Every time you give a parent a sense of success or of empowerment, you're offering it to the baby indirectly. Because every time a parent looks at that baby and says 'Oh, you're so wonderful,' that baby just bursts with feeling good about themselves.

A newborn already has nine months of experience when she is born.

Attachment to a baby is a long-term process, not a single, magical moment. The opportunity for bonding at birth may be compared to falling in love - staying in love takes longer and demands more work.

You learn more from your mistakes than you do from your successes.

A grandchild is a miracle, but a renewed relationship with your own children is even a greater one.

Reading to children at night, responding to their smiles with a smile, returning their vocalizations with one of your own, touching them, holding them - all of these further a child's brain development and future potential, even in the earliest months.

Grandparents who want to be truly helpful will do well to keep their mouths shut and their opinions to themselves until these are requested.