How to Make a Smart Baby

If intelligence is the ability to learn, then babies are born geniuses! While babies brains have the potential to learn just about anything, parents have an important part to play in determining just how much - and how easily - their baby learns. Here, we discuss the key issues to bear in mind when teaching your baby.

A unique window of opportunity: five months gestation to five years of age
The younger the brain, the more malleable it is - thats why small children are like sponges. The brain builds itself by forming connections in response to the stimulation it receives. A baby begins responding to sound during month five in the womb, when her sense of hearing becomes fully developed. This means that learning begins before birth.


After birth, the brain continues wiring itself in response to the babys experiences of the world. Learning is faster and more effortless than it will ever be again. Acquiring our native language from birth guarantees proficiency, regardless of how linguistically gifted we turn out to be as adults - and the same holds true for other subjects. Everyone can become proficient in reading, math or music, so long as they begin learning as babies.

- Babies love to learn!
Babies brains are hardwired for learning, making babies the most avid students in the world. Whats more, babies and small children carry none of the baggage that comes from being sent to school and being subjected to quizzes, tests and examinations. For babies, learning is pure enjoyment.

- Teaching should never be forced
Regular practice is important, but not to the point of forcing. Above all, your child should enjoy the learning process. Hold lessons only when he is receptive, and end them before he loses interest.

- Play is essential
Babies and children need time to explore the world around them, pick up objects and examine them, and get to grips with the laws of nature. Your baby should spend the majority of her waking hours engaged in hands-on play.

- Relax and have fun!
Avoid focusing on having your child achieve specific knowledge goals. Treat lesson time instead as an opportunity for strengthening the parent-child bond. Teaching your baby should never become a source of stress for either one of you. If you feel this is happening, reevaluate your approach or trim down the lesson program as necessary.

Help! I dont have time
Teaching babies used to be a time-heavy commitment, with parents having to make their own flash cards and other materials. These days, high-quality book-, DVD- and software-based programs mean that no lesson preparation is required. As for giving lessons, this takes as little as five minutes per day.

If you use DVD or software-based programs, be aware that babies should only look at a screen for short periods of time. In this article on TV Computers, you can find out more on making TV and computer use safe and beneficial for babies.

Teaching Your Baby To Read
As increasing numbers of children are learning to read words by the age of one, and books by age three, the idea that children can only begin reading from age five or six has come into serious question. Children whove learnt to read as babies have a much easier time reading in the first and second grade. Whats more, almost all babies love to read!



Article Source: http://free-article-depot.com

Read More......

Baby Announcements

Birth announcements

There are a lot of ways to go about birth announcement nowadays – the time when fathers hand out cigars to their friends is long gone past. Though the cigar were really cute with a blue or pink ribbon wrapped around it for a whimsical touch – of course, pink for the girls and blue for the boys. Consider giving baby announcements to inform your family and friends that your baby is finally here. Give them to people who you think will want to share in your exciting news. Include a picture on your announcement to show off your cute little baby. Hand out the announcement as close to birth day as possible.


Also, you can email your baby's information to your family and friends as soon after your child arrives. Their birth date, time of birth, their measurements and you can even scan their footprint and include that on the message. The picture of your newborn could come later – but not later than six months. Ready-made cards that are for baby announcements are available at your local store, but if you want it to be extra special, you can order customized cards that are made especially for your baby. You can also print your own cards -- all you need is a publishing program, board paper, colored printer and a dash of creativeness.

You can also submit your baby announcement to your local newspaper and let them publish the arrival of your precious baby. A lot of people do this, though the process is a little impersonal and costly.

Unless the newspaper prints your announcement for free. Another way is to make online announcements and your baby's own cyberspace. You can make your baby an account to social networking websites and include their photos and information for your friends and family to view. The great thing about this is that you can update their site from time to time add pictures, videos or anything special that is happening to your little one.

If you throw a party – make sure that the theme of the party reflects the arrival of your baby. This may cost you money but you can just have a simple get-together with your family and friends for a chance to play with your baby. Of course there will be no alcoholic drinks and smoking in the party. And do not let your guests stay too late as to not overwhelm your baby. You can also announce our baby's arrival by handing out candies. You can order online for candies that are wrapped in personalized wrappers. You can also give away something that reflects your personality. If you are in a restaurant business, then you can give out colored spoon or if you are a dentist you can give out toothbrushes that are wrapped with a colored ribbon.

