Today’s first time parenting tip - Even though baby’s first Christmas is fast approaching, go slow with the tree, lights and ribbon.

Santa definitely did not make Christmas a safe holiday for the little ones he visits with presents and “Ho ho hos.” And you thought it was unsafe to be around Uncle Joe after a few glasses of egg nog - you don’t have to look any further than your own house or apartment to find many dangers you need to watch out for as you prepare for the holiday season.

Cold
If you’re in the northern hemisphere, things can get mighty chilly around winter time. Dress your baby in at least one layer of pants and a shirt. Then, make sure you slap on a jacket, boots or shoes, gloves and a hat that’ll cover his ears. A blanket over the face could be in order too. Can you tell it’s been 9 degrees in Chicago lately?

Christmas Tree
Bah…humbug! It can fall over on him. The needles are sharp. He can still choke on the plastic ones. Put your tree in a separate room, somewhere he can’t absolutely get at it, or don’t get one. OK, maybe that’s too much, but just be careful.

Lights
This one goes without saying, but the only thing worse than electrical cords are electrical cords with lots of tiny glass things that attract attention by lighting up or blinking. You’d do well to keep these well out of reach too.

Ornaments
If you put them up, he’ll break the one dearest to your heart. Murphy’s law. Go for cloth ornaments, one’s that won’t break and don’t have small parts. Or if you’ve got a tree that he can’t get at, decorate as normal.

Ribbon and garland
Both are a choking hazard. If he does get wrapped up, you’ll be too panic stricken to get it unwound. Best to not let him play with it.

Holiday Candy
Hard candies that he can’t chew are big no nos for babies. Opt for softer fare instead.

It’s a special time, so be sure to enjoy it. Laugh, spend time with family take him to see Santa, enjoy watching him open his first presents, etc. Just be sure to do it safely.

Anyone else got something I’ve missed?

Parenting, Christmas, Safety, Hazard

Today’s first time parenting tip - Here’s a short list of solid foods not to feed your baby.

Here’s a list, probably incomplete, of foods to steer clear of when feeding your baby of 9-12 months. Depending on your comfort level, you probably want to check with your pediatrician first. This is also assuming you’ve fed your baby plenty of fruits, veggies, cereals and meats already, and discovered no allergies.

Also, having teeth doesn’t necessarily matter. But make sure that everything is in small pieces, and that your baby knows how to chew and swallow. If you know of something else, add to the list!

• Cow’s Milk
• Shellfish
• Peanuts or other types of nuts
• Hard candies
• Shellfish
• Honey
• Peanut Butter

Parenting, Food, Off, Limits

Today’s first time parenting tip - Say goodbye every time you leave.

Part 4 of the Good Habit series - Separation Anxiety

Alright, the onus is on you, dear parents. (Not that it wasn’t already). Whether you’re leaving your child at daycare or dropping them off with a family member, or even passing him around at the holiday gathering, you’ll probably have to deal with separation anxiety in some form or another.

That’s why today’s assignment lies with you. Say goodbye every time you leave your baby. You’ll help develop a routine, something he can count on. He knows that when you say goodbye, it means you’ll be coming back later. It helps mitigate feelings of abandonment or lack of attention.

It also helps him learn imitation. You wave to him, he waves back. Soon enough, saying goodbye might become a fun game. Until then, help your baby with separation by saying goodbye once, reassuring him, and then leaving and letting him focus on his new environment. Coming back over and over again may only make it worse.

Parenting, Habit, Good, Separation, Anxiety

Today’s first time parenting tip - Use a daily family meal to prepare your child for a trip to a public restaurant

Part 3 of the Good Habit series - Good behavior at a restaurant

We’ve all seen the hapless (or oblivious) parents at a restaurant. Their kids are running amok, throwing food, tearing around the place, etc.

Kind of makes you wonder what meal time at home is like.

Having a daily family meal isn’t just good for bonding and spending time together. It also helps teach social skills for when you head out of the house. If your child doesn’t ever sit at the table with grown-ups or stay still for an hour or so at home, what makes you think they will outside the house?

While your baby is young, make a point to all sit together at the table and eat. Give him some finger foods or a bottle he can feed himself with while you eat, and then if he needs to be spoonfed, do that before or after you’re done. Talk to him and make him part of the family conversation.

As he gets older, you can begin to add time at the end of the meal to talk or enjoy each other’s company. Try to increase this time little by little as patience and age dictates.

That way, when you all go out, he’ll know what’s expected and will have practiced it in the safe (not embarassing) comfort of your own home.

Parenting, Habit, Good, Restaurant, Dinner

Today’s first time parenting tip - Once your baby’s teeth start to come in, brush their teeth and gums at the end of the day.

Part 2 of the Good Habit series - Good dental hygeine

Have you been caring for your baby’s teeth before they come in? You should already be gently wiping their gums with a damp washcloth or guaze in order to prevent harmful bacteria from building up even before their teeth come in.

Once the primary teeth do arrive, you can start using a soft, infant baby brush or some guaze to wipe their teeth and gums. Don’t use flouride toothpaster just yet, your dentist will probably recommend beginning that around 2 or 3, when your child is old enough to not swallow the toothpaste.

My son loves the feeling of the toothbrush on his gums. He laughs and laughs. If your baby fusses, do as well as you can, but don’t force the issue. THe main thing here is to avoid harmful bacteria, obviously, but also to begin forming the good dental habits you want your children to develop. Just like solid food, it may take a few times, but keep at it, be patient.

