Don’t be afraid to say “no” to your child. Children need limits. If you don’t make the rules, your child will. Left to their own devices, most children will spoil themselves, so start rules to protect your sanity by four months of age. Have rules for safety by eight months of age. Gradually add rules […]
Does your child dread going to the doctor’s office? If so, the following tips may make it easier: • First, schedule an appointment at a time your youngster won’t be needing a nap. Also, feed him beforehand so he won’t be hungry. • Second, bring a stuffed animal, security blanket, pacifier, or snack with you
Blessed is the child who has a loving grandparent. Don’t begrudge the fact that they’ve learned a lot since having you. Include them in your family life. Here are some ideas: • First, everyone needs extra help during those first weeks at home with a new baby, and the best person to call upon is
Baby sitting is a way of life and it’s the only way some parents can ever get out of the house without their children. The American Academy of Pediatrics Injury Prevention Program has printed a useful guide of reminders about baby sitting. Here are some of their suggestions which I completely agree with: • Check
Sometimes a baby seems to come out of her mother’s womb and into her arms and heart in a single move. Parents sometimes describe a feeling of instant recognition, so that all the waiting and wanting of pregnancy and labor culminate not just in a baby, but in this baby. But that kind of instant
Many six to nine month old babies won’t sit on a lap at all. They grab for clothes or hair and haul themselves to use the adult’s knee for a trampoline. It’s another couple of months before your baby is able to support his full weight, though. But once he can, it won’t be long
Your baby’s first smiles are for anyone, but a month or two later, his smiliest smiles are just for you, and he’s starting the first and most important love affair of his life, a love that will keep on building to give him the foundation for all the later loving of his life. Every baby
Conventional crawling means progressing across the floor on hands and knees, but babies aren’t concerned with convention — only with getting across the room to see something on the far side! Crawling can mean different kinds of progress. Some babies never really crawl at all – they develop rolling over to a point where they
A security blanket, or “cuddly” can be any soft piece of material or toy which a baby, usually six to nine months old, adopts as his very own. Psychologists dignify these bits of blanket or worn, smelly teddy bears with the name, “transitional comfort object.” They deserve the dignified name because cuddlies take on very
His best friend is into motorcycles and cutting classes… Her friends smoke and drink, or maybe you’re disturbed by the way her friend dresses or talks… What can you do when you fear your teen is running with the “wrong crowd”? Talk with your teen. Without attacking his friends personally, voice your concerns. “I worry
