Category: Emotional – Social
Fussing in Public: How to Calm an Upset Infant
Baby’s First Week: What to Expect
By Lisa Pecos
For first-time parents, the first week with a new baby is one of the most exciting, nerve-wracking, and thrilling times in your life. After months of planning and preparing for this moment, not to mention imagining and desiring for it to come, the simple act of walking through your front door with your baby for the first time can seem downright surreal. It is a magical time for many parents, but it also comes with a set of challenges that must be quickly overcome. And while the initial excitement is worth savoring, after a few days you will have to settle into the long-term, routine-driven life of parenting.
Read MoreHow Does Having a Baby Change Your Life?
For new parents, no two situations are alike. Everyone has their own habits, their own hobbies, and their own experiences. So if you are about to welcome your first child into your life, only you can know how you are going to handle it. Some people have been preparing for years to become parents and are more or less ready, while others receive their first child with no more than a few months to prepare mentally, socially, and financially. Whatever your situation, there are ways to handle the new arrival so that your life and your family’s life become better. One thing is for sure, though: Life will change.
Read MoreHow Babies Learn to Talk, and How You Can Help
Learning how to talk is an innate human ability that scarcely needs parental encouragement. As long as a child is around people who talk, he or she is eventually going to begin picking up on words, and adeptness with the language comes soon thereafter. However, the sooner a child learns how to talk, the sooner she can begin to communicate more complex things, learn to read, and socialize meaningfully with other children. As a parent, you may not be able to speed up the process significantly, but some babies do respond well to encouragement.
Read MoreReturning to Work after Childbirth
The question of when to return to work after giving birth weighs heavily on the minds of many pregnant woman. In the United States, the vast majority of women with children of preschool age or younger are part of the work force, and the rate is increasing throughout the world. This can be troublesome in an age in which women are still widely expected to be the primary caregivers for young children, and the issue is further complicated by the physical and emotional difficulties surrounding the post-childbirth return to work.
Read MoreEncouraging a Newborn’s Social Development
With all the things that newborn babies need, it is easy to forget that the first few months of life are a crucial stage in a child’s social and emotional development. As long as you and your partner are loving parents who give the baby everything he or she needs, you do not have to be overworried about socializing your baby. That aspect of parenting becomes much more important later on. However, there are things you can do right now to make your baby happy while laying a foundation for strong social skills in the future. Here are a few ideas.
Read MoreAvoiding Sibling Rivalry: How to Prepare Your Child for a New Arrival
All kids are different, and not every first child responds poorly to the arrival of a second one. In fact, some young children do not show any signs of sibling rivalry at all, instead welcoming new additions to the family with open arms. While some children are temperamentally predisposed to welcoming younger siblings, parents need to be prepared for problems to arise, and there are certain things you can do beforehand to make sure your firstborn adjusts well.
The 8 Most Common Reasons Babies Cry
We all know that babies cry, but many soon-to-be parents do not fully realize just how much crying they are going to be dealing with in the first months of the baby’s life. Newborns are helpless to do anything for themselves, and crying is their primary form of communication. It is how they express their wants and needs, and it is how they show that they are uncomfortable. In fact, babies cry for so many different reasons that it can be hard for parents to figure out what to do. At times, it may seem like the baby is crying for no reason at all.
Read MoreHow to Foster Your Baby’s Learning in the First Year
By Jamell Andrews
Many young parents assume that there is not much happening in a baby’s mind during the first few months of life. This may be somewhat true when it comes to the first month, when the baby mostly just learns to use her senses, recognize her parents, and ask for things. After the first month, however, learning picks up at a tremendous pace, and parents who make good use of this time can greatly increase their chances of raising a smart child.
Read More