- Home
- Parent library
Clear Answers to Parents' Questions
40 guides, tools and checklists for parents, grandparents, nannies and teachers: what is normal, what to do at home, and the signs that mean it is time to come in. Free to read, print, send on WhatsApp and teach from.
Everything in the Library
Filter by topic
Choking in Babies and Children: What to Do
Illustrated steps for a choking baby and a choking child, what never to do, and the foods and objects to keep away.
First aid First aidFirst Aid for Babies and Children: A Family Reference
What to do first, what never to do and when to go to emergency, for the injuries and emergencies families meet most.
First aid Interactive toolDiarrhoea, Vomiting and Dehydration: Check and Treat
Check for dehydration in a minute, give ORS and zinc the right way, and know when diarrhoea or vomiting needs a doctor.
Interactive tool Interactive toolFever in Children: What to Do
Enter the age, the temperature and what you see. The checker tells you whether to watch at home, book a visit or come in now.
Interactive tool GuideMalaria in Children: Testing, Treatment and Fevers That Come Back
Test before you treat, the signs of severe malaria, and why a fever can come back after malaria treatment.
15 min read Interactive toolSymptom Diary: A Timeline to Show the Doctor
Log temperatures, medicines, feeds and nappies with the time, then show or send the timeline to the doctor.
Interactive tool GuideTyphoid in Children: The Real Illness, the Widal Test and Prevention
Why "typhoid" is diagnosed far more often than it happens, what the real illness looks like, and how to prevent it.
13 min read GuideAsthma in Children: Inhalers, Spacers, Triggers and Attacks
Reliever and preventer inhalers, using a spacer, a printable action plan, and what to do in an attack.
16 min read GuideCoughs and Colds in Children: What Helps and When to Worry
What helps a cold, what to avoid, and how to count breaths and spot the signs of pneumonia.
15 min read GuideEar Infections and Hearing in Children
Ear infections, what to put in the ear (nothing), glue ear, and the signs by age that a child may not be hearing well.
13 min read Interactive toolIs My Child Breathing Too Fast? A 60-Second Counter
Tap once per breath for 60 seconds. The counter tells you if it is fast for your child's age, and what to do.
Interactive tool ChecklistBringing Your Newborn Home: The First-Week Checklist
Before you leave hospital, setting up home, and a daily check for the first two weeks you can tick each day.
Checklist GuideCaring for Your Newborn: Cord, Bathing, Nappies, Skin and Warmth
The everyday care of a new baby: cord, bath, nappies, skin, warmth, visitors, nets and the first check-ups, including which traditions to skip.
15 min read GuideCrying, Colic and Reflux: Why Babies Cry and How to Cope
The normal crying curve, colic, reflux and milk allergy, a checklist of reasons, soothing holds, and a plan for when the crying is too much.
13 min read GuideNewborn Jaundice: When Yellow Is Normal and When It Is Urgent
How to check for jaundice at home, the signs that need a test today, pale stools, G6PD, phototherapy and why sunlight is not a treatment.
16 min read GuideNewborn Warning Signs: When Not to Wait
The signs in the first four weeks that mean come in now, and the many things that are normal.
11 min read GuidePremature Babies and the NICU: A Guide for Parents
What happens in the NICU, a plain-language glossary, expressing milk, kangaroo care, looking after yourself, and taking your baby home.
15 min read GuideSafe Sleep for Babies: Reducing the Risk of Sudden Infant Death
On the back, own flat space, nothing in the cot, bed-sharing risks, nets, heat and generator fumes, plus how much sleep babies and toddlers need.
13 min read GuideBreastfeeding: The First Hour, a Good Latch, and Knowing Your Baby Is Getting Enough
The first hour, a deep latch step by step, wet nappies by day, sore nipples, storing milk in the heat, going back to work, and when to get help.
17 min read GuidePicky Eating in Toddlers and Children: What Is Normal and What Helps
Why appetite drops after the first birthday, who decides what and how much, why force-feeding is dangerous, and the signs that picky eating needs a doctor.
11 min read GuideStarting Solid Foods: First Meals from Six Months with Nigerian Foods
Signs your baby is ready, first foods from the market, how much and how often by age, textures month by month, and foods to avoid in the first year.
12 min read GuideAutism: Early Signs, Assessment and Support for Your Child
A respectful guide to autism: early signs, what does not cause it, getting assessed, support that helps and "cures" to avoid.
