Why Baby Loves You(3)
Your Protection
You teach limits.
”A baby with limits is a baby who is secure in his world,” says Caroline Winkler, coauthor of The Pocket Parent (Workman). Limits protect baby from consequences, whether it’s a burnt finger or your disapproval. And even a baby as young as 4 months can be taught some boundaries. “When I would put my youngest child in the backpack, he would grab fistfuls of hair and pull — hard,” Winkler says. “Even if it didn’t hurt — and it did! — I had to teach him that hair pulling is not okay. So every time he pulled, I would take off the backpack and say, ‘No hair pulling. Hair pulling hurts.’ It took a while, and we were late for everything, but he did get it.” By showing those kinds of guidelines, you’re teaching him rules for eventually taking care of himself.
Your Protection
You teach limits.
”A baby with limits is a baby who is secure in his world,” says Caroline Winkler, coauthor of The Pocket Parent (Workman). Limits protect baby from consequences, whether it’s a burnt finger or your disapproval. And even a baby as young as 4 months can be taught some boundaries. “When I would put my youngest child in the backpack, he would grab fistfuls of hair and pull — hard,” Winkler says. “Even if it didn’t hurt — and it did! — I had to teach him that hair pulling is not okay. So every time he pulled, I would take off the backpack and say, ‘No hair pulling. Hair pulling hurts.’ It took a while, and we were late for everything, but he did get it.” By showing those kinds of guidelines, you’re teaching him rules for eventually taking care of himself.
Your Precautions
You keep him safe.
It’s not easy to make a house, or even a few rooms, safe for a crawling baby. “You have to get down on the floor to see the tempting things from his level,” Dr. Loehr says. “If the plants are what he can see, he’s going to crawl over and play in that dirt.” Moving the plant for a few months, putting locks on the toilet, and shifting breakables up and away are gifts to your baby. “When you babyproof and put in the outlet plugs and everything, you’re creating an environment where he can have free range,” Meyers says. “It says yes, when so much of the rest of the world is no, no, no.”
Your Love
You love her — and she knows it!
Whether it’s blowing raspberries on a delicious tummy, flying the airplane spoon full of food into a waiting mouth, or cuddling and comforting at bedtime, every single day you do things that convey to your baby that you’re smitten. You love her, and she knows it with every particle of her being. Of course she loves you back!