Your Baby's First Year for Dummies by James Gaylord Md & Michelle Hagen

Author:James Gaylord, Md & Michelle Hagen [James Gaylord, Md & Hagen, Michelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Family & Relationships, Parenting
ISBN: 9781118054536
Amazon: 0764584200
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Published: 2011-03-04T08:41:59+00:00

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Chapter 13: The Eighth Month: The Cruisin' Kid

185

Figure 13-1:

Baby may

be able to

cruise at

this age.

ߜ Baby understands the word “no.”

ߜ May incorporate “strings” of babbled sounds into her communication.

ߜ Baby will begin to understand the concept of object permanence, if she doesn’t already (more on this in Chapter 12).

ߜ Stranger anxiety begins in full force this month. (More on this later in this chapter.)

ߜ Baby begins to understand that certain objects have specific uses. She may start to mimic you by babbling into her toy telephone, for example.

Outfitting the feet?

When Baby starts cruising, you may be tempted to buy the latest high-tech footwear in order to ensure his success on the floor. But shoes are just too bulky for Baby to handle at this point. Instead of offering him support and some sort of podiatric guidance, they’re more likely to cause a lot of trips (this is true even after he’s learned to walk well). And unless they have rubber treads on the bottom, socks are slippery — even on rugs.

In fact, it’s best for Baby to make his first attempts at walking (which cruising is a prelude to) barefoot. He needs to get a good feel for how his bare feet work if he’s to master the art of toddling in the next few months. Plus babies’

feet have fairly flat arches. Learning to walk barefoot allows the foot to really work out those arches, developing them properly. Walking barefoot also allows the ankles to naturally become stronger over time.

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186 Part IV: Discovering the World Beyond Mom

It’s fine to have shoes on hand for Baby to wear on special occasions. Just keep in mind that ultra-expensive shoes don’t enhance foot development in a baby or a toddler. Look for an inexpensive, lightweight, supportive shoe with a nonskid surface.

TV for babies? No way!

Yes, yes, we know that there are videos available today that are marketed directly to the parents of infants, promising that their babies will become geniuses if they’re allowed to sit and watch.

Now check your gut feeling. Chances are, you suspect that watching TV can’t really be all that great for a child who should be spending her time exploring and playing by herself. This is what the first few years of life are all about —

discovering the world (and not through the magic of television).

You know how easy it is to become completely dependent on the tube for entertainment. Think of all the things that adults miss out on when they have a serious television habit: They’re not interacting with their families. They’re not fostering any hobbies. They’re not educating themselves by reading.

They’re not using their imaginations to think of anything better to do. Plus, they’re getting fat.

The same is true for kids who get hooked on TV, but the results may be even more insidious, because some studies suggest that watching too much TV can actually result in the development of attention deficit disorder and aggressive behavioral problems in older children.

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