You knew life was going you change when you found out a bundle of joy was on its way — you even had nine months of incremental changes to accustom your mind and soul to the new arrival — but now that the little one is here, in your arms, you can’t even imagine what life was like before your baby. For those struggling to remember life without kids and those looking forward to a life that is soon to be forever changed, here are the 11 most surprising ways new babies shake things up.
Tips to Help Kids Eat Mindfully Over the Holidays
Here are eight holiday tips to keep kids and adults feeling great while eating and afterwards. Remember children are great regulators of their eating if we set up an environment to support them: [Read more…]
Concentrate On Mind Games To Train Your Brain
Moms are at risk of losing their minds
Who could forget that intelligence-sapping side effect of having a baby – pregnancy brain?
Your once-lucid faculties turn to mush and you can’t remember your husband’s name or whether you went out shopping for milk or a new bed.
Once the baby arrives, many of us can’t wait to get our bodies back in shape. But it’s important to give your brain a workout too and recharge your razor-sharp wits. [Read more…]
Encouraging Independence: Top Tips and Advice
With a newborn baby around, it may seem like you will never have any time to yourself – feeling the constant need to spend every minute with them, either snuggled into you, or playing with them on their baby gym. However, encouraging a little independence, even from a young age, can be a great thing to do.
As they grow, they will be more inclined to spend time on their own, immersing themselves in whatever toy takes their fancy and enjoying their own company. Before that time comes, it may seem like they cry every time you leave the room and attachment issues may set in. Luckily, there are ways to improve the situation, by changing the way in which you do things and providing plenty of toys that promote independence.
If you give them some dedicated attention throughout the day, either with cuddles, tickles, playing with their toys or reading them a story, they will more than likely be more accepting of the times that your attention is elsewhere. You can’t spend every waking moment with them and, if you take them everywhere with you, to the kitchen or the loo for example, they will never learn to adjust to spending a little time on their own.
Provide her with toys that she hasn’t played with for a while. Rotate the toys that you have so that she doesn’t see certain ones for a while; when you rotate them and offer these ones to her, it’ll feel like completely new toys for her to play with.
Toys that help to promote independence vary with age and stage of development, but they can be anything from a baby gym, where they can learn to grasp at objects while improving their vision and co-ordination, to shape sorters and building blocks that can absorb their attention for a while.
Independence comes in many packages and, as your baby grows, they will demonstrate more willingness to do things themselves. From feeding themselves using a spoon for the first time, to insisting that they put the toothpaste on the toothbrush, it’s not all about providing them with plenty of toys to play with.
You can help to encourage independence through various means, many of which are bound to be ongoing rather than an immediate development. Your babe in arms doesn’t have to be in your arms all the time – encourage some solo play and promote independence and she will become a well-rounded child in no time.
