Today's Moms by Mary Ann Zoellner & Alicia Ybarbo

Author:Mary Ann Zoellner & Alicia Ybarbo [Zoellner, Mary Ann & Ybarbo, Alicia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Family & Relationships, Parenting, Motherhood
ISBN: 9780061899188
Google: pvDLVmM49-wC
Amazon: 0061721859
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2009-04-28T05:00:00+00:00

Try to be realistic about who your baby is and what he or she is capable

of as an infant. Your baby is not going to be guaranteed a spot at Harvard if

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Baby Basics

you play Mozart all day long, or be the next Tiki Barber if you play roll-the-

ball back and forth for hours on end. During the fi rst year all you want is a

healthy, growing, stimulated, engaged baby.

Pack ’n Play playards are a must for babies’ downtime. (Back when our

parents were growing up, these were called playpens.) Put your baby inside

with some blocks or other safe objects, and then go do what you need to do.

You can put the baby near you in the Pack ’n Play while you’re in the kitchen

or doing laundry.

BABY GENIUSES? BABY DVDS AND TV

The American Academy of Pediatrics is blunt about baby DVDs and TV

shows. “Don’t do it!” says their website, at www.aap.org/sections/media/

ToddlersTV.htm. “These early years are crucial in a child’s development. The

Academy is concerned about the impact of television programming intended

for children younger than age two and how it could affect your child’s devel-

opment. . . . Any positive effect of television on infants and toddlers is still

open to question, but the benefi ts of parent-child interactions are proven.

Under age two, talking, singing, reading, listening to music or playing are

far more important to a child’s development than any TV show.”

This assessment merely fuels the controversy between those who think

it’s okay to pop in a baby DVD for twenty minutes to divert your cranky-

due-to-teething ten-month-old (that’s us) and those who claim the real genius

behind the Baby Einstein series of DVDs for babies is the person who came

up with the name.

Alicia: Baby DVDs were a lifesaver for me, especially when I was home

during my maternity leave and wanted to cook a hot dinner every night. I’d

put in a short DVD, and Jack amused himself while I made dinner in peace.

Or sometimes I’d pop one in if Jack or Lucy got fussy or frustrated. I never

used the DVDs as a babysitter, plonking the kids down in front of them for

hours. And baby DVDs tend to be short (as babies have a short attention

span). They’re likely to tire of them before ever seeing the end.

Mary Ann: A happy compromise for me was to have my girls watch

only DVDs in French or Spanish. Comprende?

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A Box Is Better than the Toy Inside: Playtime and Travel Time

READING TO YOUR BABY—IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY

We started reading to our babies as soon as they could sit up. It’s one of

the most important habits to get into as a new mom. Sitting with the baby

on your lap and an open book—even if only for a few minutes to start

with—will not only acclimate your baby to one of life’s greatest pleasures,

but make reading an important part of your daily routine.

tip

ti : Ask your baby-shower guests to bring a book and inscribe it to

the baby. Baby board books cost little more than greeting cards, and

this is a wonderfully meaningful way to not only encourage reading

but create a lovely library from friends.

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