Becoming a parent for the first time is the hardest thing that you’re ever going to do, and it’s a steep learning curve. Naturally, you’re going to make some mistakes along the way and any parent that claims to have done everything perfectly the first time around is lying. Getting things wrong is how you learn and in the future, you’ll do things better. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to avoid mistakes in the first place. Kids are unpredictable and you can’t prepare yourself for every situation, but you can avoid some of the more common mistakes. These are some of the biggest mistakes that first time parents make.
Relying On Parenting Books Too Much
When you find out that you have a baby on the way, it’s time to start preparing. It’s at this point that most new parents will collect all of the baby books that they can find and start studying them so they can be ready for anything. The problem is, every baby is different and no matter how many baby books you read, there is always going to be things that are not covered. Those books are a good guide and there is a lot of useful information in there, but don’t make the mistake of sticking religiously to everything that you read in there because it might not apply to your child. Sleeping is one of the biggest problems that people have because there are a lot of different ideas about how to handle it. A lot of parents decide on a method and then if it isn’t working, they feel that they’re doing something wrong. You aren’t doing anything wrong, you just need to find what works for your child. You should still read the parenting books, but always remember that there are some things that you just can’t learn from books.
Buying Too Much Stuff
Baby shops are filled to the brim with all sorts of things that you never even knew existed and it’s easy to spend a lot of money in there. Obviously, you want your baby to have everything that they need. The problem is, there are a lot of products out there that they really don’t need, but new parents tend to make the mistake of buying it all. Check out this article on Newborn Baby Essentials: The Ultimate First Year Shopping List to get an idea of what you actually need and what you can leave in the shop. Just because something is advertised as the latest in baby technology, that doesn’t mean that you need to buy it. If you start overspending before the baby is born, you’ll find it a lot harder to cover the cost of the things you really need, like diapers, food, and clothes.
Not Setting The House Up Properly
You already know that you need to baby proof the house so your child is safe once they start crawling and eventually walking. But a lot of people stop with baby proofing and don’t think about preparing the home in other ways. If you want to create a child friendly home, you need to think about things like the soft furnishings because kids are messy and they spill things. You also need to find places to pack away all of their toys and keep things as tidy as possible. If you don’t think about these other things, it will be hard to keep your house in order once they start crawling and walking.
Not Sleeping When The Baby Sleeps
This is a common piece of advice but it’s one that gets ignored too often. Sleep is hard to come by when you have a newborn baby so whenever they are sleeping, you should be as well. But a lot of people decide that they’ll use the time to tidy up and catch up on some chores instead. It’s hard to find that balance because you don’t have time to do that stuff while the baby is awake, but you need to prioritise sleep if you are going to be able to function properly. It does mean that the house might be a bit chaotic for a while but you can’t really avoid that.
Staying Inside Too Much
Babies have a weak immune system and they are quite susceptible to illnesses, which is why a lot of new parents stay inside all the time for the first few months. It’s only natural to be overprotective and you want to protect your baby, but some fresh air and a bit of sun is good for them, so try to get outside if you can. It’s just big crowds that you have to avoid, not the outside world in general.
You’re going to make plenty of other mistakes along the way, but at least you can avoid these common ones.
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