Strollerderby : development

Children's Television Workaround

editors — Thu, 14 May 2009 19:45:00 GMT

Today on Babble:

by Dan Oko.

Our kid's TV-free, as long as online video doesn't count.

Read it here.

Medical Mystery: A Baby Who Won't Grow

Kate Tuttle — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:05:00 GMT

When Suraya Brown was born 14 months ago she was extremely small -- the four weeks premature baby weight just over two and a half pounds -- but doctors didn't anticipate how unusual her case truly was until months later, when her growth stalled completely. Today, according to ABC news, the British toddler is about the size of the average newborn at around seven pounds, and the medical professionals are baffled as to what is causing her small size and delayed development. Tests for various forms of dwarfism and other genetic differences have come back negative, leaving her mother, Atlanta Ruzman, wondering when, if ever, she will get answers about her daughter's condition -- and her future. For now, she says the toddler is a "cheeky monkey" who is happy and alert.

Perhaps clues to Suraya's condition can be found in the case of Brooke Greenberg, a Maryland teenager who was profiled in 1995 as part of a "medical mystery" series on another network (NBC's Dateline) when she was 12 years old but "frozen" at the size and developmental stage of a six-month-old baby.

Both these cases are fascinating, not least because they tap into something most parents say at one point or another during their baby's first year -- oh, I wish she could stay this small forever! -- it's something we say but of course do not really mean. The idea of a child who does not, cannot, grow and grow up, is so strange and sad it can seem like the stuff of fiction. In the real world, it's just another reminder of how lucky you should consider yourself if you have a child who is healthy and thriving.

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You Might Like Wall-E But Don't Trust Him With Your Kids

Kelly Mills — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:58:00 GMT

Robots have kind of a mixed rep. From loveable, cuddly characters to cold killing machines, it's clear we have some ambivalence about what it means to have this kind of technology in our lives and on the horizon. While I personally have a strange affection for robots, I can see how others are raising the alarms. So parents, would you let a robot watch your children?

You may have to make this decision sooner rather than later, because robots are being developed for use in schools, and will potentially be here to babysit your brood in the not-so-distant future. So what do you think? I mean, if you read the Derby, you probably believe our current system of having humans care for their own offspring and the offspring of others is not without flaws. But should it concern us that robots may be responsible for teaching our kids? (Gasp! You mean a machine might sometimes act as a babysitter? Say it ain't so!) What will that do for their emotional development? Our society? Are the robot wars inevitable? Do tell.

Moron Parents Abandon Children...

How Much Should You Pay Your Babysitter?

Goodbye Recess; Kids Don't Need Play

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:29:00 GMT

An essay from the latest issue of Greater Good magazine talks about the disappearance of childhood play, and while I had heard all about kids sitting in front of their TVs or computers all day or kids getting roped into adult-led activities that will eventually earn them a spot on the PGA tour or get them into Yale, I was surprised to see recess was being axed at school after school.

Recess. Kids can't even have a half hour during a 7-hour school day to burn off some steam? Is that what we've come to?

The essay by David Elkin, professor emeritus of childhood development at Tufts University, says more than 30,000 schools have eliminated recess in favor of academics, while outdoor fun time has dropped by 50 percent. When kids aren't playing organized sports, they are simply lounging or watching TV. In short, imaginative, creative, unstructured play has all but disappeared in the lives of over-scheduled, over-educated children.

"For too long, we have treated play as a luxury that kids, as well as adults, could do without. But the time has come for us to recognize why play is worth defending: It is essential to leading a happy and healthy life."

It's an interesting essay that touches on the importance of play -- kids who learn via play have higher IQs -- and why educators and parents are failing their children. I only wish Elkin would have offered more solutions, however. Not necessarily for bringing play back into our lives -- he suggests more playgrounds and parents getting outside to lead by example -- but in how to fend off crazy parents who make you feel like you're not doing enough to raise a genius child.

At a party recently, a mother of a child about the same age as our own asked my wife and I which vocabulary flashcards we liked best and whether we had any tips for better numerical value comprehension. Our daughter just turned 2. At that particular moment in time, she was dipping her face in a cupcake and singing the chorus of "American Pie." My wife and I looked at the woman like she was an alien, and we could only assume she thought we were bad parents for not even owning flashcards, let alone using them.

How do you jump off the frenzied bandwagon of non-stop lessons and learning? How do you give kids their childhood back?

Five Kinds of Moms and How They Mess You Up

Kelly Mills — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 15:33:00 GMT

Jezebel reports on a new book by clinical psychologist Stephen Poulter called The Mother Factor: How Your Mother's Emotional Legacy Impacts Your Life. The gist is that your bond with your mom can have a big ol' influence on your emotional development, ability to form meaningful relationships, and so on. (Do the dads do anything? Cuz we should share the dysfunctional love!) Anyhow, according to the book, there are five kinds of mothers. This immediately begs the question: Which mother are you?

The five types are:

The Perfectionist Mother — whose family must look perfect in every way
The Unpredictable Mother--whose ups and downs can create lifelong anxiety and depression in her son or daughter
The "Me First" Mother — whose children come second or last
The "Best Friend" Mother — who's now in vogue but can wreak havoc
The Complete Mother--who provides guidance and shows compassion to her child

Um, I don't know which one I am, though I suppose that's the point, because the ways I'm screwing up my kid should be a mystery to me. I do know I'm not the Perfectionist, and my kid doesn't like me enough for me to be the Best Friend. See, I think of myself more as the "Well-Intentioned But Frequently Harried Mom Whose Child May Later Resent Her Blogging" which I guess makes me the "Me First" mom. Only thing is I made many of my big ol' life decisions based on what was best for my kid, not me, because I'm so noble like that. Oh well. Just let me know when they add an "Irritable Bitch" mom category.

