The new parent advice thread!

[Moses]

Put the car seat in. Then take it out. Then put it in again. Make sure the seat works, it is adjusted, it fits in your vehicle, and you know how to use it. Sounds silly and simple but you are not leaving the hospital until you get it right. Lol. Get it right months in advance and save any potential hassles the day you really want to just leave and be home. Who knows, you may have only had 7 hours of sleep in the last 4 days. You never know where your brain will be leaving that hospital the first time. This little detail you have the ability to take on in advance.

[Eskimo Brother]

Put the car seat in. Then take it out. Then put it in again. Make sure the seat works, it is adjusted, it fits in your vehicle, and you know how to use it. Sounds silly and simple but you are not leaving the hospital until you get it right. Lol. Get it right months in advance and save any potential hassles the day you really want to just leave and be home. Who knows, you may have only had 7 hours of sleep in the last 4 days. You never know where your brain will be leaving that hospital the first time. This little detail you have the ability to take on in advance.

Done and done (a month ago). Definitely a solid point though! Repeating tasks and learning how to use things before the sleep depravation sets in will be important.

[GinFizz]

Last thing is to treat your kid as a human, not a kid. Assume they know what you mean; they'll ask questions if they don't. Never talk down "like they're kids". Be empathetic and respectful, and draw boundaries, like you would to any other human. This is how you connect with humans, and the same applies to your progeny.

Love the shit out of them.

^^^ This. Well said.
We have always talked and treated our 4 yr old daughter as a human while also allowing them to be a kid. We have simple rules of the house that she has to follow which we have to remind her of often but it has given us comfort knowing that simple safety guidelines are being instilled in her growing brain.

No Playing on the stairs
Hands on railing and pay attention while walking on stairs
Knees or Butts on the chair while sitting
No complaining on vacation

you get the point.. We are far from being helicopter parents that hover over their kid at all times. We let her go off and play in the house because we know that she will follow the rules and be safe. Have we gotten burned in the past, sure but that is what NEW rules are for.

My last bit of advice, take it or leave it, is do not become a short order cook for your daughter.. if she doesnt want to eat what you provided then give her one other option and that is it. For us, its eat what I have cooked for the family or there is a yogurt in the fridge. Thats it.. nothing else... It is painful but necessary

[hockeyrobot]

My last bit of advice, take it or leave it, is do not become a short order cook for your daughter.. if she doesnt want to eat what you provided then give her one other option and that is it. For us, its eat what I have cooked for the family or there is a yogurt in the fridge. Thats it.. nothing else... It is painful but necessary

I will definitely be on top of this one because I see the effects this has had on my wife!! She's a very picky eater and most of the time it's just for pointless reasons.

[GinFizz]

lol... its hard to stay consistent with the messaging but my daughter will eat just about anything.. except for spicy foods.

[Eskimo Brother]

My wife and I are both big foodies, and both of us eat almost anything, so I'm hoping that gets passed on!

Some good points on the rules and consistencies Moose.

[fantasyhockeygeek]

Great call on the food. We make 1 thing for everyone to eat, and if they don't want to eat it that's fine... when the hunger kicks in they find a way.

[Pengwin7]

My last bit of advice, take it or leave it, is do not become a short order cook for your daughter.. if she doesnt want to eat what you provided then give her one other option and that is it. For us, its eat what I have cooked for the family or there is a yogurt in the fridge. Thats it.. nothing else... It is painful but necessary

^Super good advice.
90% of kids are picky eaters... most of adjust... and most of it is probably from our parents continually requesting us to try new foods.
Excellent words GinFizz!

[chuckcouples]

Kids are funny eaters. The big thing to be aware of is to make sure that they are getting their nutrients. One of our kids would regularly eat about 2 bites a meal for multiple meals in a day and then would have 4 bowls of whatever at another meal. We did not care because we knew she was getting everything she needed even if the timing of it was not perfect.

[newfcollins]

Now that my kids are older, there are two more things I have learned that are related to one another:

It's okay to say no to your kids. And it's okay for your kid to be sad/disappointed/angry.

[hockeyrobot]

Now that my kids are older, there are two more things I have learned that are related to one another:

It's okay to say no to your kids. And it's okay for your kid to be sad/disappointed/angry.

Great advice that I can only imagine goes a very very very long way in yours and their life.

[chuckcouples]

Now that my kids are older, there are two more things I have learned that are related to one another:

It's okay to say no to your kids. And it's okay for your kid to be sad/disappointed/angry.

Also, let them be bored at times.

[Pengwin7]

These are great advice.
Not to dwell on my daughter again, but we had another tough night with her.
Her mind doesn't know what to do when it is alone (without screen, music) anymore.
She drifts towards the worst situationals she can find and spins them until she is fully worried about them.

A little more boredom would've been good for her (when she was very young).
A little more dealing with her own negative emotions (instead of having mom & dad rescue her everytime) would have also been good for her, probably.

Balance is important in life. -Daniel LaRusso (Cobra Kai, s1. lol)

[hockeyrobot]

Did our virtual "baby course" this past weekend. Doing it virtually was a bummer but I still think I took a lot away from it. But I'll say I may have learned just as much in this thread

[Eskimo Brother]

Did our virtual "baby course" this past weekend. Doing it virtually was a bummer but I still think I took a lot away from it. But I'll say I may have learned just as much in this thread

We did some online courses as well over the last few weeks, and I agree, a lot of the foundation was clarified through those, but the stuff in this thread is a lot more practical.