When are kids old enough to start imitating you? As soon as they’re born! Researcher Andrew Meltzoff experimented with newborns to see how they’d respond if he stuck his tongue out at them. They stuck their tongues out too!
Your children are watching and learning from you all the time. Do babies and toddlers notice when you are on the phone? Yes! Early child care providers report an increase in toddlers who use blocks and other toys to imitate their parents talking on a cellphone.
Children repeat what they hear us saying and see us doing. This little fact helped me clean up my language after having kids. If I slipped up and said something that I wished my kids wouldn’t repeat, that’s the first thing they’d seem to say when someone came over.
Has the fact that your kids will imitate you inspired you to make any changes?
Monday, February 25, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
Babies Mesmerized by Digital Technology
Babies are a target market for various digital devices and apps. Are these apps mesmerizing to babies? Yes! Is this the perfect solution for busy parents to keep their babies entertained? No!
The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages media use by children younger than 2 years. It’s not because they are out to make parents’ lives miserable but rather that the research shows negative impact on babies. Dr. Ari Brown summarizes the research in the first 12 minutes of a video explaining the AAP recommendations.
Although most of the current research is on exposure to TV , we know that babies’ brains are wired based on the input they receive. We have plenty of case studies showing that babies who don’t get enough loving interaction with adults suffer in their development of social skills (you can read a few of these studies in Dr. Bruce Perry’s book, The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog).
I received a press release last August from Red Wagon Software stating “Red Wagon Software announces the release of “Bonk! Bonk!” – its debut iPad and iPhone app for toddlers. Founded by Bill Brisky – a former Microsoft programmer – Inspiration for the endeavor started when Brisky’s infant son Paul became enamored with his father’s iPad and would delight in tapping images on the screen. Seeing his son’s obvious joy, Brisky created “Bonk! Bonk!” – an interactive app where every time Paul would tap the screen a sound and colorful image would suddenly appear mesmerizing him for hours.”
An infant who is being mesmerized for hours by an iPad app is definitely having his brain development significantly impacted. While it will take years of research to determine the effects, based on what we know about brain development there is reason to for serious concern.
What babies need is lots of one-on-one time with loving adults to build their social skills. When those opportunities are missed in the first two years, the results can be devastating for the child.
The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages media use by children younger than 2 years. It’s not because they are out to make parents’ lives miserable but rather that the research shows negative impact on babies. Dr. Ari Brown summarizes the research in the first 12 minutes of a video explaining the AAP recommendations.
Although most of the current research is on exposure to TV , we know that babies’ brains are wired based on the input they receive. We have plenty of case studies showing that babies who don’t get enough loving interaction with adults suffer in their development of social skills (you can read a few of these studies in Dr. Bruce Perry’s book, The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog).
I received a press release last August from Red Wagon Software stating “Red Wagon Software announces the release of “Bonk! Bonk!” – its debut iPad and iPhone app for toddlers. Founded by Bill Brisky – a former Microsoft programmer – Inspiration for the endeavor started when Brisky’s infant son Paul became enamored with his father’s iPad and would delight in tapping images on the screen. Seeing his son’s obvious joy, Brisky created “Bonk! Bonk!” – an interactive app where every time Paul would tap the screen a sound and colorful image would suddenly appear mesmerizing him for hours.”
An infant who is being mesmerized for hours by an iPad app is definitely having his brain development significantly impacted. While it will take years of research to determine the effects, based on what we know about brain development there is reason to for serious concern.
What babies need is lots of one-on-one time with loving adults to build their social skills. When those opportunities are missed in the first two years, the results can be devastating for the child.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Men and Women React Differently to Parenting Stress
Children add both joy and stress to your life. Gender differences between men and women affect how each responds to that stress. Understanding these differences and providing the support your partner needs can make the difference between a relationship that grows and one that falls apart.
Additional Stress from Children
Dr. John Medina describes the additional stress babies bring in his book Brain Rules for Baby. "For most first-time moms and dads, the first shock is the overwhelmingly relentless nature of this new social contract. The baby takes. The parent gives. End of story. What startles many couples is the excruciating toll it can take on their quality of life - especially their marriages."
Having children increases stress due to things like:
(Read the rest of the article)
Additional Stress from Children
Dr. John Medina describes the additional stress babies bring in his book Brain Rules for Baby. "For most first-time moms and dads, the first shock is the overwhelmingly relentless nature of this new social contract. The baby takes. The parent gives. End of story. What startles many couples is the excruciating toll it can take on their quality of life - especially their marriages."
Having children increases stress due to things like:
- Lack of sleep
- Increased chores
- Decreased personal time
- Needing to set limits on children's behavior
- Responding to challenging situations like teens making poor choices
(Read the rest of the article)
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Parenting Using Discipline Versus Punishment
Punishment and discipline represent two very different beliefs about parenting children. In response to misbehavior, punishment focuses on suffering or pain as retribution versus discipline that focuses on helping children learn from their mistakes.
Using discipline allows you to set effective limits while maintaining loving relationships with your children.
| Punishment | Discipline |
| Suffering, pain or loss that serves as retribution | Natural or logical consequences as a result of misbehavior |
| Belief that more severe punishment means less likely for behavior to occur again | The certainty, not the severity, of the consequence matters |
| Punishment remains the same no matter what the offense | Discipline is determined based on how to best make amends for the mistake |
| Punishment comes from outside the child | Discipline eventually comes from inside the child |
Using discipline allows you to set effective limits while maintaining loving relationships with your children.
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