Having someone mistake you for the grandma isn’t fun (in fact, it can be devastating), but being an older mom isn’t all bad. Whilst it may not be nice to have to explain to that young 20 something mom that, no, you’re not a visiting Granny, you gave birth to that bundle of joy crawling around the room, there are a few benefits to being a more mature mama:

1. Life experience

Oh, those young whippersnappers might run rings around you at the park, but you could teach them a thing or two about life experience. As an older mom, you’ve lived more. You’ve experienced more, read more, seen more and done more. You don’t worry about missing out on life because you’ve already lived a great one.

2. Finances

As an older mom, you’ve had more time to get yourself straight. You are probably in a better situation financially now than you were a decade ago, and your kids will get the benefit of that. You’re less likely to worry about how to make ends meet and you may even have a decent pot of savings tucked away somewhere.

3. Friends

As an older mom, you probably have lots of friends who have been there, done that when it comes to raising kids. Far from feeling isolated from your social group, you’ll be right at home surrounded by your experienced mama friends. These are the women you can call up for advice about breastfeeding, weaning and tantrums without ever worrying about being judged. They know how you feel because they’ve been through it all and they have the added benefit of hindsight to help keep things in perspective.

4. You just don’t care

You’re not the self-conscious, self-loathing people-pleaser you were back in your early 20s, far from it. These days, you couldn’t give two hoots about what people think of you. You know what it’s important to you and that’s all that matters. You can parent exactly how you want without having to worry what people think.

5. Precious time

Younger moms may spend their day wishing away their babies’ childhoods, but you are old enough to know better. You know just how precious time is and how quickly it can disappear. For that reason, you may find it easier to enjoy each and every stage of your baby growing up. Sure, you’ll like some stages more than others (nobody loves a sleep regression), but you’re better placed to appreciate the passing days, even when you secretly wish they would pass a little faster.

What are your favorite things about being an older mom?

Written by Fiona (@Fiona_Peacock), mother, writer and lover of all things baby related.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.

Mother’s Day is celebrated around the world and provides opportunities for people to thank their moms for all of their hard work. After all, your mom is the person who gave you life, the person who cared for you as you grew up and probably still does today. It’s not an easy job and it’s definitely worth a thank you from time to time. Since you became a mom yourself, there have probably been quite a few moments where you’ve had the urge to call your own mom and say sorry or thank you. Until you’re a mom yourself, you can’t quite imagine just how much work goes into mothering.

Mothers are celebrated on Mother’s Day around the world, though different countries celebrate on different days. Presents are given, meals are shared and moms are generally made to feel special. After all, moms spend all year looking after their kids, no matter how old they might be, so this one day of rest is the very least moms deserve! Here are just a few Mother’s Day customs from around the world:

Belgium

In Belgium, most moms get to enjoy breakfast in bed at the start of the day. It is traditional for the dad to buy fresh pastries or croissants and the kids will present this to the mom in bed. For the rest of the day, mom is pampered and allowed to relax and enjoy her day.

Brazil

Mother’s Day is a big deal in Brazil. Is it typical for people to buy lavish gifts for their moms and to spend the day together enjoying good food. It is thought to be a commercially lucrative holiday as families come together to shower their moms with affected.

Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, Mother’s Day is celebrated at the end of the rainy season. It is traditional for families to celebrate together by enjoying a feast. Children buy the ingredients, with girls bringing spices and vegetables whilst the boys traditionally bring meat. This food is then cooked into a hash and served by the mother. After the meal, there is singing and dancing for celebration.

Indonesia

In Indonesia, mothers typically receive flowers and gifts. Families come together to enjoy a celebratory meal and, most importantly, moms aren’t allowed to lift a finger around the house.

Nepal

In Nepal, deceased mothers are also celebrated on Mother’s Day. It is customary for families to make a pilgrimage to the lakes to remember the mothers who are no longer with them. As well as this, people buy gifts and enjoy food with their moms.

How do you celebrate Mother’s Day?

Written by Fiona (@Fiona_Peacock), mother, writer and lover of all things baby related.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.

