One parent saying ‘yes’, one parent saying ‘no’

Being a new parent is difficult work, especially in the beginning, where everything is so new and you don’t know which advice to listen to. Parents, friends, colleagues always try to help with tons of advice, but sometimes new parents should be left on their own so they can discover their own rules about how to bring up their baby in the world. 

Mum’s rules

Usually mums are more strict about what baby can or can’t do, and new mums start quite early to teach their baby about the new rules in their home.  For example not touching cupboards in the kitchen or not playing with plants. Saying ‘no’ for bad things and saying nice words for good is a useful learning practice for baby. Unfortunately some babies at the beginning might do those prohibited things even more often, but later they will get used to the fact that mum is always strict about some rules. It’s very important to be consistent so the child is not confused.       

Dad’s rules

Dads are usually very proud of their first child and want to always be the perfect dad. Every dad is different obviously but most of them usually allow their children to do more naughty things than mums. Their view about bringing up their baby is not strict, as their baby should try everything by touching or smelling or even breaking things. Sometimes that makes the dad appear  to be the more fun parent and therefore is more popular. 

The same rules for all

Every child should learn rules so their life is getting easier later in school. Also, that helps both parents to follow the same rules and the atmosphere between them is calm and nice. It’s very healthy for baby to have consistent rules.

This article was written by Personalised Baby Gifts UK.

PersonalisedBaby Gifts UK has a great range of personalised gifts for parents and other family members, such as personalised leather wallets, engraved jewellery and much more.

 

We have loads of articles with tips on parenting, from travelling with a baby to choosing a baby’s name. And once you’ve chosen your baby’s name, why not have it embroidered onto their bib, or printed on a personalised clock for the nursery.

 

 

Pets for children – how to choose?

Having pets at home is a good experience for children which helps them to learn responsibility and to learn a good caring attitude towards animals. Before you make this important decision you should do the research and consider what size a pet you can afford to keep in your house or flat and check how to care for your chosen pet. Also, it’s really important to choose insurance for your pet.

Big or small?

It’s a good idea to start with a something small and easy to keep at home. A good example is a rabbit, guinea pig, a mouse, rat or hamster. These pets are generally cheap to keep and also entertaining. You have to only keep them clean, fed and water them and then have great fun with them.
It’s good to do the research about food and special requirements for winter as some pets like a warm and sheltered place when is cold and frosty.

Some of the most common pets are cats and dogs. Cats are safe and easy for a toddler to handle but parents should introduce a child to how to care about a cat, how to feed and how to play safely. Dogs need more daily care as they should be taken for a walk a minimum of once a day and they need some training as well. We need to think about who will take care of that, especially at winter time. Quite often, dogs are the best and reliable ‘humans’ friends and usually there is a strong relationship between dog and family.

Children often like specific animals which they can see in a zoo but they want something cute and cuddly as well. Parents should do the research and make the best decision. It is possible that the exciting time with pets will pass and parents need to accept that they will need to take over. Whatever your decision will be, consider what expectations of a pet your child has or who will look after the pet when you are on holiday.  



This article was written by Personalised Baby Gifts UK.

Looking for a perfect Christmas gift? We have a great range of gifts that can be personalised for no extra cost. Visit Personalised Baby Gifts UK to browse our online store.

We also have some lovely items for mums and dads, to help cheer up the exhausted new parents! 

Swaddling – what is it and why does it work

You may have heard of swaddling and there are lots of products out their especially for swaddling, but what is it, what’s the theory behind it and does it work?

What is swaddling?

Swaddling is when you wrap up a baby firmly from the neck down in a thin, light blanket with her or his arms tucked against her or his chest. Obviously  you don’t want to restrict their breathing or crush them, but a key factor is that the blanket must be quite firm and doesn’t easily unwrap.

The idea is to calm the baby and make them feel safe and secure.

What’s the theory behind it

It is believed that being tightly bound reminds the baby of the restricted space in the womb – the place that was safe and warm and lovely, before the baby entered the big wide (scary) world. It’s also said to help stop them thrashing around agitating themselves, and it can stop them being disturbed by the little twitches they make when they’re asleep.

Does swaddling work?