There are a hundred and one ways to do baby announcements, but if you still prefer to hand out cigars – it is okay as long as you remember that what matters most is sharing your little joy to other. Have a great birth announcement!

Article Source: http://free-article-depot.com



Jack Bottash is author of this article on baby shower invitations. Find more information about baby announcements here.

Read More......

Music and Your Baby

When a baby is first born, it can be a very trying time for the parent. Most mothers I have spoken to have told me that it’s a 24 hour nonstop job to parent a new born child. I have always heard of their inability to get any rest as they tend to the many needs of their child. As soon as it seems like the baby is asleep and they feel like they too can get some rest, then out of nowhere the screaming starts again. That’s when the rocking, nursing, rubbing, or anything else they can think of begins in an attempt to get their baby to relax and go back to sleep. On often overlooked ways to calm their baby down is also one of the most effective – music!

Just as music has the ability to affect our moods in adulthood, it has the same if not more ability to do so in infants. A lot of research done by many different organizations has proved that music can benefit a baby in many different ways. A nice calming lullaby has been used for centuries to calm babies down. An upbeat energetic song can create excitement in a baby. And even classical music has been said to increase creativity in children – called the Mozart effect. With today’s technology we have the added benefit of pre-recorded music that we play in a cd player and get all these benefits for your child with the push of a button. So now you can walk into your crying baby’s room and put on a nice calming lullaby and watch your baby relax, be completely entertained, and most importantly go back to sleep. There are lullaby cds that were created just for this purpose that can be obtained from websites like SuggleandNurture. In addition to music, your babies comfort is a very important aspect of a happy baby.

A comfortable outfit in conjunction with music can put your baby in heaven and lead to a relaxing night of sleep for you and your baby. SnuggleandNurture has teamed their high quality comfortable baby outfits with a cd of relaxing lullaby music where the lullaby music cd included for free with the purchase of any one of their baby outfits. If you are looking for a way to make you baby happy, increase your child’s creative development, and to get a good night’s sleep then you will want to get the right baby outfit with the right music.

Article Source: http://free-article-depot.com


Fern Helms owns and operates her online store SnuggleandNurture. She created this store to fill a growing need for parents of newborns to get a good night’s sleep with comfortable baby outfits and relaxing lullaby music.

Read More......

Should You Buy Toddler Size Furniture

By: Bob Benson

Your baby has grown into a full-fledged toddler and is ready for a "big girl" or "big boy" bed. Have you seen the latest toddler furniture? It's cute! But you really don't have to spend a lot to make your toddler comfortable in his or her bedroom.

Your first decision will be whether to buy a toddler bed. The toddler bed is a piece of furniture sized just right for babies who are too big for their crib. Most use the mattress from the crib, however, so they are not actually that much bigger in size. Toddler beds just get the child accustomed to sleeping without rails all around and is low enough that if the child rolls out, he won't get hurt.


Has your child grown quickly? If so, you might think about skipping the toddler bed as furniture and buy a twin size bed instead. You can purchase rails made of cloth and plastic that do a fine job of keeping the child in the bed and allowing him more room for movement. If you are looking to save money, this is one way to do it. By buying a twin bed you've eliminated the often expensive toddler size furniture that will only have to be upgraded later.

Should you buy a toddler size dresser? Again, the toddler furniture is precious, but do you expect your two or three year old to always put away his socks, underwear or t-shirts? The purchase of toddler size furniture is less about function and more about how absolutely adorable it is. Unless you just have money to blow, invest in furniture that will last the child (or someone else in the family later if it doesn't match his room any more) for a lifetime. If you buy a six drawer dresser now you can still insist your toddler help put his things away by putting items like socks, shirts and under clothes in the lower drawers. Since the furniture will be heavier, help open and close the drawers for him to avoid smashing his little fingers.

When considering furniture for a toddler's room remember to keep special needs in mind. Some children have allergic reactions to compressed woods, or the glues used to hold them together. If you have just bought new furniture that seems to have a loud smell and your child develops allergy symptoms, let your doctor know. It may help pin down the allergy culprit without undergoing a lot of tests.

