Parenting Blog

When the baby comes to the world, the parents have to make sure that they leave no stone unturned for their baby’s care. Recognizing and taking care of the basic needs of your baby is very essential for the proper growth and development of the baby. The baby should be healthy and energetic and you can help him to be so by fulfilling the primary needs properly before you proceed to take up any fun activities.

Immunization

With the increasing number of diseases, you must make sure that you take the baby for getting immunized at the proper time. Your baby is fragile and is susceptible to a number of health problems. Your prime concern should be to reduce the risk of your baby suffering from any of these problems. This can be done by vaccinating your baby at the proper time against all diseases that your doctor suggests. If you are concerned about his weight, take him for weight checks and keep the doctor informed if any problem is bugging you.

Sleeping

Sleep is very crucial for your new born. It is the daily recharge for him which is very important for the growth of his external as well as internal body. During the ‘Rapid eye movement’ cycles the brain cells of the baby are developed and this is the time where the baby enhances his learning, movement and thinking abilities. This is the time when your child’s nervous system learns to understand the senses of vision, touch, hearing, taste and smell.

Feeding

Milk is the best food for the baby. You can either feed him breast milk or formula milk. Nothing else is needed for the first six months. Breast feeding is encouraged by the doctors, since not only it provides your baby with all necessary nutrients but also reduces risk of conditions like asthma, eczema, diarrhea , respiratory problems or any other kind of infection. Though formula milk is a good substitute for breast milk, it does not have these unique properties.

Other important things to care about

Make sure that your baby is comfortable. Change his diapers on time and never leave him in a wet nappy. Take care of the safety of baby and learn about the crib safety too. Keep your baby in a lively atmosphere so that he is not surrounded by dullness, but also make sure that you get enough time alone with him as well.

As a mother it is equally important that you take good care of yourself to nurture the baby as per her needs. You should take good rest from time to time, eat well, stay healthy and be patient if you want to feel the joy of parenting.

New parents come across a phase when they are bombarded with advices from all the directions. Grandparents, friends and society cannot help giving instructions every now and then. But to what extent are they correct? There is a lot of difference between a Myth and a Reality and parents should be able to distinguish between them to make intelligent decisions.

1. Toys + Baby = Smarter Baby

Myth: For maximum brain activity, baby needs sophisticated toys.
Reality: There’s no experimental evidence that a particular toy will make baby smarter.

Expert explains: A stimulating environment is favorable for a baby learning to explore the environment but sophisticated toys are not necessary. It’s true that babies seem to have a visual inclination for contrasting black and white images; still parents shouldn’t have false impression that flooding baby’s room with such images will result into increased intelligence levels.

2. Speech delays

Myth: Children overcome problems like speech and language delay with age; it’s nothing to be worried about.
Reality: Go to the doctor soon if your child is showing such delays.

Expert explains: Parents should know the difference between speech (quality of sound) and language (content of communication) and take delays seriously. Autism and other cognitive problems can be detected at an early age by observing carefully such delays.

3. Younger one lags

Myth: In a large family, the youngest child is a late talker.
Reality: Birth order is not a deciding factor; it affects baby’s speech and language patterns negligibly.

Expert explains: Every family has a different environment, so birth order might have a small impact. But it doesn’t mean that parents can ignore the delay problems assuming the family baby will be a late talker.

4. Reading habits

Myth: Child’s vision will be damaged if he holds book very close to his eyes.
Reality: It might indicate short-sightedness (myopia).

Expert explains: Consult a pediatrician if the child is uncomfortable with far placed objects. Otherwise, keeping a book close won’t hurt your child’s vision.

5. Height at birth

Myth: Adult height is decided by baby’s height at birth.
Reality: Measurement afterwards might predict adult height but not length at birth.

Expert explains: Height is decided primarily by genetic structure. You can often hear people saying if a child is short at birth, he will be short as an adult as well. This is completely vague. Doubling the child’s height at age 2 can give the approximate height of a child as an adult.

Thus, under any circumstances parents should not panic and avoid confusions. If they still have any doubts or questions in their mind they should always try to get the right advice from medical practitioners.

You can never afford to be careless with you baby, not even when he is playing with his toys. Like any other time, he needs your attention while he is entertaining himself with his toys too because he still doesn’t knows about right and wrong. He might bring himself to a choking hazard, might hurt himself, or stab others. A lot many things can happen with toys too. So you need to be careful every time.

Here are a few tips that can help you to choose the right toys for him, one which does not pose any kind of danger to your baby:

• Choose toys which are most appropriate for your baby’s age. To help you, almost all toys come with a ‘recommended age’ tag. Such toys suite your baby’s developmental level. You need to be aware of you baby’s abilities and the level of his maturity while choosing toys for him.

• Make sure that whatever you choose for him doesn’t present a choking hazard. The toy parts must be bigger than his mouth. Here is a small test to help you: if the toy you chose for your baby fits into the cylinder of a toilet-paper roll, then it is not safe.

• Also, pay attention to the weight of the toy. Make sure that if somehow that toy fell on your baby, it wouldn’t be heavy enough to harm your baby.

