Parenting Advice

There's no shortage of advice on parenting: how to take it all with a grain of salt and a lot of love in your heart!

As a new parent, you have no experience in raising kids, but that doesn't mean your instincts aren't good. However, it's well known that as soon as you bring your baby home, people come out of nowhere, full of advice on parenting, what you should do and what you shouldn't. Suddenly, your sister, brother, parents and grandparents all have a revelatory bit of advice to share with you on how you might best take care of your new baby.

Whether you want to hear it or not, you will! It's true that your Mom, Grandma or neighbor may have valuable tips you can put into practice with great results. For example, Mom may have the best diaper rash cure in the world. Grandma may have the foolproof remedy for colic. Your neighbor, having raised four young children, has experience you can use. At the same time, you'll hear all sorts of advice on parenting that is, well, just not applicable. Such information includes 'spare the rod and spoil the child' dissertations, as well as potty training advice and which foods are best for your child. New parents are easily bewildered, feeling insecure by virtue of having no experience.

Sifting through the overwhelming list of family members advice on parenting, and neighbor's opinions on the subject, can be a daunting and thoroughly discouraging challenge. Everyone seems to know more than you, but it's your baby, after all.

The first premise of good parenting is to approach the subject with the natural love in your heart and take everything you're told with a grain of salt. It's so easy, when you're the one with sleepless nights and a dab of insecurity, reinforced by your lack of experience, to try to do everything anyone suggests, in hopes of being a good parent.

It's essential that you let your heart and your own lights guide you, while keeping an open mind to all of the advice on parenting you will undoubtedly receive. Keep in mind that everyone means well. Try that diaper rash remedy. It may be a jewel of baby care advice. If someone suggests your feeding your baby too much, or too little, graciously thank that person for their advice. Then, consult your pediatrician, and your Mom, and form your own conclusions.

No one will love your child more than you do. How you care for your child is ultimately, your responsibility. Take all of the advice on parenting into consideration, weighing the pros and cons as it pertains to caring for your baby. If nosy Aunt Betty thinks you should be putting your baby to bed at 6pm, but you find that your baby frets and cries until 7pm, go with your own experience as to what the best course of action may be. This is your baby we're talking about!

Self-help books can provide you with some great advice on parenting. Maybe that book on children's nutrition will help you stave off Grandma's insistent remarks on the virtues of candy!

Listen to everyone, but let your heart guide you too. Believe me, you'll be a wonderful parent if all you apply is the love in your heart and that important grain of salt.

Peta Harrison