- As a new parent,
you often want the best thing for your little one.
And that sometimes means you follow advice given to you
by other parents or extended family.
Now, although this advice is well-meaning,
it's sometimes isn't the best for baby development
and can actually hinder it.
So in this video,
I'm going to cover seven key tips,
which might contradict what you've been told,
but does lead to better baby development.
But before we get into it,
make sure you click on that free PDF document
in the description box below,
which covers the developmental milestones
you can be expecting for your little one
in their first year of life.
This will give you an invaluable piece of mind
as you'll know when to be expecting skills
and when to be concerned.
So the first tip is always ensure that you are carrying your
baby in a position which will promote
healthy hip development.
So, when you are carrying your baby in a wrap,
a baby carrier, or in your arms,
you want to make sure that their legs are wrapped
around your torso
and their knees are higher than their hips.
So if you looked at your baby,
their legs would essentially form an M shape.
Their bottom needs to be well-supported
as well as their thighs.
And it's because this position has been shown to potentially
decrease the risk of your baby,
developing developmental dysplasia of the hip,
or DDH. And DDH is when your baby's femur,
so the ball of the femur doesn't correctly align
with the hip joint.
And that means that it becomes a bit unstable
and it's a bit loose which can result
in partial or complete dislocation.
In fact, the International Hip Dysplasia Institute
actually recommends that it's best to carry your baby
facing inwards so that they're facing towards your chest
for the first six months of their life
to promote optimal hip development.
The second tip is ensure that when you are swaddling
your baby or you're choosing sleep sacks,
that they allow your baby's legs
to bend up and out to the side.
You do not want to swaddle your baby or have sleep sacks,
which means that your baby's legs have to be pulled straight
or pushed together because this can lead
to hip dislocation or hip dysplasia.
What you want to look for is after you've swaddled your baby,
or when your baby is in a sleep sack,
that their legs can actually bend up and out to the side
and they can adopt that M position with their legs
or that frog like position.
The third tip is to avoid mittens or hand covers.
Now parents often use these to protect their baby's skin
because sometimes when their arms are flailing around,
when they're a newborn
and they don't really have control of them,
they accidentally scratch their face. Or parents also
misinterpret the bluish purplish skin
of the baby's hand to mean that they are cold.
When in fact, it means
that they have an immature circulation system,
which will improve over time.
Now, if you are using mittens on a baby,
it results in a really fussy, frustrated baby.
And that is for two reasons.
The first reason is babies suck on their hands or fingers
to help calm them down.
In fact,
they started doing this when they're was still
in the womb at 20 weeks gestation.
Babies continue to do this
when they're out in the world,
because it helps them to calm and soothe down.
And if you place a mitten over their hand,
it stops them from being able to access their hands.
And the second reason is babies explore the world by touch.
So as they're coming out of the womb,
you'll notice that they start to reflectively,
kind of grasp onto their mum and dad's fingers.
And they start to scratch and play with objects
when they're placed in their hand.
And at two months of age,
your baby is going to know that those hands
belong to them and they have some control over them.
And they're going to be completely amazed with them
and want to start interacting and exploring things.
And babies explore their environment
by touch and by mouthing.
So if you place mittens on their hands,
they can't actually interact with those toys or with you.
And that can result in some frustration
and delayed fine motor development.
The fourth tip is you want to avoid using a jumper,
a baby floor seat, the exersaucers and baby walkers.
Now, I know these pieces of equipment have been sold
as items, which can help in your baby's overall development,
but that's actually not the case.
These pieces of equipment, places,
babies in positions that they're not yet able to achieve.
And because of that,
their muscles aren't strong enough
to hold them in that position.
So they tend to adopt other positions
and use other muscles to maintain that,
which means that it's not working
on their overall skill development.
They have also been linked with
increased risk of your baby sustaining injuries
when they using these pieces of equipment.
Now, if you want more information,
then you can check out all the links above
on why these pieces of equipment
aren't necessarily the best for your baby's development.
If you are already using these pieces of equipment,
because it gives you a few moments of peace
while your baby is entertained,
then you just want to make sure
that you are limiting how often you're using it
and encouraging your baby to still engage
in those activities which we know will promote
their overall development like floor time and tummy time.
The fifth tip is avoid using baby shoes and socks
when your baby is learning to crawl,
pull themselves up into standing, cruise and walk.
And that is because socks and shoes tend to get in the road.
They're either really, really slippery,
even though they have those rubber kind of glue
on the base of the socks, or they tend to be a bit bulky.
And because of that,
it makes it difficult for your baby
to move in and out of these positions.
Also,
because there is essentially a barrier
between the floor and your baby's feet,
their sensation received from their feet
is actually dulled a bit.
So, they can't actually feel it as well.
Which means that their balance and coordination
is being affected.
What you want to do is only give your baby
shoes to wear when they are trying to crawl,
pull themselves up into standing, cruise or walk outside.
And that is purely to protect their feet
against the elements or the sharper items
that might be on the floor.
The sixth tip is,
make sure you turn the TV and screens off.
Research is
showing that even with a TV on, in the background, we,
as parents are less responsive because
we are distracted by the TV.
There's also less talking happening,
which means that it affects your baby's communication skills
because talking back and forth with your baby
is really important for their communication development.
And lastly,
it actually impacts the baby as well,
because you will notice that they are mesmerized by the TV.
The colors on the TV.
and the noises is really interesting
and babies will stop playing with toys
and moving around their environment to watch the TV.
And this has an impact on their overall development.
In fact,
the international guidelines recommend
that children under two don't have any screen time
except for video chatting,
which has been shown to be okay,
because when a child is video chatting,
there tends to be a social interaction with someone else.
And that person on the other end
is responding to what that baby is saying,
whether or not it's babble and smiling and laughing.
So there's that social engagement.
And the seventh tip is,
make sure you're aware of age appropriate norms
and milestones.
And that is because when you know what these are, you know,
when to swap out the toys to more developmentally
appropriate toys.
I have often seen parents
who are still giving them nine month old baby toys
that they give a three month old baby.
And because of that,
they have actually hindered their baby's fine motor
development because the toys are simply too large.
And at nine months, the baby's wanting some toys,
which are a bit smaller, so they can work on that intricate,
fine motor skills.
So I'm not expecting you to know the norm
so that you're watching your baby all the time
and stressing that they're not achieving their milestones.
Rather just know what the milestones are.
So, you can swap out those toys
and ensure their ongoing development.
So those are the seven tips
that will promote better baby development.
And if you want further information
on why baby walkers aren't necessarily recommended,
then check out this video.
And if you want information on why jolly jumpers
aren't always the best thing for a little one's development.
And then check out this video
and I'll see you next week
where I'll share more parenting tips and tricks.
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