How can fathers interact with their newborns to enhance parent-child bonding?

After the baby is born, although the mother is responsible for most of the care, the interaction between the father and the newborn is also very important. In addition to improving the parent-child relationship, it also allows the mother to take a break and recover from the fatigue after giving birth. So how does the father interact with the newborn?

How Dads Interact with Their Newborns

Skin-to-skin contact: For babies, skin-to-skin contact is the most direct expression of love. Through such contact, babies will feel safe and secure, which helps their growth and development.

Massage your baby: Babies' primary way of communication is through touch, so use baby lotion to massage your baby. Before a nap, after a bath, or any time your baby is crying, it is a good time to massage.

Carry your baby on your back: Whether you use a sling, carrier or swaddle, this is the easiest way for dad to take care of the baby, and the baby will definitely love being carried this way.

Assist your baby in taking a bath: Although most dads are afraid to help their baby take a bath, for the baby, this joy of immersing in water is his happiest moment. Therefore, seize the happy moment of your newborn and play with him in the water.

Dancing and singing: Babies don’t care whether you sing well or dance well, for them, they just like music. So, pick a song you like and sing it to your baby!

Read a storybook: Babies like to listen to the voices of adults talking, so choose a storybook, or your favorite book or newspaper, and read it to your baby, which can also train his brain development and language skills.

Take your baby for a walk: You can carry your baby on your back or push a stroller to take a walk in the yard or park. Introduce the surrounding environment and the flowers, plants and trees you see to your baby.

The importance of interaction between father and baby

Give your baby a sense of security: The baby has just left his mother's belly and is easily afraid of the strange world outside. Therefore, interacting with the baby more can make him feel at ease and slowly adapt to life outside.

Helps brain development: According to research, skin contact can stimulate the baby's brain development and improve his emotional and social development. Therefore, hugging your baby more can make him smarter.

Improve the immune system: When you interact with your baby, your baby will come into contact with the bacteria on your body. Through these contacts, your baby can get used to the presence of bacteria and germs early, thus improving the immune system.

How to interact with your baby

0-4 months: Longing for contact with you

Every time the baby is held in the mother's arms, he will cling to his mother tightly. At this time, the baby will curl up contentedly, perhaps that means he is relaxed, or perhaps the baby is expressing his pure feelings, "I like mommy, I love mommy." Babies aged 0-4 months are eager for close contact with mommy and daddy. Gentle touch and light kiss can make the baby dance with joy.

Gentle caressing of children is not only skin-to-skin contact, but also a kind of love transmission. Early caressing is to give appropriate stimulation to brain cells and nervous system during the critical period of infant brain development, promote the development of infant nervous system, and thus promote growth and intelligence development.

0-6 months: Longing for your smile

Although newborn babies are still ignorant of the outside world, the kind smiles of their parents are the first source of warmth and happiness for them. Smiling seems to be a natural instinct of human beings, and babies will smile unconsciously when they feel happy.

Babies aged 0-6 months are eager to see your smile. The friendly smile of mom and dad can make babies feel friendly and happy, although they don’t know what a smile is. If parents mostly show their facial expressions to their babies, the baby cannot feel the spiritual caress, and the baby’s personality may become indifferent and negative when he grows up.

6-12 months: Most afraid of you leaving him

Starting from 6 months old, you will find that your baby is always nervous about strangers. Even when he sees his favorite Mickey Mouse in the playground, he will hold your hand tightly and look at you from time to time, hoping that you can ensure his safety. It is not until the cartoon character leaves that you feel that he becomes relaxed. This is a very normal reaction of a baby: being afraid of strangers. Children of this age are afraid that the order of their lives will be disrupted because their understanding of the world is more complicated.

When the mother leaves for a while, the baby becomes anxious and even starts running around the house looking for the mother. He begins to feel the fear of separation strongly, and thus becomes extremely uneasy, even crying at the top of his lungs, hoping to get the attention and comfort of his parents.