Parenting Tips for Infants

There are probably not a lot of feelings that can equal to or compete with the feeling of being parents. To see your baby wrapped in a fluffy blanket and knowing that you made that happen has got to evoke pretty strong emotions within you.

But along with the euphoria that sweeps a couple after the baby's arrival, there is also a lot of responsibility that is brought along with being parents. The responsibility of shaping your kids' future and making them responsible citizens of society, capable of taking care of themselves means that you need to have effective parenting techniques in place.

While parenting is a lifelong process, in the following article, we will focus on some parenting tips for infants and what it involves.

Infants sleep lighter, lesser, fussier, and shorter. Understand that an infant's sleep patterns have a light sleep-deep sleep and quick waking theme to them. That is why many parents find it difficult to put their baby to sleep instantly and then keep him in that state.

Use motion to put the baby to sleep (rocking, swinging, patting) and allow the baby at least 20 minutes of sleep before you put him/her down. Use this method so that your baby sleeps better. If you put him down before the 20 minutes, it will more often than not wake him up.

As time passes, your baby will sleep deeper and longer. Remember that the baby will wake up a lot in the first year because of varied factors. Do not take it as a personal reflection of your parenting techniques.

Bonding with the baby is important so that you instill in him security and comfort, and sooth his nerves. Bonding is best achieved with a lot of skin to skin touch.

Being there for the baby, talking to him, using soothing words and sounds to calm him, responding to the baby's gurgling with positive sounds, singing to him, holding him closer when he begins to wail, listening to soothing music, and praising your baby are all ways of bonding with him.

This child care technique becomes important to show that they can trust you completely. Only when they can trust you will they listen to what you have to say and it'll be easier to adopt a parenting style. Be supportive of your baby and you'll find that parenting is much easier.

Teaching language and encouraging the baby to talk can be achieved through a series of positive interaction techniques and tools. Always, always respond to the child when they make sounds and singular coos with smiles and speech. Supply words to their coos and tell them what it is in speech.

Along with that, read to them books that have a lot of rhythm and repeated sounds. This will help them learn and remember language. Include other activities for infants as well, like pointing to different objects and naming them―this is a great way of introducing words in the infant's psyche.

Breastfeeding is recommended for newborns because it lends to increased immunity and health. Make sure that you feed them as often as they are hungry and do not follow a particular book to determine feeding charts. As the baby grows older you'll need to switch to solid food, make sure that you consult the doctor in making a schedule of the kind of foods that are safe and how to introduce solids to a breast fed baby. When the baby has gotten into solid food completely, make sure that you never ever force him to eat when he clearly does not want to.

Always listen to your kids when they refuse to eat. Instead of shouting at them, use other methods like storytelling, presenting the food in a better way and the like to get them to eat. However, do not let them get fussy or there will be problems with child discipline. For that you might have to be stern at times, which is okay. Kids know when they have crossed the line.

• Baby proof your home so that once the baby starts to crawl and eventually walk, there will be no risk-bearing factors left.
• Make sure that the food is always cut into small pieces to prevent choking.
• Give the baby all his daily shots to increase immunity and prevent any mishaps.

The issues that have been mentioned in this article will have given you an inkling of the points that you need to take into consideration when it comes to parenting.