Babies love pets. Those furry, funny little critters can provide hours of entertainment simply by just existing. Of course, not all babies love all animals. Your baby may be scared of dogs that come running over at the park or of the huge horses in the fields when you go for a walk. It’s important that you teach your child how to safely interact with all different kinds of pets. Here are some things you need to know about babies and pets:

1. Constant supervision is necessary

You should never leave your baby alone with a pet, no matter how lovely that pet is. Pets are animals and even after years of domestication, that adorable dog could lash out when your back is turned. Babies and young children don’t know how to properly interact with animals and so you need to supervise for their safety too. A pet could easily become hurt or injured if left alone with a well-meaning child. Scared or hurt pets are more likely to lash out, putting your child at risk as well. Whenever your baby is interacting with an animal, make sure you are present and paying attention.

2. Always ask to pet dogs

Not all dogs love to be stroked. There are plenty of dogs out there with behavioral problems or difficult backgrounds who may be wary of strangers, especially small children. You should always ask before petting a strange dog, even if it looks friendly enough. The owner will quickly be able to let you know if it’s a bad idea. Your baby isn’t old enough to ask for herself just yet, but seeing you do this will pass the habit on to the next generation. If your child grows up knowing you must always ask the owner before approaching an unknown dog, this reduces the risk that your child will one day try to stroke an aggressive dog.

3. Wait for animals to come to you

Animals are easily startled. The best way to start a relationship with an animal is by letting that animal come to you. Animals can become scared when toddlers and small children bound over to them enthusiastically, so lay the groundwork now for a child who knows how to make friends with cats and other animals. Teach your child to sit still and try to attract the animal’s attention without sudden movements or loud noises. Modeling this behavior yourself is the best way to teach your baby how to behave around animals so make sure you always take your own advice.

4. Be respectful

If an animal seems frightened, you need to stop the interaction no matter how much your child is enjoying it. This may upset your baby momentarily but it is an important lesson in empathy, respect and compassion. You can explain to your baby why you have said goodbye to the animal to help him understand that animals have feelings. Similarly, you should also respect the feelings of your baby during any interaction. If your baby seems scared of a dog, do not force your baby to stay near the dog. Instead, lift your baby up so he’s safely out of reach and talk to him about how much you like the dog. You may continue to pet the dog if you wish, but you shouldn’t force a scared child to interact with an animal.

5. Be gentle

You will probably spend a good two years of your life asking your child to “be gentle”. This is because, well, young children aren’t always very gentle. If you notice your baby is being a bit too rough with the animal, gently guide her hand to give gentle strokes and explain animals like gentle hands. It might take your baby a while to understand this, but it’s important to keep repeating the ‘gentle hands’ message at this stage.

Does your baby have a favorite animal?

Written by Fiona (@Fiona_Peacock), mother, writer and lover of all things baby related.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.

There’s probably a long list of things you want for your child. You want him to grow up and do something extraordinary, to find somebody who truly loves him and to find an occupation he enjoys. But what you want above all else, is for him to be happy. You want him to be completely and utterly happy. You want him to feel loved and supported at every turn. But what can you do to increase the likelihood of your baby growing up into a happy person? Here are five simple things you can do to raise happy kids:

1. Be happy

This one might sound a bit obvious, but children are hugely influenced by their parents. If you want your child to grow up with a sunny disposition, you need to start focusing on the bright side of life now. Model the behavior you hope your children will inherit. That means you need to become a glass half full kind of person. Focus on the positives, look for solutions instead of letting stress get you down and find joy in the smaller things in life.

2. Be nurturing

Some parents think that by letting their kids toughen up a little, they’re preparing them for the real world. In actual fact, the people who cope better with the ups and downs of adult life are those who felt completely nurtured and supported during childhood. You cannot cuddle your baby too much, spend too long soothing your toddler’s tears or help your child to problem solve too many times. Whilst being supportive, you can gently encourage your child to solve his own problems, but holding his hand the whole way will help him to deal with problems better in adulthood.

