Parenting By The Book

Parenting Basics

Parents often use different techniques to handle various situations.

They may also have different beliefs that influence their overall parenting styles.

Some parents may practice attachment parenting, which the Attachment Parenting International organization defines as a 'philosophy and practice of parenting methods that foster strong, healthy emotional bonds between parents and children,' and which encourages co-sleeping, positive discipline, close contact, and 'emotional responsiveness.'

Other parents may be overly permissive or too strict.

And while some others are authoritarian, even more likely use some combination of all of the different parenting styles.

Whatever your parenting style, especially if you are still working on discovering what works best for your family, building it on a firm foundation of expert advice and recommendations can help you to become a more effective parent and help to keep your kids safe and healthy. This is the type of advice that all parents, no matter their parenting style, are likely to benefit from, such as not giving infants honey until they are at least a year old, securing kids in their car seat, and making sure their children are getting enough sleep. Although there aren't really any complete or formal rules for what makes a good or bad parent, these are some of the things that most people would agree that you should and shouldn't do.

The Parenting By The Book series of articles will help educate parents about important medical and parenting topics, including your child's nutrition, safety, and growth and development, with a focus on recommendations and guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics and other expert organizations.