Does classical music make babies smarter? A lot of people seem to think so. We visited a few day cares that played classical music for the babies during the day, and made the claim that classical music made babies smarter. What do I believe? There is evidence out there, but there is something about it that does not sit well with me. Ok, I admit it. I am confused.
If you could combine introductions to language and music at the same time, meaning songs with lyrics, how could music with no language, instrumentals only, be better?
Being the good, informed, proactive pregnant woman who wanted nothing but the best for her baby, I had requested several Baby Einstein Classical music CDs for the baby to listen to. I got several from loving relatives. I thought the CDs would be special cuts of songs that were found to be the most stimulating for the baby. However, the CDs were computerized tones of the songs that nearly drove me out of the house. Maybe it was an overreaction to feeling disappointed in the BE CDs, but now I do not set aside time to play special music for TJ. I sing around the house for him. Otherwise we play adult popular music. The song I sing most this week seems to be Old MacDonald. Last week it was the ABC song. Maybe we should replace our music with the classical music for TJ to hear more often. I think I would do it because I would want him to appreciate classical music, not because I believe classical music makes him "smarter."
Friday, June 12, 2009
Post #3 -- Title TBD
We are a plugged-in household. Meaning that we have a television on pretty much the entire time some one is home and awake. We do have some personal limits and boundaries, such as having a television on when some one is in the room sleeping or having the TV up loud enough for some one to hear in another room. But for the most part TV is a necessity for the news two times a day, and we generally play other programs during the day that are some times watched and sometimes used for "background noise." So of course we wondered from the beginning how TV time would effect our baby. Now, to begin with, the experts give some very unrealistic advice. They say that babies should not watch any TV up until the age of 2 or 3 depending on your source. Ok, so does this mean that households with babies in them should be essentially TV-free during the baby's waking hours? That is the only conclusion that I can draw from the advice. I will go into this issue some more in later posts because the education of babies and toddlers has hands-on interactive components as well as multi-media components, including television.
Sandra Boynton Never Met TJ
READ to your baby!
This has become practically a rule in this day and age. You must READ to your children so that they will see and hear lots of words, learn to understand language, see lots of pictures, and learn to appreciate books. It's accepted guidelines endorsed by every baby development book, pediatricians, super Moms, and even your child-free friends.
But, I am here on my blog willing to state the truth about reading to babies: Most babies do not want to be read to! I know, I know. It's blasphemy, of course babies want to be read to and if your baby is not wanting to hear story after story every night then something is wrong with you or your baby!
I was always baffled as to why reading to my baby never came naturally. I like to read, and bought tons of the most highly rated baby books on Amazon and got the full Dr. Suess collection. When my baby was young, he would settle into my lap and decide he wanted to nurse instead. Later, he would see a book and have only one thing on his mind, tasting it! If I would refuse to relinquish the book and insisted on continuing to read, it made him cry. So, why was I doing this again? What was the point?
The reason why most babies do not want to be read to is because they see a book that is brightly colored, with moving parts, and rip-able pages. It is a toy. You are essentially asking your child to hold still and watch while you play with one of the most interesting toys in the house. The chewable edges, flapping pages, and smooth surface that makes it the perfect push toy for creepers. The thinness makes it fit so perfectly in all the best hiding places: under beds, couches, closed doors and even between furniture and walls. I am here to warn you that this advice is setting you up for failure, because most mothers and babies will fail at this activity as it is envisioned by the smart baby authorities. I am here to outline a new rule for books and infants.
1) Pull out a book to read every day. Open it show your baby the picture and try your best to read the first page. Point to the words as you are reading them if at all possible. If your baby has other ideas about what he wants to do with the book, let him.
3) If at all possible, memorize the book and just recite the book as your baby is playing with it.
2) Choose books that have no narrative plot. If your baby opens to a particular page, just read that page. Don't get anything invested in having the "story" stay in sequence.
4) Play peek-a-boo with the book instead.
