July 2018 / The Cuddle Blog

The 2018 GTBank Autism week: Day 2 Recap

July 24, 2018

I went for the GTBank's 8th Annual Autism week. I was invited by my big sis Anne of @Mums24 and I have heard about Autism but in such a distant manner as I don't really know anyone who is living with Autism.

This event was such an eye opener for me and it was amazing to be able to be enlightened. If you are like me and have no clue what Autism is all about continue to read;

What is Autism spectrum disorder?

Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, refers to a range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication, as well as by unique strengths and differences. We now know that there is not one autism but many types, caused by different combinations of genetic and environmental influences.

The term “spectrum” reflects the wide variation in challenges and strengths possessed by each person with autism.

Autism’s most-obvious signs tend to appear between 2 and 3 years of age. In some cases, it can be diagnosed as early as 18 months. Some developmental delays associated with autism can be identified and addressed even earlier. Autism Speaks urges parents with concerns to seek evaluation without delay, as early intervention can improve outcomes.

via Source

I went into the event not knowing what to expect and kind of feeling out of place. We went on the 2nd day of the event and I still learnt a lot. There were 4 speakers I listened to A Phychologist, A Public health Doctor, a school owner and a speech therapist.

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I don't want to parent better than my parents

July 2, 2018

I recently saw on a friends insta story that your Job as a parent is more than paying school fees and I got curious and asked him what else do parents owe their children and we went on to have a discussion and based on that discussion there are something I think we need to talk about.

I remember my Dad always said something along the lines of just owing us just education and I started to wonder on the part of our parents, why did they think that they owed us only education?

Struggle; Most of our parents had to struggle to get an education, you had to have a some worth enlightened father or mother who took education seriously. Some of them had to watch their parents do menial jobs for them to be sent to school and they promised to do better so they could afford education for their kids.
They saw the benefit; How they had a better life compared to their parents or other peers that did not go to school.
They Genuinely believed it; They really believed in the idea that it was all they owed their kids.

I know that not all parents are like this but majority of parents in this side of the country believe that and invariably act accordingly. There were definitely consequences for this mentality and the biggest of all is relationship. In these kind of families, when the children grow older there might be a relationship with the kids but it is usually on the surface level, the parents are no longer "interested" in what their children are up to and the children sort of know how the conversation will go at the end of the day that they give up trying to reach out.

So what next?

The children in such situations make the resolve to do better as parents. Right, right?

I really don't blame the parents, it is probably all they knew and if we really look at it, is it not the education they fought to expose us to that makes us know to do better? Think about it. If they didn't give us an education, we would be fighting different kinds of battles in life that we won't have the luxury to think about what and what your parents didn't do. Lol.

We the children, who have now become parents, need to see our own parents as imperfect people who did the best they could with the best that they were exposed to because you will not always get it right with your child as well.

I also don't think we should approach parenting as "I have to do better than my parents" because we would be so obsessed with getting that one thing they failed at right there is a tendency to neglect other important aspects of bringing up your child. I would say, read, know what it takes to bring up a well rounded child, listen to peoples experiences, learn, unlearn, relearn,; know what is valuable to you and commit to teaching and nurturing your child on that path.

So, I don't want to do better than my parents. I just want to raise a well rounded child. This I commit to doing, so help me God.

What are your thoughts? I would love to know.

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Review: August Secrets range of products

July 1, 2018

First Impression: The packaging was a bit underwhelming, I got over that quickly as soon as I opened it and smelt it. I absolutely loved the smell and the fact that it was all natural. I am a sucker for that.

What I loved: The smell, I loved that my son loved it. He could even take it without formula - we had a phase where he didn't like milk - I love that the foods are versatile and can be used in different recipes.

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What I didn't like; there was really nothing I disliked about the product , maybe except that it finished quickly. Unfortunately, I had to stop buying from them, on 2 occasions after preparing the meals I saw ant in the food. The first time (first batch I bought) I told them and they replaced it for me but I didn't bother to tell them the second time. I am sure it wasn't from my house because, I had always kept the products in the fridge.

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Verdict: Will I recommend the products? yes! this is just my experience and it has been a lot more difficult to make sure my son has a balanced meal but I would rather go through the difficulty.

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Cost: Each product: N1,400
Full set N6,000 - this included Fish powder and crayfish powder
Rating: 4 Cuddly loves

Have you tried August secrets range of products for your little one? What are your thoughts?