We’ve heard them all before – silly little tips and advice about babies that ‘wouldn’t hurt to try’. Many of us go about doing it without even questioning the reasoning behind the different beliefs, but although it wouldn’t hurt to try, we think it’s about time we shed some light on these myths about babies, just to make everything clear. Here then are some of the more popular myths about babies:
Myth # 1: You Need To Bathe Your Baby Everyday
Some parents believe that babies need to be given a bath once a day when in fact, frequent bathing rids your baby’s skin of moisture. This could mean dryness and even irritation on your baby’s skin. An increased level of bathing would also create a bigger probability of a female infant to contract urinary tract infections.
So long as you keep your tot’s creases and folds clean of debris, and you keep the diaper area clean, you can minimize full baths to thrice a week. If your infant loves splashing around everyday, you can indulge him/her by just playing with water and not lathering up everytime.
Myth # 2: Learning Should Be Saved For School
As much as we learn from school, the fact is that learning begins from the moment that we live. Since birth, your child has been absorbing knowledge to fill its empty slate, learning all that it can. In actuality, the younger the to, the easier and quicker it is for them to learn so it’s important to give your kid that much needed boost before even setting foot in academia.
Myth # 3: Babies Don’t Talk
Just because your child is not saying any words does not mean that babies can’t communicate. Babies recognize their attachment to their parents and as such talk to them all the time. Take the time to listen to your baby; pay attention to his/her response when presented with objects such as his/her milk bottle or favorite toy. It is very important to respond and encourage a baby whenever it makes the effort to talk to assure them that you are getting their message – this would give them the drive to keep talking until they finally learn to do so in words.
Myth # 4: Teething Causes Fevers
This is one of the more common myths that really need debunking as it can actually cause some dangers in child safety. To this day, many parents would attribute mild fevers to the baby being in the ‘teething stage’, causing them to ignore the problem thinking it pointless to resolve as they ‘already know’ what’s causing the fever and that it’s a normal phase every infant goes through.
Studies have shown, however, that no direct relationship exists between teething and fevers. This means that no parent should ever ignore a feverish baby just because they think some pearly whites are on their way. It is important to seek medical attention to determine what may be causing the fever.
As responsible parents, it is our duty to verify all information pertaining to our children, especially when it concerns health matters. With the information that is made readily available to us through smartphones and the internet, this shouldn’t be too big of an inconvenience, anyway.
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