Babies in the Workplace

or is having difficulty soothing the baby. Even if there isn't a formal arrangement at your company, asking others (with whom you're comfortable) to help for a few minutes at a time can be very useful--both to give you a few dedicated minutes for a complex work problem, as well as to allow you to see other ways to interact with babies. Many people love playing with and talking to babies for brief periods of time and are likely to welcome the opportunity.

Integrate Your Child
Into the World

Babies can understand and adapt to their surroundings far more than most people realize. If you repeatedly use the same word or phrase to describe something to your baby, she will quickly start to grasp the meaning behind what you're saying.

Babies can (and want to) learn the rules of the world very quickly, even in those early months. For example, tell your baby (when appropriate) that an item is "Not for eating" and show her other things to do with the object. After some repetition of this, your baby will very quickly learn not to put that item into her mouth. Of course, you still need to be attentive to your baby (I'm not suggesting giving coins to a six-month-old). However, babies are capable of tremendous understanding and of learning "rules" if they are given appropriate stimulation and guidance, which will make your life as a parent (and your baby's life) far happier and easier as your baby grows older.

Given how physically helpless babies are at birth, sometimes it's hard to keep in mind how powerful their minds are. One perspective I recently heard was to think of your child as a visitor from another planet, with rights and views as clear as