First off, I forgot to mention another kinda funny new thing in our lives. Two nights ago, Matt popped a Baby Einstein sign language video into our DVD player. I had mixed feelings about it for a variety of reasons including but not limited to:
1. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for the first two years.
2. Studies show that kids who watch a lot of Baby Einstein videos have slower language development than those who watch no TV. (That “Einstein” bit is all marketing, folks.)
3. I have my own TV addict past that I do not want to visit on Simon.
So I grit my teeth, and Matt pops in the video. Shortly thereafter, Simon went wild. He squealed and cooed and bounced in place and—hilariously—flapped his arms and hands whenever Marlee Matlin or a cartoon character signed something. Matt and I think this was the sign language version of babbling. I think we’ll be seeing Baby Einstein videos again—we’ll just have to be very careful to enjoy them in moderation, as his rigid and fixated body posture (pictured) towards the end was disturbing. And yes, he is sitting around in his diaper. I don’t know why, either.
Meanwhile, today was Simon’s second day at what I’ve begun to think of as “Camp Whitworth”. Evie and Jim are taking him to their house on Thursdays now, and I can already tell he’s going to relish these days. Last week he was a bit off his game from an interrupted nap and some tummy issues, but still, he got to stay in his jammies for most of the day and had Grandma all to himself for several hours, so it couldn’t have been all bad.
Today, a much perkier Simon headed over to the Whitworths. He played hard. He napped hard. When Evie brought him his lunch, he used the word “turkey”. When she put on his coat, he said “bye-bye”. He also at least imitated the words “clock” and “duck.” I’m eager to see if I hear any of these tomorrow. I’m guessing at a minimum that “bye-bye” is a solid addition to the vocabulary, and “turkey” or “duck” won’t be far behind given his typical lunch menu and all the ducks in his books.
He also spent part of his day at a play area inside the Whitworth’s church where he scooted and moved about in stimulating and, importantly, padded surroundings.
By dinner he was pooped, so we grabbed a quick meal at the Whitworths, rudely left them with dirty dishes, and had Simon in his PJs and tucked into bed by 7:30. I can’t wait to hear what he gets up to at Camp Whitworth next week.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for the first two years for a reason (health reasons, I can only imagine). I’d listen to that, even if they’re not all-knowing.
We don’t have ‘Baby Einstein’ yet here in Belgium (I know they do in France), but I had read and heard about it. Frankly, I wouldn’t expect a lot of benefit from those DVD’s, not now, after the 2001 takeover by Disney, and not before then. They might give your child some advantage for a year or so, but they provide no benefit for later on, if they indeed don’t damage some of your kids’ abilities through over-exposure. Anyway, i’d be careful with it.
I’ve browsed their site, and to me the main objective appears to be to appeal to parents, which is logical, because just like pet food is bought by the masters, not the pets, Baby Einstein DVD’s and toys are bought by parents. Parents with occasional feelings of doubt and guilt that make them susceptible to false promises of fulfulling the hopes and dreams they have for their kids.
If I may be honest with you, this age group was the last untargeted tv audience and they’ve targeted it.
The next thing is undoubtably cd’s with sounds for stimulation of foetuses, if it isn’t not already available.
PS: Simon looks as if he knows he’s been photographed or looked at. :-)