ed Warren, Hill said, “We have nothing but Ed’s word for this, and also for the history and origins of the objects in the museum.”

Secrets behind baby’s unusual crying

The reality is, all babies cry: It’s the best (and only) way for them to communicate their needs at this tender age. And as parents, we’re biologically programmed to respond so those needs get met. But in babies with colic, the crying starts suddenly for no apparent reason and has no apparent cure.

Colic is not a disease or diagnosis but a combination of baffling behaviors. It’s really just a catch-all term for problem crying in otherwise healthy babies the problem being, there’s no solution to it besides the passing of time. And it’s common, occurring in one in five infants. Episodes can go on for hours at a time, sometimes late into the night. Worst of all, try as you might and try you will it’s extremely difficult to calm a colicky baby, which only compounds your own frustration, worry and exhaustion.

Doctors usually diagnose colic based on the “rules of three.” Your baby’s crying:

Lasts at least three hours at a stretch
Occurs at least three days a week
Persists for at least three weeks in a row
Of course, some babies are colic overachievers, wailing for far more hours, days and even weeks at a time.

The good news is that colic doesn’t last. Most bouts peak at around 6 weeks and then typically start to taper off by 10 to 12 weeks. By 3 months (typically a little later in preterm babies), most colicky infants seems to be miraculously cured. The colic may stop suddenly or end gradually, with some good and some bad days, until they are all good.

In the meantime, a little knowledge and a lot of patience will help you survive until the storm subsides.

SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS OF COLIC IN YOUR BABY
How do you know for sure if your baby’s colicky? In addition to the rules of three, here are a few further colic signs and symptoms:

Crying occurs at the same time every day (usually in the late afternoon or early evening, but it can vary).
Crying seems to occur for no reason (not because baby has a dirty diaper or is hungry or tired).
Baby may pull up his legs, clench his fists and generally move his legs and arms more.
He also often will close his eyes or open them very wide, furrow his brow, even hold his breath briefly.
Bowel activity may increase, and he may pass gas or spit up.
Eating and sleeping are disrupted by the crying — baby frantically seeks a nipple only to reject it once sucking has begun, or dozes for a few moments only to wake up screaming.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COLIC AND ORDINARY CRYING?
There isn’t a clear definition of exactly what colic is or how (and if) it differs from other types of crying. But doctors typically agree that the difference between colic and ordinary crying in that baby seems inconsolable, crying turns to screaming, and the ordeal lasts for at least three hours and sometimes much longer (occasionally nearly around the clock, much to the tired and fraught parents’ dismay). Most often, colicky periods recur daily, though some babies take an occasional night off.

WHAT CAUSES COLIC?
While the exact cause of colic is a mystery, experts do know it’s not the result of genetics or anything that happened during pregnancy or childbirth. Nor is it any reflection on parenting skills (or lack of them, in case you’re wondering). And it’s also not anyone’s fault.

That said, here are some theories on what’s behind colicky crying:

Overstimulated senses. One possible explanation: Newborns have a built-in mechanism for tuning out sights and sounds around them, which allows them to sleep and eat without being disturbed by their environment. Near the end of the first month, however, this mechanism disappears — leaving babies more sensitive to the stimuli in their surroundings. With so many new sensations coming at them, some infants become overwhelmed, often at the end of the day. To release that stress, they cry (and cry and cry). Colic ends, the theory goes, when baby learns how to filter out some environmental stimuli and, in doing so, avoids a sensory overload.
An immature digestive system. Digesting food is a big task for a baby’s brand new gastrointestinal system. As a result, food may pass through too quickly and not break down completely, resulting in pain from gas in the intestines.
Infant acid re-flux. Research has found that infant GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) is sometimes a colic trigger. Infant GERD is often the result of an underdeveloped lower esophageal sphincter, the muscle that keeps stomach acid from flowing back up into the throat and mouth, which can irritate the esophagus. Symptoms include frequent spitting up, poor eating and irritability during and after feedings. The good news is, most babies outgrow GERD by age 1 (and colic usually goes away long before then).
Food allergies or sensitivity. Some experts believe that colic is the result of an allergy to milk protein (or lactose intolerance) in formula-fed babies. More rarely, colic may be a reaction to specific foods in Mom’s diet in breastfed babies. Either way, these allergies or sensitivity can cause tummy pain that may set off colicky behavior.
Tobacco exposure. Several studies show that moms who smoke during or after pregnancy are more likely to have babies with colic; secondhand smoke may also be a culprit. Though the link exists, it’s unclear how cigarette smoke might be related to colic. The bottom line for many more significant health reasons: Don’t smoke or let anyone else smoke around your baby.

COLIC REMEDIES
In addition to frustration and exhaustion, you may experience feelings of inadequacy and guilt as you try in vain to soothe your baby. So while staying calm is easier said than done, these soothing strategies may help ease the strain until colic passes. Just give each a fair shot before you switch to another (and don’t pull out too many tricks at one time, or you’ll overload baby’s circuits and step up the crying you’re trying to stop).

