Best Parenting World

When is it that I should start teaching my baby? That is a question that may come to mind for many first time parents; other parents may never consider the question at all, and just leave things to evolve naturally.

In a way, that is an unnecessary question as, whether you like it or not and whether you mean to or not, you begin teaching your baby while it is still in the womb, and then continue through its early years, teenage years, and even into adulthood. So, perhaps it is better to rephrase that question slightly to “when should I consciously start teaching my baby?”

Even with the rephrased question, the answer is the same: while the baby is in the womb. How can that be?

While the baby is in the womb it starts to learn about its environment after about six months of pregnancy, when it is capable of hearing external sounds. Of course, it is aware of its internal environment earlier than that, but there is little you can do to enhance that. But when it comes to the external environment, you are in a position to have some influence even from that early stage of development.

In the 15-year period from 1982 to 1996, the leading cause of death among young children was accidents, poisoning and violence (external causes) — these accounted for about 46% of all deaths among Australian children.

Although the death rate from external causes declined, it remained the leading cause of child death during this period. About a third of all child deaths from external causes were due to motor vehicle accidents (on average around 64 deaths per year) and drowning (on average 68 deaths per year).

A number of these deaths were also due to a silent killer found in many thousands of homes — dangling cords.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission in the US has been working with manufacturers of window blinds and shades to reduce strangulation deaths which occur when young children get caught in the loops of window covering control cords.

Since 1981, over 170 children have died in the US as a result of being entangled in window cords. This is about one death per month. In about half of these cases, children between eight months and four years old were found hanging in the loop of the cords. In other cases, children were found with control cords wrapped around their necks.

We all want the very best for our children and that includes giving them the best possible start to their education. There is a great deal you, as a parent, can do to achieve this. Your priority should be to create an environment that is safe, loving and stimulating.

CHILDREN LEARN THROUGH ALL THEIR SENSES

As we get older, we tend to rely on our sense of sight, and maybe hearing, to learn. We read, we observe and we listen. Children touch, taste, smell, look and then listen.

It’s quite pointless to expect toddlers to learn by listening to you — they’re not being naughty when they gaze at you with those big eyes as you explain that it’s wrong to spray your expensive perfume all over the bath (you spray the bath when you clean it, they’re copying your actions — they just haven’t refined all the details yet).

The best way to teach your children about their world is the most difficult for you. It involves letting them try to do things for themselves (always under your supervision, of course).

The addition of baby number 2, 3, or 10 is an occasion to celebrate for any family.

Just think how exciting it must be for your littlest one who is used to always being the younger brother to find out he’s going to be a big brother!

Though baby showers have traditionally been held for mommies-to-be only, times are changing and many people are having baby showers to celebrate the new baby’s whole family-to-be.

What better way to celebrate than to throw a baby shower party in their honor?! Grandparents or aunts or uncles can organize a baby party for the extended family and some close friends to mark the importance of the family unit.

Make a family tree to hang at the baby shower party. Have guests sign on their "branch" as a keepsake for the baby. "Trees" could be a baby shower theme for the party.

Other baby shower decorations for a family baby shower could include past portraits, baby pictures of Mom, Dad, and siblings, and a history of the family name.

You’ve engaged a celebrant and you’ve picked the day. So how do you ensure that the naming ceremony for your baby goes smoothly and is memorable for friends and relatives alike? Focus on two things - preparation for the ceremony, and how things are organised on the day.

Preparation

Hosting a baby shower or looking for a great gift for a new mom? A diaper cake makes a fantastic centerpiece for any baby shower and is also a very nice gift that the new mom will find useful. Here are the basics on how to make your own diaper cake:

1) First, you must decide how big you want the diaper cake. The size of the cake will determine how many diapers you need. Here are some general guidelines:

Top tier - 5-6 diapers

2nd Tier - 15 diapers

3rd Tier - 30 diapers

2) Roll the diapers vertically into cylinders and use scotch tape or rubber bands to hold the shape. Make the bottom tiers first by attaching the diapers together either with safety pins or tape. You can easily form a cylinder which will represent the bottom layers of the cake.

3) If you like, you can wrap the bottom layers of the cake with a blanket. You can attach the tiers to each other with adhesive or pins. Glue can also be used, but is messier when trying to disassemble the cake.

The moment that you have waited for has finally arrived: the day you bring your newborn baby home from the hospital. Like all other expectant parents you will have spent the last nine months preparing for this day. You will have a baby room full of everything a newborn could possibly want. You will have read book after book on a wide magnitude of baby topics from what to name your baby to when you can expect those first words. You will have walked and paced the length of baby’s room, imagining your little bundle sleeping peacefully in her crib. Now the moment has arrived. In the crib lies your sleeping baby and the most exciting adventure of life is about to begin.

The first few days home from the hospital are just as important to you as they are to your baby. As new parents you will have gone through an exciting birth that will have left you breathless and exhilarated.

During your first days at home it may be wise to limit the amount of visitors that you welcome into your home. You need time to recuperate and settle into the routine that a sleeping, feeding, and often crying baby brings into your life.

Installing a car seat correctly is the most important thing you can do to protect your child or newborn if you are in a crash. If you ever doubted how important a car seat is you’ll change your mind once you realize the shocking facts about automobile accidents. First and most importantly, most parents assume that their child is safe whether their car seat is installed correctly. This is FALSE! Other parents mistakenly believe they installed their seat correctly. Unfortunately this is often not the case.

If you use your car seat wrongly or install it improperly you might be in for a big surprise. Studies conducted by transportation authorities in Canada and the U.S. show that four of every ten children are not riding in their car seats correctly. This is because of either improper installation or use of a car seat. Why might this concern you?

When you have already made the decision not to use cloth diapers, your next decision will be how to choose a diaper pail for disposable diapers.

To some degree, cloth diapers will give off less odor than disposables, because they are not as absorbent, and parents often rinse out some of the urine, and dispose of solids by using liners for their cloth diapers.

With disposables, you lose those benefits. The chemical ingredient added to the manufacturing of disposables, makes them retain water within the layers of material, turning it to a gel that can’t leak back out. This means all the urine stays in the disposable, as does any solid wastes. And every parent knows how much that can smell, even after a brief time in a diaper pail.

So what you’re going to want to look for when learning how to choose a diaper pail for disposable diapers, is the most effective system that suppresses odors. A pail with a tight fitting lid is not enough, as odor escapes every time you deposit a used diaper, or change the liner and remove the liner bag.

Even though it’s a popular shower gift, you may want to choose a specific type of diaper bag, either because you’ve learned through experience what works and what doesn’t, or your friends and relatives have given you tips on what to look for or avoid.

It’s pretty elementary to figure that you’re going to need room. Lots and lots of room. For little things, babies at times seem to need an endless supply of items that you may not have space to carry.

When looking for a diaper bag, space is going to be your first consideration, but that doesn’t mean you have to totally give up the stylish or "designer" look. Remember though, that the character-theme or licensed diaper bags often cost more simply for the name. But if you are really taken with a delightful character diaper bag, and just have to have it, put it aside for occasions when its capacity is appropriate. These are often smaller bags, but will still hold some spare diapers, an extra soother, bottle, and baby wipes for short trips like doctor visits, or errands.