First Time Parent Advice - New Moms & Dads Listen Up! | Dad University

0:00 I have some first-time parent advice for you today as a parent of two kids I wanted to share with you what worked for my wife and I these tips were really helpful in navigating the beginning of our parenting journey hey guys I'm Jason Kreitman and welcome to another episode of dad University join us for our live Q&A get all your questions answered every Tuesday 4 p.m. Pacific

0:31 7 p.m. Eastern right here on YouTube live then on Thursdays we release our new dad advice videos every week so be sure to give this video a thumbs up subscribe to the channel and click on that notification bell so you don't miss any of our videos being a first-time parent is awesome I was both really excited and really nervous I hadn't really been around children that much before I had my first child

1:01 but you learn quickly so here are some first-time parent tips that really helped us number one agree on responsibilities actually write it down make a daily chart of what you and your spouse are responsible for so on Tuesdays I do laundry you are doing dinner we're on Thursday I'm gonna give our son a bath and you're going to feed him and put him down for sleep my wife and I sat down and had this discussion so that we

1:33 were very clear on our expectations this also drastically reduces arguments it is really helpful when everybody is clear of what is expected of them number two communicate what you want this was one of the best pieces of first-time parent advice that was given to me nobody knows what you want or what you need unless you tell them if you are wanting or needing a break tell your spouse if you're wanting to connect more

2:04 talk about it it is so important to communicate what it is that you want or need be prepared that your spouse may not feel the exact same way that you do so while you are communicating what you want they may not agree with you and so you have to be prepared for that an example you might want more intimacy but your spouse isn't really concerned about that so you have to be a little bit more patient and

2:31 understanding as first-time parents things are going to change they may go back to how they were but all kinds of things are happening at that moment so you need to be patient and you need to be understanding and work together number three give your spouse positive reinforcement whatever you do don't be critical of your spouse and how they do things you know you didn't change the baby's diaper correctly well every time you load the dishwasher it's wrong complaining

3:01 doesn't change behavior positive reinforcement does so instead say thank you so much for changing the baby's diaper I saw that you did the dishwasher that was really helpful as a first-time parent there's gonna be a whole lot of opportunities to try new things or do things in different ways just be sure to encourage each other instead of tearing each other down number four take time for yourself while you probably will have less time than

3:32 you did before it's important that you still do things that you enjoy and be sure to discuss this with your spouse one thing that's important to my wife and I is exercise and when we were first-time parents we had to figure out that timing because somebody had to watch the child so we couldn't exercise together so I would go early in the morning while she's watching the child and then when I returned I would watch the child and she would go exercise so

4:00 we were able to work that out and it was something that we both enjoy well you might not be able to do everything that you did in the past because let's face it you have a little less time you don't want to lose yourself either you want to be able to carve out some time so that you can do the things that you enjoy and your spouse can do the same and you get one-on-one time with the baby

4:21 which is awesome number five it's okay not to be perfect parents making mistakes is just part of parenting it goes hand in hand so know that as a first-time parent you are going to make mistakes but that's okay we all do it so just try not to make the same mistake multiple times try to learn from it being a first-time parent is a learning experience you and your spouse are embarking on this wonderful journey

4:51 there are going to be ups and downs along the way but just realize that those ups and downs are totally normal and you will make it I'd love to hear from you have you received or given any great first-time parent advice leave your feedback in the comment section below be sure to give this video a thumbs up subscribe to the channel and click on that notification bell join us for our YouTube live Q&A show get all your

5:20 questions answered every Tuesday 4 p.m. Pacific 7 p.m. Eastern right here we thank you for watching and we'll see you next week [Music]