Just as I was blissfully settling into my first year of motherhood, life threw a curveball at me when my daughter was diagnosed with life-threatening food allergies.
At that time, I was enjoying the weaning stage of her babyhood, gradually introducing her to the recommended new foods: rice cereal, fruits and vegetables. However, after a few weeks of persistent atopic dermatitis – or eczema – my then eight-month-old daughter’s paediatrician suggested we do a test for food allergies.
We were in disbelief when the results arrived. They revealed a list of allergenic foods that could be potentially deadly for our little girl: peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish, shellfish, soy and sesame. These were all foods that she had not yet tried.
Scampering, slipping and sliding are all a natural part of being a child - and for parents (and their home decor), it s probably better for all that activity to happen outside, rather than in the house.
But it hasn t been easy to do that during this very screen-bound, #stayhome year. The UAE s public playgrounds were shut down, along with everything else, during the lockdown issued at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Since they reopened towards the end of June, parents have been left to decide for themselves whether it is safe to return to the swings and climbing frames.