What does it take to raise a happy child

Few days ago, I met a new mom of 3 month old twins. Holding one of her babies in my arms made me nostalgic. Although my younger one will turn 2 in a month and I still have to carry her to many places but the charm of holding a newborn is heavenly. Those tiny fingers, tiny feet, a little smile while dreaming make you fall in love with them instantly. While on my journey back home I had  a look at my kids, a 5 year old boy and a 2 year old girl jumping and playing on the back seat and my thoughts drifted to the day when my son was born. I was so scared. My heart was full of doubts like how will I take care of such a small baby? Will I manage to be a good mom? For two months post delivery I stayed at my mum's place. Those two months were like my training period. Everyone was busy teaching me the do's and don'ts of parenting. The day I joined my man in uniform in his place of posting, my heart was again filled with doubts as I thought I had to manage it all by myself now.

But, I was so wrong! My dear husband helped me in all possible ways he could. Recently, Nielsen in association with Pampers did a survey which states that “88% moms agree that their husbands hesitate to change diapers”. I fall in the remaining 12%. I think, in my son's case, his father has changed more diapers than his mother. He was not at all apprehensive regarding diaper changes and other baby needs. He would readily feed him, play with him and change him into new clothes or diapers. Even my son was so fond of him that at the age of 4 months, listening to his dad's voice he would start cooing and babbling happily. He would play football taking our 7 month old in his arms and it made my son so fond of the game that by the age of 1. 5 years he was kicking the ball like a pro.

When we had our daughter, I was more confident as a mother but deep within I was worried because I had to manage two kids now. Though I had lot of practice of raising a child, there were lot of learning too. One change I made in my parenting style was putting my daughter into a diaper on the second day after her birth. With my first baby, I was a bit apprehensive about diapers. After 2 months of his birth, I had put him into a diaper but after that there was no looking back. At one point of time, I was so overwhelmed that I even googled to find the inventor of diapers. I wanted to thank him with all my heart!

During my hospital stay, my son had both his grandmothers with him, yet he preferred to eat and sleep with his dad. That's the type of bonding they share. Even my daughter is not far behind. When she was 10 months old, she would sleep only when her dad took her in his arms, sing a lullaby and rock her to sleep. She would stay awake waiting for him and would sleep instantly in his arms. Although I was jealous of it but was secretly happy because that gave me some time to stretch my legs and relax!

You know, ‘97% of moms believe that it takes two to raise a happy and healthy baby'. This is such an important insight and it's so true. Children are the future. To have a happy future it is important to have a happy childhood, it is important to spend quality time as a family. Parenting is not only a mother's job. It demands active participation from both the parents. Fathers may say that they are doing their part by earning money for the family, but their duty doesn't end there. Today Mothers are also earning. A happy and content individual is the one who had a happy childhood with both their parents actively involved with them because as they say, children learn by imitation. He'll be what you'll be in front of him!

mycity4kids.com