PARENTING FOR DUMMIES

Having a baby is an incredible experience, and the ultimate responsibility! Parenting is a job that you start with no training at all – and friends and family always seem to be the first to tell you how best to bring up your children. But there's no sure-fire formula for raising kids. Maybe that's because every child, like every parent, is an individual, and no two parent-child relationships are ever the same. So, you can give up any notions of being a perfect parent. But, you can learn to keep the big mistakes to a minimum and make the parenting experience easier and more rewarding for your children and yourself. Which is where this book comes in.


Covering information for newborns to pre-teens, Parenting For Dummies gives you the essentials of parenting basics. From dealing with a crying baby and potty training, to building self-esteem and dealing with sibling rivalry, it offers a gold mine of up-to-date advice.

Helen Brown is a journalist and a mother of three. She is Senior Editor for Boots Parenting Club magazines, the former Parenting Editor of She magazine and writes regularly for Mother and Baby.

Introduction.


Part I: All About You: What Every Parent Should Know.


Chapter 1: Help! Where Do I Start? The Basics.


Chapter 2: You’re in Charge: Setting Boundaries.


Chapter 3: You Are Not Alone: Massing the Troops.


Chapter 4: Other Secrets of Great Parenting.


Chapter 5: Childminders, Nurseries, and Nannies.


Part II: All About Babies.


Chapter 6: Surviving, Thriving, and Diving In: Getting Accustomed to Having a Baby.


Chapter 7: Mmmm, Mmmm, Good: Feeding Baby.


Chapter 8: Moving on to Solids.


Chapter 9: Sweet Dreams: Getting Baby to Sleep.


Chapter 10: Playing, Learning, and Socialising.


Part III: All About Toddlers.


Chapter 11: Keeping Baby Healthy.


Chapter 12: Potty-Training.


Chapter 13: Tantrum Tactics.


Chapter 14: Food and Sleep.


Chapter 15: Keeping Your Toddler Safe.


Chapter 16: Playing, Learning, and Socialising.


Part IV: All About Preschoolers.


Chapter 17: Behaviour and Discipline.


Chapter 18: Food Fights and Sleep Frights.


Chapter 19: Playing, Learning, and Socialising.


Chapter 20: Heading to Preschool.


Part V: All About Schoolies.


Chapter 21: Starting School.


Chapter 22: Eating, Sleeping, and Staying Healthy.


Chapter 23: Behaviour and Responsibility.


Chapter 24: Friends, Self, and the World Beyond.


Part VI: All About Siblings.


Chapter 25: The New Arrival.


Chapter 26: Squabble Solutions.


Chapter 27: Loving Them All the Same.


Part VII: The Part of Tens.


Chapter 28: Ten Ways to Keep Your Cool.


Chapter 29: Ten First-Aid Must-Knows.


Chapter 30: Ten Things You Need For Your Baby (And Ten Things You Don’t).


Index.