Positive Parenting Tips

Building a Solid Foundation

Following are some things you, as a parent, can do to help your baby during this time:

• Talk to your baby. She will find your voice calming.

• Answer when your baby makes sounds by repeating the sounds and adding words. This will help him learn to use language.

• Read to your baby. This will help her develop and understand language and sounds.

• Sing to your baby and play music. This will help your baby develop a love for music and will help his brain development.

• Praise your baby and give her lots of loving attention.

• Spend time cuddling and holding your baby. This will help him feel cared for and secure.

• Play with your baby when she’s alert and relaxed. Watch your baby closely for signs of being tired or fussy so that she can take a break from playing.

• Distract your baby with toys and move him to safe areas when he starts moving and touching things that he shouldn’t touch.

• Take care of yourself physically, mentally and emotionally. Parenting can be hard work! It is easier to enjoy your new baby and be a positive, loving parent when you are feeling good yourself.

Sleep Safe Guidelines

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) provides recommendations regarding safe sleeping practices for infants from birth to 1 year of age. The AAP guidelines are primarily aimed at reducing the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other Sudden Unexplained Infant Deaths (SUID), which includes suffocation, asphyxiation and entrapment in addition to other causes. The AAP continues to recommend that infants sleep on their backs for every sleep.

This is especially important for premature infants and infants with low birth weight. The AAP also strongly recommends that infants are placed on a firm sleeping surface, such as a firm mattress in a crib, covered only with a snug-fitting fitted sheet. Firm sleeping surfaces are surfaces that keep their shape when the infant is placed on them and do not create a pocket or indentation when the infant is placed on the surface.

Loose bedding, mattress toppers, blankets, stuffed animals, bumpers, positioners or any other soft object should be removed from the infant’s sleeping area. Cribs, bassinets, portable cribs and play yards that meet safety standards are all acceptable sleep spaces for infants. 

Over-bundling, overheating and covering the head of the infant should also be avoided. Swaddling does not prevent SIDS and can be dangerous if the infant is placed on her stomach or rolls to her stomach during sleep.