Parenting Tips They Never Tell You, Part 1

Don’t let your newborn sleep on his belly. Don’t feed a baby under a year honey. Keep a newborn out of the sun. There is plenty of advice for new mothers and fathers out there, and plenty of people who think they know everything!

But there are also a few little tidbits of information that are pretty much common sense, though you never really think about them. Here are a few things that I learned the hard way as a mom that I really wish that I had thought about before doing them.

Change the channel before you go to bed. Once the kids are asleep, after a long day of working you and your partner—or even just you alone!—might want to settle in for the evening and watch a movie. I doubt you want to tune in to Go Diego Go! Maybe you’ll watch your favorite comedy, or tune into something on the movie channels, like 3:10 to Yuma or The Shawshank Redemption. Both are great films—but they’re also films you’d never want your child to see.

Once you finish watching them, be sure to change the channel; your child may miraculously wake up before you the next day, turn the TV on—and see something very bloody or very sexy! A safe bet would be to engage your child locks if you have them, or to at least turn the cable box off or put it on a friendly channel like Noggin.

Sometimes you should sweat the small stuff. They say all babies fall sometime or another, but I was determined to not let that happen to mine! That said, I was stupid enough to surround my baby with pillows all around my bed while I was in conference calls during the day. It usually worked fine, and I usually kept my eyes on her the whole time.

Then one day while I was on a call, she did something extraordinary—she rolled for the first time! And it was right over one of my pillows and off the bed! Luckily there was a quilt at the end of the bed where our mattress at the time fell short of meeting the headboard, so she was cushioned quite nicely. She didn’t even cry. But I sure did! No, she wasn't hurt--but she could have been.

If you’ve got a conference call to make or another meeting while you work at home, invest in a play yard for your baby. It may seem more restrictive but in the long run that’s what you need in situations like this.

Don’t make a big deal out of stuff. This one is much easier said than done. If your child gets hurt—say she bumps her head, trips and falls, or is even bleeding from a small cut—do not panic! Most of the time it’s probably not that bad—and even if it is, panicking won’t help solve it. Get her the appropriate care—whether it’s a simple band-aid, washcloth or a doctor—calmly and with a smile if you can.

Not only with the calm attitude help soothe your nerves, it can also mean the difference between your child feeling fine or freaking out! My daughter’s had a few bumps from falling while running in the house (no matter if I’ve said no or not!) or outside where she was completely fine until she saw Mommy start to worry. Then she cried, “Am I bleeding? Am I hurt?” By staying calm and not letting your child see you worry (though it’s healthy to let them see you worry sometimes—it’s a valid emotion, after all!) you can save a lot of tears being shed over a little bump or bruise.