You should also schedule your baby’s first dental appointment by their first birthday. Then, make sure they go back to visit once every six months.

And lastly, don’t put your baby to bed with food or a bottle. They could develop bottle mouth, a condition where their teeth become pitted, and may even develop cavities. Sometimes, their primary teeth have to be pulled. While it may be convenient, its not worth it in the long run to put a baby to bed with a bottle.

Parenting, Habit, Good, Brushing, Dental

Today’s first time parenting tip - Give your baby at least a taste, hopefully 5 servings, of fruits and vegetables every day.

Part 1 of the Good Habit series - Good diet

I know how tempting it is to go the easy route and give your baby only the foods he likes. It’s less fuss at the table, and everyone wins. I also know how hard it is to try and keep your baby sugar-free. It seems like everyone else in the world wants to give him chocolate, cake, cookies, tastes of sweets, etc. And then when you tell them to not give him those things, they look at you as if you’re beating the poor kid.

How hard or how soft you are with the rules about sweets are up to you, but my take on the issue is - teach them how to eat right before you teach them how to eat wrong.

The first two years of your child’s life set up their eating habits and preferences for their whole life, so giving them a well balanced diet with a variety of healthy foods is important.

Plus, your baby is too young to remember the sweets anyway. Sometimes you have to ask yourself…what would giving my baby sweets do for them?

Parenting, Habit, Good, Eating, Food

Today’s first time parenting tip - Get these fun blocks for your baby

The quest for a baby toy that your baby is actually interested in is surprisingly hard. They’ve got these great gifts from the shower, or the holidays, and they’ve got zero interest in them. They have more fun with boxes, wrapping paper and the cat.

But, we found that this set of cloth blocks from Baby Einstein. The yellow block has a quacker inside of it, and it goes on and on, sometimes uncomfortably long. Each side has a different texture and our son loves to grab onto them with both hands.

We can play catch with him, he can chase them around the room. We’ve had them from the very beginning, and he’s never gotten tired of them. They were one of the first things that could make him smile (that crazy duck sound is infectious!) and the first sound he tried to imitate was the quacking duck. Now whenever he sees the yellow block he starts quacking away happily.

Parenting, Baby, Einstein, Blocks, Toy

Today’s first time parenting tip - Teach your baby how to climb down as soon as they are able to climb up

No matter how hard you try, babies are going to find things to climb on. Even though you might have a baby gate on your stairs, grandma and grandpa might not. The bathtub, crib, boxes, pillows and furniture are all things he’ll learn to ascend eventually. It makes sense to begin teaching him how to get down without hurting himself.

Humans usually learn by trial and error. But when it comes to getting down off something high, you can’t afford the error.

I started teaching my son how to get off the air mattress my wife and I are currently sleeping on in our new apartment. The mattress itself is soft, it’s not too high, he loves getting up on it and bouncing.

One safe way to get down that I teach my son is:

• Position the baby rear end first towards the edge.
• Say something fun like “Back it up! Baaack it up!” or “Back-back-back-gone!”
• Mimic your baby’s crawling motions by moving their legs backward as if they were doing it themselves.
• Help them bring their arms down if they won’t do it themselves
• Make a big deal out of their success. Hugs, kisses and smiles are all excellent choices

My son’s done it on his own a couple times, and while I never leave him alone if he’s on something bigger and harder, he’s starting to figure out that to go down, he needs to go backwards. They’ll get there. Just be patient.

Parenting, Stairs, Climb, Safety, Teach

Today’s first time parenting tip - Starting your baby on cheerios for snacks and cereals is a choice you can’t go wrong with

They’re whole grain. They’re easily picked up. They get soft quickly. Babies like the taste. And they’re easy to pack along and take anywhere for a snack.

Cheerios may very well be the best invention for eight month olds, ever.

My wife and I need to get ready in the morning? Set him up in eyesight, give him some of those O’s and he’s good to go?

Fussy on the El? Nothing puts him in a good mood like picking up his own Cheerios as he watches the buildings go by.

Need something nutritious for breakfast when he just doesn’t want that mashed up single grain cereal? Cheerios it is.

We could all do better by eating a bowl.

Parenting, Cheerios, Solid, Food, Eat

Today’s first time parenting tip - Use positive actions and distractins to build the foundation for preventing bad behavior. Phew.

A mobile baby is a baby that crawls and gets into everything. And no matter how baby proof the house is, they still seem to manage to go for the plugs, little fuzzies on the floor and other untouchables.

Most people say that children under a year are too young to discipline. Others say that children don’t make the connection between action and consequence until 18 months.

So what are you supposed to do? Let them do whatever dangerous thing they want and smile all the way?

Not quite.

At eight months, your baby is too young to practice real discipline with. Mostly, you’ll be using distraction to prevent dangerous behavior (nothing at this age is deliberately “bad.” They know not what they do!) But, I would argue that you don’t want to give rewards or pure fun right afterwords.

At this point, you want to start thinking about developing the habits that are conducive to good behavior and listening to you.

If your baby is doing something you don’t want them to, like pulling hair, going for a plug, reaching for something hot, etc. Follow these steps.

• Say no firmly but gently and divert them from what they’re doing.
• Take the baby into a different area, like another room, set them down and let them explore. (this is the point where you don’t reward them with a toy for playing with a cord
• After a minute or two, give them some attention and fun.

Your strategy should change as they mature, but right now you want to get in the habit of consistency (for your own benefit as well) and give them positive attention. Your main focus should be preventing things that are unsafe.

Parenting, Discipline, When, Start, Behavior