Crayola Intros Kid-Named Colors

Kelly Mills — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 18:31:00 GMT

In case you hadn't heard, Crayola has slid in eight newly-named colors to the big box of crayons. Now if I were them, I'd spend my development money adding some structural reinforcement the black crayon, since its frequent use means it's the first one to break in half and force you to do outlines with that annoying little stubby crayon. Ahem. Anyhow, the new color names aren't as descriptive as you might hope, and I think the whole kid-named thing is a sham.

So, what kind of monikers do we have in the box now? "Super Happy (yellow), Fun in the Sun (orange), Giving Tree (green), Bear Hug (brown), Awesome (dusty pink), Happy Ever After (blue), Famous (hot pink) and Best Friends (purple)." Uh, yeah. Naturally some bloggers have had fun coming up with alternatives. But my beef is this: While Crayola says they developed the names with online input from kids, you know these aren't the names kids would actually develop if they had the chance. Yellow would be "Pee Pee Head", green would be "Troll Booger", brown would be "Pants Crap"...and so on. Just call me a realist.

Cribsheet: Development

editors — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Average weight gain in a child's first two years: 400%
Age at which brain has reached 55% of adult size: 2 years
Age at which brain has reached 90% of adult size: 6 years
Amount of sleep a newborn needs each day: 20 hours

Age at which a baby recognizes your face: 3 months
Age at which most babies begin to smile and laugh: 4 months
Age at which most babies can roll over in both directions: 6 months
Age at which most babies sit without support: 7 months
Age at which most babies crawl well: 10 months

Age at which most babies can say "mama" and "dada" (to the right parent): 11 months
Age at which most babies can stand alone for a couple of seconds: 11 months
Age at which most babies take their first steps: 9-12 months
Age at which most babies understand requests like "be quiet" or "wait a minute": 12-15 months
Age at which most babies can "read" board books on their own: 18 months

Age at which most children can pedal a tricycle: end of 3rd year
Age at which most children understand the concept of "mine" and "his/hers": end of 3rd year
Age at which most children can draw a person: end of 4th year
Age at which most children can count to five: 4-5 years
Attention span of average 6-to-8-year-old: 15-20 minutes

Research by Sarah Sundberg. Cribsheet appears in Strollerderby every Wednesday.

Science Finally Explains Why the Terrible Two's Are Terrible

Karen Murphy — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 23:10:00 GMT

If kids could skip an entire year and go from one to three, that would be just fine with me. My younger son is in the throes of the Two's about now (even though he's four, just doing things on his own timetable), and it is like living with the Toddler From Hell. At that point they are all action and will, but little direction. So guess who bears the brunt of their frustration that Life Isn't What They Thought It Would be? That's right, you and me. And this is why:

Two-year-olds act in response to things. They have no idea why they do what they do, they just do it. And then they are confused by the responses they get when they do. Does it do the same thing the 100th time? Let's fine out! But by the age of about 32 months kids begin to think about their behavior in terms of what will come of it. They feel they have some amount of control over their worlds. Ta da! The lightbulb appears, and they magically move from "stimulus-outcome learning" to "fully intentional goal-directed action".

And then we all breathe that big sigh of relief. The Year of Frustration is over.

So who will invent the Toddler Cage, designed as a safe enticing sound-proof environment in which to keep your two-year-old until he reaches that magic moment?

Photo: www.bounty.com

Raising Funny Kids: Please Remember to Tip Your Parents

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 22:36:00 GMT

Once upon a time, my brother responded to one of my wisecracks with a deadpan, "Jessica, you are your own best audience." Thank God, I became a parent because now at least my kid is laughing along with me. Our mutual hilarity thrives upon his developing sense of humor as well, which, of course, mostly involves poop and some strangely tangent comment about "and his nose!" My nearly-three-year old is now adept at laughing at comedy there is no way he can get, giving an abruptly ending courtesy laugh and also repeating jokes over and over and over until we have to laugh just to make it stop. These tactics, I like to think, are the buds of comic genius and clearly as much hereditary as just him.

So says this long and ironically dry article on Babycenter on "How to Raise Fun and Funny Kids." Citing developmental experts, it says that kids who grow a sense of humor as they age are better equipped to deal with life's challenges and are less likely to be depressed and more likely to be creative, intelligent problem-solvers. Obviously, this is more of a guideline than a rule since most bosses, teachers, college admissions committees and priests probably aren't thinking what a brilliant mind that one guy is who snorts it up when he gets fired, suspended or five Hail Marys during confession. That said, the people I personally think are naturally, easily hilarious (being blindly funny is a whole other thing in my book) are all smart as a whip.

Modeling, the experts report, is the best way to raise a funny kid. To do that, they suggest tapping into your own silliness, using goofy voices, punning it up, harkening back to knock-knock and other kiddie jokes and laughing often. They also say that some kids are born with a "bubbly, good-natured disposition" but most people should consider humor "as a muscle (one no doubt near the funny bone) that needs to be strengthened and worked regularly." While I do have one of those naturally bubbly kids, I also fully support and admire the dry, sarcastic, bitter sense of humor that is best developed by dumping your child in front of a seductive stand-up cocktail of Arrested Development, Jimmy Kimmel and America's Funniest Home Videos. Then all you need to do is sit back and watch your kid work it out on the mic. And the room during playgroup.