Do not give up reading because your baby seems disinterested. The advice to read to your baby is good advice but no one ever outlines the stumbling blocks that will eventually be presented as you introduce this activity to you child. Eventually many young toddlers become practically obsessed with books and want the same book to be read to them repeatedly. Until that time, do not believe that there is anything wrong with you or your baby, and don't let anyone make you feel that you are failing at your job as a mother because your baby is not getting his daily dose. The advice is good, but incomplete without taking into account the temperaments and behaviors of our babies.
Yesterday, TJ picked up his nursery rhyme book, and brought it over to me as though he wanted me to read it. I opened it to the first page, and read the rhyme as a song. As I got ready to start the next page, he took the book back and put it on the seat of the high chair. That was our reading for the day.
This has become practically a rule in this day and age. You must READ to your children so that they will see and hear lots of words, learn to understand language, see lots of pictures, and learn to appreciate books. It's accepted guidelines endorsed by every baby development book, pediatricians, super Moms, and even your child-free friends.
But, I am here on my blog willing to state the truth about reading to babies: Most babies do not want to be read to! I know, I know. It's blasphemy, of course babies want to be read to and if your baby is not wanting to hear story after story every night then something is wrong with you or your baby!
I was always baffled as to why reading to my baby never came naturally. I like to read, and bought tons of the most highly rated baby books on Amazon and got the full Dr. Suess collection. When my baby was young, he would settle into my lap and decide he wanted to nurse instead. Later, he would see a book and have only one thing on his mind, tasting it! If I would refuse to relinquish the book and insisted on continuing to read, it made him cry. So, why was I doing this again? What was the point?
The reason why most babies do not want to be read to is because they see a book that is brightly colored, with moving parts, and rip-able pages. It is a toy. You are essentially asking your child to hold still and watch while you play with one of the most interesting toys in the house. The chewable edges, flapping pages, and smooth surface that makes it the perfect push toy for creepers. The thinness makes it fit so perfectly in all the best hiding places: under beds, couches, closed doors and even between furniture and walls. I am here to warn you that this advice is setting you up for failure, because most mothers and babies will fail at this activity as it is envisioned by the smart baby authorities. I am here to outline a new rule for books and infants.
1) Pull out a book to read every day. Open it show your baby the picture and try your best to read the first page. Point to the words as you are reading them if at all possible. If your baby has other ideas about what he wants to do with the book, let him.
3) If at all possible, memorize the book and just recite the book as your baby is playing with it.
2) Choose books that have no narrative plot. If your baby opens to a particular page, just read that page. Don't get anything invested in having the "story" stay in sequence.
4) Play peek-a-boo with the book instead.
Do not give up reading because your baby seems disinterested. The advice to read to your baby is good advice but no one ever outlines the stumbling blocks that will eventually be presented as you introduce this activity to you child. Eventually many young toddlers become practically obsessed with books and want the same book to be read to them repeatedly. Until that time, do not believe that there is anything wrong with you or your baby, and don't let anyone make you feel that you are failing at your job as a mother because your baby is not getting his daily dose. The advice is good, but incomplete without taking into account the temperaments and behaviors of our babies.
Yesterday, TJ picked up his nursery rhyme book, and brought it over to me as though he wanted me to read it. I opened it to the first page, and read the rhyme as a song. As I got ready to start the next page, he took the book back and put it on the seat of the high chair. That was our reading for the day.
Post #1 (Title TBD)
Ok, I'd like to get this blog up and running! The purpose of this blog is for me to present information about my experiences raising my son and to share some important parts of his babyhood education. When I had him, I was first overwhelmed with all of the information about the things I had to do in order to do him justice in the IQ department: everything from breastfeeding to Baby Einstein to playing classical musical to reading to him every day. Being a new mother in 2008 with the extremely high expectations that American society puts on parents in general, and that special type of guilt/blame/shame combo that is foisted on most mothers this aspect of my baby's growth and development caught my interest and I set out to learn as much as I possibly could about the subject. What I ultimately ended up doing in his early infancy was to follow his lead. Now that he is almost 15 months he is engaged in quite a few Mommy-led learning programs. I hope you enjoy this blog and get ideas for how to best work with your babies and toddlers to ready them for their childhood and ultimately young adulthood.
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