Break-Dancing Baby: Self-Expression In Motion

I know, “Break-Dancing Baby” sounds exploitive and contrived to me, too. This isn’t. It’s a genuine example of a baby freely expressing herself — an exuberant celebration of natural gross motor development and creative child-directed play. I’ve never seen a baby do anything quite like this. Hi Janet, My wife Kristin mentioned that you might enjoy this little video of our 11 month old Siena doing...

11 Blogging Secrets I Learned In 2011

Ah, the irony. Two and a half years ago I was rarely online and didn’t know what a blog was, and here I am sharing blogging tips. But since my learning curve has been steep, especially this last year, I thought I’d pass along some stuff that I wish I’d known earlier. Granted, you may know all of this already, but here goes… 1. Listen Turns out, blogging is less about speaking one’s mind than it is about...

No Need For TV, Baby

According to dismaying statistics published recently by Common Sense Media, raising infants and toddlers without using TV as a babysitter has become a countercultural choice — the path less taken. Why are we so stuck on doing something we know is, at best, a waste of time for our babies? In A Creative Alternative To Baby TV Time, I speculated that parents desperately need breaks from the 24/7 job of baby care,...

Don’t Cramp Your Toddler’s Style – The Power Of Trust

“There are certain things children are obliged to do, but in play where there is no obligation, they come to something new and fresh. Play is a trying out experimenting. It’s not a joke, children don’t play for fun. They play for real, and adults don’t understand that; they laugh at what children do. To children, play is very serious.” –Educator Margaret Flinsch Imagine you and the...

The Secrets Of Infant Learning

I have a dream: someday (hopefully sooner than later), babies will be acknowledged as whole people and receive all the respect they deserve. I am encouraged to report there’s been some progress in this direction… In the last decade, educators and psychologists have begun developing new methods to test and understand the infant mind. They’re finding proof that even the youngest infants are phenomenal...

The Parenting Magic Word (10 Ways To Use It)

Madga Gerber extolled the power of a single word that is fundamental to her child care philosophy. This word reflects a core belief in a baby’s natural abilities, respects his unique developmental timetable, fulfills his need to experience mastery, be a creative problem solver and to express feelings (even those that are hard for us to witness). The word is a simple, practical tool for understanding babies,...

Idea Babies – 4 Ways To Kindle Genius

Genius, commonly defined as “extraordinary intellectual and creative power”, is a term we probably wouldn’t use to describe ourselves or our children. We may believe we’re smart or talented, but most of us don’t think we’re all that extraordinary. Even if we are “a person who has an exceptionally high intelligence quotient, typically above 140”, we don’t typically imagine ourselves geniuses. Far...

Make A Holiday Snowflake (Even If You FAIL At Crafts)

I’m not crafty. Really not crafty.  Just hearing the word ‘craft’ gives me anxiety. But it’s not my fault. It’s the instructions. They fail me all the time! The last straw was when I volunteered to teach Sunday school and chose a simple-looking activity right out of the curriculum book — making cool, stained-glass-type ornaments. The children had created little drawings, colored them and cut them...