A Brave Act

Read the story "Dragons and Giants" from the book Frog and Toad Together, where they talk about bravery and courage. Then, tell the class about a time you had to be brave.

This was one of the assignments in our six year old's class. In the evening, he came and told me about the discussions they had in class around this topic.

Picture Courtesy: Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel

Son: You know what one of my classmates had to be brave for ? She had to be brave when they drew her blood.

Mom: Oh, for what?

Son: I think it was to give the blood to someone else.

Mom: Really, but why?

Son: So that they won't die.

Mom: I see.

Son: You know, if someone gets a big cut, they will lose lot of blood. Then, they can use another person's blood so they won't run out of blood.

Mom: That is so thoughtful! I think you have to wait till you grow big to donate blood. It is one way to help and save someone's life.

It was a true delight to see our son connect what he heard in class with how I had explained the need and importance of blood donation to the kids. I have to shout out a BIG THANKS to my Facebook friends who are actively involved in various types of blood donations. When I had shown some of the pictures that these friends post, the kids were curious to understand what was happening. They realized blood could be drawn from one person to give to another in need. Along with the thought-provoking assignments from their class, this knowledge led to such a heart-warming conversation, making little minds see blood donation as a way to help others.

Note:
In last two years, I learned that different blood components can be donated separately - whole blood, platelets, plasma and even blood stem cells. If you are not familiar, please take a few minutes to see how you can donate or help. A few useful links:
Types of blood donations - http://www.americasblood.org/donate-blood/types-of-blood-donations.aspx
Blood stem cell donation - https://bethematch.org/support-the-cause/donate-bone-marrow/donation-process/donating-pbsc/
Registering as blood stem cell donor - http://marrowdrives.org/bone_marrow_donor_programs.html#international_marrow

Breaking out of a Habit

Salt and Love, Salt and Water ... seeing this series of posts, my husband was asking if my next post would be about salt and something else. In a "salty spirit", I replied I did not want to get into any such "habit". After all, my mind was filled with different aspects of habits, an effect of reading the book "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg.

An interesting book about habits

Using data from scientific studies as well as real-life examples, this book explains habit formation, techniques for habit reversal, and the ways certain habits could be developed for personal, organizational or community benefit. It points out how any habit can be visualized as a cue-routine-reward loop. When a cue occurs, it triggers an automatic action or habit, in expectation of the reward. Our mind anticipates the reward and unknowingly, a craving develops. This locks in the routine forming a new habit loop. According to the book, to change a habit, one has to simply understand the cue and reward, then plugin a new routine that gives the same reward as the old one.

On reading numerous examples about reversing disruptive habits, my mind went back to how my father had changed one of his habits. Back in 2006, when my parents were planning their first trip to the U.S, we jokingly told my father that there is another thing that he needs to accomplish in addition to securing a visa. He had to stop his habit of chewing betel leaves also known as "paan". Though he told us it was easy to stop, we were all skeptical. The memories of driving around in circles, searching for the nearest paan-wala (person selling betel leaves), whenever we went on family trips, were too vivid in our minds.

Voila! A few days before the trip, he gave up the paan-chewing completely! How did he change a habit of so many years, so quickly?

After reading this book, it seemed to me he had applied the technique described in it. Basically, he identified the cue - a big hearty meal, which triggered the routine - chewing paan. The cue and the routine were clear. The tough part was identifying the reward which drove the habit loop. Looking back, I am awed at how well my father identified it. What he was actually getting out of the paan-chewing was a relaxing effect. The chewing exercised his jaw muscles and gums and in turn relaxed them. He realized he could get the same reward by chewing mouth-freshener gum instead of paan. The habit, which we thought would be difficult to change, was broken easily by switching it with the alternate routine. After a while, he even gave up chewing gum. Instead, it was enough to simply massage the jaws and gums well.

Didn't that sound like a breeze? If that was all it took, why do many people find it difficult to change? For one, it is not easy to recognize cues and the actual rewards. It is also tough to figure out and use the alternate routine when the cues occur. Moreover, it is trickier to make sure one does not go back to the old routine, when the same cues present themselves in slightly different forms. This is very true for habits like alcoholism, where even after going through detox, many fall back when they are faced with the same cue, say stress, in another situation. A deep thinking to understand the cue-routine-reward loop, an ability to use the alternate routine, along with the belief or willpower to change, seem to be the key to making a transformation.

Just as eliminating bad habits can reap benefits, cultivating good habits can bring a fair share of perks. The book has ample examples for the latter too. Though it took me a while to finish the book, it was a very interesting read, one I would recommend to anyone fascinated by these automatic actions called habits that power our lives.

Reference:
The book "The Power of Habit - Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business" by Charles Duhigg,
http://charlesduhigg.com/the-power-of-habit/

Salt and Water

Salt seems to be my favorite topic this week. After writing about salt and love, I am now switching to the topic of salt and water - in other words, saline drops.

salt + water = saline

These drops have been our saviors from the dreaded ear infections, mostly affecting young kids in the U.S who attend day care. It is not limited to kids who attend day care or to kids alone. Anyone can get it. But the probability of a young kid, attending a day care, catching a cold that leads to an ear infection is very high.

A few weeks before she turned 1, our daughter started attending day care. It didn't take long for the ear infection to follow. It was tough to see her go through the pain and antibiotics. When we called up my father, a general practitioner in India, he kept repeating we should use saline drops as soon as she catches a cold. Keeping the nasal passages non-stuffy would prevent most infections. That sounded simple as well as safe. After all, it was non-medicated. The tough part was getting her to stay still to spray her nose with the drops. She cried and resisted which made us not follow through.

Couple of months later, she had another ear infection. After that, we knew we had to give this advice a serious try. Eventually, she realized these drops were helping her and the resistance and crying decreased. She would even sit through when we used the suction tube, that was provided by the hospital to babies, for clearing out any mucus. Since then, she did bring home the usual series of cold, cough and other health problems, but thankfully did not get another ear infection.

When our son was born, we were equipped with this information. Though he was quite strong-willed and stubborn, he quickly got the idea that these saline drops helped him and did not show any resistance. We even sent it to the day care when he had cold or cough. He used to surprise his day care teachers by sitting quietly when they use it there.

Looking back, I can say this simple concoction of salt and water worked like a charm. I am not trying to say it can prevent all ear infections. However, this simple remedy helped us a lot. Now, be aware that I am not a medical person. So, I suggest you take this (post about salt) with a grain of salt!