First year

Food starts small

Not before 4 months, and around 6 months if they can sit with support, hold their head, and open for the spoon. Start with 1 to 2 teaspoons once a day, after a milk feed, not instead of it.

The night will not match the chart

At 2 to 3 months, many babies still sleep 14 to 17 hours in a day, in short cycles, and wake between them. By the first birthday, 11 to 14 hours is a common total, and a content baby who is awake is not a baby you must knock out.

Gums, then a toothbrush

Teeth often arrive between 6 and 10 months, sometimes from 3 months and sometimes near 12, and a fever or diarrhoea is not something you blame on a tooth. If they are unwell, see a GP, and clean the first tooth with water only until 18 months unless a dentist says otherwise.

Hold them for the needles

Birth is a hepatitis B injection, and around 6 to 8 weeks there are two injections plus a rotavirus dose they swallow. You can be the chest they cry on, and you write the date before you leave the clinic.

When they will not let you leave

Clinging from about 6 or 7 months is common, and it often peaks around 14 to 18 months. Say you are going and say you will be back, because sneaking out makes the next goodbye worse.

The house is not ready

Supervision beats a cupboard lock, because they will still fall, and next month they will climb to a hazard you fixed last month. Keep them away from hot drinks, heaters and the bath you forgot to empty.

Under two, the screen stays off

Current guidelines, as Raising Children states them, say children under 2 do not have screen time except video chat. A parked baby in front of your phone is the thing the line is about.

Smaller than a 20 cent coin

If it is smaller than a 20 cent coin, it can block an airway, so they sit to eat and you sit with them. Whole nuts wait until 4, and grapes and sausages get cut lengthways into quarters.

Rear facing, fitted, before you need it

From birth to at least 6 months they must be in a rear-facing seat with an inbuilt harness, and that is the legal minimum, not a suggestion. Fit it before the birth, because capsules are outgrown fast and hiring one is a normal plan.

Arm's reach of the water

If they are near water, you are within arm's reach, including the bath, because drowning is quiet. Under fives die in pools, baths, buckets and dams, so empty the bath, and a swimming lesson does not replace you.

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Food starts small

Milk is still the meal. The spoon is practice, iron, and a new texture. Do not rush it because someone else's baby is already on finger food.

The night will not match the chart

Someone will tell you their baby slept through at ten weeks. Smile and ignore the number. Your baby is not their baby, and the range on the page is wide on purpose.

Gums, then a toothbrush

The tooth is not a diagnosis. A miserable baby with a fever still needs a GP, even if you can see a white cap on the gum.

Hold them for the needles

The needle is two minutes. Missing the window is months of risk you cannot hug away.

When they will not let you leave

They were fine with anyone. Then one Tuesday you put them down at care and they will not let go of your leg.

The house is not ready

You can buy every lock in the hardware store and still lose a minute to a coffee on the edge of the bench. Watching them is the safety system. The locks are the backup.

Under two, the screen stays off

The phone is the easiest babysitter in the house, and for a baby under two it is the one the guideline tells you not to use.

Smaller than a 20 cent coin

Look at a 20 cent coin. Anything smaller than that can block a child's airway. Then look at the floor of your house as if you were the one crawling.

Rear facing, fitted, before you need it

Fit the seat before the due date. A box in the hallway does not restrain a baby, and the trip home is not the moment to learn the manual.

Arm's reach of the water

Stay within arm's reach of the water. That is the policy, even when it feels over the top.