Rush, Little Baby

The Boston Globe covers The Better Baby Institute, Baby Einstein, and early readers and concludes it’s better for children not to learn to read early (!).

The key excerpts:

  Researchers from the National Institutes of Mental Health performed periodic MRI brain scans on children and teens ranging in age from 5 to 19, tracking the relationship between the thickness of the brain’s outer mantle, or cortex, with the subject’s IQ. They found that the people whose IQ scores put them in the “superior intelligence” category had cortexes that matured much later than those of average intelligence. The cortexes of the smartest kids peaked by around age 11 or 12, whereas the average kids’ peaked by around age 8. Jay Giedd, one of the lead researchers, says he and his colleagues were initially taken aback by the findings, but with more reflection they realized they made all kinds of sense. “By having this peak period of plasticity later,” he says, “the brain is adapting to the 12-year-old world, which is more complicated, more similar to the adult world, than the 8-year-old world.”

The idea is, patience pays off. “It’s like the tortoise and the hare,” says Giedd, a psychiatrist and brain-imaging specialist. “I’m not suggesting that we tell people to celebrate if their child is not reading at age 6. But for many people who didn’t read at age 2 – which is a ridiculous level – they may not only catch up, but actually surpass those few kids that did.” The point, he says, is “that until the brain is at a certain level, a lot of that instruction is wasted.“

Also:

A cross-cultural study of European children published in 2003 in the British Journal of Psychology found those taught to read at age 5 had more reading problems than those who were taught at age 7. The findings supported a 1997 report critical of Britain’s early-reading model.

Getting a Good Breastfeeding Start

From AskMoxie:

“Most of us are going to need more resources, in book form (The Nursing Mother’s Companion by Kathleen Huggins is extremely factual and covers a zillion scenarios, while So That’s What They’re For by Janet Tamaro has a bunch of actual information but also humor and commiseration) and on the internet (kellymom.com) and in real life (an IBCLC lactation consultant, La Leche League meetings, breastfeeding support groups run by hospitals and women’s centers, or even just another mom you see nursing at the bookstore).”

Moxie suggests putting the number of a local IBCLC lactation consultant on your fridge so you’ll have someone to call on your first day home with the baby.

She also has an important pdf of ways to prevent post-partum depression (ppd).

Where To Find Decent Kid’s Clothes

I hit Target just before a baby shower last night to buy the mother-to-be’s requested gift (a gift card), and decided to get something a little more interesting from the kid’s section as well.

GROAN. Every piece of boy’s clothing was light blue and had some tacky phrase like “World’s Cutest Boy” embroidered on it OR a dumb-looking bear/frog/truck appliqué OR the omnipresent “All-Sport” theme.  Basic, classic, and age-appropriate were rare.

Greg from DaddyTypes totally summed up the situation for girls:

The whole rack of toddler clothes was an uninterrupted smear of rainbow sherbet. Every pair of jeans was encrusted with some junk. Every pair of pants had three tiers of ruffles and ribbons on the cuffs. Every shirt and dress was the same, only frillier. You know you’re in trouble when Lilly Pulitzer starts to look sedate. [And Lilly’s fine, but there aren’t enough divots to be replaced between chukkers for her to wear all the Lilly she already has. As for everything else, it looked straight out of a Care Bears Gone Wild video.]

The boys’ section, meanwhile, was an unrelenting row of rugby shirts. If you’re in the market for brat clothes (Disneyfied, TV-character-laden, wierdly adult-oriented things like Che onesies and rhinestone shrugs for four-year-olds) — you’re in luck.

The rest of us can find non-encrusted, non-trendy clothes at the stores below. Solid colors are the way to go, people:

Basic Brillance

American Apparel

Jacardi

H&M

Old Navy

The Children’s Place

L.L. Bean

Land’s End

Wal-Mart

Target (sometimes)

PleaseMum.com

Basic overalls from OshKosh — easy to find at thrift and consignment stores.