If you suspect over-stimulation:
Crying is a baby’s only way of communicating her needs. But it’s also her only way of wielding any control at all over a vast and bewildering new environment: She cries, you come running to her side powerful stuff when you’re otherwise completely powerless. In fact, studies show that responding promptly to your baby’s cries will reduce her crying in the long run.
Excise excitement. Limit visitors and exposing your baby to new experiences in stimulating environments, particularly in the late afternoon and early evening. Watch how your baby responds to certain stimuli and steer clear of any that seem to offend.
Create calm. Trying to make her environment peaceful might help her relax. Dim the lights, speak or sing in soothing tones (or don’t speak at all) and keep other noise and distractions to a minimum.

Source: www.whattoexpect.com

Shame, shame puppy shame, All the monkeys know your name!!

We all might have heard it and felt ashamed when someone teased us saying “Shame, shame, puppy shame. All the monkeys know your name?” But have you wandered about who this teasing sentence came from? Who started it? How someone came to use this to tease a child?

With reference to various blogs about it, there might be a possibility that this was originated from INDIA.

In India, one can see monkeys around backyard garden; they climb trees to pluck fruits etc. The climate is very hot and babies are left out even without a napkin till they grow a little bit older. But when they grow up, they are expected to cover their below waist portion and not reveal it even to the young ones around them, when exposed the people tease them by saying shame, shame puppy shame, just to make him cover his below waist portion. However, no one will says ‘Shame, shame Puppy shame’ when a kid wears a napkin.

Myths behind Rishi Panchami

On the day of Rishi Panchami homage is paid to the 7 Rishis or sages i.e Kashyapa, Atri, Bharadhvaja, Vishvamitra, Gauthama, Jamadagni and Vashishta. Women observe the Hartalika Teej (fasting) for three days. For them, Rishi Panchami is the final day of fasting. The fast on the fifth day (Panchmi) of the waxing moon (shukl paksh) of Bhadrapad is undertaken by men and women alike. Its effect is to wash away sins done voluntarily or involuntarily. The devotee should after a bath in the sacred water, clean his/her hands 108 times, the mouth 108 times and listen to the story of Ganesh, Navagreh, Saptarishi and worship Arundhati. Fruits should be eaten only once in a day.

As the legend goes, there was a king called Sitasale who asked Brahma to advise him about a fast that can free one from all the sins of past lives. Brahma narrated him a story of Brahmana called Uttank whose daughter was widowed a few months after her marriage, was badly bitten by worms and experienced other great sufferings. Brahmanas meditated in order to discover the cause of the daughter’s sufferings. They came to know that the daughter had made offences in her previous life by entering the kitchen on the day of menstruation. After realizing this, the daughter observed the Rishi Panchami Vrat and purified herself.

The fast is strictly observed in this day. Most of the women used to eat fruit or root vegetables only, however, nowadays, they eat rice and curry after the worship is completed. This is one of the very strict and tuff fasts. Many women these days do not take the menstruation taboo seriously which is a reason for Rishi Panchami Vrat being unpopular these days. Whatever be the case, Rishi Panchami is still strictly followed in the rural and town areas of Nepal. This fast is observed by women to seek forgiveness for the mistakes committed during their menstruation period.

Gai Jatra – The Festival of Cow

Gaijatra is also known as the festival of cow. This festival is celebrated in remembrance of died people mainly in Kathmandu valley by the Newar and Tharu community. Gai Jatra has its roots in the ancient ages when people feared and worshiped Yamaraj, the god of death. However, the ironic sessions synonymous with the Gai Jatra festival entered the tradition in the medieval period of Nepal during the reign of the Malla Kings. Hence, the present form of Gaijatra is a happy blending of antiquity and the medieval era.

According to the traditions since time immemorial, every family who has lost one relative during the past year must participate in a procession through the streets of Kathmandu leading a cow. If a cow is unavailable then a young boy dressed as a cow is considered a fair substitute.

Reasons Behind Celebrating Bhoto Jatra

Rato Machhindranath is the Buddhist deity of rain and water known as the God of rain.The name Rato Machhindranath means ‘Red Fish God’. Rato as in red, Machhindra or Matsyendra means fish and Nath means god, even the statue of the deity is red in color.

The legends behind Rato Machhindranath (also known by the names of Karunamaya and Bunga Dyah) are so many that is hard for us to say which one is the real one. Maybe that’s why they are called legends. All legends are not contradicting to each other. It’s just that they are like different versions of the same story told by different people in their own set of values and beliefs. Most of the time the names and characters differ but the story is the same of a drought in the valley for which to end people seek out the help of Rato Machhindranath.

The legend states that when Guru Gorakhnath came to Patan, no one knew his true identity. When he wasn’t given any meals from the locals he found the Nags (serpents) responsible for the rain in the valley and he captured them, then he went on to mediate. While the nags were in captivity they could not make rain bringing in severe drought in the valley. So, the advisors to the King Narendra Dev then asked the King to bring Machhindranath, teacher of Gorakhnath from Assam in India in hopes to end the drought. And when Gorakhnath heard his teacher is in Patan he decided to visit him setting the serpents free. The valley then had plenty of rain, being thankful to Machhindranath the local started to worship him for saving them from drought and King Narendra Dev started the festival of Rato Machhindranath in 879 A.D.

