Dr. R. K. Anand's Guide to Child Care with an A-Z of Illnesses for Quick Reference (Parenting: The Indian Way)

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Dr. R. K. Anand, MD (Paediatrics), FRCP (Edinburgh), DCH (London), is an internationally recognized paediatrician, author, teacher, researcher and crusader. He is the Head of the Department of Paediatrics and Neonatology at the Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai, and has also served as the hospital's Medical Director for two years. For his contributions in the field of paediatric education, research and child care, Dr. Anand has been honoured with the Fellowship of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics and that of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh.

Over the years. Dr. Anand has also been an advisor and resource person for child care programmes of international organisations like UNICEF, International Baby Food Action Network, World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, and Health Action International. He has worked with doyens in the field of paediatrics like Prof. L. S. N. Prasad and Prof. G. Sharan from India, Prof. R. S. Illingworth and Prof. O. P. Gray from the UK, and Dr. Robert E. Wells and Dr. Waldo E. Nelson from the USA. Furthermore, as former Professor of Paediatrics at the T. N. Medical College and B. Y. L. Nair Charitable Hospital, he has also guided young minds who have today distinguished themselves.

One of Dr. Anand's primary crusades has been ending the exploitation of the child consumer. He was a member of the Working Group set up by the Government of India for the formulation of a code for the marketing of baby foods. He has also been the Chairman of the Committee for Protection of the Child Consumer of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics, and the Founder-President of the Association for Consumers Action on Safety and Health.

Winner of the Best Speaker Award in the Speaker's Academy, Mumbai, Dr. Anand has conducted several radio and TV programmes on child care and holistic living in English, Hindi and Punjabi. He has been contributing regularly to national and international scientific journals, and to books on child health. He is well known as an authority on breastfeeding and in the field of Social Paediatrics.

A symbol of national integration, Dr. Anand was born in the North of India (Punjab), studied in Bihar, married in the South (Kerala) and has settled in the West (Maharashtra). He lives in Mumbai with his wife, Asha. They have three sons and four grandsons.

My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky: So it was when my life began So it is now I am a man The child is father of the man.

-William Wordsworth

What is put into the upbringing of a child could determine what he turns out to be as a man. Dr. Anand's book goes beyond the mother and the child to the upbringing of a child and the making of a man or woman. To that task, the author brings to bear his gentle wisdom. He sees life steadily and sees it whole. He touches on all the essentials of child care.

He starts at the root, the pregnant mother, and goes back to her upbringing. Her diet, as a child, makes the healthy mother. The dignity we accord to the girl child will result in a healthy nation-physically and mentally. He covers breastfeeding on which he is an internationally recognised authority. He deals with understanding the behaviour of children that sometimes confounds parents. He goes to the next step from childhood, to adolescence, a period which can be difficult both for the young person and the parents.

He warns parents about being too ambitious' for their children, driving them not only to studies but to too many other activities. As one school principal so well put it: "Today's children do not seem to know what childhood is."

This book aims to provide the readers with international developments in child care. Simultaneously, we have kept in mind the needs of Indian parents as well as the traditional child rearing practices.

The book gives practical guidelines for child care to pregnant mothers and parents of infants, young children and teenagers.

The earlier edition had a quote from my favourite author Ralph Waldo Trine". His thoughts appear to be so much similar to our Ayurvedic physicians. Years ago he wrote :

"The true physician and parent of the future will not medicate the body with drugs so much as the mind with principles. The caring mother will teach her child to assuage the fever of anger, hatred, malice, with the great panacea of the world love. The coming physician will teach the people to cultivate cheerfulness, goodwill and noble deeds for a health tonic as well as a heart tonic, and that a merry heart doeth good like a medicine."

For the present edition, we have kept sight of Trine's vision and offer a holistic approach to child care.

As per request of several parents from India and abroad, an article on yoga for children, written by Dr. Shrikrishna Tengshe and Dr. G. B. Sharma has been included in this edition. Because of the increasing incidence of suicides and bullying in children, guest articles on these subjects by Dr. Maya Kırpalani and Dr. Pervin Dadachanji respectively, have been added.

Wake-Up Call for Parents.

For over 40 years, I have had the privilege of working with thousands of families. As the Medical Director of Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, I observed a significant rise in the number of young boys and girls suffering from obesity. Diabetes, hypertension, early heart attack, tobacco-related cancer, depression and attempted suicide. These illnesses resulted in a great deal of suffering-not just for the patients but for their families too.

A simple truth behind this matter is that such diseases are a fall out of the current unhealthy lifestyles and that they can be prevented.

Working with these distressed children and young adults made me realize how their lives were becoming unnecessarily difficult and complex. Therefore. I want to begin my book with this wake-up call for parents and suggest the following prescription to save our future citizens from these 'silent killers'.

Prescription for a Healthy and Happy Family.

Be fit! You as parents must serve as role models for your kids. Lead a healthy lifestyle. If you follow a lifestyle with right food habits, daily exercise and adequate rest, your kids are likely to follow suit.

• Your diet should include more whole grains, leafy vegetables, salads, seasonal fruits, nuts and sprouts. Aim to eat at least one home-cooked meal each day with the whole family.

Consume less fat, sugar, salt, red meat and other refined foods.