I’m 25F and my husband is 29M. We got married last year and now wonder if there are any preparations we should do if we want to have a kid next year.
I have a 5yo nephew who is diagnosed with autism and my sister (his mom) always blames herself for this. Both she and her husband were busy with work and she thought it was the lack of company that resulted in her son’s situation 😔
We just wonder if there is something we should watch out for in advance? Any insights or suggestions would be much appreciated ❤️
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Autism is not caused by parenting choices.
I would get financially prepared and when that’s done, take a fun couples vacation. Some people can still do that after kids but the logistics are definitely more complex.
I am not a doctor nor am I a scientist. I have ADHD as does my mother and my sister. My nephew has autism.
I read a bunch of studies. I came across a study about neurological disorders and vitamin d. And one about choline.
Similar to this one: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7006052/#:~:text=Moreover%2C%20it%20has%20been%20reported,of%20vitamin%20D%20in%20autism
And this one: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25300468/
I made sure I took a lot of vitamin d and choline as well as regular vitamins, during both my pregnancies. Amongst other things.
Both of my kids are neurotypical. Is it because of the actions I took during pregnancy or just luck? I don’t know.
But I’m am glad I did it.
I’d like to say that if you are planning to have a child, do try your very best to heed the advice of professionals such as avoiding smoking/vaping, drinking and drugs. These can have an effect on the development of your child. Take the suggested folate/vitamins/have a healthy diet.
Nurture yourself and be a good vessel for your developing child.
When baby is born, please please reduce your time on the phone/technology. Take time to have close up face to face interactions with your infant. Talk, smile, coo, respond to your babe. This is so important. Read baby books, I can stress this enough, sing, dance with them in your arms. Children really are little sponges, take walks and talk about what you see/ they see. Label the world, animals, foods, sounds around them.
I have a child with ASD, I taught him right from wrong. He was very literal and would as a 3/4 year old tell people they were fat or smelled funny. I taught him this was not appropriate. He learned appropriate social cues but it took a fair while, and as a 16 year old he still needs some guidance occasionally.
All of these crucial interactions you have with your babe will help them develop as curious, engaged and give them the ability to interact with the world around them.
It drives me crazy seeing kids and toddlers on phones missing out on the amazing world around them.
Being a parent IS a full time commitment. Count, talk about letters and numbers, read signs, discuss symbols. I am a teacher and there are so many children that can’t read today its scary.
Parents set the grounding for future learning and everything you do (or neglect to do) prior to preschool has an impact.
This is just my personal opinion/experience. Do with it as you will.
Both of you need to educate yourselves on what autism is
Autism isn’t caused by parents except their genetics. I am a SAHM. One of my children is autistic.
Get financially stable and look into parenting styles, but IMO there isn’t a lot you can do to prepare because it’s just so much on the job learning.
Also autism isn’t a death sentence. You don’t need to “watch out” 😒
I wish I’d spent more time with her, knew her friends, knew that she loved to play with pots and pans… so many things. I cannot regain that time and it is so very painful.