Baby Babble

Resolve to re-instate bedtime stories in 2008

If you don't make time in your household for reading to your children, you could be causing harm to your family togetherness, your child's creative abilities and his/her academic achievement.

Well, there's a downer to start the New Year.

In a new study, researchers are finding that fewer and fewer families are making time for the traditional "bedtime story" or any reading outloud time. Apparently, just under half of all parents surveyed for the study said they or someone in the household read to their children (ages newborn to 5 years old) on a daily basis. The survey showed wide variations between the states--Vermont was really big on reading, with 67 percent of respondents saying they read daily, while Mississippi was ranked dead last, with just 38 percent of respondents saying they read to their children daily. One observer of the survey said she believed the actual incidence of reading to be even less than reported. Parents reported they read least to their infants under age 1, and most to their 3-year-olds, while experts caution that children at all ages can benefit from reading outload. The youngest learns the rhythms of language and meaning of words, while the older ones can hear more advanced words and phrases than he/she might be able experience while attempting to read on his/her own.

What about you? Do you read to your young child? Write us with your comments by clicking onto "comment" just below.

Batteries, buttons and screens may not be best playthings

Playthings and toys equipped with batteries, buttons and screens may not be what the toddlers and infants in our lives need for Christmas.  In this telling article from the Boston Globe, one early childhood expert who happens to be a grandmother points out that a child learns lessons in human communication by playing with other people, not machines.  Not communicating with other people is resulting in what one expert quoted in this article refers to as Compassion Deficit Disorder--children not learning the skills they need for human interaction.  One expert had this to say:

‘‘There’s a critical part of the brain thought to be responsible for reading signals and feeling empathy and relating to other people, part of the orbital prefrontal cortex, that develops early on. But it needs input from real-life people,’’ says Healy, author of ‘‘Your Child’s Growing Mind.’’ ‘‘It’s appalling, the toys that talk in electronic voices to young children, to babies, at a time when what they need is the lilt of the human voice, its nuances and the facial expressions that go with it.’’

While there's a role for technologically based toys in learning, they should not replace creativetoys such as building blocks or basic dolls.  One group called Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment has put together a list to help parents.

Care to comment? Use our comment feature below.

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And the funniest caption award goes to....

Monique, who sent us this caption for the photo below:

"A 6-pack of YoBaby Yogurt... around $3.89.
Prize money... $5,000 each.
Getting to smear yogurt all over your new onesie... priceless."

In case you're just tuning in to Baby Babble, the photo above is of four of the six winners in our YoBaby Cover Baby photo contest, which we concluded in February. The winners were flown into Boston to sit for a professional modeling photo shoot. Their cute faces will soon be appearing on our YoBaby products.

Many thanks to all who entered our funny caption contest. We'll run some more of these in upcoming weeks, so don't be discouraged. Winners will get a blogging bib.

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Where to take toddlers for a sunny vacation?

Today in snowy New England, I am wondering when I will ever be able to wear shorts again and just lounge in the sun. Cabin fever has officially struck! That makes me desperate for a vacation. In the old days, vacation planning was easy (in hindsight). Now I need to find somewhere to go that is a good place for toddlers too. I don't think we're ready for Disney. Any other ideas for warm vacations that toddlers will love? Where have you been? I am open to ideas anywhere in the US. Please help!!!!!--Maureen

Left: Tanner, making the most of winter

Just click on "comment" below to offer Maureen your toddler vacation ideas.

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