Vital Parental Responsibilities That Await Every New Parent

‘You two deserve every bit of happiness this baby is going to bring you.’- I am sure many had told this to your partner and you when your baby was born, and it is true. Babies fill our hearts with love and joy. However, becoming parents for the first time also brings a fair share of responsibilities along with immense joy.

From the time your little one arrives, they are dependent on you for their every need. Be it the need to be fed, burped, or wrapped in a blanket if they feel cold, your little one can only depend on you to know what is good or bad for them. And this is where your responsibilities begin as a new parent. Easier said than done, at times parenting might be very wearisome, where you start self-questioning every action of yours done in good faith, like did I put my baby to sleep the right way? Did I make the room too warm for her? Did I feed him enough? Am I a responsible parent?

So, to make your work a little easy and help your mind relax a bit, we have jotted down three vital points that will help you in this new journey of responsibilities that you have just embarked upon or are about to embark on.

1. Get your baby vaccinated on time and maintain records:

Starting from the birth of your baby till the time the baby turns 6 or 7 years old, there are several compulsory vaccines that need to be administered, which will help the baby develop immunity from quite a few potentially harmful diseases. Also, a couple of vaccines need to be administered to your child between 10 to 15 years of age. When it comes to a newborn, in his first two months itself, the baby needs essential vaccines for the following diseases:

• Hepatitis B (HepB)

• Diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough (pertussis) (DTaP)

• Haemophilus influenzae type b disease (Hib)

• Polio (IPV)

• Pneumococcal disease (PCV13)

• Rotavirus (RV)

(*Source: https://www.cdc.gov/)

The vaccination card is an important document that enables you to keep track of your child’s vaccination schedule, letting you know when your child is due for the next one. Generally, it is issued by your child’s pediatrician or from the hospital where he is born. Keeping this document is vital since this will help you keep a record of vaccines that are to be given and the vaccines already given. Moreover, most schools also require it at the time of admission. Also, if your child plans to go abroad for higher studies at a later point in life, most colleges and universities abroad might ask for his immunization records.

2. Keep track of your baby’s overall developmental milestones:

While we agree that all children are different, certain physical and mental milestones are an important indicator of your little one’s healthy growth and development. Like some babies start crawling from the age of four months, while some skip crawling altogether! So, keeping track of the important milestones helps you know where your little one stands in terms of overall development. It also allows you to know what to expect next so that you can do your bit in supporting your growing child’s developmental needs as a parent. Your pediatrician will also be keeping a check on your child’s essential milestones during regular visits. It is always good to talk to your pediatrician if you have concerns regarding your child’s development.

What to track on?

• Physical Milestones

Very common examples of physical milestones for babies include rolling over, crawling, and walking. For older children, it could be running, climbing, hopping, and so on.

• Cognitive Milestones

Cognitive milestones are centered around tracking a child’s ability to think, learn and solve problems. When your baby starts responding to your angry face or smiling face, it is a cognitive milestone achieved by your baby. Similarly, your toddler learning alphabets at school is another cognitive milestone accomplished.

• Social and Emotional Milestones

When your baby learns to express himself using facial expressions or shows acts of empathy, it’s an example of a social and emotional milestone accomplished. Also, when your toddler starts going to school and develops a liking towards a particular teacher, it is another example of a social and emotional milestone achieved.

• Communication Milestones

Milestones concerning abilities to communicate appropriately include verbal and nonverbal communication like saying the first few words at the age of 1 or reading out sentences at the age of 5.

3. Ensure your child gets proper nutrition:

Did you know that good nutrition is most critical for your child starting from pregnancy till upto two years of age? If your child gets proper nutrition, it directly impacts academic performance, memory, and other positive learning behaviors. On the other hand, if your child is a fussy eater and doesn’t get adequate nutrition, it will affect their growth rate, body weight, and even height. So once again, ensuring that your child receives a good nutritious diet comes as a significant part of your parenting responsibility.

So to sum it all up, you begin your journey with your little one not only as parents but as responsible parents. From their dietary needs to emotional needs to health needs, you need to be aware and active in all these aspects. However, it is always helpful in our day-to-day busy lives to have someone to share our responsibilities or remember important things about our babies, which we might forget. One such confidant partner in your parental journey would be Immunify me. They have it all covered, from keeping a digitized vaccination record for your little one to providing a customized nutrition plan. You can also depend on them for other crucial services like milestone tracking, telemedicine, and storing digital prescriptions.

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