7.7.05

baby brains

I always poo pooed the mothers with the incessant, my baby walked at 8 months, my baby spoke in full sentences at 12 months, my baby, my baby. I still think that measuring your child against other children is silly and unnecessary. But after baby V came along, I started studying the development of the brain in children. I took a seminar, and read some books. Now I keep a little closer eye on it. Its kind of like checking under the hood of the car. Its not that you're measuring your car against your neighbor's car. Its just that you want to make sure that your car is running well, and to head off any issues before they become problems. So baby V still crawls (on her belly) most of the time. She has started to creep (hands and knees) a little, but the belly crawl is her preferred mode of transportation. I have a friend with a baby one day younger than Violet. He took his first steps a couple of weeks ago. Hmm? I wondered if I should be concerned. So I did a little research and found my answer. Early walking is NOT good. I said it. Sorry all you momma braggers. Crawling develops the pons, creeping develops the midbrain, and walking is a function of the cortex. So babies who walk early quite often tend to be those who have spent a lot of time in "devices," and are used to being in an unnatural vertical state. The longer a baby crawls and creeps (to a reasonable degree), the more neurologically organized they will be. So long live the belly crawl. For those of you who don't know, I am teaching Violet to read, and do math. I know it sounds bizarre, but I assure you it is possible. Yesterday was a banner day developmentally for Violet. She figured out how to use her drum...That may be a mixed blessing. She figured out how to lift all the flaps in her lift the flap books. And she got all of her "which one is" correct. Right now we're playing "which one is" with the flags of South America. I show her two flags and ask, which one is Paraguay? Then she picks one. So that's my bragging for the day. Not in comparison to other kids, but in comparison to what she could do yesterday.

3 rubber neckers:

WunEyedDog said...

Anyone who wants to poopoo this is welcome to go one on one with her. You can try to make the argument that she's just randomly picking the right one, but she's right way too often for that. Hell, I can't even pick out Paraguay's flag.

Anonymous said...

I don't know the South American flags either... but I've been walking for WELL over 20 years, so maybe my brain is becoming disorganized ;)

sweetviolet said...

kait you never fail to make me laugh out loud.

 

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