Bringing home a new baby can be an exciting, overwhelming, and nerve-wracking experience for a new parent. Often it feels as though this tiny little creature demands so much time and energy—as if all your little baby is capable of is eating, sleeping, and crying. But that’s not really the case. Your new baby is … Read more about Baby’s Motor Development: From Rolling Over to First Steps
It used to be that you grabbed your bag, jumped into your car, and went on your merry way to wherever you needed to go. But now that you have a baby? Getting out of the house requires the production and coordination of staging a Broadway show. Sigh if the following checklist sounds familiar:
What to expect in the first 12 months. Our family recently celebrated the first birthday of our second child. At her party, I reflected on how much she has grown and learned since her birth. She is no longer the helpless infant I held at delivery. Although still a baby, she has blossomed into a bright-eyed, interactive, mobile, … Read more about Enriching Your Baby’s First Year: Development and Growth
As a parent, you are your baby’s first teacher. Swiss philosopher, Dr. Jean Piaget, upon whose theories many of the foundations of Early Childhood education have been built, once said, “Young children are explorers and it is the job of the adults around them to provide the experiences and materials to stimulate their development.” Parents … Read more about 7 Homemade Toys for Baby
Memorizing “Mary Had a Little Lamb” may not make the cut as preeminent advice in most parenting columns, but it turns out there are more than just sentimental reasons to weave “Itsy Bitsy Spider” into your child’s web of experiences. Recent cognitive neuroscience findings support the use of nursery rhymes to enhance young minds, according to Betsy … Read more about Can Nursery Rhymes Make Baby Smarter?
If someone told you that you hold the key to unlocking your baby’s academic potential, improving the probability that she will stay in school, increasing her lifespan, nurturing her emotional development and self esteem, and stimulating her imagination, wouldn’t you respond by asking, “How?” How can these goals be accomplished? The object that enables you … Read more about The ABCs of Reading to Baby: Reading Aloud
Bunny My Honey How Bunny loves his mommy in this adorable book! And Mommy adores her little one. But one day Bunny runs too far on his own and gets lost in the deep woods. A sweet, reassuring book by the illustrator of Guess How Much I Love You. Baby Faces Full of crisp, color photographs, Baby Faces captures … Read more about 14 Great Classic Books Must-Have for Every Child’s Library
The Basics Just as all people must learn to crawl before they can walk, children must attain certain milestones before they can become part of the world of words. Parents can do much to help unlock the magical realm of reading. When your baby is even just days old, there are steps you an take … Read more about Tips for Developing Pre-Reading Skills in Young Children
Healthy foods that kids will actually eat! Oscar Dip As “guacamole,” author Barnes’ son wasn’t interested in this dip. But once she called it “Oscar Dip” after the green lovable monster from Sesame Street, he was hooked. The lime juice and cilantro give this salsa a sweet instead of spicy flavor. Increase the onion for those … Read more about Mmm, Organic! 3 Smart Toddler Snacks
Zachary and Margo went on their first dates before they were six weeks old; one-year-old Mike started walking and dating at about the same time; and Chance and Campbell (my twin boys) didn’t date until they were almost two. Play dates may be all the rage (you didn’t think these kids were really dating, did you?), but … Read more about The Dating Game: Is Your Child Ready for Play Dates?