5 Things To Know About Raising Your Baby Girl

This post goes live in collaboration with guest contributor, Naveen Bansal.  Thank you, Naveen for your great work. Credits to – www.tinystep.in

Babies are tricky. Baby girls? Baby girls are even more so. A lot of this has to do with the stereotypical views we have of girls and their behavior.

There are certain things we expect when we think of raising a baby girl such as the kind of games she’ll engage in, the frequency and intensity of tantrums she’ll throw, and the amount of attention she’ll demand. But most often, it is quite on the contrary, here are some things you SHOULD keep in mind about raising a baby girl :

Playtime:

One of the most common errors in judgment we make is assuming that the kind of games baby girls like is very different from the kind that baby boys like (Barbie 4 Lyf). However, this is not true. For the first few years of their lives, girls and boys tend to enjoy engaging in quite similar kinds of play which range from active and aggressive to imaginative role-playing (oh where have those days gone?). The reason we see differences in play is most often due to parents encouraging girls to engage in a different kind of play and boys engaging in a different type of play. (Toy cars for boys, dollhouses for girls.)

Daddy’s little girl

Dad’s, please keep in mind, your baby girl is going to have you wrapped around her finger. When she giggles at you or holds her chubby arms out for you to pick her up, don’t be mistaken, you will melt. She has a special place in your heart that no one else can occupy.

Also remember that when she’s crying, your deep voice can be soothing and calming for her, so be there when she needs you. When she asks for something, you’re going to want to give her the world, but remember to moderate how much or in what way you give these to her (we don’t want to raise brats, do we?). Girls also love praises from their dads as it helps them build self-confidence.

Specific praises make them feel like their dads can relate to them and their dads truly believe that they’re excelling in the concerned field. Make sure these praises are given for specific reasons, otherwise they start to lose their meaning and value.

Development

Girls develop much faster than boys. This is in terms of physical development, mental development, and emotional development. So you’re more inclined to see your daughter starting to talk at an earlier age than your son did. It’s important to prepare yourself for this s that you can give your baby girl the necessary support she requires, at the right time, for optimum development. A lot of major developmental milestones will be reached much earlier than you’d see in a boy, such as the ability to roll over, sit, hold things, and walk.

Mimicry

This one can be a slight hassle for parents because you need to keep a close eye on what your daughter sees and gets influenced by. This includes TV shows, friends, neighbors, teachers, and yourselves. While boys, in their later stages of toddlerhood, prefer to continue engaging in rough and tumble play, girls often move on to more imaginative play or role-playing. Role-playing includes mimicking what others do, such as actors they may see, runway models, and their mums. This means you need to prepare yourself for your baby girl asking you for lipstick and trying on your heels. (They grow up so fast. *sob*) She may even shock you by striking poses that are eerily similar to Victoria’s Secret Angels.

Differences:

Mums. I’m warning you, prepare yourself for fights and differences between you and your baby girl. In the earlier stages, these differences will mainly manifest in the things you buy for your baby.

You’re going to buy A LOT of stuff for her- Accessories, clothes, toys- and she’s going to use about one-fifth of them. And even if she does use more, they’re going to last for about a day until you need to throw them.

As a baby, she isn’t going to understand the greatness of whatever clip or headband you bought her. She’s going to be awed by its shininess and probably put it in her mouth. When she grows up a bit, you’re probably going to have a lot of fights when it comes to her hairstyle. Cutting it, growing it, tying it, everything is going to be an argument before one of you finally gives in, so prepare yourself for a lot of whining and howling.

Also Read 4 Fun Activities To Help Your Toddler Keep Developing Their Skills

Baby girls are a pleasure to raise and interact with. Just remember that there are a lot of intricacies in raising kids.  Just try to have fun with it.