Do's and don''ts in first year

On Mar 22, 3:40 pm, wrote:
The big day is coming up and I would like to know what are some do's
and don'ts for that first crucial year. We've been reading some books
and taking classes but would like some real experiences. I know the
first year is fairly crucial as far as development goes. Education is
important to us, so what are some of the things we can do during the
first year to get baby more prepared for life.

I think the most important thing is to make them feel loved and
secure. Beyond that I would say talking is the most critical. Talk
and describe everything you are doing. Also count. I think numeracy
is neglected and just as important as literacy. You can try reading,
but many kids don't want to sit still for that as they get more
mobile.

Have fun

Chris

Nan wrote:

As I said, there isn't much IME that will give a child a "leg up" in
the first year. If you're talking year 2 and beyond, then I agree.

http://tinyurl.com/2d29aw
http://tinyurl.com/28jzot
http://www.zerotothree.org/site/Page...e=key_language

Again, I did not say that one needs to do something exotic
in the first year to ensure success; however, I think it's
very clear that things that happen in the first year *do*
affect infants' brain development. Whether those are things
that a particular set of parents would have done instinctively
or not is an open question. Some parents do those things
naturally; others don't. Lots of people get conflicting
advice from friends and family about these kinds of issues,
so it doesn't seem obvious to me that every parent who isn't
outright abusive is doing 100 percent of what is best for
infant development.

Best wishes,
Ericka

On Mar 23, 9:00 am, Nan wrote:
On Thu, 22 Mar 2007 17:04:37 -0700, "Jamie Clark"

wrote:
Don't forget to feed the baby.
Don't forget to change the baby.
Don't leave the baby at the supermarket.
Don't wash the baby in the toilet.

There, that pretty much covers it.

LMAO!

Nan

Damn! That explains it.

Naomi

In article , jamielee6
@comcast.net says...
Don't forget to feed the baby.
Don't forget to change the baby.
Don't leave the baby at the supermarket.
Don't wash the baby in the toilet.

There, that pretty much covers it.

Hey, Jamie

You forgot "Don't argue with Ericka!"

:-)
Larry

On Fri, 23 Mar 2007 10:33:36 -0400, Ericka Kammerer
wrote:

Nan wrote:

As I said, there isn't much IME that will give a child a "leg up" in
the first year. If you're talking year 2 and beyond, then I agree.

http://tinyurl.com/2d29aw
http://tinyurl.com/28jzot
http://www.zerotothree.org/site/Page...e=key_language

Again, I did not say that one needs to do something exotic
in the first year to ensure success;

Once again, you go too far with my statement. Sometimes I think you
just like to argue.

I don't need sites to show me there is brain development in the first
year. Do you *really* think I'm that dense?

I'm arguing that there is not need for anyone to do much to prepare
themselves to "educate" an infant during its first year.

All the Baby Einstein music and OTT efforts of some parents aren't
going to put their baby further ahead in life than parents that do
what comes naturally, who simply nurture, love and be attentive to
baby's needs.

That is why I said "just relax and have fun" in my first response. It
does NOT take books and classes for parents to ensure successful brain
development in an infant.

Nan

On Fri, 23 Mar 2007 18:33:18 GMT, Larry Mcmahan
wrote:

In article , jamielee6
says...
Don't forget to feed the baby.
Don't forget to change the baby.
Don't leave the baby at the supermarket.
Don't wash the baby in the toilet.

There, that pretty much covers it.

Hey, Jamie

You forgot "Don't argue with Ericka!"

Pffft.

Nan

On Mar 22, 8:59 pm, "Nikki" wrote:
wrote in message

ps.com...

The big day is coming up and I would like to know what are some do's
and don'ts for that first crucial year. We've been reading some books
and taking classes but would like some real experiences. I know the
first year is fairly crucial as far as development goes. Education is
important to us, so what are some of the things we can do during the
first year to get baby more prepared for life.

My top three do's to get your baby of to a good start are.

1) Plenty of love and affection. Carry him around, take him places. You
don't need special things to stimulate him. Everything is new and
stimulating.
2) Breastfeed
3) Talk to him. Talk talk talk - read. It is great for language
development.

My top three don'ts.

