Parent Time

1. How to swaddle an infant
The “burrito wrap” will help keep baby snug and secure for the first six weeks of life until she’s ready to stretch out, says paediatrician Ari Brown, co-author of Baby 411. Here’s how to perfect your technique.

• Take a square receiving blanket and lay it out, diamond shaped, on a flat surface.

• Fold the top corner toward the centre of the blanket. You now have a horizontal line at the top.

• Place your baby on the blanket with his neck at the level of the horizontal line.

• Bring the bottom corner up to the baby’s belly button.

• Bring one side corner over your baby and fold over the other side of the belly.

• Bring the remaining corner over baby and fold over on the opposite side.

2. You can’t spoil a baby, say the experts, so kiss, cuddle and coddle her to your heart’s content.

3. Hurts happen. Don’t fret, says Michelle Moreau, a child and family therapist and mom of three in Saint John. “They need to gain the confidence that they can try, fail and get back up to try again.”

4. How to handle “me do it” when you’re in a hurry:

Be realistic Set the alarm 20 minutes early on busy workday mornings so little Madison can pour her own cereal or practise tying her shoelaces.

Plan ahead Try to do as much as possible the night before — help your child pick out her clothes, make school lunches, pack knapsacks, sign any forms.

Choose child-friendly clothing Look for bottoms with elastic waistbands, skirts with no zippers, shoes with Velcro closings.

Make getting ready a game For example, one, two, three, we do up a snap. Four, five, six, we do up another snap.

Don’t lose your cool You’ll both end up upset (and still late).

Our favourite read: Tame Your Time-Wasters

5. How to tell when your child is ready to start toilet training
Studies show most children aren’t developmentally ready to potty train until they’re between the ages of two and four. Watch for these signs of readiness:

• He can stay dry in diapers for a few hours in a row.
• He can follow one or two simple instructions.
• He lets you know when he needs to use the potty, and is balanced and steady while sitting on it.
• He can walk to the potty on his own.
• He wants to be independent, but also wants to please you.

Best bathroom reading: The No-Cry Potty Training Solution by Elizabeth Pantley

Originally published in Today's Parent, October 2009