Mom and Dad

Your baby needs lots of love and attention. It’s also important to find time to nurture yourself and your relationship with your partner.

Now that you are developing into loving and responsible parents and feeling more confident about parenting, find time for each other and for your hobbies, sports, reading, and other activities that revitalize and reconnect you. Healthy parents, who take time to keep themselves healthy are just what children need.

Who can watch the baby while you recharge and relax?

Family Violence Hurts Everyone

Women are victims of violence in about one out of six families nationally. Children, including babies, are affected by what they see, whether or not they are the direct targets of the abuse.

Seeing parents hit each other or shout at each other affects girls and boys differently. As teens and adults, boys who see parental hitting are more likely to be violent against women in their lives. Girls are more likely to seek out and tolerate abusive partners.

Children in violent homes learn that it is OK to hit the people they love. They also learn to solve family conflicts with violence.

Most families solve their disagreements by talking them out, not by hitting. When partners don’t agree, they can try to compromise, take turns doing what they want to do, or seek outside help to come up with a solution.

If you or someone you know is living in a violent home, think about the children. It’s against the law for people to hit each other, whether they are married or not. Abuse may be physical, emotional, sexual, or a combination of the three.

If you think you can’t protect yourself or your children, you need to get help. Get support and information from a telephone hotline, advocate, counselor, or trusted friend. You can call a national domestic violence prevention hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233) or 800-787-3224 (TTY) for help.

These people can help you:

• Find a safer way to stay in the relationship
• Leave the relationship or your home safely and find a new place where you will be safe
• Get help with housing, food, clothes, and other needs.

Another Baby?

Raising a baby is hard work. Raising two children can be a lot harder, especially if they are close in age.

Imagine trying to bathe an active 2-year-old while your newborn is crying. Imagine how your 2-year-old will complain when you can’t give her the time you do now. You know how your baby can demand your attention whenever you want to talk on the phone. Imagine how the older one will feel when you have to ignore her to care for the new baby.

And how will you feel? Happy, we hope. But you may also feel worn out! That is why experts give this advice: If you want to have another baby, don’t do it too soon. Wait a while, at least until your baby is 2 years old or older. Research shows that siblings get along better when they are not too close in age.

There are many safe ways to prevent pregnancy. Talk with your doctor, clinic, or spiritual adviser before deciding what to do. You can also look under “Family Planning” in the yellow pages of your telephone book.

Planning your family takes effort on your part. But it can make life easier for you, and it can help you be a better parent.