x
Breaking News
More () »

Here are 4 essential tips for new parents from a doctor, mother

If you’re expecting a baby or you’re a new parent, get ready for an exciting chapter of your life.

PHOENIX — If you’re expecting a baby or you’re a new parent, get ready for an exciting chapter of your life. 

However, bringing a baby into the world has its challenges as well.

It’s hard to know what they’re thinking or feeling, and sometimes it’s like a guessing game. 

Dr. Maureen O’Brien is a developmental psychologist and founder of Destination Parenting.

“Parents focus so much on having the baby and then they don’t think about what happens when the baby actually arrives,” said Dr. O’Brien.  

This mom of twin boys is used to giving tons of expert advice on parenting.  

She suggests parents take parenting classes to learn about what your baby can and can’t do.

Here are her four secrets that could help you become a better parent:

  1. Babies are not born to see like adults.  

    “Babies are not able to see subtle colors. They’re only able to see very sharp contours at first and then color vision happens over the course of the first few months of life,” said O’Brien.  So she suggests exposing your baby to toys that have bold colors like red, orange, and green.
  1. Keep it noisy while babies are sleeping, even though most parents try to keep it quiet.

    “In the womb there’s lots of noises from the mother’s body, so they’re used to a constant stream of noise. and so when they’re first born it’s fine to have all kinds of noise and they’ll sleep through all kinds of noise. What you don’t want is startling kinds of noises,” said O’Brien.
  1. Don’t contain your baby.

    “What parents often don’t know is that babies learn about the world by moving through it. By touching it, by rolling over and feeling things. And so by containing a baby in a bumbo or some kind of a place that doesn’t allow them that freedom of movement we’re actually depriving them of the understanding of what it feels like to move in the world and of course that’s ultimately what they need to learn how to do.”
  1. Babies are born ready to learn any language because they can hear voices from the womb.

    “Once baby is born into the world, they hear and make sense of all the languages around them, and pick up those languages. What happens is like any other brain cell, neurons firing, is if that is not continually put in front of them, that ability actually goes away,” said O’Brien.  So she suggests going ahead and start teaching them another language right away, it’s never too soon.

Bottom line, O’Brien’s advice to any parent, “There’s no such thing as perfect parenting."

“And that good enough is how you should think every day. That we will make mistakes, babies will forgive us, our little children love us no matter what we do and every day you wake up and essentially you’re starting over. So forgive yourself and don’t be so hard on yourself as a parent.”

Before You Leave, Check This Out