What is Nurturing Parenting?

According to the Nurturing Parenting Program for Parents and Their infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers, Nurturing Parenting is first and foremost a philsophy that emphasizes the importance of raising children in a warm, trusting and empathic household. 


The philosophy of Nurturing Parenting is founded on seven principles: 
1. Feelings of Attachment: Attachment mean a bond a between parents and their children. Attached parents convey a deep love to their children that is unconditional. When children feel loved unconditionally, communication, trust, and respect follow. 


In the Nurturing Program parents learn: 
The importance of establishing nurturing parents routines for daily times parents and children spend together. These important events are diapering and dressing times, feeding times, bath times, play times and sleep times. 


Parents also learn the importance of building a warm, cozy, safe home that promotes feelings of closeness. 


2. Empathy: Empathy is the ability of parents to put themselves in the place of their children in attempt not only to recognize their emotions, but also their motives. 


In the Nurturing Program parents learn: 
Parents and children build their empathic abilities to care for themselves and others. 


Families focus on establishing structure and discipline and practicing healthy communication patterns. 


3. Nurturing Oneself: Taking time in getting one's own needs met forms the foundation of understanding and helping children get their needs met. 


In the Nurturing Program parents learn: 
To use their personal power to get their needs met.


To make good choices to enhance their self-worth.


4. Gentle Touch: Early and continual parent-child touch has been studied generations. Children who experience warm and gentle touch develop and maintain healthy relationships throughout their life through a strong and healthy sense of self. 


In the Nurturing Program parents learn: 
The benefits of massage, while both parents and children learn to use gentle touch in communicating their pleasure and love with each other. 


5. Discipline: Setting limits through family rules, teaching right from wrong through family morals, and teaching respect and worth through family values are all part of a nurturing family. 


In the Nurturing Program parents learn: 
Proven alternatives to hitting, spanking, and yelling as forms of communication and discipline.


6. Expressing Feelings: Helping children learn appropriate ways to express their feelings is an important aspect of nurturing parenting. Anger, sadness, and frustration are just as important to express as happiness, love and contentment. Emotional competence helps children and parents stay in control, demonstrate respect, and foster an atmosphere of communication. 


In the Nurturing Program parents learn: 
Healthy ways to express feelings.


Appropriate ways to show respect for self, others and their environment.


7. Expecting and Self-Worth:
Knowing what to expect of children as they reach physical, emotional, and intellectual milestones is important in the development of children's positive self-worth.


In the Nurturing Program parents learn:
Stages of development and ways to build children's overall self-worth.


The importance of close and stimulating interactions that foster positive brain development. 

The Period of Purple Crying

The Period of PURPLE Crying begins at about 2 weeks of age and continues until about 3-4 months. There are other common characteristics of this phases, or period, which are better described by the acronym PURPLE. All babies go through this Period it is just that during this time some can cry a lot, some far less, but they all do go through it.

 Parents try many ways to keep the baby from crying, or stop the crying, and some of them work, well, they seem to work for awhile. “I take my baby in the car and drive around the block in my PJ’s,” said one mom. “That worked for three nights but on the fourth, he would not stop crying. I tried several others things like warm baths, singing and swaying and nothing worked. Then all of a sudden he would just stop, for no apparent reason. His crying is so unpredictable”, she said.

During this phase of a baby’s life they can cry for hours and still be healthy. The acronym PURPLE is used to describe specific characteristics of an infant’s crying during this phase and let parents and caregivers know that what they are experiencing is indeed normal and, although frustrating, is simply a phase in their child’s development that will pass.

It is important to learn to deal with the frustration over not being able to comfort your baby.  Parents need to know it is ok to feel frustrated, as long as they are dealing with the frustration in appropriate ways.  We recommend the following coping techniques:

·         Use techniques to try and stay calm while calming the baby.

·         Take a break and hand the baby over to your spouse.

·         If your spouse or no one else is available, place the baby in a safe place, take a 5-10 minute break. (It is ok to leave your baby for a few minutes- it is better than carrying the baby around while frustrated.)Try and do something relaxing and then go back to your baby.

·         Make sure anyone who is looking after your baby knows and understands the Periods of Purple Crying and how to deal with it. The last thing you want is for a caregiver to shake the baby out of frustration.  

For more information: visit http://www.purplecrying.info/