Diaper Changing Tips - as part of the expert series by GeoBeats. One of the biggest challenges for parents is diaper changes. When a baby is little sometimes it can be challenging because a newborn does not understand what is going on. And so, when that is happening you really want to talk to the baby and say, “Hey, I get it. You do not what we are doing. I am taking your diaper off. I am going to wipe you down and clean you off. And then I am going to give you a fresh diaper so you can feel better.” Over time the baby is going to get used that and they are going to start enjoying the diaper change. Then there is going to be a window of time in babyhood where diaper change can be really fun. You can hang a mobile, and your baby can have some thing to look at, and you can sing songs. It can be such a beautiful time of connecting with your child. Then you might hit a window in early toddlerhood, somewhere between, it could be anywhere from 11 or 12 months - generally when a child starts moving, whether they are crawling or walking - to 15 to 18 months where your child is going to start resisting diaper changes. And that is when things can get a little tricky. So, what I recommend during those times is that you make diaper change a time of slowing yourself down, connecting and having some fun. So, for example, if you know diaper changes are really tricky, make sure that you are not rushing your child and going, “Come on, we have got to change your diaper. We have got to do this now.” Make sure that you go, “Uh, Oh God, I have got to change that diaper. OK, going to slow myself down.” And then you are going to connect with the child, and before you say, “Hey, we have got to change your diaper,” you might say, “Ooh, look at you. You are playing. That looks fun. Hey, you know what? In a couple minutes I think we are going to have to change your diaper.” And then, you might run over to the kitchen, open the drawer, bang around a little bit. Pull out something from your utility drawer and just go, “Oh! Look at this!” It is a spoon, or it is tongs or it is something that you are perfectly safe with them playing with, that they have not seen and they do not really get to play with. And you say, “We are going to go and do a diaper change.” And then you go, and you let them play with that. Maybe you tell a little story or you sing a song. That might help some of the time, it might not. But the other trick to try is once a child gets moving, they really do not want to be on their back as much. And so you might start doing diaper changes standing up. If you have to, you might do it in the bathtub. You just do what you have to do, but slow down, try to connect before you do anything, and try to have some fun.