childdevelopment

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Diaze-Pram

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BlondeGoddess
11/21/08

In reply to Diaze-Pram
It's a miracle that generations of people today are functioning, even though they were brought up with dysfunctional strollers.
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exelizabeth
11/21/08

In reply to Diaze-Pram
I'm just going to get one of those little hammock stollers that folds up easy and doesn't take up much space. That's what we had when I was a kid, but I've been feeling really depressed this week, and that's probably why.
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cactuswren
11/21/08

In reply to Diaze-Pram
I think it's really interesting how many of you equate "facing the person pushing you" with helicopter parenting and spoiling children.

Babies don't have much in the way of memory, because they haven't had much life experience to fill it up yet. Seeing that your mom is still there is absolutely reassuring and calming to an infant, because there's no reason why they should assume that you are there if they can't see you. They haven't learned that yet.

Advocates of carrying your child around all the time are actually advocating the OPPOSITE of helicopter parenting. You're supposed to strap that baby on and then go about your business pretty much as usual, more or less ignoring the baby unless it needs something, so that the baby can observe how life works from a secure and up-close-to-the-action vantage point. You are NOT supposed to focus on the baby all the time--what does that teach it except that it's the center of the universe? But at the same time, it's a BABY, and it can't focus on learning the world if it's freaked out that its caretaker is missing. It doesn't have the skills or knowledge to take care of itself, or even understand that when it can't see or feel mom, she's still there and everything's fine.
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Hiroine Protagonist
11/21/08

@cactuswren:

Yeah - not haaving to constantly look for the big blob they recognize is sitthing for the wee bablet. They can still look at stuff. But I appreciate the hilariousness of the outraged posts! I love outrage!
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Hiroine Protagonist
11/21/08

@CraigWabba:

Dammit - "soothing"
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Meg
11/21/08

In reply to Diaze-Pram
I don't even use a stroller. I just requested they not cut the umbilical cord. When they were really small, I tied them around my waist. Now that they're older, I use it as a leash. It smells a little, but it's totally worth it!
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scullymurphy
11/21/08

@Meg: That's because you are a good mother and are truly devoted to your children. Mothers who use strollers are raising society's next batch of criminals.
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BlondeGrlz
11/21/08

In reply to Diaze-Pram
Almost all strollers meant for teeny tiny babies face towards the mom. See all these? [www.toysrus.com] The car seat faces the pusher until the child is big enough (30 lbs or so) to sit in the regular strollers. Then almost ALL strollers face out, but by then the kid is capable of doing more than smiling and sleeping and surely it's time to notice a tree or two.
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mocena
11/21/08

In reply to Diaze-Pram
Man, you ladies are quick to anger about this. It's a study that shows that a simple readjustment in the stroller would be beneficial to the baby, why so much vitriol? I had a friend from Africa who thought strollers were awful, she couldn't understand why a mother wouldn't want to carry her baby all the time (either in a sling or by hand.) Looks like she was right.
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lijakaca
11/21/08

@mocena: You can interpret the findings two ways:

1. Inward-facing babies laugh more, have lower heart rates sleep faster, etc = good.

2. Same thing = babies are bored and not noticing world around them.

I don't know which is correct, and neither do the researchers - they (or the journalist) just decided to hypothesize about the reason.
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mocena
11/21/08

@lijakaca: Or babies can't freaking /see/ the world around them. This isn't a study about toddlers who talk to everyone as they walk by, this is about infants. Infants simply can't see that far. And boredom in children does not show up physiologically as more laughing, lower heart rates, better sleep, just as it doesn't in adults. There are physiological markers for under-stimulated children that I imagine they'd note in their study. This doesn't seem to be a hypothesis on the researcher's part, it seems to be a pretty clear cut study. I just don't understand why everyone is so fucking angry about this.
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Jessi Ramsey
11/21/08

@mocena: They are just pointing out that this is just another study that play to parents fears that if they don't do this, this, and this their child will turn out to be a psychopath.

Many children were in outward facing strollers before this study eve came about and turned out just fine.
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girlnamedblue
11/21/08

@mocena: I don't think it's anyone being really angry, but most strollers are outward facing, and people tend to grow up ok. Or you know, what Jessi said.
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exelizabeth
11/21/08

@mocena: Most of the responses are joking around or being sarcastic. I think you're looking for anger and finding it.
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Meg
11/21/08

In reply to Diaze-Pram
But if I have the baby facing me, they'll see the resentment in my eyes. Surely that isn't the better way!