The legend behind Bhoto Jatra comes from the story in which a farmer was gifted the bhoto in gratitude by the Karkotaka Nag (snake) for curing the eye aliment of his Queen. One day the farmer lost the bhoto when he took it off to go work in the field. Later he saw a man wearing the same vest among the crowd in the festival of Rato Machhindranath, which resulted in a quarrel between the man and the farmer. At the festival, the Karkotaka Nag was also present in human form. He then proceeded to settle the dispute between them and offered the vest to Rato Machhindranath saying whoever brings the proof of ownership of the bhoto shall have it, till then it will remain in the custody of the deity.So every year, on the last day of Rato Machhindranath Jatra, the bhoto is shown to the public in presence of Patan’s Kumari (living goddess) and the president, the head of state (previously it used to be the King before abolition of monarch system in Nepal) in hope that the owner will come forward with the evidence to claim it.

After Bhota Jatra, the statue of the deity is transferred to the shikhar-style temple in Bungamati where it will stay for six months before the jatra next year. The chariot is then taken apart. Once in every 12 years, the festival of Rato Machhindranath starts and ends in Bungamati, a small Newar village, believed to be the birth place of Machhindranath, 6 km to the south of Patan.

Bhoto Jatra, another separate ritual and an addition to festival which has now become a part of Rato Machhindranath Jatra marks the end to this month long lively festivities. On the fourth day after the chariot reachesJawalakhel, Bhota Jatra is held.

The legend behind Bhoto Jatra comes from the story in which a farmer was gifted the bhoto in gratitude by the Karkotaka Nag (snake) for curing the eye aliment of his Queen. One day the farmer lost the bhoto when he took it off to go work in the field. Later he saw a man wearing the same vest among the crowd in the festival of Rato Machhindranath, which resulted in a quarrel between the man and the farmer. At the festival, the Karkotaka Nag was also present in human form. He then proceeded to settle the dispute between them and offered the vest to Rato Machhindranath saying whoever brings the proof of ownership of the bhoto shall have it, till then it will remain in the custody of the deity.So every year, on the last day of Rato Machhindranath Jatra, the bhoto is shown to the public in presence of Patan’s Kumari (living goddess) and the president, the head of state (previously it used to be the King before abolition of monarch system in Nepal) in hope that the owner will come forward with the evidence to claim it.

After Bhota Jatra, the statue of the deity is transferred to the shikhar-style temple in Bungamati where it will stay for six months before the jatra next year. The chariot is then taken apart. Once in every 12 years, the festival of Rato Machhindranath starts and ends in Bungamati, a small Newar village, believed to be the birth place of Machhindranath, 6 km to the south of Patan.

Warning: You Will Suddenly Want Your Kids to Color on the Walls After Reading This Sweet Story

On a damp, dreary, stay-in-the-house kind of day, I was a 4-year-old artist armed with a new treasure: my own big box of crayons. Somehow, the usual paper borrowed from Mom’s typewriter wasn’t special enough for these 64 perfect, waxy, sweet-smelling sticks of vivid color. I looked around for a bigger canvas. The walls presented an inviting yet forbidden landscape. If only there were hidden walls, walls that people could sometimes see and sometimes not. Walls like the ones in Mom and Dad’s closet.

Slipping quietly down the hall to the bedroom, I stood on tiptoe to reach the string for the closet light. Using my whole body, I pushed aside the heavy clothes and shut the door behind me. Words and images filled my mind faster than my hands could make them. Bright reds, sky blues, greens, purples, bright explosive yellows and oranges, fuchsia and lime — all became pictures, numbers and letters.

A brilliant rainbow arched across one wall, with a cheery golden sun peeking out from above. Below, a giant shade tree supported a rope and tire swing for stick-figure children. Around them, flowers bloomed everywhere. Then I drew my reddish-brown cat with its slanted green eyes and long black whiskers.

My masterpiece! All my very own magic! I took in the walls, the colors, the brightness, and joy swelled inside me. But as my creativity wound down, a thought popped up: I’ve got to show Mom! Suddenly I was still. I looked around with new eyes. What had I done?

Mom called out, “Dinner’s ready.” After a short time, her footsteps approached, and then finally, the closet door opened. I stood nervously in the corner, still clutching the canary yellow crayon in a sweaty fist. Oh, please don’t be mad, I thought. Please, please.

Mom inhaled sharply, then stood frozen. Only her eyes moved as she slowly looked over my masterpiece. She was quiet for a long, long time. I didn’t dare breathe.

Finally, she turned to me.

“I like it,” she said. “No, I love it! It’s you! It’s happy! I feel like I have a new closet!”

Forty-five years later, my childhood artwork is still there. And in my own house, the closet walls are masterpieces, too, created by my own daughters when they were little girls.

Every time I open a closet door, I remember that, as big as that box of crayons and white walls seemed when I was little, my mother’s love was the biggest thing of all.

Story by Betty Smith

Source: Reader’s Digest

Shop Baby & Kids related items in Nepal at http://www.phuche.com