Posted by rosanne on Sep 13, 2009 in
Challenges,
Sustainable Parenting Apparently, up to a third of Australians think women shouldn’t breastfeed in public. I think what’s more worrying about that study is how many people think babies should be weaned at six months and that it’s the 18–24 year olds who are the most ignorant. I have a sneaking suspicion that my daughter is growing up in a more conservative, gendered world than I did, and it scares me. Read more…
Tags: attachment parenting, breastfeeding, clothing, gender, infant, nudity, socialisation
Posted by paula on Jul 21, 2009 in
Educational I have five golden rules for baby talk. You know, that incessant discussion we have with our infants that feels a lot like talking to yourself? There’s a lot of research to suggest that what you say and how you say it has a significant effect on baby’s later performance in school, for example. So, before you say “goo goo gaga” one more time, let me explain a little more. Read more…
Tags: baby, infant, language, respecting the child
Posted by rosanne on Jul 6, 2009 in
Developmental Milestones,
Health Food for infants — especially the ongoing debates around breastfeeding and delaying solids — is a fraught topic. Everybody wants to do what’s best for their baby and it isn’t easy. It’s even harder when health professionals weigh in (no pun intended) with opinions about baby’s growth or lack thereof or when Mama is struggling with mastitis or other complications. On the other hand, hardliners seem to insist on adherence to ideals that are almost impossible to achieve or sometimes feel not-quite-right for baby’s particular experience. It’s important to find out the latest when dealing with allergies — the advice from the professionals has changed. Read more…
Tags: allergy, attachment parenting, baby, baby-led weaning, breastfeeding, food, infant
Posted by paula on Jun 29, 2009 in
Health We all want the best for our children, but it’s hard to know what we’re feeding them sometimes, especially when not everything that’s in the food is actually listed on the label. How is that possible? Sometimes the culprit is the food container itself.
For example, Bisphenol A (BPA) is an ingredient in plastics which are currently defined as food-grade. Minute amounts of BPA are believed to have a hormone-like effect on the body’s endocrine system, possibly causing chronic toxicity, and a bunch of other things (see this Wikipedia page for much more detail, including a list of studies). Read more…
Tags: bisphenol-a, bpa, chemical-free, food, food safety, infant, poisons
Posted by rosanne on Jun 2, 2009 in
Technology Dr Dimitri Christakis has just released a study that shows TV watching inhibits the acquisition of language in infants. It ties in well to the guideline from the American Academy of Pediatricsthat kids under 2 shouldn’t watch television.
The finding that struck me was that for every hour the TV was on, the child heard 700 fewer words from an adult. Read more…
Tags: baby, computer, infant, screen, television