It's been an year since I became daddy. From the time my first and so far only son was born, I have had varied experiences with life and coming to terms with myself. I have been thinking of sharing my experiences , so that other to-be fathers & possibly mothers don't feel pitiable when they have their first child.
My son is officially little over fourteen months old now and all i can say is "whoa..what a ride so far". It has been so busy that I kept imagining this blog in my mind and never got time to write it.
What I am going to do is share the real tips for each age group as I have experienced it. These will help you avoid common mistakes that could be fatal for yourself and your child.
At this age of 12-15 months, toddlers as they are called ,most kids would start walking on their feet. Mine walks like a penguin. But most people tell him that he's copied your style of walking. Here are official tips for this age group that you may follow to avoid harm to your child and eventually to your self through your wife in case something happens to the toddler.
AGE 12 MONTH -15 MONTHS
1) KEEP AWAY MOST OBJECTS AWAY FROM REACH.
Kids love to explore everything new, so keep harmful object away from their reach. For example if you place a glass of water on a table, that is within the kid's reach, he is bound to pull the glass and possibly break it thereby hurting himself.
2) WATCH YOUR BACK
Pomi as we call him fondly, keeps running from one room to another on his own as he loves discovering the world now on his own , at times when his mom is standing with cupboard open, he will suddenly try to sneak through by coming and standing behind her. You may step on your kid if you suddenly turn around and he may fall . This sounds funny while visualizing but it can be really serious if you are fat and can't control your own weight . Imagine an 85 Kg of yourself falling over a 10Kg baby..
3) HIDE COINS OR SMALL OBJECTS
Most kids of this age, while exploring also love to taste new objects. Beware of things like Coins or small toy parts or even small toys made of plastic, metals etc. Your kid may just choke before you even realize and sometimes it could be life threatening. Keep all your coins, safety pins, rubber bands out of reach and possibly covered and locked in a shelf.
4) HAVE 4 EYES
I can't emphasize more on this tip than anyother. This one takes the cake. Never get indulged in anything fully. You may be watching your favourite movie or tv series ,the kid may go under a table where he's found a small fallen object and start eating it. Further on getting him he bangs his head against the table. The easiest to avoid such accident is to keep watching the TV but your mind should constantly be aware that your kid is around and be alert about what mischief the young one is upto.
5) STAY AWAY FROM ELECTRIC HOLES
Yes for some funny reason, pomi keeps putting his little fingers inside the pin holes of electricity sockets . Get yourself some safety buttons that will block these open holes when not in use. The problem is most stuff in market these days is chinese. Mine lasted for a day, after which Mr. Pomi understood the logic and plucked the damn plastic thing out with his fingers. Again refer to point 4 above for help.
6) BUY SPARE PHONES
I am yet to come across a kid who is not fascinated by mobile phones. And yes they very well know the difference between fake and real. I bought several fake phones for Pomi to realize that he very well realizes the difference. Yes, at first you feel its ok to give him the phone as he blackmails you with some crying. Once the phone lands in little monster's hand, he would initially touch and feel the thing, I can bet you that in less than five minutes, he will start thumping your phone on the floor to test its build quality. My current count is 2 phones that have been rendered useless and crippled for ever. Buy a cheap real phone and give him for his use. But my guess is he will get bored and eventually want what you are using. Its the joy of winning a war where there is push and pull and the baby finally wins by getting what he wants.
7) BUY A PAIR OF SHOES
After I cribbed for 3 months, my wife finally gave in and agreed that we buy a pair of shoes for Mr. Pomi. Yes, its important for your kid to walk bare feet in the house because that's the best way for her to develop walking abilities . I have seen many parents whose kids cannot walk and still are loaded with heavy and designer shoes or sandals. Frankly I don't recommend sandals because most kids of this age would keep falling as a sandal extends ahead of the big toe. We bought him a pair of soft shoe made of cloth. This is the right time to buy shoe as the kid wants to get down and play in places outside your home, which may not be clean . Mr. Pomi now puts on his shoes and runs amok in malls. Earlier we would not let him walk bare feet in such places as the floor would be cold due the air conditioning and dirty. In his house we allow to walk bare feet as that's best for him to grow and develop his walking skills.
In my next post I will re-collect memories of last one year and share tips of the period from birth till 3 months.
My son is officially little over fourteen months old now and all i can say is "whoa..what a ride so far". It has been so busy that I kept imagining this blog in my mind and never got time to write it.
What I am going to do is share the real tips for each age group as I have experienced it. These will help you avoid common mistakes that could be fatal for yourself and your child.
At this age of 12-15 months, toddlers as they are called ,most kids would start walking on their feet. Mine walks like a penguin. But most people tell him that he's copied your style of walking. Here are official tips for this age group that you may follow to avoid harm to your child and eventually to your self through your wife in case something happens to the toddler.
AGE 12 MONTH -15 MONTHS
1) KEEP AWAY MOST OBJECTS AWAY FROM REACH.
Kids love to explore everything new, so keep harmful object away from their reach. For example if you place a glass of water on a table, that is within the kid's reach, he is bound to pull the glass and possibly break it thereby hurting himself.
2) WATCH YOUR BACK
Pomi as we call him fondly, keeps running from one room to another on his own as he loves discovering the world now on his own , at times when his mom is standing with cupboard open, he will suddenly try to sneak through by coming and standing behind her. You may step on your kid if you suddenly turn around and he may fall . This sounds funny while visualizing but it can be really serious if you are fat and can't control your own weight . Imagine an 85 Kg of yourself falling over a 10Kg baby..
3) HIDE COINS OR SMALL OBJECTS
Most kids of this age, while exploring also love to taste new objects. Beware of things like Coins or small toy parts or even small toys made of plastic, metals etc. Your kid may just choke before you even realize and sometimes it could be life threatening. Keep all your coins, safety pins, rubber bands out of reach and possibly covered and locked in a shelf.
4) HAVE 4 EYES
I can't emphasize more on this tip than anyother. This one takes the cake. Never get indulged in anything fully. You may be watching your favourite movie or tv series ,the kid may go under a table where he's found a small fallen object and start eating it. Further on getting him he bangs his head against the table. The easiest to avoid such accident is to keep watching the TV but your mind should constantly be aware that your kid is around and be alert about what mischief the young one is upto.
5) STAY AWAY FROM ELECTRIC HOLES
Yes for some funny reason, pomi keeps putting his little fingers inside the pin holes of electricity sockets . Get yourself some safety buttons that will block these open holes when not in use. The problem is most stuff in market these days is chinese. Mine lasted for a day, after which Mr. Pomi understood the logic and plucked the damn plastic thing out with his fingers. Again refer to point 4 above for help.
I am yet to come across a kid who is not fascinated by mobile phones. And yes they very well know the difference between fake and real. I bought several fake phones for Pomi to realize that he very well realizes the difference. Yes, at first you feel its ok to give him the phone as he blackmails you with some crying. Once the phone lands in little monster's hand, he would initially touch and feel the thing, I can bet you that in less than five minutes, he will start thumping your phone on the floor to test its build quality. My current count is 2 phones that have been rendered useless and crippled for ever. Buy a cheap real phone and give him for his use. But my guess is he will get bored and eventually want what you are using. Its the joy of winning a war where there is push and pull and the baby finally wins by getting what he wants.
7) BUY A PAIR OF SHOES
In my next post I will re-collect memories of last one year and share tips of the period from birth till 3 months.
