A friend said to me...

"I'm having a baby...well, my wife is...what is your best tip?"

KNOW THE DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES!!!

That is the key to your patience and understanding, and therefore your sanity.  The more you understand what your child's natural reactions and abilities are, the better you will be able to help in a positive way. 

Best example:  Have you ever been in public and seen a mom or dad repeatedly taking a toy/piece of paper/pen/object of any kind out of a baby's mouth?  And I mean baby.  You know, 4 mos-12 mos old...baby.  Their frustration increases the more the baby chews on the object.

If you knew the stages, you'd understand that EVERYTHING is going DIRECTLY to that baby's mouth.  That is how they explore their environment at that age and it feels good on hurting gums since they are probably teething.  Easy solution...only give a baby what you are ok with them chewing on.  Voila!

This is true across the board so far and Im' guessing it will be for a while. 

So Momma Warriors, do your reading (when you have time) and learn the basics of the stages.  You'll be so happy you took the 10 minutes(that's really all it takes) and so will the rest of the family.  Lots of orgs have free e-mail subscriptions for a quick run-down of highlights.

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MK