Ultimate Guide to Parenting | Babies R Us

My son is 9 months old and has been crawling since he was about 5 months. He recently started standing but how can I encourage him to walk?

There's no need to encourage him to walk - crawling is so good for baby's development. He will walk in his own time. The ideal time to learn to walk is 12-14 months.

I'm Afrikaans speaking and my hubby speaks shona. We mostly speak English with my 10 month old but sometimes my hubby will speak his language and I will sometimes speak afrikaans with baby also Will all the different languages not confuse my baby?

Babies do not confuse and it's a good idea as they are likely to learn all the languages. By 18 months, you will have a sense if he/she is not picking up any language - if there are no words then, then you will need to choose one language

When is the right time for a baby to say their first words ?

Usually between 9 and 14 months.

My baby girl is 21 months old and started off eating everything she gets on her plate. Lately, she is only interested in finger foods and ignores her veggies. How can I get her to eat cooked meals with us? She was never fussy & it only started recently.

It's completely normal at this stage. Just do not get into food battles with her. Allow her to self feed. Offer 4 types of food on the plate - starch (eg. boiled potatoes); veggies & fruit; fats and proteins for each meal. Let her decide what she eats. IF she never eats fruit and veggies, then offer a smoothie after dinner with the fruit and veggies in.

My little boy is 5 months old and seems very ready to start solids. What should I start with? I have heard that including texture (not fully pureed) in food is good when you starts solids. What are your thoughts on that?

Start with pureed veggies (well steamed) at mid-morning.

My 20 month old little girl recently started hating her cot. We lay her down for a bedtime or a nap and she screams frantically. Once you lay her down on our bed, she falls asleep. She has been sleeping in her cot since birth but we are battling with the screaming and trying to keep boundaries in place. Any advice or possible reasons as to why she has the sudden change in behaviour?

If she settles happily in a bed and stays there for the night, you can make that shift now. Most toddlers need to be in a cot until 24 months as they do not have the self regulation to stay in bed. So if she is waking and wandering at night, you will need to persist with the cot.

How can I improve my 1 year old's fine motor skills?

Crawling is important to build the foundation muscles in the shoulders, elbows and in the hand. Eating small finger food can help develop the pincer grip.

What is the best age to start with fine motor skills? And how do you help your baby with it?

Right from birth you can exercise those little muscles by opening up and massaging her hand. Give her objects to hold.

My daughter is 16-weeks old and usually has long naps and also sleeps through the night. She usually sleeps 2 - 3 hours during the day and so it doesn't feel like I get much time to do activities with her. I wanted to know if I should be waking her up earlier.

At 16 weeks she should have 80 minutes of awake time between sleeps and in that time, you can feed, nappy change and stimulate her.

When is the right age to start potty training?

It depends on the baby but between 18 and 27 months.

My boy will be turning a year in 2 weeks time. He has been sleeping through the night since he was 4 months. He used to fall asleep easily on his own but recently it's a struggle. He wants to fall asleep in mommy's arms. How can I stop this behavior?

It could be that he needs a change to his day routine - drop to two day sleeps and then drop to one day sleep at a year. Instead of holding or rocking him to sleep, you can rock to drowsy and then put him down to sleep while he is still awake - then sit with him and pat him until he falls asleep.