Essential Newborn Care Protocol: a Must Know for Parents and Would-Be Parents

Halloween is over and I am really thankful to a friend for inviting us to join the celebration in their village. It was our first time to let our children go trick or treating for in previous Halloweens we were content to just give out candies to neighborhood kids who’d drop by our place. We were so amazed with the lavish decorations of the houses, from freaky mannequins and streamers covering their entire fence to scary masks, pumpkins, critters and creeping hands to showoff.

Even the residents distributing candies were in costumes. The kids, from toddlers to teens were roaming around as Dracula, Snow White, Pirate, Fairy, Witch, Excalibur, Superman, Ladybug …you name it. The mood was indeed very festive. A house also offered a chocolate fountain treat that kids really relished.

Everyone later converged at the playground in the village park and enjoyed the usual seesaws, slides, swings, monkey bars and manual horse carousel plus a temporarily installed bouncy castle. Cotton candies and ice cream were free for all to enjoy. A photo booth was also available for those who wanted to capture the moment with a professional touch.

While my kids were having a blast, with my husband closely keeping an eye just to ensure everybody is safe, I sat down to rest and keep watch of my daughter’s wand and wings (she’s a fairy) and the candies they collected. Soon, a family shared the bench with me and occupied the next one as well.

Their child, probably four years old, was sitting on her nanny’s lap, eating popcorn. When she managed to step on the grass and walked away slowly, her movement got faster as if the nearest slide was pulling her away. She wanted to try it, but her nanny ran after her, while the other nanny holding her baby sister shouted, “Don’t let her play!” as if something terrible is going to happen??! The nanny carried the girl back to the bench, and again they sat and ate popcorn. What surprised me was that the father was also there, eating popcorn and fiddling with his nice, professional-looking camera unmindful of the nanny’s decision. Her granny in the next bench was also not bothered at all, did not say anything, and just continued eating away her popcorn.

It was very tempting to intervene and say “Please allow the child to play and enjoy, she wants to and she needs to. You can ensure her safety without depriving her of opportunities to meet friends, learn and have fun.” But I don’t know them and maybe it’s not an appropriate thing to do, so I controlled that urge and got contented with people-watching until an acquaintance happened to see me and had a long nice chat until it was time to go home.

I was reminded of the 6th natural immunity builder I shared in my last blog…Get Them Dirty. The girl looked overly protected, too sheltered, too clean but not happy. I can only hope she is not sickly. And wish she’d be freer to explore, which is what a pre-schooler ought to be doing. I also felt it’s kinda cruel to take a child to the playground and merely have her sit and watch lots of kids merrily moving about. Don’t you think so, too?