Parenting 101: 21 September 2012
Jenni Johnson, our resident ‘Baby Whisperer’, has been a practicing child-care practitioner for 15 years, and owns a busy ante and post natal clinic in Durban. This week she talks about chores and books, among other things.
* I don’t think babies should start solids with vegetables as a first food. Would you like to eat butternut for breakfast!? Cereal or fruit is a good way to start. 90% of babies start with cereal.
* Start reading bedtime stories to your child by 10months. Simple look/see books with lots of animation in your voice. If your child wants to turn the pages too quickly or eat the book or his/her attention span wanes after a minute - this is absolutely fine and normal.
* I ask the mums and dads in my clinic to get their children library cards from a year onwards. It’s the cheapest and best way to entertain a child and the benefits are enormous. Give your child a love of books and schooling is a whole lot easier.
* A 2-yr-old is happiest eating 4 meals in a day. Offer an early lunch & a late lunch. A day time nap fits in between the 2 meals. Portion sizes are normally much smaller than you think they should be! Never dish up on anything bigger than a side plate.
* Delegating chores is such an important parenting role and teaches wonderful life skills. At the dinner table a 2 year old can bring the placemats, the 4 year old can set the cutlery and the 7 year old can rinse the plates for washing. You will NEVER regret doing this.
* Catch Jenni on-air every day just after 10am with her tip of the day.