When my first baby was little and I was doing my first degree, sometimes I didn’t have the energy to read children’s books on top of my study stuff, so sometimes I read my baby textbooks and journal articles so I could kill two birds with one stone (bedtime stories & study). With the first son, I did this from about 8month - 3 years, and second son just joined in on that action at birth until about 1year. When the older one started wanting actual children’s stories, I had to buy some children’s books. We went mostly for Dr Seuss, partly they were also the cheapest books I could get.
Ultimately, I don’t think it matters what I read a child that small, I think it was the act of reading with them, and them hearing the language as well. People always used to comment that both my children had amazing vocabularies for their ages when they were little. I like to think it’s because they got stories like “Human anatomy and Physiology” “Human development through the lifespan” and journal articles, and other really dry, but informative texts.
Benefit: his speech is "at normal levels for a boy his age" according to school principal. Only two children in his 20-child classroom are at that level.
And he's bilingual.
Car seat required, I always got the higher-end models with the best safety ratings. A good stroller as well, preferably the kind that work with the car seat.
Children mainly need your time, attention, and lots of patience. They generally don't need a lot of things until they get older, at which point they will tell you what they want.
Authority: I raised three children who started out as babies and toddlers and all lived to adulthood.
Read books about parenting, paid attention, did required medical tests and advocated with healthcare.
Purchases? Healthy food, mostly.
Magna-tiles have been a big hit for both from about 2yo and on. Lots of knockoffs on Amazon, but we haven't had any issues with the 2 sets we purchased.
For books I really connected with "Hunt Gather Parent".
Aside from that, I'd say top thing is patience and sometimes just being quiet and not interfering when they're playing.
Joints, ankles, tendons, muscles will get strong & flexible.
Balance, falling, control are only three of the many passive & active skills that will grow.
They are the foundation for all kinds of higher lvl human stuff.
We all know how important physical health & full body flexibility, mobility & endurance are. Let the kids start early and organically.
I also have a more "boring" yet stress free job that gives me a lot more patience for the challenges that come with young children.
If you can afford it, get a cleaning service. You and your spouse/partner have a huge new demand on your time. It helps if you can cut something else.
Purchased: their firstnamelastname.com domain name.
