Help With Decisions You Might Face as a New Parent

Nursing, co-sleeping, which diapers to use, to have the epidural or not; parenting begins before you even give birth to your first child. You’ll have people in your ear every time you turn around advising you on what’s best for your baby (parenting tip: Only you know what’s best for your baby). If you’re a first time parent-to-be looking for something to make your future parenting decisions a bit easier, here are a few parenting tips from experts covering some of the most controversial and popular parenting methods.

Crying it Out

We’ve all heard of this one. Crying it out is the act of allowing your baby to cry it out rather than you get up and see what’s going on. Some swear by it. Others don’t. Medical experts agree that when it comes to crying it out, this is a parenting decision you have to make on your own, but that it’s not good right away. For example, a newborn should not be allowed to cry it out. A six-month-old, however, can be placed in his or her crib and permitted to cry for a few minutes at a time. If he or she doesn’t calm down in under five minutes, it’s time to check in on baby.

Co-Sleeping

Many parents do it and they swear it’s better for them. When it comes to making this decision as you enter parenthood, it’s important to know the facts. Fact: Co-sleeping increases the number of moms willing to nurse their babies because it’s much easier and allows for more rest. Fact: Co-sleeping makes your child’s risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) much higher. Simply put, medical professionals and experts from the American Academy of Pediatrics do not advise co-sleeping as the risks are simply too dangerous.

Attachment Parenting

The controversy here is that many new parents simply don’t understand the concept. Attachment parenting promotes parenting skills such as long term nursing and baby wearing. It does not promote never leaving your child at home with grandma for date night or never spending more than 30 seconds away. Experts have no issues with attachment parenting as it does promote kindness and compassion in young children.

Image via Thinkstock