By Maria Lianos
I’m facilitating the spring session of the Managing Expectations program at the Ontario Early Years Centre in Newmarket for Life With A Baby, a non-profit support group for new and expectant parents.
On Tuesday, April 20th, 0ur guest speaker was John MacMillan, an experienced family life educator. John has been doing workshops with new parents for our 25 years.
He spoke about the importance of dad and how a male presence is important in a child’s development. He offered tips on how dad can bond with baby. Dads’ parenting style is different from moms’ but babies learn different yet important skills from both.
Some studies have shown that even a three month old baby can already distinguish between the different kind of stimulations that mom and dad give.
How can dad be more involved? Diapering, bathing and soothing baby are good opportunities to bond. For the nursing baby, mom can pump milk and dad can feed. This will benefit baby but also dad. Being an involved father can be a source of pride and satisfaction too.
