Things to help support your child/ren in their early years...
(other pages available pre-birth, 5 to 11, 11 to 16, 16 to 19)
During the birth
- How to support your partner - information from dad.info and baby world
- Labour and Birth (including Pain relief and possible complications) explained by NHS
When baby gets home
- Bonding with baby
- Supporting mum to breastfeed - see our breastfeeding leaflet [PDF 360KB] or this information from cow&gate
- holding, changing, bathing and dressing the baby
- Recognising post natal depression
- Understanding vaccinations/immunisations
- Establishing routines
- Don't forget to discuss contraception with your partner, as a high number of unplanned pregnancies occur during the first year after giving birth. See this patient.co.uk information for more details on contraceptive options, or visit your GP (family doctor).
How the Law affects being a father - visit dads at work (by DirectGov)
- Your leave entitlement - depends on your working hours and length of time with your employer - explained at DirectGov (includes entitlement calculator)
- Parental Responsibility
- Registering the birth of your child
- Paternity Testing - discuss this option with your GP
- Benefits - read this advice from DirectGov or from Nottinghamshire County Council
- Housing - contact your local district or borough council for more details
Dealing with:
- A crying baby
- An ill baby
- Babies and sleep
- Stresses on your relationship with mum - get help from Relate by calling 0300 100 1234 or visiting relate.org.uk
As baby begins to develop
- Teething - usually begins aged 4-9 months. For information and advice, visit teething-babies.co.uk
- Toddling, Walking and other developmental milestones (what your child should be able to do at certain ages) - see thenewparentsguide.com
- Home Safety - tips from dad.info to toddler proof your home
- Healthy lifestyles - for children aged up to 2 years visit Start 4 Life, for children over 2 years visit Change 4 Life
- Rules and Boundaries - try these tips from parentlineplus
Visiting Children's Centres; dads are always welcome. Children's Centres offer baby weighing, Stay & Play sessions, support groups, adult learning courses and much more.
Childcare - to discuss your options and to find local providers, call the Families Information Service (FIS) on 08449 80 80 80 or visit the FIS website.
Starting nursery (also called early years education) - read our early education page or call the Families Information Service on 08449 80 80 80 to find out about entitlement and getting a place.
Starting at School - read our getting a school place page for admission information and online application.
If you think something is missing from this page, please get in touch using our contact form
Disclaimer - whilst Nottinghamshire County Council is committed to the highest standards of quality of information, we make every effort to ensure that information is accurate, but the Council is not responsible for the content of any external websites.