3. Focus on effort

Everything your child does is amazing, obviously, but it’s best to keep that to yourself for now. Whilst you may think those brown splodges on the paper are the most artistic and amazing brush strokes the world has ever seen, you won’t be doing your child any favors by telling him that. Instead, focus on the effort he put into the picture, not the eventual outcome. Congratulate your child for working hard, for putting in effort and for being creative. Don’t tell him his picture is amazing or that he’s really clever, instead, focus on the work he’s putting in. Why? Because this will help him to learn that he’ll sometimes have to work hard and that there’s nothing wrong with that.

4. Free play

Kids need to engage in free play. They need time away from the scheduling and rules of classes, clubs and groups. They need to be able to climb trees, run wild and get dirty. Why? Because that’s how kids play. And kids learn through play. All of that time spent in the garden may look like fun, but your child is working hard to develop new skills and learning the whole time. Stand back and let your child decide what and how he plays. Let him take appropriate risks, make his own mistakes and solve simple problems for himself.

5. Be respectful

Want your kid to feel like an important part of the family? Then treat him like one. He may be little, but he can still make choices. With your baby, you can ask before picking him up. He’ll soon learn how to let you know he doesn’t want to be moved right now. With a toddler, let him choose what he wears each day (you can offer a choice of two pre-selected outfits if the thought of a toddler-sized fashion stylist is too much for you to handle). For your older children, let them choose what you do on the weekends or what they want for dinner. If you treat your child with respect, your child will learn to treat others with respect. Not only that, but your child will feel like an important and equal part of the family.

Written by Fiona (@Fiona_Peacock), mother, writer and lover of all things baby related.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.

Babies don’t usually self-wean until they are around 18 months old. There are, however, a number of things that could cause your baby to lose interest in breastfeeding temporarily before then. If you are hoping to wean your baby before 18 months, you could gently use one of these periods as a way of encouraging your baby to wean.

True self-weaning is a very gradual process, and it can take months for your baby to stop breastfeeding. He may slowly begin to reduce the number of feeds he has throughout the day until he is having just one or two. Self-weaning occurs when your baby gives up that feed of his own accord. If you want to initiate weaning sooner, you can gently encourage your baby to gradually reduce feeds over a few weeks or months.

Why has my baby lost interest in breastfeeding?

It is not uncommon for babies aged around nine or 10 months old to temporarily lose interest in breastfeeding. This could be because:

• your baby is eating more solids – as your baby’s reliance on solid food grows, he’ll need less breastmilk to fill up his tummy. Though your baby has been eating solid food for months now, it may have taken him a while to start getting most of his nutrients this way. You’ve probably noticed that your baby feeds less frequently and for shorter periods now that he’s enjoying three meals a day.
• bottles are faster – if you’ve recently introduced a bottle, your baby may have grown accustomed to the flow of milk from a bottle. When breastfeeding, your baby needs to suckle before milk is released. For a baby used to getting milk straight away from a bottle, this can be frustrating.
• your baby is going through a developmental stage – the first year of life is pretty hectic for babies. They are developing lots of new emotional, social and physical skills. You may have noticed that your baby goes through short periods where he doesn’t seem quite himself, only for him to impress you with a new skill a few days later. During these developmental phases, your baby may be fussy, distracted and grumpy, all of which can interfere with breastfeeding.
• your baby is teething – some babies find breastfeeding soothes their gums, but others would rather skip the breastfeeds when their gums are sore. If your baby is teething, this could be what’s making him resist feeds.
• your baby is unwell – if your baby has a blocked nose, he may struggle to breathe during breastfeeds. Try gently suctioning the snot from your baby’s nose before feeds. You could also try breastfeeding in a steamy bathroom to help clear his airways during the feed.

If you would like to continue breastfeeding, you’ll need to keep offering your baby feeds during the day. Using a sling or carrier for skin-to-skin may encourage your baby to feed. Be patient and try to follow your baby’s lead.

Written by Fiona (@Fiona_Peacock), mother, writer and lover of all things baby related.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.

For years, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) had some pretty stringent guidelines when it came to screen time for little ones. They recommend no screens (that’s no cartoons, no smart phone games, no movies) for a baby’s first 2 years of life, and then no more than 2 hours a day of digital entertainment after that.

