Show Biz Babies…Oy!

The other night I had a rare treat – dinner and a movie with my two teenage daughters. Since they are more than four years apart, and the 17-year-old’s non-stop social engagements materialize as spontaneously as text messages, we don’t all get together much. I’ve recently instated a policy for myself — if she ever wants to do anything with me I drop everything and say, “Yes!”  Dinner on the patio...

The Secret Language Of Babies

Romance was in the air at a recent parent/infant class, and it was definitely one for the cameras, but interrupting those astonishing minutes to document the action could not have been further from my mind.   Mila and Julian, 3 and 4 months old respectively, were on their backs on the rug by their moms. The infants soon took notice of each other, began engaging, and spent several minutes captivated. Mila twisted...

The Fascination With Babies (A Traveler’s Perspective)

On my way to LAX to take my daughter to camp and spend some one-on-one time with her, I was excited, but also uneasy and unsettled. I felt like I was ditching school, neglecting homework. There was also a twinge of something even more anxiety provoking I couldn’t quite place, as if I’d left the stove on.  All because I’d made the last minute decision to leave my laptop at home.  My husband had gently nudged...

Protecting Our Baby When It’s Easier Not To (Guest Post by Miven Trageser)

From time to time I have the pleasure of sharing the perspectives of other parents, educators, and early childhood professionals familiar with the work of infant expert Magda Gerber.  This post is by Miven Trageser, M.A., a Marriage and Family Therapy Intern in private practice in Beverly Hills, CA.  Miven specializes in parenting, mother-infant attachment therapy, play therapy with small children, and couples...

Can Babies Love Too Much? – Teaching Children To Give Affection With Respect

I’m not one to question the value of demonstrative love and affection.  Giving hugs is such a reflex for me that I embarrass myself by hugging people I barely know. I’ll often come to my senses midway through the ‘hello’ or ‘goodbye’ hug — too late to catch myself. This creates some awkward moments, but (I hope) my kind intentions are understood.   But with children, especially infants and...

Do Wired Parents Need Time Out…Or Less Guilt?

Sometimes we read things that hit a nerve, and although the truth can set us free, it can also make us feel really uncomfortable. A recent NewYork Times article, “The Risks Of Parenting While Plugged In”, did just that. While I don’t dare own a Smartphone, lately I do spend much of the day glued to the computer, an absorption that often overflows into time that used to be spent with my children. New to the...

Respecting My Baby (An End To The Daddy Doo Dah Dance) Guest Post by Michael Lansbury

I grew up in a New York City apartment with five siblings, four of them younger.  By ten years old, I was changing diapers, heating bottles, running baths and wiping spit-up from the walls and my hair. So, I have been intimate with the down-and-dirty of infant care for a long, long time. As a result, I am not intimidated by infants, nor am I impressed. The fact of babies is, of course, remarkable and pure grace. No...

How To Love A Diaper Change

Call me sensitive, but I once saw a diaper change that made me cry. In fact, I can cry just thinking about it. It was a scene from a film about the The Pikler Institute, the highly respected orphanage in Budapest, Hungary, founded by pediatrician and infant expert Dr. Emmi Pikler. The camera focuses on a 3-week-old new arrival being welcomed with a diaper change. We hear the caregiver speaking slowly and see her...