What Parents Know
Parenting Advice, Tips, Styles and Help
Here are some tips you could use to make the first day of school easier:
1. Find out the plan – Get in touch with the teacher or the school and get the plan for the week. The day before the school, discuss the plan with your child and make it sound exciting. If the child has something to look forward to, the chances are that the child will be actually be excited for school the next day.
2. Show up on time – The last thing you want to do is rush the child to school during this anxious time.
3. Help the child make new friends – Look out for friendly kids or friendly parents and try to help your kid make friends. There will be other parents and kids who will be looking for friends as well so do not feel like you are imposing on anyone.
4. Home reminder - Try and pack something for your kid that reminds him/her of home. Be prepared to lose it as the child might have a lot of fun at school and forget the item.
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Have you ever noticed that it’s always after the fact that someone decides to impart their wisdom on you? As if it were common knowledge that babies are best bathed before they eat as opposed to after, as they may decide to change the bath water from clear to a murky brown. Or how about that toddlers are healthier eaters overall if they graze rather consume a full portion at each sitting?
There are so many books out there with tidbits of information on how to care for your child, but I have not found one that I would call a complete encyclopedia on raising children from conception to graduation. Maybe there isn’t meant to be a “how to” manual, but there were times at 3am when I would have liked to have felt like there was somewhere I could turn for answers on a crying infant who was clean and fed. Someone to suggest that the baby was just missing being in the womb and needed some white noise and a swooshing motion to drift off to sleep.
Are parents just not imparting their aged wisdom on their children and when we become parents we’re lacking in the knowledge of our forefathers? Have we become so reliant on technology that we no longer look to our elders for advice, rather we search the internet for options on proper breastfeeding techniques? Or has it been this way throughout the ages that we just stumble around, trust our gut and make our best efforts at molding these precious little bundles into productive, responsible adults?
If technology is the teacher we’re turning to, perhaps we should create a list of What Parents Know FAQs? So I ask you, as a parent, what do you know? Feel free to leave a comment, or offer to write a blurb on lessons you’ve learned in the course of parenting that you wish someone had told you.
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Attachment Parenting is a parenting style that promotes physical and emotional closeness between the parents and the child. This phrase was coined by Dr. Sears and his wife, Martha to describe this attentive parenting style.
The style of Attachment Parenting is achieved through tools known as 7 Baby B’s
1. Birth Bonding: Attachment parenting encourages parents to hold their new born baby often in the early sensitive weeks to foster bonding
2. Breastfeeding: Breastfeeding is encouraged because breast milk contains nutrients that cannot be duplicated but it also enhances the mother’s instincts to respond to her baby through physical closeness and attentiveness.
3. Baby Wearing: Baby wearing is the practice of carrying the baby close to the parent’s body by using the a sling or a carrier. It is believed that carried babies full less and also spend more time in quiet alertness.
4. Bedsharing/Co-Sleeping: The parents and the baby sleep on the same bed giving the opportunity to be close even at bedtime. This is believed to encourage attachment as the baby feels safe and does not suffer from night time separation anxiety.
5. Belief: Parents responding sensitively to the baby’s cries builds trust as tiny babies only cry when they are experiencing discomfort. This helps the parents build the confidence in their ability to help the baby and the baby knows it can count on the parent when it needs help.
6. Beware of baby trainers: Attachment parenting style encourages parents to not stick to a tight schedule as many baby trainers advocate. Parents watch the baby for signs to eat, sleep or play and requires the parents to know the baby intimately.
7. Balance: Everything in life requires a balance. Parents must know when to say Yes or when to say No to the baby.
This parenting style does not require the parent to follow each of these points religiously and parents must use these tools instinctively and decide what will work best for them and the baby.
What has been your experience with this style of parenting?
Further Resources
To learn more on Attachment Parenting, check out these books we found online:
The Attachment Parenting Book : A Commonsense Guide to Understanding and Nurturing Your Baby
Attachment Parenting: Instinctive Care for Your Baby and Young Child
Image by: Ephotography
What are prenatal vitamins?
Prenatal vitamins are vitamin supplements intended to be taken before and during pregnancy and also during breastfeeding in most cases. Prenatal vitamins are specially formulated multivitamins that address any nutritional deficiencies in the mother’s diet. Among the numerous vitamins and minerals that prenatal vitamins contain, their folic acid, iron, and calcium content are especially significant. The reasons being are:
Folic Acid: Folic acid reduces the risk of having a baby with a serious birth defect of the brain and spinal cord, called the ‘neural tube.’ A baby with the most common neural tube defect, called spina bifida,is born with a spine that open. The nerves in the spine, which are exposed, are damaged, leaving the child with varying degrees of incontinence and/or paralysis.
