Book Review : 69 Things I Wish I Knew Before Getting Married ( Parul Tyagi )

"Marriage begins at the end of Honeymoon. The grand ceremony is not marriage. It is called a wedding."

Those words set the tone for the contents of this book which can be aptly described as a practical guide to surviving a marriage. It is highly recommended for people who plan to tie the knot and are still into the honeymoon phase of their married life. And I recommend that you read the book right from the introduction portion so that you can accept certain portions in the later half.

The best thing I like about this one is that it emphasizes a lot on friendship in a marriage. Love may fade away but friendship does not. It makes sense to treat a partner as an equal just like you would treat a friend rather than burdening him/her with your share of expectations. And importantly stand by them when they need you the most.

The topic of having children is also dealt without mincing words. "How babies and their parents look on your Facebook Timeline is totally different from what the process entails in real life." . She could not have put it in a better way. Babies means sleepless night, giving up on vacations, going around looking like a mess at least for the initial months and even taking a career break. Believe me it is not an easy thing to do. It is my personal experience that one moment people around you will suffocate you with inspiring stories about how a mother is supposed to be all heart and sacrifice, but the very next moment they will share a story about someone who managed to bring up two brilliant kids inspite of holding on to a challenging job. One can very well imagine what it can does to a person who is already suffering from postpartum blues. Hence, as the author says "make an informed choice".

Another chapter that caught my attention was the one on the topic of 'Love marriage versus Arranged marriage'. Both come with their set of teething problems and infact those who have had a love marriage often need to work harder to prove themselves. Just like that pretty ( but deserving ) girl in your office who got the promotions when there were others waiting in queue. You need to prove yourself worthy and make your in-laws believe that your partner did not get taken in with your looks or money or whatever.

Now, I am not giving away the entire plot in this review. Buy a copy for yourself and read it. I promise you wont be regretting it.

Did a quick online review of this one . You can check it out here -

Survival of the Fittest

Do you remember the pain of missing out on a podium finish just because you ended up with a bout of sickness during the exams ? Or the sheer dejection of not making it to the inter-school volleyball team thanks to the lack of a few centimeters ? Well, it is not enough to be good, one has to be better if not the best to stand out among a crowd.

Image credits : victoriaurological.org

But these are just the better scenarios that I have described. Can you imagine the sadness of a kid when their own friends did not want them on the team because they were termed too scrawny/too short and hence considered to be the weakest link ? Yes, children can be quite cruel when they want to be. And this kind of labeling and social rejection can deal a blow to a child's self esteem and lead to serious body image issues at a later stage.

Image credits : thehealthinfosite.com

Being a parent, it becomes a prime responsibility to ensure that a child does suffer due to any of these reasons. Apart from the long term risks factors due to nutritional deficiencies ( which are seldom evident ), there is always the immediate concern of ensuring that they do not lose out on school attendance along with those dozen little things that make childhood so special. Take a simple example where a kid is denied an ice-cream because he or she is always catching a cold. But seldom do parent realize that it might be caused by low levels of Vitamin D. This is where fortified foods and especially nutritional drinks come to the rescue. On an individual level, it can become quite daunting for the parents to track the vitamin/ mineral/ protein intake of their children. Hence a nutritional supplement which is designed keeping the general population in mind may be the best answer yet to fill the gaps in a child's diet.

Most health drinks have their focus on the RDA or the Recommended Daily Allowance. These contain enough of the nutritional supplements to ensure that the child's growth is on track and that they do not fall behind their peers. But what about those children who are already falling behind by a good measure ? Is there any way to ensure that they are brought to par ?

growthpluscalculator.horlicks.in

And that is exactly what Horlicks Growth Plus promises to deliver! It helps kids in the age group 3-9 to 'Catch up on growth' by helping them add inches and weight. This product designed by pediatric experts targets a crucial age because is the phase when kids are most likely to lag behind their peers on these two parameters. The age group of 2-6 years is the time when kids are still building immunity hence they are susceptible to frequent bouts of illness. Plus, the majority of them are picky eaters which does not help the cause. And it is the combination of these two factors which result in children falling behind the recommended growth curves.

Go for it as it is the best chance for your kids to catch up on lost growth !!