Transitional objects – the ‘security blanket’

Lots of children have a favourite cuddly toy that they use to help them go to sleep. Donald Winnicot, who I have mentioned before in this blog, coined the term ‘transitional object’ for such items, which are usually soft toys or ‘security blankets’ and parents will know how important these are for their children. As young infants, [...]

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Australian Association for Infant Mental Health – controlled crying statement

I think that all parents have times when they want – or do – leave their babies to cry in the hope that they’ll fall asleep. I think for anyone considering ‘controlled crying’, this is required reading:  Australian Association for Infant Mental Health’s position statement. Infants whose parents respond and attend to their crying promptly learn [...]

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Routines: parent-led or baby-led?

When I was browsing in the book shop yesterday, I looked at all of the parenting books, especially those for babies. I was amazed at how many there are which seem to be focussed on enforcing routines on babies. There are a few great parenting books, and my favourite is definitely Robin Barker’s ‘Baby Love’. [...]

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