Use the money you save by not buying toddler furniture to change the décor in your child's room often. A toddler who likes Big Bird one day may be crazy over princesses or Thomas the Tank Engine another day. Use standard colors that match the furniture you've selected and you can change themes of the room as often as your child changes favorites. Your toddler's room can still be cute and as unique as his ever changing personality even if you don't sink a lot of money into toddler sized furniture.

Author Bio
Bob Benson is the founder of Furniture online. You can check out our website at www.my-childrens-furniture.info

Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

Read More......

Baby Crib Advice and Tips

By: Martin Smith

Congratulations! You have just learned that you are having a baby. Whether this is your first or not you need to look at cribs. Do you have one already? Is it an antique? A second hand crib whether antique or not needs to be carefully looked at. This is for the safety of your new baby.

The screws, bolts, and/or other fasteners should all be in place. Are they loose? Will the position of the mattress hold under your baby's weight? It is imperative that this be tested before you put your baby in the crib. Take something that approximates the weight of your baby at about 4 months old. Bounce it off the mattress to be certain it will hold its position. If it doesn't it could cause serious injury to your baby or worse.

When setting up the nursery (if it isn't already up) consider very carefully where you will place the crib. If you place the crib near a window and you have Venetian blinds, either shorten the cords or anchor them somewhere that your baby can't reach and get a hold of them. If it all possible avoid placing the crib near the window. As your baby grows into a toddler and s/he attempts to climb out of the crib; s/he could possibly fall which could cause serious injury to your baby.

Blankets and your baby are not necessarily a good mix. With the incidents of SIDS today, you want to be sure to do everything that could possibly put your infant at risk. It is more advisable to put your baby to bed in a sleeper. If you absolutely have to have a blanket on the baby, tuck it tightly around and under the foot of the mattress with your baby's feet touching the footboard. Also you don't want to put the blanket any higher on the baby than up to his chest as that will help prevent him from slipping under the blankets and suffocating.

Bumper pads are a great concept but unless they are secured properly, there is a risk of your baby slipping between the mattress and the bumpers and possibly suffocating. If you use them they should be anchored in at least eight places one at each corner of the crib and at least two spaced evenly on each of the sides. There should be a total of 16 ties in all, for the top and bottom.

Mobiles are a nice addition and look adorable but... the caution here is that if you use a mobile as soon as your baby starts to sit up on his own the mobile should be taken down to prevent your baby from getting tangled in it. Also make sure that it has no small removable parts that your baby could choke on.

If your crib is second hand no matter whether you had for a previous child or you got it from someone else check out the mattress carefully. Make sure there are no cracks or holes in the mattress covering. Make sure too that the mattress properly fits in the crib. Here again, your child could slip between the mattress and the sidebars or the end boards and suffocate. The mattress should fit snugly in the crib. Now the sheets you use in your baby's crib should also fit properly and not slip and slide. Sheet anchors are available that hook on the sheet under the mattress and keep it in place.

The position of the mattress is imperative for your child's safety. Most parents put the mattress at the highest position when the baby first comes home because it is so much easier to change him in that position. As your baby becomes more active you will want to lower the mattress accordingly. Once your baby is able to pull up to a standing position put the mattress in the lowest possible position and to be sure your baby is safe, measure the distance between the top of the side bar and the mattress. In the lowest position the distance of the top of the side bar should be no more than 26 inches above the mattress. If your child's head is over the side bar or they climb out of the crib, it maybe time to move your child to a regular bed. Some cribs are convertible into beds tat will grow with your child.

The crib itself should be looked over for things that might put your baby at risk. Have you seen those cribs that have ornate designs carved into the end boards? They are beautiful but they pose a danger to your child. Your child could get his head or arm and leg caught and sustain an injury. The simpler the design of the crib the safer your child may be.

Since approximately 1974 federal safety guidelines for cribs state that the slats should be no more than 2 3/8 inches apart. This is to prevent your baby from getting his head stuck between the slats. This could cause injury to your baby but it would necessitate the removal of some of the slats and that alone would.

Author Bio
Martin Smith is a successful freelance writer providing advice for consumers on purchasing a variety of
Baby Crib Bedding
and more! His numerous articles provide a wonderfully researched resource of interesting and relevant information.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

Read More......