Calcium: The Calcium in the Prenatal vitamins can help a mother maintain her own bone density, as the foetus uses the calcium for bone growth.
Iron: Due to the increased needs during pregnancy, women don’t get enough of iron in their diet. The reason being the mother’s body makes a lot more blood to support the baby, and as a result, the iron stores in the blood can get spread pretty thin.
Which Prenatal vitamins do I take?
Every mother has different requirements when it comes to these vitamins. Many women have difficulty tolerating prenatal vitamins as a result of the high iron content. Due to different tolerance levels of mothers, companies develop a multitude of dosage forms to meet the needs and tolerances of expecting mothers. Many of the prenatal vitamins are available over the counter but it is recommended that the mother consult the doctor to find out which vitamins would be most suitable. It is possible to jeopardize the baby’s health by taking inappropriate amounts of these vitamins.
The Prenatal vitamins are making me ill or giving me nausea
If the prenatal vitamins are upsetting your stomach, it may be due to the fact that the vitamins have a particularly high level of iron. Taking a lot of iron can also lead to constipation, which is already a problem for many pregnant women. It can also cause nausea or, more rarely, diarrhea. If you’re not anemic, speak to the physician as it may make sense for you to take to a prenatal vitamin with a lower dose of iron.
Other information
- If you take 2 prenatal vitamins in a day, do not worry as taking twice the recommended dose for just one day will not harm you or your baby.
- If you are not able to swallow the prenatal vitamins, ask your doctor for other options such as a liquid or chewable version of the vitamins or even just smaller pills.
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Oral Thrush in babies is a fungal infection caused by a yeast named Candida. Candida albicans is an organism that normally makes a quiet home for itself on your skin and is generally harmless. Babies get Thrush because their immune system is not yet strong enough to control the growth of Candida. Thrush has also been associated with the overuse of antibiotics.
What are the symptoms of Thrush?
Thrush is most common in babies and older adults, but it can occur at any age and often occurs in areas where the lining of the mouth is cracking and moist. Some of the symptoms your baby might have Thrush are:
- White and irregularly shaped patches coat the inside of the mouth and sometimes the tongue.
- White coating that sticks to the mouth and cannot be washed away or wiped off easily.
Sometimes, it is easy to mistake to mistake thrush for milk or formula. Try wiping it gently and if it does not go away, contact a doctor.
How do you cure Thrush?
- In Babies, Thrush is not usually serious. The doctor might prescribe some anti fungal medicine like nystatin liquid and you might be directed to apply it directly on the white patches using a cotton swab or a gauze wrapped around your finger.
- If the mother is breastfeeding, apply nystatin to any irritated areas on the nipples.
- Decrease sucking time during feeding as this might be painful for the baby
- Avoid using a pacifier at bedtime
- If the baby gets a Diaper rash as well as thrush, assume the diaper rash is caused by yeast. Contact the doctor and ask for a prescription for nystatin cream to apply on the baby’s bottom.
What has been your experience?
Image Credit: PhotopediaPhotos
Many parents are able to recognize the signs of a diaper rash before things get out of hand. Red, and often raised blotchy skin which is warm to the touch and causes your little one to cry out in discomfort while being changed. Diaper rash is generally thought to occur as a result of prolonged contact with urine or feces, friction from rubbing against the diaper, a side effect of antibiotic use, pre-existing dermatitis, or contact with chemicals causing skin irritation.
Preventing diaper rash can be achieved by trying one or all of these helpful hints:
- Be sure the diaper your child is wearing is not too snug, though you want to prevent leaks, some airflow must remain
- Do not rely on the weights listed on disposable diapers, go by fit
- Use barrier creams like petroleum jelly or zinc oxide (be sure to smear it on like icing a cake, not rub it in)
- Bathe the bottom area and allow it to air dry after each changing, or at least a couple of times throughout the day
- Avoid scented diapers, wipes and strong bath soaps as these products are known to cause issues with sensitive skin
- Change your child more frequently in warmer weather and even through the night
- Consider more absorbent night time diapers, or add extra padding if using cloth diapers
- Carefully wash your cloth diapers to ensure that all of the germs are removed
- Consider breastfeeding your baby, as it is believed that breastfed babies experience fewer diaper rashes
From experience, there are times when diaper rash simply can’t be avoided, like when your child is teething, has had their needles, or happens to have an allergic reaction to a food product. During these times, lots of “air time” will benefit that sore bottom. If after 4 days you’re the rash is not diminishing, and has raised red edges, it might be time to visit your doctor to check for a yeast infection.
What has been your experience with diaper rashes?
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'What Parents Know' provides very helpful information, tips and ideas on health, parenting, adoption, education, nutrition and pregnancy