Visit a new baby and be helpful while you're there...
It's all very well saying, 'Is there anything I can do to help?' when visiting a baby and his or her knackered, shell-shocked parents, but sometimes it's better just to get stuck in, or be so specific with your offer of help that you're greeted with a 'hell yes!', and tears of gratitude and relief.
On top of making a huge fuss of the new arrival and telling the new parents they look great and that they're doing brilliantly, here are some ideas of what you can do to genuinely help out...
DISTANT RELATIVES + WORK COLLEAGUES
1. Bring food/snacks
2. Make tea
3. Wash up your own tea cups
4. Bring stamps, and offer to stamp thank-you cards
5. Insist you don't want a thank-you card yourself
6. Play with any older children so they don't feel left out
7. Hold the baby so parents can wash/sleep/go to the loo
CLOSE FRIENDS/IN-LAWS
8. Wash up
9. Empty the dishwasher
10. Stick on the steriliser
11. Collect empty cups and glasses from around the house
12. Change a nappy
13. Sort the recycling
14. Write addresses on thank-you cards
15. Run to the shops for any supplies
CLOSE FAMILY
16. Empty the nappy bin
17. Stick on a wash
18. Hang out a wash
19. Clean the steriliser
20. Clean out the fridge
21. Take out the bin
22. Make beds
23. Change sheets
:: New parents, or people who have been new parents, do you agree? Would you have liked visitors to do some of this stuff for you, or would the idea of your mother-in-law poking around the house collecting empty cups and glasses fill you with horror? Let us know on TantrumXYZ, where this post was originally published.