In response to Kelly's question: I'm contemplating getting my son the mini version to take to our baby in the hospital and have the baby give him the big version as sibling gifts.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Please Vote!
I need your help in deciding something. I'm not very good at decision making... So, which Bla Bla doll do you like better, Andiamo (left) or Berry (right)? Please take my poll to the right. Thanks so much!!!
In response to Kelly's question: I'm contemplating getting my son the mini version to take to our baby in the hospital and have the baby give him the big version as sibling gifts.
In response to Kelly's question: I'm contemplating getting my son the mini version to take to our baby in the hospital and have the baby give him the big version as sibling gifts.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Developmental News
I wanted to share with you some very important articles I've come across or been told about lately. The first is about tummy time. Tummy time is so important to your baby's development. Babies learn to push up, roll over, and crawl when given tummy time. Crawling is really important in cross-lateral development, important in learning and other physical development later on. Crawling is so important that my pediatrician recommends that babies crawl for 3-4 months before they switch to walking. This brief video clip and article give tips on getting in 40 minutes of tummy time a day.
The second article I read was about the danger of TV background noise. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that until the age of 2 babies do not watch TV yet so many parents keep it on throughout the day. Even kids older than 2 should only be exposed to 2 hours of screen time each day, this total includes video games, TV, computer, and electronic handheld screens. This article touches on the importance of eliminating background TV when children are playing. The article is really short and doesn't even come close to stressing how damaging excessive TV watching can be to babies and kids. I read recently that one downfall to TV is that it forces the viewer to look in one place for too long when our brains are programmed to look side to side and take in our surroundings. Another thing I like to point out after I had one mom tell me, "I don't feel like talking to my baby all day, so I keep the TV on so he'll be exposed to language." This is a terrible idea, first of all because babies DO NOT learn language as well from telelvision as they do from regular conversation and second because babies should not hear your voice ALL day, it's too much for them. They need quiet, down time just like we do and too much can cause stimulation overload and lead to a very fussy, cranky baby. The bottom line is that TV viewing changes the way our children's brains work. We weren't designed to sit still and watch TV all day, it's unhealthy. Keep your kids active, keep the TV off when they're playing, and try to stick to the AAP's recommendations for TV watching and screen time.
The second article I read was about the danger of TV background noise. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that until the age of 2 babies do not watch TV yet so many parents keep it on throughout the day. Even kids older than 2 should only be exposed to 2 hours of screen time each day, this total includes video games, TV, computer, and electronic handheld screens. This article touches on the importance of eliminating background TV when children are playing. The article is really short and doesn't even come close to stressing how damaging excessive TV watching can be to babies and kids. I read recently that one downfall to TV is that it forces the viewer to look in one place for too long when our brains are programmed to look side to side and take in our surroundings. Another thing I like to point out after I had one mom tell me, "I don't feel like talking to my baby all day, so I keep the TV on so he'll be exposed to language." This is a terrible idea, first of all because babies DO NOT learn language as well from telelvision as they do from regular conversation and second because babies should not hear your voice ALL day, it's too much for them. They need quiet, down time just like we do and too much can cause stimulation overload and lead to a very fussy, cranky baby. The bottom line is that TV viewing changes the way our children's brains work. We weren't designed to sit still and watch TV all day, it's unhealthy. Keep your kids active, keep the TV off when they're playing, and try to stick to the AAP's recommendations for TV watching and screen time.
The Fine Print: I'm not a perfect mom, my son watches his fair share of TV. I let him watch a half hour of Baby Signing Time when he was under 2. Unless your home is TV-free it's hard to not use it to entertain kids! Just keep it in check, there's got to be a balance of everything.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Oompa Celebrates the Fourth of July
Right now you can get QUADRUPLE points at Oompa in celebration of July Fourth! You can get fun stuff to entertain your kids all summer, then come fall redeem the points for Christmas and Holiday gifts!
Happy Shopping and Happy Fourth!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
