Do not disturb

Always remember to put the Do Not Disturb Sign on your hotel door knob when your baby is asleep and you are relaxing on the balcony to avoid the baby being woken by a bucket clattering, or a singing chamber maid.

If you are leaving your baby in your room and utilising a hotel's sophisticated baby listening service, remember to use the Do Not Disturb Sign when you go downstairs. On one occasion whilst in Spain, we forgot one evening, and when I went to check on Rory - as I always do every half an hour in addition to the hotels baby listening systems - my heart missed a beat. When I opened the door I found the light had been switched on, I rushed in fearing that someone had stolen him. Thankfully he was still sound asleep in his travel cot and on the bed, the dry cleaning we had handed to the chamber maid the day before!

Fears

When your baby was younger he may have given the impression of being a little fearful of a great many things. Now, along with much greater confidence in coping with life in general, he is likely to develop intense fears about one or two particular things. The best way to handle these quirky fears is to recognise and accept them, and help your baby avoid what ever it is that he is frightened of, as far as possible. When he must be reminded of the existence of something scary you are helping him avoid, make it as clear as you can that you are helping him stay away from something because it frightens him not because it is frightening or because it frightens you.

Unexpected Happenings

Totally new experiences may also be more than your baby can cope with. His first taste of ice cream or his first visit to a beach may make him cry. They are all potentially enjoyable but he needs time to get used to them. See Health & Safety: Common sense food and drink rules for information on "safer" ice-cream !

Supporting your baby through unexpected or novel experiences is an important skill because as he gets older and his horizons broaden, it is novel experiences that will gradually thicken and enrich the fabric of his life.

Of course, it will be easier when he is older and you can use specific words, but even at six months you will probably find that you can warn him, by intonation, touch or gesture, when something unexpected or new is coming up. Foreseeing the things that may be going to alarm him, turn his attention to your own calm presence so that he receives the experience with you and through you. All of the best first tastes of ice cream come from one that belongs to someone else.