• Look for some toys that are put together well and which aren’t tearing or peeling off paint in any place. For example, if you chose a stuffed toy, make sure that it is sewn properly and does not have any buttons or likewise things that you baby could snatch out of the toy and put into his mouth.

• You need to pick toys for him that actually fit his size. Buying a toddler a cycle won’t be of any use to him.

• Make sure that the toy you choose for him is in a good condition. Sometimes, we tend to use toys that have been present in the family for some time. Such toys are usually worn out, chewed out or fixed with plastic appendages.

• Avoid toys that have a considerably long string because they can cause strangulation to the baby. Also, make sure that you don’t leave around any mobile chargers or similar stuff because they can be easily wrapped around your baby’s neck.

• Make sure the toy doesn’t contain a magnet, because it is something that can be easily put into the mouth by your baby.

Keep a track of all these things when you choose a toy for him. It is also a good idea to inform anyone about these guidelines who is planning to give a gift to your baby.

Prayers are central to biblical parenting because prayers are the primary means of communicating with God and helping children get closer to God. There are various issues about teaching your child to pray and connect with the Lord. Some of the basic points about effective biblical parenting with prayers are described here. 

The main thing that all believing and caring parents need to teach their kids about prayers is the reason behind praying. Since ages, people have indirectly encouraged the idea that prayers are a means of getting gains or success in this world. Kids frequently, in their innocence, ask God for choice things (toys, dresses, sport items etc.) in their prayers. This attitude is not a healthier one from spiritual viewpoint because prayers are meant to tie the human soul with that of the Lord in a spiritual bond. They are not meant for demanding for worldly things and expect God to send them off. Kids should be taught in their early days of prayers that they are praying to God not for worldly gains but for spiritual bonding.

A large number of parents often face the question whether God accepts prayers from a person if he/she is not praying in a defined position i.e. with hands folded and eyes closed. Parents should remember to tell their kids that they need not assume a particular posture in order to help their prayers be heard by God. There is no mention of any particular posture for prayer in the bible. God hears any and all prayers that are offered in pure devotion, love, and humility. Kids can pray anytime, anywhere, and in any posture. However, it is better for them not to let worldly temptations and thoughts go with their prayers. Closing of eyes is in fact an attempt to remove the worldly scenes from before one’s eyes. If a kid can concentrate on the word ‘Lord’ with humility, he/she can pray without closing eyes or folding hands as most people do.             
Also central to biblical parenting is the concept of persistent prayers for the delight of God. The bible teaches that God takes delight in the prayers of the upright but does not accept sacrifice from the wicked. Thus, kids must be taught that they should think and do good in order to delight the Lord with their prayers. Since Lord blesses those who persist in their purity and devotion to Him, persistent prayers not only for one’s self and family but for all friends and all people everywhere, even for your enemies or people who have done you harm. By your prayers, God will wash the evil off those who are its victims and make them see the light of goodness and love. At the same time, God will relive the sufferings of the praying person if he/she prays with a true heart.  

To learn and teach more about prayers in the bible, use the Holy Bible itself as the ultimate source of biblical parenting. Some of the important sections of the bible that teach about prayers include: Jude 1: 20; Mathew 6:9-13; Mathew 5:44; James 5:13; Romans 8:26; Ephesians 6:18; Psalm 66:19; Proverbs 15:8; and Mathew 6:5-6.     

The life of newborn babies is mostly all about feeding and sleeping. After all, he/she is in the inertia of the long cozy sleep inside the mother’s body. Parents do need to know how much a newborn baby normally sleeps in 24 hours. 

While newborn babies do not follow a set routine for sleep, for most babies, the sleeping time is up to 18 hours daily (in 24 hours). But the sleep is often intermittent and the baby wakes every 2 to 3 hours to be fed. Also, most babies will sleep for 3 to 5 hours maximum at a stretch. Following are some common sleep patterns for newborn babies of varying ages: 

Up to 3 Months

Newborn babies, ranging in age from their natal day up to 3 months, usually take 16 to 18 hours of sleep daily. The sleep is divided into 2-3 hours sessions. Their sleep does not have to do much with night or day and they will sleep almost equally at day as they do at night. The day-night awareness appears in the baby at an age of around 6 to 8 weeks. By the age of 2 to 3 months, a sleep pattern is developed by the child. The parent can then anticipate when the child is going to sleep and how long the sleep is going to continue at a particular time. 

3 to 6 Months

The total daily sleep of the baby at this age is about 14 to 16 hours. It is usually 8 hours of sleep at night and 6 hours at day (divided in three stretches of 2 hours each). The child gets asleep more readily and does not wake in the absence of much disturbance. Some babies at this age may not wake at all during the night. However, most would wake once to be fed. By the age of 6 months, the daytime sleep drops to 2 naps, each lasting about 2 hours. 

6 to 12 Months

During the 6 months to one year, the total daily sleep of a baby is 12 to 14 hours. Most babies take a daily nap of about 2 to 3 hours each. A 6 month sold baby is able to sleep well through the night, without waking at all. But many kids do wake once. Before the baby’s first birthday, a long stretch of sleep (about 11 hours or more) is less likely to occur.