Being a parent is an exciting journey, with lots of magical times and challenges. There are some things that you could think about that will make a difference to you and your child.

• Your baby will love hearing your voice. Talk, read, sing to them, even when they are really small

• You cant spoil your baby with too much love and attention. Babies cry because they have wind, or they need to eat, sleep, be soothed or changed, not because they are demanding or spoilt.

• Some babies are more unsettled than others and may need you to experiment with ways that settle them - you could try taking them for a walk, rocking, soft music, gently patting their back or singing softly to them.

• Your role as a parent is to love, teach and guide your child through to adulthood. A big part of this is helping them to explore their world, experimenting with touching, tasting, listening and watching.

• This will mean babies will try to climb things, poke their fingers where they can, taste anything that they come across, put their hands in their food and generally explore. This is good!

• You can manage all this exploring by making sure small things that your baby can choke on are put away, putting precious things up high and making sure hot things can’t be pulled off a table or stove.

• Rest when you can. This might mean you have to ask people not to visit for a while if you are getting really tired.

• Your friends and family will want to help. Ask them to take baby for a walk so you can get a bit of sleep,or they can help by making meals or hanging out the washing. They’ll all want to hold the baby - but make sure they don’t interrupt the routines you’re trying to set.

• Being a new parent means you will be learning lots of new things. Ask for help if you need it. There are people who can help - for example Plunket, your GP, other parents.

This article, written by Tracie Martin, an Infant Sleep Advisor, offers parents an understanding of the various theories surrounding the topic of infant sleep. It was first published in Pink Magazine. Tracie has kindly allowed us to make it available from our site.

The PDF will open on a blank page first, so page or scroll down to see this helpful article.

dream-babies.pdf

The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds is a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics, intended as guidance for the clinician in rendering pediatric care.  It is written by Kenneth R. Gindberg, MD, MSEd and the Committee on Communications and the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health. 

Abstract 
Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social & emotional well-being of children and youth.  Play also offers an ideal opportunity for parents to engage fully with their children.  Despite the benefits derived from play for both children and parents, time for free play has been markedly reduced for some children.  This report addresses a variety of factors that have reduced play, including a hurried lifestyle, changes in family structure and increased attention to academics and enrichment activities at the expense of recess or free child-centered play.  This report offers guidlelines on how pediatricians can advocate for children by helping families, school systems and communities consider how best to ensure that play is protected as they seek the balance in children’s lives to create the optimal developmental milieu.

The full report is linked below:

importanceofplay.pdf

The brain does not develop at an even pace.  It tends to develop in waves with different parts of the brain developing at different times.  This development takes place, however, in a predictable sequence.  Neuroscientists have shown that the brain is affected by environmental conditions throughout the entire process of development, even prior to birth.  This includes the type of nourishment, care, surroundings and stimulation the feotus or infant receives.  This article gives a fascinating summary of the development which takes place in your child’s brain a) before birth, b) during their infancy and c) beyond their third year.

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The excellent 40 page article linked below is sourced from the  Australian Journal of Early Childhood 30(2), 29-39

The authors are Associate Professor Margaret Sims, Dr Andrew Guilfoyle and Professor Trevor Parry.

Abstract
The Australian childcare profession has watched with some concern results of research coming out of North America, indicating that child care is not good for children.  This research identifies undesirable outcomes in children’s development and behaviour as a result of child care attendance.  How does this research apply to Australian children in Australian child care centres?  Australian research is limited and this paper reports on results to date of an Australian study of children’s biological stress levels (measured using salivary cortisol) and their relationship with quality child care service delivery.  Results demonstrate clearly that children attending high quality child care have lower stress levels across the day than children attending satisfactory or unsatisfactory programmes.  Poor quality child care is not good for children.

Click on this link to see the pdf file:  what-childrens-cortisol-levels-tell-us-about-quality.pdf