1) don't measure your baby against others.
2) don't get worked up about the endless advice about what you should or
should not do. It'll make you crazy.
3) don't worry about getting a special item or doing a special activity.
Love and play with your baby and you'll be perfect.

--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06

i have to agree! the wife and i are expecting our first come May, i've
already spent $ at amazon.com building up a library of pre-school
books and such.

i can't wait for him to get here so i can love him , play with him,
and read to him, sing to him, teach him.. etc...

Nan wrote:
On Fri, 23 Mar 2007 10:33:36 -0400, Ericka Kammerer
wrote:

Nan wrote:

As I said, there isn't much IME that will give a child a "leg up" in
the first year. If you're talking year 2 and beyond, then I agree.
http://tinyurl.com/2d29aw
http://tinyurl.com/28jzot
http://www.zerotothree.org/site/Page...e=key_language

Again, I did not say that one needs to do something exotic
in the first year to ensure success;

Once again, you go too far with my statement. Sometimes I think you
just like to argue.

I don't need sites to show me there is brain development in the first
year. Do you *really* think I'm that dense?

Well, I just took you at your word when you said "there
isn't much IME that will give a child a 'leg up' in the
first year." In fact, I would argue that doing exactly the
things that these sites and other posters have mentioned *DO*
give babies a leg up--reading, talking to them, responding
promptly to their communications, developing a secure relationship,
etc.
Your assumption seems to be that everyone does all
these things naturally, so you'd have to be an idiot to spend
time learning what babies need. I think there's ample evidence
that quite a few people *don't* really do all that. They may
have instincts leading them in that direction, but I sure seem
to see quite a few people who believe or are told differently.
They think that you can spoil babies, so it's important not
to respond to their cries too quickly. They think it's silly
to talk to babies because they obviously can't understand
what you're saying. They think that putting babies in front
of the tv to watch educational videos is good for their
development. They think that you need to play Mozart to
them to turn them into prodigies. Lots of people seem to
think all manner of things that don't have much grounding in
fact. So, I think a parent's desire to learn about what to do
for children should be encouraged, not dismissed as overbearing
parenting.
Color me argumentative if you like. I just have a
different perspective than you seem to have on whether it's
okay for parents-to-be to put in some study time.

Best wishes,
Ericka

"Ericka Kammerer" wrote in message
...


They think it's silly to talk to babies because they obviously can't
understand
what you're saying.

I just wanted to comment on this one -- When one of my girls was about 8-9
months old, I was in an airport bathroom changing her. I was chatting away
to her the whole time, rambling on, describing what I was doing, and what we
were going to be doing after we were done, that type of thing, and this
woman came up to me and said, "Why are you talking to her? You don't think
she really understands you, do you?" I was rather flabbergasted, as it had
never occured to me NOT to talk to my babies, plus, they will eventually
understand what I'm saying. And if you never talk to a baby, besides just
the comfort of hearing your voice, how are they going to learn language at a
reasonable age? Yikes!

This woman was of an Asian descent -- maybe Phillipino, and I wonder if
there are some cultural beliefs there...

--

Jamie
Earth Angels:
Taylor Marlys -- 01/03/03
Addison Grace -- 09/30/04

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Jamie Clark wrote:
"Ericka Kammerer" wrote in message
...


They think it's silly to talk to babies because they obviously can't
understand
what you're saying.

I just wanted to comment on this one -- When one of my girls was about 8-9
months old, I was in an airport bathroom changing her. I was chatting away
to her the whole time, rambling on, describing what I was doing, and what we
were going to be doing after we were done, that type of thing, and this
woman came up to me and said, "Why are you talking to her? You don't think
she really understands you, do you?" I was rather flabbergasted, as it had
never occured to me NOT to talk to my babies, plus, they will eventually
understand what I'm saying. And if you never talk to a baby, besides just
the comfort of hearing your voice, how are they going to learn language at a
reasonable age? Yikes!

This woman was of an Asian descent -- maybe Phillipino, and I wonder if
there are some cultural beliefs there...

There may well be, though I've known people who
didn't have any obvious other cultural backgrounds who said
similar things, and even more who just didn't talk much to
their babies though I never asked why. Quite a few people
made comments about thinking it was odd that I talked to my
babies using ordinary language (and even with, gasp, words of
more than one or two syllables).

Best wishes,
Ericka