In my own experience, with three daughters, books don’t really help. But What To Expect The First Year has good info on the basics of child-rearing. My own advice? Read, read, read with your child. Even at this young age. Get your child to love books. My kids and I still read together every night. My youngest two are 7 and 9 (next week). It helps with everything.
But this is the most important part. My 17 year old daughter and I talk every day about books. I will read the books I buy for her, and we discuss them, even the silly ones with dumb plots, and it opens up all kind of avenues of discussion. It really does. Everything. And I truly believe that we are as close as we are because I always read with her. But the bottom line is, in my house, reading leads to talking, and when it comes to when they get older, getting them to talk to you is everything.
LOL, I just realized I said books don’t help and then told you to read. I meant that child-rearing books never really helped me.
To read with your baby, start with Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney (it comes in a board book version so your baby can eat it, too ;-) ) and I’ll Love You Forever by Robert Munsch.
Reading with kids is one of those lost parenting skills that really makes a world of difference. My 3yo and I read and talk about pictures in catalogs, magazines (home and garden and wildlife), kids books of course and really anything we can get our hands on.
The only odd moment we’ve had as a result was when his eyes were opened to something we weren’t aware he noticed. “I didn’t know they made dog shaped topiaries...” New worlds have opened up through reading, that’s for sure.
Excellent, priceless suggestion.
Reading leads to talking. Which is crucial at every age—OF COURSE, INCLUDING ACTIVE LISTENING.