Caring for Young Children

Most people agree that the first five years of a child's life are by far the most important in terms of what they learn and into what sort of person they eventually develop. Parents want to give their children the very best start in life but sometimes receive conflicting advice.... 

Doing what you feel to be right
I can still remember the defining moment when I decided what sort of parent I was going to be. Our first child was a few weeks old, a young midwife was making her scheduled visit and the baby started to cry.

I went to pick the baby up and the midwife stopped me. She told me that  if I allowed myself to be dictated to by my baby, I would never have any freedom again - my daughter would manipulate me and have me at her beck and call for the rest of my life.

I looked at the midwife - she seemed hardly more than twenty years old and clearly had no children of her own - and wondered whether I should believe her or respond to my desire to comfort the crying child. I chose the latter course and have never believed a so-called 'expert' again.

That was over twenty years ago and I have never regretted the decision that I made at that time. 

Of course I do take advice from others, especially from people who I respect, from older people who have raised families themselves and from younger people who remember what it is like to be a child, but I am wary of people with qualifications who are offering advice for a living. 

For me, if something does not feel right then it should be avoided - no matter how many sound arguments are put forward in its favour.

This can be applied to everything - childbirth, breastfeeding, immunisation, medical treatment, diet, nursery schooling, learning to read, school and even whether to bring up your children in the town or the country.

It can lead you into some tricky situations but, looked at from a broader perspective, leading your life by what you feel is best for your children makes a lot more sense than doing what other people tell you to do, or doing what you think is best for your career.