The reasoning behind these guidelines had a lot to do with little developing brains and a fear that screen time could contribute to ADD and ADHD. The AAP was simply firm in the fact that kids needed to interact with, and explore, the world around them; not just sit in front of a screen and absorb.

Still… plenty of families struggled to stick to those strict guidelines, and in 2015, the AAP decided to ease up on their recommendations. Now, there are no hourly limitations at all (not even for babies). Instead, the AAP explains that screen time is just a standard way of life these days, but that parents should still be actively participating in what their little ones are viewing.

Good news for you: screen time is no longer considered a bad thing.

Even still, you may want to consider limiting your child’s screen time, and certainly monitoring and engaging in the screen time they do indulge in. That means watching movies with them, laughing and cuddling together during the best scenes. It means sitting beside them as they play games on your tablet, cheering them on as they learn new skills. And most importantly, it means still getting them outside to play, or to interact with the world in other (non-digital) ways.

Basically, the new guidelines are all about moderation and setting logical limits.

Limits that you, as a family, get to decide upon.

If you’re still feeling a bit unsure about screen time, though, don’t fret; there are always plenty of other options for entertaining your little one! Reading, cooking simple recipes together, or building with blocks are all highly engaging activities that will help to stimulate your baby’s brain in ways that the screen may not.

In this world we live in today, it is inevitable that screens and digital media will be a big part of your child’s life, but that doesn’t mean they have to be consumed by these things at such a young age. You get to make the rules, and to decide what works best for your family!

Just remember, engagement should be happening with or without the screens!

Written by Leah Campbell, infertility advocate, adoptive mama, writer and editor. Find me @sifinalaska on Twitter.

 This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general informational basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright Health & Parenting Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.

Head banging in babies and toddlers is a distressing but surprisingly common behavior. It is thought that as many as one in five children go through a phase of head banging. If you’ve noticed your child banging her head against the side of her crib, you’re likely to be feeling worried about whether something is wrong. It’s not pleasant to watch, but this behavior is considered normal and shouldn’t give you too much cause for concern.

Why does my baby bang her head?

Head banging can be a self soothing behavior for some babies and toddlers, a way to help them unwind at the end of the day. Alternatively, other children may use it to distract from discomforts such as teething or ear infections. The behavior is most commonly seen in boys, and often starts in the second half of the first year. Head banging usually peaks between the age of 18 and 24 months, and most children have grown out of it by their third birthday. Some children engage in the behavior for just a few weeks, but for others it can last months or even years.

How to prevent head banging

In rare cases, head banging can be a sign of a more serious problem so it’s worth mentioning it to your child’s doctor. In most cases, however, head banging is nothing to worry about. Many parents worry that their child will hurt herself, but this is very unlikely. You may feel inclined to wrap the bars with blankets to soften the blow, but this could increase the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and is not advised.

Some babies bang their heads to self soothe before going to sleep. By helping your child to relax before bedtime, it may be possible to eliminate the need for head banging. Moving to a quiet room and reading stories before bed could help your child to unwind after a busy day. A relaxing bath and soothing baby massage could also help your child to prepare for bedtime.

Bedtime behaviors could also be caused by stresses during the day. Babies can quickly become overstimulated by crowds, loud noises and bright lights. They may also feel anxious when separated from their primary caregiver. Make sure you are spending enough quality time with your child during the day. Avoiding busy places probably isn’t an option, but you should make sure your baby has somewhere quiet and safe to retreat to in the event of overstimulation. A sling or wrap that snuggles your baby into your chest is a great option for this, and gives your baby the benefit of some quality cuddle time with you.

If head banging is an ongoing issue in your home, be sure to check the bolts and screws on your baby’s cot regularly. The repeated motion could cause the screws to work free, making the cot a less secure place for your baby to sleep. If you are concerned about your babies behaviour, contact your healthcare provider or pediatrician.

Written by Fiona (@Fiona_Peacock), mother, writer and lover of all things baby related.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a trained medical doctor. Health & Parenting Ltd disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information, which is provided to you on a general information basis only and not as a substitute for personalized medical advice. All contents copyright © Health & Parenting Ltd 2016. All rights reserved.