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Parenting
Parenting Techniques Worth Looking Into
Hi all! I'm 15w pregnant and am starting to think about what types of parenting techniques I'd like to at least try out. One thing I've thought of investigating is Baby Sign Language. Another thing we've discussed doing when the baby gets a little older, is to use fruit as a reward instead of candy!
What all do you reccommend at least reading up on and thinking about trying? Anything you're interested in trying when your lo arrives or gets a little older?
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Re: Parenting Techniques Worth Looking Into
We never used food as a reward, we did stickers and lots of hugs & praise.
Baby signing can be good and worked some for my DS
Generally speaking, I rec. being open about lots of things, and not worrying about following anything in particular to a T because it'll just drive you bonkers and frustrate you. Not everything works for everybody, and once you have a routine down for something, the kid will change it, guaranteed. Go with the flow and if it feels right to you and works for your family, do it.
I highly recommend taking this advice! Parenting isn't something you can learn in a book, its a day to day thing that you learn as you go and its forever changing...and you have to be able to change with it.
Congratulations and good luck!
I agree that you need to be open minded to trying different things. It is great to read books and be prepared, but every child is different. What works for one child, may not for another. I found this with my children as far as disciplining and praising them. My son completely responds to charts. He lives for them. My daughter cares the first day and then doesn't care after that. My son just has to have one warning about time out and he stops his behavior because he hates time out. time out has no affect on my daughter...she loves being rewarded with doing a special activity with us.
So, read about different strategies, but know that what you believe will work one day, you may have to change the next. You will figure it out as you go along.
As for the baby sign language...I used this with my son because he had a speech delay and it worked great to cut down on frustration. I think for any child (speech delay or not) it can be good.
Congrats!
I used baby sign language, and it was great for both of my kids. I highly recommend it. I don't think you need to drill it into their heads, but incorporating it into your daily routine can be all it takes to get them to pick up on it.
As for other techniques, like the others, I recommend not being set with just one strategy. You will find as your child grows, develops, and becomes more of the person they are meant to be, you will have to constantly change what works for you/them. Be ready to be flexible, admit you are wrong sometimes, and know that there can be many different ways to get to the same result.
Good luck!
ETA: One thing that worked for my kids after about 8-12 weeks was the EASY pattern. Eat - Activity - Sleep. It really helped with regulating their sleep habits. Not everyone is a fan, but it could be something you could look into.
Congratulations! My biggest bit of advice is to follow your instinct! While I do certain things the same with both kids (i.e. I don't spank and redirect) I also have followed their lead on how to guide them to be happy, fulfilled little people. Books can be very helpful to guide you as a parent, and I have gotten a lot of help from No Cry Nap Solution for sleep issues and from 1-2-3 Magic for discipline, but I used those to understand the theory behind them then adapted them to best suit my kids.
I never did baby sign, although I wish I had, particularly with my second (who is very frustrated by her inability to communicate right now), so I would definitely look into that a bit.