How can I ensure my 13 week old baby gets the best possible start to life?

Question

I want to make sure that he goes to university and gets a good career and prospects, how can I encourage him to excell without being too pushy, a typical cliche I know but I don't want him to make the mistakes I have...

Answer 1

firstly don't even be worrying now about that just enjoy his baby years if you and your partner are good loving parents with good morals then he will turn out just fine! you will be proud of everything he achieves even if he doesn't get a top job as long as hes a good person !

Answer 2

When he gets old enough, make learning skills such as reading and writing fun. Buy him books which are enjoyable but which encourage him to learn to read and write. If you do this before he starts school, he'll have a head start and also hopefully not see it as such hard work. He needs to see that you're interested in his learning and that it's not just something which he does at school. Even if he doesn't want to follow your wishes of university, he'll still be well-educated and know how to read, write and spell properly which will stand him in far better stead for a job than lots of people without those skills.

Answer 3

I had the same thoughts as you did when my children were born. Part of my undergraduate degree is child development, but I didn't have that when my first child was born (I wish I had!)

In child development, this is what we learned about infant stimulation: (in a nutshell!)

Start VERY early giving them a variety of musical genre (classical, Renaissance, baroque, etc. etc.) because music stimulates parts of the brain that nothing else does. Just have it playing softly in the background while you play little games with your baby.

Black and white educational toys are the best first toys -- the contrasting colors stimulate the visual cortex and help the new little eyes focus better. Don't overdo with toys, though. A few great toys are better than bunches of bad ones. Babies' first toys are their fingers and toes, anyway, but they need stimulation from the time they are born to encourage them to look around, to raise their heads and move their little bodies.

(Infants without stimulation are known to have less motor control, learning disabilities and social problems in preschool and later.)

Play, play play! Infants, even newborns, respond to your voice and other familiar voices. They have heard them for 9 months in the womb, and they want to see the faces that go along with them. They have very poor visual acuity at birth until 12 months, so put yourself on their level when you talk to them.

Continue doing these things progressively all the way through their toddler years and their preschool years. Play, encourage creative role-playing games, teach them pre-reading by using restaurant signs and grocery items in the store. READ - READ - READ - it's never too much and they love it!

Give them boxes of plain paper and crayons, pencils and other cool stuff, and (here's the key part) sit in the floor and use these things with them so they can see good modeling.

These are just a few ideas that will help get your child off to a good start. As teachers, some of my friends and I are kind of shocked to see kids come to school that have never been exposed to any reading, either aloud or just to have some books of their own.

I hope this helps, and I hope I understood your question. These things won't guarantee a place in a university, but it will give him a good academic start and a good neurological stimulation. (And you will have some great times with your sweet baby!)

(Oh, and here's something else that I thought about -- when he is older, take advantage of programs that your schools have to offer, such as summer enrichment camps and after school programs that your child has an interest in. My daughter went to a "Harry Potter Camp" one summer! It was a Language Arts camp, and they learned creative writing, based all around Harry Potter! It was great fun for her, and she learned a lot about writing. So if you have those around while your child is in school, take advantage of things like that. Even in lower elementary grades, it will help.) Good Luck!

Answer 4

Love him for who he is. Expect nothing or you will be disappointed. Love unconditionally. Enjoy his company. Laugh together. Spend time together. Because the bond is more important than who you hope he will be. When he dies there only enough room on the tombstone for family. Family is the most precious accomplishment on this earth. If all else faded away. That is all that would be left. Remember that if he decides college isn't for him. Most people don't want their children to turn out like them. Ask yourself what is so horrible & miserable & unhappy in your life that your son would fail should he turn out like you. Most likely he will have his OWN personality with traits from you & your baby's mother. Usually when you push a child it tends to cause them to stray. When u push a child your saying that you don't have faith in how you raised them to allow them to be themselves & make the choices they need to make. If you know u did a great job raising him when he is grown then you shouldn't have to push him. Only encourage when you see him going down a dead end. Encourage. Not nag or belittle. Thats all I have to say about that.

Answer 5

Enjoy him, love him, be there. Don't put things off like going to the park, put the house work off for a bit, make him the most important person in your world, and make sure he knows that.

Financially, make good use of his child trust fund. He's still very young, so maybe for Christmas ask people to get him a small gift, and a small sum of money for his account. If people give him a pound now and then, put it in a money box, and add it to the account when you have a nice amount.

Most importantly, don't ever be disappointed in him. Support him in any choices he may make, even if you believe them to be wrong, let him find out and be there if they are wrong.

Answer 6

my daughters is 4 months old, she crawls and like to sit up, people have said that advantaged for her age, but we haven't pushed here, don't think about the future, he's only young, enjoy the time you have.

if you really want to make the different, they say socal interaction makes all the diiferents. So when he's older and able to go to nursery, send him.

Make sure when you he's able to go to school do to some research to find the best local school.

Then You can give him the best possible chance of make something of himself

Answer 7

Maybe the best thing is to let him live his life on his own when he grows up. For now, give him the love and the nurturing he needs. Just always be there for him, good or bad,don't be a dictator. I know parents want only the best for their kids, just support him and give him confidence in himself. And you're jumping a hundred miles,take it as it comes, and slowly...

Answer 8

Give him lots of chances to learn and make mistakes. Be there when he needs you and back off when he doesn't. Read to him and play games. When he is school, take an interest in what he is learning, attend school functions and Parent/teacher interviews. It is also very important for him to have lots of chances to explore future careers.

Answer 9

Being attentive to his needs and giving lots of love, cuddles and direct eye contact with smiles. Oh yeah, one crucial thing - read. Educate yourself on child psychology; learn how a child's mind works. Self-education will plant many seeds that will grow good ideas to help. Good luck.
One bit of advice that was passed to me 10 years ago - just enjoy him ! Life is short and you have been delivered a very special gift. Enjoy him. Enjoy your time with him.

Answer 10

I can't believe you are thinking about what university your 13 week old baby is going to go to!! By then, he will be an adult, and will do largely what he wants.

My parents never tried to push me, and I have 2 degrees and a professional investment qualification. But none of that was due to them pushing me.

Answer 11

enjoy the time with your baby. its a little early to try mapping out his life. start getting him into nursery couple times a week when he gets older start extra tutoring i.e maths ,English. encourage him to do well without being pushy. because he may resent you later . just be there for him HOPE THIS HELPS.