Swaddling is not a modern, fly-by-night trend, it’s an age old technique that’s been used since before people started writing books on babycare. Many people swear by it. However, some experts have raised concerns about some of the negative effects of swaddling, and others say it simply doesn’t work for them. At the end of the day, each baby is different, so you won’t know whether swaddling is going to help calm them until you try it.

If you have a newborn baby, why not drop by Personalised Baby Gifts? We have more articles with tips on parenting, from travelling with a baby to choosing a baby’s name. And once you’ve chosen your baby’s name, why not have it embroidered onto their bib, or printed on a personalised clock for the nursery.

Practical tips for picking baby names

It could be one of the most important decisions of your life - after having the baby of course... So what do name your little bundle of joy?

You may have a shortlist already, but here are a few tips to help you avoid making any naming blunders that will haunt you for a very long time...

Say it out loud

It's amazing how different things sound out loud as opposed to written on paper. Say them all out loud and see which ones get crossed off in a hurry! It may be worth getting friends and family to try saying the names out loud as well, to see where people might pronounce it wrong - and find out if it's going to get on your nerves - or even cause embarrasment!

Think about what it might be shortened to

One mother I know gave all three of her boys names with three syllables that could each be shortened to two, or even one. She figured she'd give them the option of choosing how formal or informal they wanted to be. Think about what your potential names could be shortened to, and whether you like them in that format.

Try it with your surname

Trying out various names with your surname highlight issues in rhythm or tongue twisters or even unintended words hiding between them. If you're going to give the child a middle name as well, then try saying it out loud with all three parts. This is particularly important if your surname is King, which is open to all kinds of potential disasters...

Once you've chosen the perfect name, why not get it printed or embroidered onto one of our fantastic personalised baby products!

Can a child be brought up genderless?

A couple from Toronto caused a storm last year, when it was reported in newspapers that they were refusing to reveal the gender of their four month old baby - Storm (see what I did there?).

Only they and the child's two older brothers know whether Storm is a boy or a girl, even the grandparents were being kept in dark.

Many people reacted badly to the story, lashing out and claiming it was harmful to the child, and would affect its mental development, some even saying it's tantamount to child abuse.

But the parents argue that the complete opposite is true - that by attempting to combat gender stereotypes, their child will grow up more free to make her or his decisions about who they are - rather than being slotted into whatever standards traditional society would have them follow.

“If you really want to get to know someone, you don’t ask what’s between their legs,” says the father.

Their two older children have been brought up without typical pink and blue pressures, and as a result choose to have long hair, worn in braids and to often wear skirts and bright colours that are usually frowned on for boys, such as pink and purple.

Raising a child without putting a pink or blue stamp on its head from even before it's born is becoming more common than you might think, with couples in Sweden and England doing the same.

For gender neutral products for babies - visit our personalised baby gifts store!

Personalised Treasure Hunt Gift for a Child's Birthday

Looking for an interesting idea to make your child's birthday even more special and fun? A personalised treasure hunt is a great way of building anticipation and making receiving of gifts into a game.

 

Setting up a personalised treasure hunt takes a bit of preparation, but is quite straightforward and well worth it for the expression of delight on your child's face.

First you have to prepare the clues. Get some little pieces of paper - you can use fancy coloured card or parchment or simply scraps from a jotter notepad, it's really up to you. Then decide which places you're going to hide the clues. It's best if you find places around the house where they won't be seen by accident - if your child accidentally finds one out of turn, it could break the surprise.

For each place, try to think of a clue that will lead to it. For example, if you're going to hide one in a grandfather clock, the clue might say, 'This is a tall tick tock tick tock'. If you're going to hide one in the washing machine (careful nobody does a washload in the meantime!) it might say, 'Socks and suds go round and round'. You can make them easy or difficult, depending on how long you want the game to last.

Once you've got around ten clues, plant them in order so that they create a continuous trail. Then, at the end of the trail - put the present!

Once everything's ready, present your child with the clue and explain that they have to work out what it means - they'll soon get the hand of it and be adventuring away!

If you're looking for a great personalised gift for a child's birthday, check out our cute clothing, soft toys and personalised jigsaws.

Baby Shower Charades! Free Ideas for Movie, Book & Song Titles

Baby Shower Charades is a great game that you can play at your baby shower to liven things up and have everyone falling over with giggles.