Tea Collection

BabySoy collection from BabyCenter.com

Zutano

BabyRockApparel

Kohls

WonderBoyClothing.com

Bu and the Duck 

Tips: Preparing For A Newborn

1. Have all of the gear you will need on-hand. “Quick trips” to Target will suddenly become a major ordeal. So get a 2-3 MONTH supply of diapers, wipes, breastfeeding supplies, bottles, and basic baby clothing like onesies, blankets, socks, and hats.  Pre-launder clothing items, and get every bit of 0-3 or 0-6 month gear out of the box, assembled, tested, and in the exact place you’ll want it when you come home from the hospital. The crib and basinett should be ready to place a baby in — not covered with stuffed animals or things you haven’t opened yet. Practice handling the car seat and opening and using stroller so you’ll know how they work. Do a mock diaper change and make sure everything is within easy reach.

2. Get up-to-date on the rest of your life: your oil changes, financial records, home improvements, scheduling service workers, etc.

 3. Outsource as much of the non-sleep, non-baby care tasks as possible. Plan to use services like Peapod (grocery delivery), Let’s Dish (prepared freezer meals), Amazon.com prime, and/or a cleaning service for a few weeks. Consider getting a Roomba, and have your floors professionally cleaned (you’ll be spending a lot of time down there.)

4. Get round-the-clock, hands-on help for at least one week. If your mom or other close relative or friend with baby experience isn’t available, seriously consider hiring a postpartum doula or baby nurse.

5. Nightlight the place up and prepare some good lullaby tunage.

Gifts For Small Children

6-months:  Stacking cups, water-filled blocks, bumbo seat, Burt’s Bees products, Lamaze fishbowl, music, magnets, bath toys, colorful Container Store boxes.

1-year:  Radio Flyer or IKEA walker wagon, push/pull toys, play drum, cut-apart vegetables, rocking horse, table and chairs, doll, doll stroller, board books.

1.5 years: Play kitchen, instruments, blocks, art supplies, sidewalk chalk, play dough, play foam, cars, magna or aqua doodle, dress-up clothing, board books.

2 years:  Play tea set, easel, lacing cards, wooden and matchbox cars, Plan toys, doll house, doctor set, tools, trike,  Mr. Potato Head, sewing block,  doll stroller, Automoblox, Bilibo, sand/water table, slide, climber.

3 years:  Puzzles, Memory, duplo/lego, little people, lincoln logs, play wooden food, puppet theatre and puppets, nesting Russian dolls, magna-tiles, playmobile, Kinder-Eggs, simple dollhouse.

How To Get Babies To Stop Crying

Some suggestions compiled from The Happiest Baby On the Block and The Baby Whisperer:

 White noise (Turn on radio static, a fan, a noisy appliance such as the vacuum or washing machine, some soft music, or an actual lullaby or white noise machine)

 Movement (“Sleep dance,” put baby in a swing/bouncer, use a rocking chair, bounce on an exercise ball, or go for a walk or drive. Make sure breathing isn’t obstructed.)

  Swaddling (With a  specialty blanket (Swaddler, Miracle Blanket, or swaddling sleepsac) or  an extra-large receiving blanket).

 Warmth and Comfort  (Try warming up a towel in the dryer to take the chill of the crib, or dressing baby in a warm sleepsac or removing extra layers for comfort. Make sure nothing is scratching, poking, or binding him or her.)

 Space (Perhaps the crib seems too large –  try a small basinet, pack ‘n play, or co-sleeper. If she likes being  positioned in the swing/carseat/bouncer, try using a sleep positioner or crib wedge. Also, make sure baby is not afraid/distracted by the mobile/bedding/other décor. Try removing bumper pads or other extras.)

Stomach or Side (If  you’re going to be sitting right there, try allowing baby to nap on her stomach.)

 Discomfort, Gas, or Teething (Try teething tablets, gas drops,  gripe water, a cold washcloth, ice, or an actual teether. Try infant massage. Try an upright position.)