(This is a joke for those of you who would want to tell me how horrid I am and that children are a 24/7 bundle of pure, undiluted joy.)
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girlnamedblue
11/21/08

In reply to Diaze-Pram
The only reason the baby falls asleep when facing you is boredom. And if they're not asleep, they'll start crying, in which case you have to focus on making faces or funny noises or generally looking stupid for them to stop, all the while maneuvering the stroller, trying not to run into people/things. No thanks.
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mocena
11/21/08

@girlnamedblue: Did you read the article? It clearly states that is not the case. And it's sort of your job as a mom to interact with your kid, you know? I wouldn't worry too much about looking stupid.
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girlnamedblue
11/21/08

@mocena: I didn't actually read the article, no, I'm just basing it on my own experiences with two little sisters. My mom and I interact with them plenty, but chances are they're more amused by the new things they see on an outing than by staring at one of us.
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TheFormerJuneBronson
11/21/08

In reply to Diaze-Pram
Oh, for crying out loud. Yes, let's force the kid to stare at you all the time instead of noticing the big, wide world. After all, that's why you had a kid, right? To validate your own worth?
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tscheese
11/21/08

In reply to Diaze-Pram
This sounds kind of like one of those "OMG if you're feeding with formula, or if you don't have an $800 Bugaboo the size of a Passat, or if you don't play Mozart as soon as you have yourself a blastocyst, you are FAILING YOUR CHILD. Your child will grow up resenting you and being all miserable and will rob banks. On the other hand if you are a Perfect Mommy who does Everything Right then your child will be fluent in five languages and proficient at cello by the age of 18 months!" studies.

I don't even LIKE the idea of babies or motherhood, but can't we just...like, love and teach and provide for our kids, rather than having neuroses over the fact that the stroller is "wrong" according to some study?
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Maritsa
11/21/08

"Our experimental study showed that, simply by turning the buggy around, parents' rate of talking to their baby doubled." But I thought it made them twice as likely to fall asleep? So ideally we should all be using inward-facing strollers so our kids can fall asleep while we talk to them? Should we also be doing flashcards at the same time? And pointing out everything we see in five languages? "See that, Bronx Mowgli? That's a CAT. GATO. CHAT. GATTO...shit, mommy needs to learn more languages!"
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BiteMeMitchell!
11/21/08

@Maritsa: I have a friend who can say "Cheers!" in about 9 different languages. She is also currently pregnant. That kid's going to grow up to be one precocious alcoholic.
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Maritsa
11/21/08

@Anointynointy: Hey, but that's a life skill. He/she can make friends in bars all over the world!
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morninggloria
11/21/08

In reply to Diaze-Pram
I'm sure this will fill the freaking out needs of helicopter parents through the holiday season.
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sandinista
11/21/08

In reply to Diaze-Pram
Money and time was spent researching this?! In Scotland of all places! We are doomed.
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BiteMeMitchell!
11/21/08

@sandinista: No word from the researchers as yet on whether feeding the child deep-fried Mars Bars and Irn Bru will have any detrimental effects.
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Dogtanian
11/21/08

@Anointynointy: No research is needed into that. Both are a healthy part of a balanced diet and deep fat frying is the best way of cooking, end of story.
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scullymurphy
11/21/08

@Anointynointy: Hey this study was done in Dundee, not Glasgow...
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TheUptightMidwesterner
11/21/08

In reply to Diaze-Pram
Of course the babies are happier when they are looking at mom, but at a certain age, you want them to start noticing the world around them. That is why I tromped around every damn lake and skyway in Minneapolis for 3 years with my kid in the stroller.
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SarahMC
11/21/08

In reply to Diaze-Pram
Let's make the next generation of children even MORE spoiled, helpless and self-absorbed.
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rosasparks
11/21/08

In reply to Diaze-Pram
minisparks never liked her stroller; she tolerated it. Lugging it up & down the L train stairs in Brooklyn, sucked ASS, so I generally nixed the thing.

I carried her around in a sling, facing our or sitting sideways, so she could either see me or the world. She loved it.

ps babies just need lovin' - it doesn't matter where the fuck they face.
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Spaceman Bill Leah
11/21/08

@rosasparks: My son is the exactly opposite. While he would tolerate being strapped to daddy in the Bjorn, the two times I put him in the sling resulted in protracted screaming fits. I love my 11 lb. stroller.

BTW, anyone want a baby sling, free?
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