Preparation

Easy! All you need to do is prepare some cards with the names of books, movies and song titles all with the word ‘baby’ somewhere in them written on one side. If you’re super enthusiastic or have a lot of time on your hands, you could also make a CD of the songs to play afterwards (but not before or during or you’ll give the game away!).

Titles with baby names in

·         (You’re) Having my baby

·         Anybody seen my baby

·         Baby  be mine

·         Baby love

·         Baby, I love your way

·         Be my baby

·         Bye bye baby

·         Gone Baby Gone

·         Hit me baby one more time

·         I got you babe

·         Maybe Baby

·         Million Dollar Baby

·         Rosemary’s Baby

·         Santa baby

·         The Babysitter

·         The water babies

·         They Baby-sitter’s Club

·         Three men and a baby

Playing charades

 

On the day, split into two teams (you may need an independent moderator as well, depending on how competitive your lot are. One member of Team A takes a card, reads it and keeps it secret. They then have to try to mime the words to their team, who shout out their guesses. The person miming is not allowed to speak (or make any noise) or mouth anything with their lips. If the team correctly guess the title from the card before the time is up, then they win the point. If they fail to win it, then usually the other team has a few seconds to take a guess. If they get it right, then they get the point instead.

Are you interested in reading more about baby showers? Read the fascinating history of baby showers from ancient times to the modern day.

If you’re having or going to a baby shower, check out our fantastic range of baby gifts – there’s everything from bibs to door plaques to silver and crystal keepsakes.

Personalised Baby Gifts! Making your baby shower perfect.

Tips for taking photos of your newborn

Whether it’s your first child or your fifth, having a new baby is an incredibly special moment in all parents’ lives. You probably want to capture the first moments forever as your new addition slumbers peacefully.

At Personalised Baby Gifts we offer engraved photo frames and embroidered albums to keep all your baby photos safe in.

Here are some tips for taking some great newborn photos.

Try to capture the ‘firsts’

Rather than having lots of pictures of the baby in the same position, it can be very fun and rewarding to capture some of the many firsts that will be going on. Such as baby’s first bath, first weighing, first outfit, first time meeting grandparents, best friend, aunt etc.

You don’t need to go overboard and try to capture every single thing, but by creating a ‘photo documentary’ of this kind, you will have a story to relive over the years.

Experiment with distances and angles

Close-ups work very well with babies – if you have a macro function on your camera, then get up close and use it! But you should experiment from further away, and also try different angles. Down low works well for babies, because it gives the impression of being in their world.

Try black and white

Converting pictures of newborns and babies into black and white makes for a timeless beauty. If you have some photo editing software, you could also experiment with desaturating but not entirely turning to black and white, using a sepia filter or if you’re a little more advanced removing all colour except in a few select places, such as a bow, or in the eyes.

For more ideas and tips for new parents visit our baby gifts store.

Idea for a wonderful unique personalised gift - photo gifts!

Photo gifts are one of my favourite personalised gifts. These days there are variety of options for using personal photographs to make great personal gifts. There are lots of places that will print photo products at relatively inexpensive rates, and if you watch out for special deals on some of the coupon websites, you can get something very reasonable.

Photos in frames

You could simply go for the classic option and buy a pretty frame and fill it with one or more pictures of yourself or the recipient of the gift and other friends and family. Or you could buy a very cheap plain photo frame and decorate it yourself using glass beads, glittery rubber paint, shells and whatever else you can find!

Photo calendar

Photo calendars are a great useful gift that can keep your loved ones smiling all year round. If possible, you can try to match the photos for each month with ones taken at the right time or year, but it doesn’t really matter. You can just put a selection of your favourite photos in, or you can pick a theme, such as a holiday, day trip, pets, or a year in the life of!

Photobooks

Photobooks offer a load of options, from a mini flip book type book all the way to a hard bound glossy printed tome. As with calendars, it can be nice to pick a theme – perhaps you could collect pictures from someone’s life all the way from being a baby and show them developing through their lives up to the present day!

For more great ideas for personalised gifts and to browse our excellent range of everything from balloons to china piggy banks – visit the Personalised Baby Gift shop!