 Darkness (Try using blackout shades or tin foil to cover windows. If out, try draping a blanket over the stroller or car seat handle.)

Continuity (Overnight, try to avoid noise, playing, turning on the light,  and diaper changes — use special overnight diapers.)

Makes The Medicine Go Down

FLAVORit is a home kit for adding flavorings and sweetner to liquid children’s medicine.

Study Finds Playing With Blocks Helps Language Skills

Yahoo! News:  Playing with blocks helps young children gain language skills, a small study concluded on Monday.

After six months, language scores among half of 175 children aged 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 who were sent plastic blocks were 15 percent higher than a matched group that did not receive the free blocks, according to the study by researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Parents were given ideas about how to help their children play with the blocks, then kept diaries of their children’s activities over four days. Finally, all the parents filled out questionnaires that assessed their child’s vocabulary, grammar, and other language abilities.

 

Study author Dimitri Christakis, writing in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, said unstructured play with blocks stimulates thinking, memory and physical mastery of objects at a time when a child’s brain is growing rapidly.

“They are the precursors of thought and language,” he wrote of the skills learned from manipulating blocks. “Older children begin to make up stories or scripts for these objects …”

Such play may also substitute for less stimulating activities such as watching television, he said, adding parents ought to be skeptical of some toy-makers’ claims.

“An increasing number of media-based products are making unsubstantiated claims that they can make children smarter, more literate, and more musical,” Christakis wrote.

The study was funded by Mega Bloks, owned by Montreal-based toy maker MEGA Brands Inc.

Fun blocks:

Start with some basic larger blocks for babies: These minimalist black-and-white blocks  or these beautiful embossed alphabet blocks that come in German, Hebrew, Spanish, French, and sign-language versions.

Basic wooden blocks can be very expensive new, but there are lots to be found on Ebay.

Big manufactures make some cheaper options, like the 50-piece Natural Brio blocks for about $18, or these multi-colored 200-piece wooden blocks (with tote!) for $20.   Personally, if they’re going to be all over the living room floor, I’d go with the natural.

If you’re adding on, these Plan toys water blocks are great,  as are the architectural building blocks from  Haba in Japanese Pagoda, U.S. Capitol Building, Pyramid, Coliseum, Russian, and Romantic Church styles.

Travel blocks:Nonchalantmom sells Muji’s “Suburbia in a bag” — ironic blocks in a cotton drawstring bag.

A block-family toy for older kids: MagnaTiles

Low Cholesterol Puts Moms At Risk Of Having Premature and Low Birthweight Babies

Yahoo! News: …new research suggests that very low cholesterol levels in pregnant women may harm the health of the fetus. 

Expectant mothers whose total cholesterol levels were under 159 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) gave birth — on average — to babies weighing about one-third of a pound less than babies born to mothers whose cholesterol levels exceeded 159 mg/dL, the researchers found. Additionally, 12.7 percent of white women with low cholesterol levels gave birth prematurely, compared to just five percent of those with higher cholesterol levels. No such association was found in black women, however.

 

Children’s Toys Inappropriate For Children

I really dislike the excess of pink and primary-colored plastic schlock that fills up most playrooms and toy bins. I understand why so much plastic is used in places like the church nursery — it’s easy to sanitize, and that’s important. But I would much rather buy a few nice not-made-in-China wooden toys and cloth dolls than piles and piles and piles of Playskool junk. Kids like kitchen items and empty boxes best anyway.

Of course, I irrationally make a distinction between retro-cool plastic toys like I played with (Glow Worms, the old Fisherprice Little People castle, Mr. Potato Head) and the current flock of Elmo/Dora/Bob-the-Builder/Spongebob/Backadigans/Wiggles crapola.

But as the New York Times reported, today’s Polly Pocket Lip Gloss Studio Playsets and really are inappropriate for kids: