Important notice to customers — product packaging changesLearn More

NEW FOOD PACKAGING IN STORE NOW

From August 2018, customers will notice our rebranded food packaging start to appear on shelf in all major stockists.

  • CURRENT Packaging
  • new Packaging

We are excited to announce our new packaging will start to appear on shelf from August 2018. This transition to new packaging will occur over a number of months. During this time there will be a mix of current and new packaging on shelf.

There are no major changes to these products, in some instances there is a small name change or slight recipe improvement, see below for the full details.

Products purchased via the website will be delivered to customers in our old packaging until the end of October. From November, products ordered from the website will be delivered in the new packaging.

Please note, our Infant Formula packaging will not be rebranded until later in 2019.

For any questions, connect with our team of accredited practising Dietitians on +61 3 6332 9200

Product name changes

  • Cereal Name Changes
  • CURRENT Packaging Organic Baby Rice
  • NEW Packaging Organic Rice with Prebiotic (GOS) Note: Our Baby Rice recipe has been upgraded to now include GOS Prebiotic
  • CURRENT Packaging Organic Vanilla Rice Custard
  • NEW Packaging Organic Milk & Vanilla Baby Rice
  • CURRENT Packaging Organic Apple & Cinnamon Porridge
  • NEW Packaging Organic Apple & Cinnamon Baby Porridge
  • Ready To Serve Name Changes
  • CURRENT Packaging Organic Banana, Pear & Mango
  • New Packaging Organic Banana, Pear, Apple & Mango
  • CURRENT Packaging Organic Mango, Blueberry & Apple
  • New Packaging Organic Blueberry, Mango & Apple
  • CURRENT Packaging Organic Peach & Apple
  • New Packaging Organic Grape, Apple & Peach
  • CURRENT Packaging Organic Pumpkin & Tomato Risotto
  • New Packaging Organic Pumpkin, Sweet Potato & Tomato
  • CURRENT Packaging Organic Broccoli, Beef & Brown Rice
  • New Packaging Organic Beef & Vegetables
  • Note: We have also upgraded some of our RTS recipes to remove added sugars and to remove some of the more complex ingredients that are not required for young children such as Tamari.
  • RUSKS NAME CHANGES
  • CURRENT Packaging Organic Milk Rusks Toothiepegs
  • New Packaging Organic Milk Rusks

How to Make Babies Laugh

Make Babies Laugh
There is nothing more magical than hearing a baby laugh for the first time. It’s a moment you will never forget and it symbolises the wonderful job you are doing as a parent or carer.

The physical benefits linked to laughter are endless, but humour is also a valuable social skill. Laughing is a bonding experience – a way of expressing they are joining in your game. As your child gets older, they will use humour as a way to make friends. A giggle or laugh can take the heat out of tense situations, and seeing the funny side can help a child to cope with unknown situations. Knowing how to laugh can boost self esteem and increase confidence.

For these reasons, making children laugh is an important part of child rearing. The more you laugh with your child, the more loved they will feel and the more their sense of humour will grow.

It start’s with a smile

“Specific smiling” doesn’t generally begin until a baby is at least four months old. Before that age, any smiles that escape tend to be a result of reflex, wind, surprise or survival instinct. At age four months, the ability to smile through recognition kicks in and hopefully you’ll receive lots of little smiles upon entering the room.

From about six months, your baby will begin to lose the smiling reflexes you saw in the first few months and any smiles are now through learned behaviour. The more you smile, the more your baby will.

Giggles

Now over six months, your child is learning rapidly and is getting a sense of what’s normal and what’s not. New experiences such as greeting an animal or silly behaviour such as you pulling faces is likely to trigger a giggle. Once you’ve heard that first little giggle, you’ll want to hear it again and again.

From 12 months on, giggles should be a plenty, providing you’re open to a bit of clowning around.

