From the pram to the stroller

Well, there is no comparison. If your baby could talk, this is what he would probably say after his first trips out in a stroller. Because the world is a much more interesting place seen from a sitting position rather than lying down. The skies, clouds and heads that were all he saw now open onto a horizon of trees, houses, people who come and go. The change from the pram to the stroller is an important moment in the psychomotor development, as it marks the beginning of relationships with the external environment. From a sitting position, in fact, the baby discovers the possibility he has to interact with others, to use his sight at different distances, to enrich his sensorial experiences.

But as in every growth phase, this also requires its own timing.

During the first few months of life in fact the baby needs to remain lying down, as the development of his skeletal system doesn't allow him to support the weight of the upper part of the body yet. The correct age to say goodbye to the pram is around four-five months, even if each child has his own times. The best thing to do is buy the stroller a little earlier, (but not before he is four months) and get him used to it gradually, starting with short walks that you can then make longer. Another good idea, especially at the beginning, is to alternate the sitting and lying down positions, so that the baby can sleep or rest in complete safety. There are in fact different models of strollers on the market which are ideal for young babies, and allow you to regulate the inclination of the backrest.

What other features are important when choosing a stroller? The most important thing to watch out for is that it suits your baby's body, ensuring him maximum comfort, but also secure support, especially in the neck and lumbar zones.

The stuffing should be in anallergic, breathable and easily washable material, while the external structure must be easy to manage but sturdy. Other accessories that can contribute to the comfort of the small passenger are: adjustable handles, wheels with self-braking devices, bottle and item holders, parasol hoods, leg covers and rain covers. For those who don't wish to contemplate the options, there are all-in-one versions which can be transformed from a pram into a stroller and even into a car seat. Simply hook the item you need onto the base, and you are ready to go.

Clean hair without tears

Coming into the world is a great experience, let's be honest. Your child has been living this adventure for a few months now and will need, every now and then, some moments of relax. An old and ironic song referred to bath and hair-wash time as the best form of relaxation after a bad day: this can also apply to your baby.

In actual fact, as months go by, the range of reactions of the baby increase to external stimuli, and the moment of body hygiene often becomes a battle without boundaries, above all when the baby finds himself under a jet stream of water with his head and face covered in foam. How can this not turn a moment of relax and interaction with your baby into a traumatic moment in which babies with their heads and faces full of soap wriggle and scream whilst mothers and fathers despair? For a baby, in a certain sense, water continues to be a familiar environment, because he still preserves a memory of the nine months that he spent in the womb, cradled in the amniotic liquid. At times it is the anxieties and the worries of parents which make things worse. The secret, therefore, is to remain cool and composed: simply follow some easy and practical tips.

It is important for the baby to feel safe and protected: therefore, above all, support his shoulders encircling him with your left arm and hold his head reclined backwards. The baby's face will remain out of the water; if incidentally, his face should get wet, remember that the baby is able to hold his breath.

A tip to keep this moment a happy one and not make it traumatic, is to delay for as long as possible washing his head under the shower jet. It is better to use a container to gently pour water over his head, after checking the temperature with your hand or the inside of the forearm. Then proceed by gently applying soap to his head, which you should dilute slightly. The baby's head should be gently massaged and then rinsed carefully, making sure that the water doesn't flow onto his face and into his eyes.

In this sense, be careful that you choose the correct shampoo. What in fact can most bother a baby is not the water but the shampoo. Always choose specific baby shampoo, that doesn't sting their eyes, and also make sure that the product doesn't contain surface active agents and that it has the correct concentration hydrogenics (pH 7, that is neutral).

It is not difficult to find the right product in all the lines specifically for baby hygiene; they are generally formulas with little foam (a lot of foam is in fact sign of a strong presence of surface active agents), rich in moisturizing substances that don't alter the keratin structure of the hair and don't irritate the delicate scalp of a newborn baby.

With a detergent that has these characteristics and when needed, such as in this summer period when it is hot, the baby's delicate hair can be washed every day. But, if this is not necessary, twice a week is more than enough.

If the baby's delicate hair is not very thick, you can pat it with a towel to dry him; if however it is necessary to use a hairdryer, make sure you keep it a good distance from his head and use a medium temperature to avoid burning his delicate skin. Also in this case there are some specific hairdryers for babies on the market, that guarantee a temperature of 20 degrees less compared to those used by adults.

He always says 'No!'

Up to a few weeks ago he was a lively but obedient cuddly boy, affectionate with his mother and father. Now, at eighteen months he has completely changed: he throws tantrums, refuses all proposals or initiatives and keeps repeating the same monosyllable: "no!". Bad education? Illness on the way? None of all this: it is simply a natural growth phase that must be faced with calm and composure, to help the child mature, and prevent him from turning it into an instrument to get the adults to do what he wants.

The notorious "no phase" begins at around 18-24 months. Before this period a child doesn't dispute the proposals that come from the outside, especially those of his mother because the maternal figure is an indisputable reference point.

There are very few tantrums and they are limited to simple matters such as the refusal of a food that he doesn't like. After the eighteen month mark, however, the baby begins to realize he is an autonomous individual, separate from his mother. He feels therefore the need to build his own personality and his own tastes. The only way to detach himself from the figure with which he has identified himself until that moment is by saying no. Repeating that simple monosyllable "no", disputes all the aspects that he had accepted as certainties and reference points until that moment in time.

The "no's" are repeated in all situations that are proposed to the child, from going to the park, to changing his romper, from having a bath to starting a new game. Parents are often discouraged when faced with this reaction and they don't know how to behave. The child understands the power that this word has on adults and he subsequently uses it very often, because he realizes that pronouncing it attracts attention. And this is just what the child wants: to affirm himself as an individual, to no longer passively accept what he is told to do. He wants to make others understand that he is growing up and therefore the consideration of his mother and father has to grow and change together with him. The parents should not feel disheartened therefore by the continuous refusals by their child or convince themselves they are not able to educate him. They have to be aware that the child is maturing and going through an essential phase for his psychological development.

When he is around three years of age, the no phase is resolved on its own accord. In the meantime, however, parents have to help the child in this growth phase, showing comprehensive but also by being firm. It is best not to be severe or to scold the child repeating to him that "he is not being a good boy". This would only repress a natural evolution, making him become timid or, on the contrary, rebellious. Some no's can be tolerated, above all if they refer to matters of little importance: in this way the child has the possibility to experiment his own independence of judgment. There are a few, essential rules in education, however, that must be obeyed. If, after a calm discussion, where you have tried to make the child understand the rationality of your point of view, the child continues to say No, the mother and father must do what they had decided in any case. In this way, the child will understand that there are some limits and that the authority of hi s parents must not be disputed.