It goes without saying that being a parent can be a time of stress, even for the most experienced and well prepared parent.

From newborn babies, toddlers, teens and even beyond, we aren't born with a knowledge of how to raise our children and they don't come with an instructional manual. 

And each child is so different! What works for one doesn't always work for the other.

Smart-parenting has many useful ideas about how to be more confident with your parenting decisions.

What Would You Do?

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Sleep Issues: 4-7 months

Your baby should start sleeping through the night at about 3 months. But babies are learning and observing all the time, and your baby could soon start to associate sleep time with time that mommy isn’t there. It’s called separation anxiety and it’s a normal part of development for many babies. But it can be […]

Over-scheduling kids

Several studies are expressing a growing concern that after school programs are pressurizing kids to do too much too soon. They point out that when a child’s afternoon is filled with classes, trips, sports and other forms of organized activities, kids do not really get the time to be just kids. They are even being […]

Modern Baby Swimwear

Are you ready for some summer fun with your baby? Doctors and health professionals agree that there is no reason that even newborns as young as one month old can’t go in the pool (the old school thought that parents should wait until babies have at least had their two-month immunizations no longer holds water) […]

After school programs and discipline

How important is discipline when it comes to after school programs? Since most of the activities are recreational, does a program have to adhere to strict rules? Discipline is just as important here as it is in activities that pertain to the school. The child is sent to a program because you want him to […]

Retro Baby Clothing

If it was cool when you were a kid, it’s cool for your kids! Baby clothing is quite a bit different today than it was when you were an infant. From the designer styles of Baby Dior and Baby Phat to the bizarre offerings of the alternative baby clothing market, there’s now something for every […]

Expert Analysis of Early Learning Pros and Cons

  As a parent, you have some control over what your baby learns, and at what rate they learn it. The important factor when it comes to early learning is to teach your child, without pushing or stressing your child, to have the attitude that if now is not the time, we’ll do something else. […]

2 Methods for Getting your Baby to Sleep

There are many different methods from the “experts” on dealing with sleep problems in your developing baby and child. Again, do what works best for you and what you feel comfortable with. The Ferber method involves letting the baby cry herself to sleep, on the theory that if you’re firm about bed time, she’ll learn […]

What To Do When Your Baby Won’t Wear Clothes!

A lot of time and energy goes into clothing your baby during the first year. From the color debate, to the rapid speed at which most infants outgrow their clothing, new parents have their plates full with keeping their babies clean, comfortable and clothed. So what do you do when all of a sudden, the […]

Designer Baby Clothes

Everything for today’s infant who goes places. Every year the top designers unveil their latest fashion creations for the little people of the world. This doesn’t mean fashion designs for the Warwick Davises and Billy Bartys of the world, nor those who don’t make in a year what Paris Hilton leaves for a tip after […]

Sleep During Infancy and Childhood

During infancy. For three or four weeks after birth the infant sleeps more or less, day and night, only waking to satisfy the demands of hunger; at the expiration of this time, however, each interval of wakefulness grows longer, so that it sleeps less frequently, but for longer periods at a time. This disposition to […]

Trial and error

Every mother, whether a first-time mom or an experienced one, has to make those decisions about what’s best for her baby. You can start out with books by “experts” and of course friends and relatives always have advice for a new mother and baby. These are a way to start, but if what you’re doing […]

Too much of school

When my mom finally decided to take that plum posting as a Divisional Head, I knew I was in trouble. Her office hours stretched way beyond my school hours. And anyway, I was privy to the many discussions my parents had about ‘Honey, what do we do with the kids?’ Well, finally they struck gold […]