15 min read Interactive toolMilestone Checker: What Most Children Do by Each Age
From 2 months to 5 years: what most children do by each age, and when "not yet" is worth asking about.
Interactive tool GuideTalking and Understanding: Speech and Language from 1 to 4 Years
What to expect at 12, 18, 24 and 36 months and 4 years, when to ask for a check, and how to build language every day.
15 min read GuideHeart Murmurs in Children: What They Mean and When to Worry
Why most murmurs are harmless, what a heart scan involves, and the signs that do need checking.
13 min read GuideSickle Cell Disease in Children: Staying Well and Knowing the Emergencies
Genotype, the daily plan that prevents crises, and the emergencies that cannot wait.
15 min read GuideUrine Infections (UTIs) in Children: Signs, Testing and Prevention
Why a baby with an unexplained fever needs a urine test, how to catch a clean sample, and how to prevent infections coming back.
13 min read GuideHernias, Testicle Problems and Other Common Surgical Conditions in Children
The lumps, swellings and vomiting that bring children to a surgeon — which can wait, which need an operation, and which are emergencies.
14 min read GuidePreparing Your Child for an Operation
What to say at each age, why fasting matters, the day itself, recovery at home and the signs that mean come back.
16 min read ChecklistYour Child's Operation: The Checklist from the Week Before to Home Again
The days before, the night before, the morning of, what to pack, the papers to bring, and caring for your child at home after surgery.
Checklist ChecklistBack to School: The Health and Safety Checklist for Each Term
Health checks, a printable card for the school, what a child with asthma, allergy, sickle cell, epilepsy or diabetes needs, and safety each term.
Checklist ChecklistFirst Aid Kit Checklist for Families
A printable home and car first aid kit list, what to throw out, and a school-bag kit for children with asthma, allergies or sickle cell.
Checklist ChecklistHome Safety Checklist: Room by Room
Walk through your home room by room and tick off the changes that prevent burns, poisoning, drowning, falls and road injuries.
Checklist GuideAfter the Birth: Your Recovery in the First Six Weeks
What is normal in the six weeks after birth, how to look after stitches and a caesarean wound, baby blues versus depression, and the danger signs for mothers.
13 min read ChecklistHospital Bag Checklist for the Birth
Everything to pack for the birth by 36 weeks, for you, the baby and your partner, plus the documents to carry.
Checklist Interactive toolVaccination Planner: Your Child's Dates
Enter a date of birth and get every due date on Nigeria's routine schedule, with phone reminders.
Interactive tool GuideAllergies in Children: Food, Anaphylaxis, Harmattan and Stings
Food allergy signs, what to do in anaphylaxis, early groundnut for babies, testing, and living with allergy.
14 min read GuideEczema in Babies and Children: Calming Dry, Itchy Skin
The daily skin routine, steroid creams used correctly, how eczema looks on dark skin, and infection warning signs.
13 min read GuideTeething and Children's Teeth: From First Tooth to Knocked-Out Tooth
Teething myths and safe relief, the right amount of toothpaste by age, preventing decay, and what to do when a tooth is knocked out.
12 min read GuideTeenage Health: Puberty, Periods, Mood, Sleep and Staying Safe
Puberty, periods, sleep, mood, exams, drugs and online safety — written for parents and teenagers to read together.
15 min readNothing matched that. Try one word, clear a filter, or tell us what is worrying you.
Made to Be Shared and Taught
Every guide ends with the few things to remember, on one card. Use them in an antenatal class, a church or mosque women's group, a staff meeting at a crèche, or on the family WhatsApp group.
-
Send it on WhatsApp
The green button on every page sends a short message and the link.
-
Print the card
"If you remember nothing else" prints on its own, for the fridge, the nanny or the school.
-
Tick the checklists
Ticks are kept on your phone, so you can come back to the hospital bag list next week.
-
Sources on every page
Each guide lists the WHO, Nigerian and international guidance behind it, so you can check the advice for yourself, and every guide has been reviewed by the hospital's clinicians.
A Note About These Guides
They explain and prepare; they cannot examine your child. If your child seems seriously unwell, do not keep reading: see the signs that mean go now. If you are worried and it is not an emergency, book a visit or call.
Your Question Is Not Here? Ask the Care Team Directly.
If your child is seriously unwell, do not book and do not wait for a message reply. Come to Limi Children's Hospital now, day or night, or go to the nearest emergency department if you cannot get here quickly. Have someone else drive if you can, so you can watch your child, and call 0813 408 5400 on the way so the team can prepare. See the signs that mean go now.