Posts tagged Baby Einstein
Baby Comparisons: Infancy Is Not a Contest!
I attended a lecture last week that was very interesting. It was given by Michael Thompson, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist who has written several parenting books, including The Pressured Child, the main theme of the meeting. While Dr. Thompson is not an infant specialist, he made a closing remark that I think is relevant for parents at any stage: “Your child is on his or her own journey, not yours.” He urged parents to do two things:
- Let your children have a childhood.
- Don’t use your child’s life as a way of proving your own effectiveness as an adult.
“Easier said than done,” I thought. After all, parenthood is also a journey, and we are learning as we go.
Besides, new parents should get a reprieve for their ego-involvement during Baby’s first year or so of life; it is the parent’s responsibility to guide, protect, and yes, More >
Watching Babies Think: Talking Up a Storm—The Perfect Storm
One day, when your baby is around 18 months old, it will hit you that a walking, talking, knowing little child with a much defined personality has “taken up residence” in your home, loudly calling your name (Mom-eeeee!), and claiming your heart in a new and different way. Walking and getting into mischief was the beginning of the change. But the most significant transformation in your relationship is triggered by your little one’s improved ability to communicate. With just a few words, they can put language, gestures and emotions together. It’s a totally different experience—this emergence of the toddler—who is too grown up to be a infant, but young enough to still be your baby.
When the first 7-10 words appear, the time has come to do some heavy lifting on language development. This is the very beginning of the word explosion. More >
Watching Babies Think: How “Buh,” “Duh,” and “Ahh” Become Words in Less than Two Years
I was reading the opening to a chapter in an excellent book on brain development, (“What’s Going On In There?”) by neurobiologist, Lise Eliot. She recalls how much relief she felt when her baby boy uttered his first word before his first birthday. I thought to myself, “that’s a pretty high bar” for the rest of us. Most babies begin using spoken language around 18 months of age.
As Dr. Eliot continues, it is clear that she is not really bragging, but making a point that might be overlooked by those baby milestone charts. These early months, when baby cannot say a thing are a very important time for us to get to work with our own words for baby. From the moment of their first coo and babble, to the moment they start calling you Mama or Dada, babies are practicing “language usage” in their heads!
If you pay attention, you will More >
Saying Farewell to Your Preconceived Ideas – Special Needs Children
Every pregnancy has risks, and in all our visits to the obstetrician, in birthing classes, and on the labels of every medication, there are warnings about side effects that can harm you or your baby. Yet, despite all the safety precautions we may take, some things are simply out of our control.
This week’s post is from my interview with Janice, a Philadelphia mother who went to a “Mommy and Me” exercise class with her first born child, only to find that her beautiful and alert little girl couldn’t do what the other babies were doing. The instructor and other moms told her not to worry; after all, the baby development charts are “guides” not edicts. But Janice wasn’t sure. Her baby tended to clench one fist and use her other hand. That was definitely not in her baby books.
At her baby’s 9-month well baby visit, Janice said she needed More >
Temperament: The Core of Your Baby’s Disposition
All during your pregnancy (or waiting period if your baby comes to you through adoption or surrogacy) you wonder, “What will this child be like? Is my baby going to be shy or rambunctious, sensitive or easy going?”
In the first few weeks I think most of us are just trying to get in sync with our baby’s rhythms, tracking hunger, food intake, elimination, and sleep patterns. If your baby is colicky, you’re just trying to stay sane and find a solution to soften Baby’s discomfort. We simply watch, fascinated, as our babies stretch, fret, frown, and coo, no matter if they are awake or asleep. And it’s not long before we hear ourselves telling someone, “Oh my baby likes to be held like this—and you demonstrate the curl and wrap, the shoulder pat or the chest nest—whatever you call Baby’s sweet spot of comfort. By four months you become More >
Watching Babies Think: What’s This? What’s That?
While a baby’s body matures physically, the thinking part of the brain is undergoing some amazing changes as well. From 9 months to about 18 months, the action and the thinking accelerate explosively. Most babies seem determined to outwit Mom in the quest to be well-informed. Whether something is dirty or clean, hard or soft, edible or inedible, your baby has an inquiring mind and wants to see and handle. He wants to know “What the heck is that over there? Oh! The remote control? Let me at it!” This is what’s going through your baby’s mind as he discovers the many purposes of objects and materials. And because so much thought has accumulated in the rapidly absorbing brain, a few words and lots of sounds are now spewing forth to go with the action.
Most of us moms are happy to see these changes because it lets us know that many More >
