Thank you Boston Medical Center for sponsoring this post.

Whether you’re a first-time parent or an experienced pro, raising a child is challenging. From birth to third grade, your child is in a critical developmental period for cognitive, social, and emotional skills. As a parent, knowing what role to play in your child’s development and knowing what’s normal can be overwhelming. Advice and information come from everywhere — parenting books, parenting groups, articles, and health providers, to name a few. This is why Boston Medical Center wanted to provide parents with a fun, helpful tool, called the Field Guide to the Phases of Childhood. Here, you can scroll through different phases of a child’s first 18 years, and each phase is equipped with helpful tips from BMC’s pediatric team.

Even if you have endless resources and help, it may still feel like there’s a lot to figure out about this parenting business. The pressure’s even more intense to be parenting “right” during early life, since it’s during this time that your child will learn the skills to be the person he or she will become.

One really important relationship that may ease your mind is the relationship you have with your pediatrician. Find someone who communicates the way you need, is willing to answer all your questions, and, most importantly, who you can trust. Take advantage of the resources your pediatrician may offer — many offer services beyond what you’d expect. It’s important to take advantage of these resources, such as waiting room reading groups, a pain-free in-clinic approach to help take the sting and fear out of doctor visits, and even legal or financial services. Other offerings could include child-specific healthy cooking classes, or volunteers on staff who help find you and your family local resources, like after-school programs, child care, and youth recreation.

So, no matter where you are on your parenting journey, look no further than Boston Medical Center for support and expertise for everything pediatrics. Or, just enjoy the cute infographic!

Boston Moms
Boston Moms is a rapidly growing community of moms in the Boston area, providing a collaborative parenting resource written and read by local moms. We are passionate about engaging with our readers online through mom-to-mom content + recommendations, and offline through our exciting local events that connect moms to each other and to local and national businesses they should know about!