Engagement Mentor parenting: easier than you think

Engagement/Mentor parenting is a parenting model that strives to teach children from the earliest possible age to engage in the world around them. Children that are reared using this principle are far more self assured and confident with the world. Children, that grow into adulthood with all the necessary skills to make independent successful decisions and become great communicators. Life is all about decision and communication, hence the phrase; "Life might be business, but communication is Life".
Starting with your baby in a sling or a baby carrier, allows your baby to be at face with your world. Subliminally, through your daily activities, they are not only observing, but sharing the everyday processes of life. Leave baby in a cot of pram they are actually missing out on vital human communication and crucial living skills.
Many mums using prams, will turn the baby away from a adult conversation instead of turning the pram inwards for baby to face who mum is talking to. When you meet someone whilst out and about, it's great to stop and chat, and why not! your perfectly entitled to. Instead of facing the pram away from the conversation, turn pram around so that baby can see you and other people too. It is far better to take baby out of the pram and hold baby up with while talking. In a sling or baby carrier this will occur naturally.
Baby, while watching the conversation, will be exposed to and observe vital key elements like body language, tempo and general atmosphere. From 9 months of age, babies will often understand the difference between "friends and associates".

Psychological studies have shown that babies left out of conversations tend to grizzle and whine whenever their parents start talking. When, as they become toddlers and preschoolers actually interfered within the parents ability to converse with people, leading to parental frustration and tension between parent and child. Babies that had been included in conversation from birth, had grown into preschoolers that could not only contribute to the conversation, but could also analyse when to contribute.
It is important to include children in as many forms of conversation as possible.