Parenting is all about studying patterns. When you have a child in your arms whose communication skill is limited to crying, screaming and giggling, your only tool to understanding his needs (and problems) is observe and study patterns.

In the subject of studying patterns, we now go to teething, and always this is like a wall that parents collide with. Because when they think that they’ve already mastered the “signs” teething comes to disrupt things they already know.

The Eruption Age 

There are twenty deciduous or baby teeth. This means that there are twenty different teeth that will erupt and disrupt the patterns you already know and understand. Twenty teeth will force their way out of your baby’s mouth and along with it, you will be confronted by issues that are linked to teething, such as fevers, drooling, diarrhea and so much more. As a parent, you need to prepare to be able to help your child deal, and one way you can is by knowing the eruption age.

 Ideally, your baby’s teeth will come out in pairs. At times, one will come out ahead of the other but the ones you will be most anticipating for are the two teeth in the middle, which are the first to come out. After a few teeth, you will become veterans to teething, so you just have to know when to keep the alarm up. 

Knowing your child’s teething timeline may not seem important but it is good because like a soldier in battle, it will help turn you to a soldier who is ever-ready for battle. Preparedness is key—because by being equipped with the timeline, you can:

• Stop guessing. The worst is when you have to guess what your child is going on. He is merely crying and cannot really tell you what’s wrong, so you open your eyes to the tell-tale signs. By knowing the symptoms and being equipped with the teething timeline, you get rid of the guesswork. You know what is coming so you anticipate it, even before the episode breaks your routine.
• Ready the right tools. By knowing ahead of time that a teething episode will come, you can get ready with the right medications or remedies to successfully help your child go through the awful experience. You do not have to panic about it because you will have your tools ready once the symptoms start to become a problem.

 Note well that while the timeline seems rather exact with the emergence schedule, it does not always follow true with all children. As a matter of fact, some children may have the teeth earlier and some later; some will have other teeth come before the supposed ones to come first. Growth and development is different with every child. Also, there are such cases when teeth are impacted (they do not come out or they get stuck) or the child may suffer from anodontia (complete absence of the tooth). If you wish to closely observe the emergence of the teeth, you can visit a dentist and get a radiograph. A dental x-ray will show the developing and erupting teeth. It will plot the position and most likely give you a more exact timeline, if you desire it so.