karala
Member Since: November 10, 2009
Location: Unknown
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A cuddly baby will be held and nursed longer. A smiling a cooing baby will have more people approach and entertain her. Why? Because we have no problem positively reinforcing these prosocial behaviors. Why, then, is there so much hand wringing and fighting about negative reinforcement for problem behaviors?
As a person who works in the field of child development, I feel the need to say that babies are keenly aware of their needs and wants only. They are not yet capable of truly understanding that others have needs and wants of their own. Babies don't understand the feelings of others, hence can not understand concepts of "right vs. wrong", only "needs being met vs. needs NOT being met."
A nursing baby of only a few weeks of age who bites the breast and causes pain to its mother is able to understand very quickly that biting= nipple being pulled away. That usually stops the biting. That same principle can be applied to nearly every situation: hitting daddy = being put down, throwing food = out of high chair. In both cases, if the parental reaction is CONSISTENT and targeted at discontinuing the behavior in a way that is not physically or emotionally abusive, then the baby learns that if they behave in a certain way, their needs will not be met. Of course, the opposite is true as well- if a baby claps and that clapping is met with more clapping and cheers from the parents, the baby wants to clap again- he liked our reaction!
Babies don't have the ability to reason and we shouldn't pretend that they do. Babies have needs, just as parents have needs. Babies need love, comfort, nourishment, AND BOUNDARIES to grow properly. Parents need those things, too.
Don't forget- many guests will ask if they can bring anything. If you say "well, I don't have much in the way of sweet treats", that's what people will bring and VOILA! your dessert issue is cleared right up. Just make sure you have a place decorated and set aside for desserts. If guests feel that you've made a little extra effort to make their contribution stand out, they'll feel special, too. Being a little more specific will also save you from drowning in salsa, which tends to be a favorite bring-along for party guests. Whatever you serve, your guests will most likely be happy just to share your company, so cheers!
Hot appetizers are a good call at this time of year (I'm assuming you live someplace that's cold this time of year?). Everybody has a fave spinach and artichoke dip recipe made from frozen veggies- relatively cheap and it sticks to the ribs- people feel as though they've eaten more. Most grocery stores stock mini meatballs to which you can add an interesting sauce and serve in a buffer warmer or crock pot.
My tried and trues are the Mezza platter and interesting spreads. (Mediteranian- inspired nibbles like olives, goat cheese, hummus, any cold veggies for dipping, marinated mushrooms, pita chips or wedges- way more interesting than chips and salsa... plus easy bruscetta made of diced tomatoes, feta and basil, tapenade-you can find some interesting choices at Trader Joe's-with sliced baguette).
Beer and wine is easy, but you'll get a lot of mileage out of hot mulled cider (with or without spirits), or a vat of hot toddies.
Happy Holidays!
Bjorn= totally worth it. Allowed me to cook, do household stuff, and take the baby out in the world facing in and away from overly affectionate strangers and sneezes. Here is why I never used the sling- I am really, really phobic about enclosed spaces and being unable to breathe or use my arms. Every time I see a baby in a sling, I panic and sweat a little bit on their behalf.
That's old enough to start.
She beats you up in the morning when you bring her into the bed you tell her in a stern voice "No!" She does it a second time and you take her back to her crib.
There is no "please don't bite me". This isn't a negotiation. She bites, she doesn't get a friendly interaction with you. She'll begin associating biting and hitting with the loss of your attention.
She might not have a concept outside of herself besides one where HER actions cause a reaction in you. This is where you begin to teach her with that. It's an autonomous phase she's entering into but that doesn't mean you tolerate it.
Don't forget- many guests will ask if they can bring anything. If you say "well, I don't have much in the way of sweet treats", that's what people will bring and VOILA! your dessert issue is cleared right up. Just make sure you have a place decorated and set aside for desserts. If guests feel that you've made a little extra effort to make their contribution stand out, they'll feel special, too. Being a little more specific will also save you from drowning in salsa, which tends to be a favorite bring-along for party guests. Whatever you serve, your guests will most likely be happy just to share your company, so cheers!
Hot appetizers are a good call at this time of year (I'm assuming you live someplace that's cold this time of year?). Everybody has a fave spinach and artichoke dip recipe made from frozen veggies- relatively cheap and it sticks to the ribs- people feel as though they've eaten more. Most grocery stores stock mini meatballs to which you can add an interesting sauce and serve in a buffer warmer or crock pot.
My tried and trues are the Mezza platter and interesting spreads. (Mediteranian- inspired nibbles like olives, goat cheese, hummus, any cold veggies for dipping, marinated mushrooms, pita chips or wedges- way more interesting than chips and salsa... plus easy bruscetta made of diced tomatoes, feta and basil, tapenade-you can find some interesting choices at Trader Joe's-with sliced baguette).
Beer and wine is easy, but you'll get a lot of mileage out of hot mulled cider (with or without spirits), or a vat of hot toddies.
Happy Holidays!
The PSP 3000 will work with the PS3. You can buy downloadable content for the PSP with the PS3 online store and then transmit it to the PSP. You can play PS3 games on the PSP's screen like a remote control. The iPod and the DSi won't do any of that although they have their own online stores.
This really comes down to what do you think she'd most like to do. If it's mostly listen to music and play a few games, the iPod Touch is best. If it's more "grown up" type games then the PSP. Otherwise the DSi - DS has by far the biggest lineup of kid-friendly games. Beware, there's a huge amount of crappy shovelware but there are a lot of really good games too.
The iPod touch is pointless if she already has an iPod. The only benefits she would get from that is having the apps and stuff. But the iPod touch uses WiFi. Which, at that point, makes it more practical to get a Nintendo DSi. That also uses WiFi, but you can get more games for it, and it has that spiffy camera. I'm not fond of the PSPs, in general. There are more games for the DSi that she would probably like more, compared to the Sony games that PSP uses. Nintendo is usually more kid-friendly.
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