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What Do I Do Now? The basics of parenting babies ... without stress

Leon Levitt

Top 10 Best Quotes

“Self-reflection – based on experiences, principles and goals that we have gathered across our lifetime – allows us to course-correct. This is constantly required as we muddle along, gradually learning better ways for us to parent over time.”

“You can’t support your family if you can’t support yourself. Trust your gut. It might be time to check in on your mental health.”

“When babies are very young, their behaviours are automatic and reflex driven. Only at 6-14 weeks old do they begin to become aware of the outside world. New babies are simply not aware of us, and we need to adjust our expectations around their behaviour. In other words, we won’t always be able to stop them crying, or make them calm, or get them to feed well.”

“What science and parenting have in common… there is no such thing as ‘best’. We simply cannot be the best parent. It is not possible. Best cannot even be defined. What others may say is best today will change tomorrow to something quite different.”

“To help our kids develop self-compassion, we need to retrain the way they see and speak to themselves - their inner voice. To do this, we might need to retrain our own inner voice, to be gentle with ourselves and accept the parenting decisions we have made. By being kind to ourselves, over time, our children will learn and build on their own self-compassion.”

“Throughout our parenting life, the greatest battle is not with the child but with our own worries.”

“The basics of being a good parent are the same as for being a good human. Arguably, our humanity is foremost about our capacity to stop and assess our behaviour as an individual, as a mother, as a father, as a friend, as a son or a daughter.”

“Just like the startle or the grasp reflex, crying is a reflex. There does not have to be an emotional, or even physical, reason behind the cry.”

“It is common for new parents to feel guilty when their babies cry. But remember - it is not the parent's fault. The parent's job is to be responsive to their baby, and to help them feel loved and secure.”

“If we are struggling at any stage of parenting, think about the atmosphere in the house that we are creating. Is it one of anxiety or anger? Disapproval or judgment? Show your child warmth, support, tolerance, encouragement and praise. Be fair to them, provide them with security, focus on giving them approval and acceptance for their differences. Imagine the atmosphere in the house with this abundance of these things. Your child will feel safe, loved and confident, moving into the world a whole and grounded being.”

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Book Keywords:

children, fatherhood, parenting-tips, babies, pregnancy, parenting-children, motherhood, parenting-quotes, parenting-advice, parenting

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