- Moms feel supported in what is truly one of the hardest life lesson journeys we embark on – parenthood
- Your baby benefits emotionally – little girls need to feel cherished – it builds them into strong women. Little boys learn to be powerful, caring men when this is modelled for them
- We also see less sibling rivalry when dads are involved with toddlers after baby’s birth
- Get Dad used to baby wearing early on. Being able to calm his baby in a baby carrier or take a walk to give mom a break, empowers dad with a tool to get involved. Choose a carrier you both can use, preferably fully adjustable so that parents of different sizes can use the same carrier. [image SR with dad walking]
- Ask Dad to do one night-feed if your baby will take a bottle of expressed breastmilk or formula. If you breastfeed for all feeds, ask Dad to help with one night-feed by getting up, doing the winding or nappy change for that feed.
- Set aside one activity each day that Dad does best – for example bath time - and make that part of your little one’s daily routine with Dad
- Never, ever criticize how he does something – you will definitely have different ways of doing things and may even find that his standards are different to yours. But if you criticize or take over, he will quickly retreat and leave the baby care up to you. This not only dis-empowers him but also leaves you with the load.
Parenting is a partnership and its best done by sharing the load. Cherish your relationship and make sure you find ways for Dad to be involved – you all benefit in the end.
Written by Meg Faure for Snuggletime SnuggleRoo.