Clowning around

While some people naturally don’t feel comfortable pulling funny faces or talking in a silly voice, babies react really well to this. Tickles, pretending to put on their way too small clothes or swinging them into the air teaches them that being silly at times is good. Your child will use these experiences to develop their humour, which they can then use to make friends with other tots.

Clowning around is a valuable tool for parents and can be used to diffuse the mundane activities of everyday life. Singing a silly song while brushing the tangles from your child’s hair or attempting to sit in the pram when they refuse to get in it is likely to get a better response than a barking order. A bit of gentle clowning around will also often diffuse a tantrum before it starts.

Embracing the ridiculous

shutterstock_143800447It is believed that the base of humour comes from the ridiculous and the feeling of not knowing the response to your joke. Humour is often a case of breaking the rules and waiting for the aftermath. It’s taking something normal and twisting it slightly.

Embracing the ridiculous is easy by mixing up words that may seem funny. An example of this is singing “Old McDonald Had a Farm”. The pattern your child is used to is that sheep say “baa”, dogs say “woof”, so try mixing it up. Have the sheep say “ribbit” and the dogs say “moo”. The break of the rule will startle your child at first but the sense of relief they get when they realise it’s okay is often turned into laughter.

Understanding health

It’s important to understand that laughing is more than just entertainment. Physical effects include:

  • The release of feel-good hormones.
  • The decrease of stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol.
  • Improved circulation and breathing.
  • The release of T-cells (used to fight infection).
  • Muscle relaxation.

Understanding that laughing is needed to create better health allows you to see the importance in silliness. You may find you’re not so quick to jump on your child’s behaviour when doing something out of the ordinary.

So now you know why babies need to laugh and the general concepts behind what creates laughter, but what about actual examples of game play? If being silly and humorous doesn’t come naturally, you may be stuck for ideas. The good news is, making your child laugh is just about being there and having fun.

Tricks for making a baby laugh

Silly talk – Your baby started listening to your voice from inside the womb and is used to it sounding a particular way. Break from that normality and it can potentially sound very funny.

Rip paper – Babies love the sound of paper being torn, and when combined with some overly large expressions, they won’t be able to contain their laughter. Start with small rips that gradually get bigger, and occasionally take their hand and get them to help you rip.

Blow raspberries – Blowing on bare skin is an unusual sensation and when done in the prime tickle spots (neck, tummy, thighs or feet) the giggles are bound to come.

Carpet ride – For babies who can hold their head up well, lay them face down on a towel and taking two corners, gently slide the towel around the room. Get faster as your child’s confidence increases.

Bubble blowing – While bubbles are fascinating to watch when blown, they are not guaranteed to produce a laugh. When blown in a cup, however, babies find it hilarious. Taking a straw and a cup half filled with water or milk, blow to create bubbles. This can also be repeated in the bath.

Make them dance – Lifting your child to your knee and making them dance can be highly amusing for both yourself and your baby. Put some music on in the background and remember, the funkier the better!

Peek-a-boo – You can’t beat a good game of peek-a-boo for creating giggles. What starts as fear ends in a beautiful surprise and babies love that sense of elation.

Pretend sneezing – Over-the-top pretend sneezing is highly comical to a baby. Have some that stop halfway to introduce the element of surprise.

Take inspiration from YouTube – The Internet is packed full of videos of babies laughing hysterically, so check out what other parents do. From interactions with puppies to a colander on the head, there is plenty of inspiration on YouTube.

About the author

Important Notice to Parents and Guardians

  • Breast milk is the best for babies. The World Health Organisation recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life. Unnecessary introduction of bottle feeding or other food and drinks will have a negative impact on breastfeeding. After six months of age, infants should receive age-appropriate foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond. Consult your doctor before deciding to use infant formula or if you have difficulty breastfeeding.
  • The content on this website is intended as general information for Singaporean residents only and should not be used as a substitute for medical care and advice from your healthcare practitioner. According to recommendations from the Singapore Health Promotion Board, solid food should be given to babies only after 6 months.