Mod Mum

We love this article from Time Magazine!  How many times have you had someone tell you that your baby will become spoiled and needy if you hold them too much?  It looks like the results are in, and it is the opposite effect!  So put that baby in a sling and cuddle all you like.  Get everything you need done, while still giving your baby or toddler all the attention they need and deserve!

Read the entire article here at Time.com

Can extra nurturing during infancy make your child kinder and smarter?

Over the last several decades, more and more research has suggested that experiences in early life — even prenatal life — can have a disproportionate influence on the development of personality and physical and mental health. Now another group of studies, led by Notre Dame psychology professor Darcia Narvaez, confirms earlier work suggesting that children who get more positive touch and affection during infancy turn out to be kinder, more intelligent and to care more about others.

Narvaez, who will present her findings at a conference in early October, conducted three separate studies. The first compared parenting practices in the U.S. and China. Another followed a large sample of children of teen mothers who were involved in a child abuse–prevention project, and compared outcomes of various types of early parenting practices. The third examined how parents of 3-year-olds behaved toward their children.

All three studies suggested the same thing: children who are shown more affection early in life reap big benefits. Researchers found that kids who were held more by their parents, whose cries received quick responses in infancy and who were disciplined without corporal punishment were more empathic — that is, they were better able to understand the minds of others — later in life.

Although there were some differences between American and Chinese practices, “we found mostly parallels,” Narvaez notes.

Given that highly affectionate parenting practices are similar to the practices anthropologists believe parents used during the thousands of years that humans lived in hunter-gatherer societies, it’s likely that they are closely matched with what a developing baby’s brain naturally expects. (More on Time.com: Similac Recall Outrages Parents: Are Beetles Bad?)

Consider the way babies instinctively cry when put to sleep alone. In the early human environment, a child would never have slept more than arm’s reach from his parents or other caregivers. Lone sleeping may elicit a stress response in the baby because it’s not the “safe” environment that the brain is programmed to expect. The fact that most babies can adjust to it anyway shows how flexible and “plastic” brain development is — but Narvaez’ research suggests that meeting the brain’s early expectations may have added benefits.

“What’s been studied most is responsivity,” she says, referring to the way parents respond to their babies and act accordingly, for example, noticing when they are about to cry and reacting appropriately to subtle positive and negative signals about what they want. “[Responsivity] is clearly linked with moral development. It helps foster an agreeable personality, early conscience development and greater prosocial behavior.”

Even rat research confirms the importance of early nurture. Rat pups born to mothers that lick and nuzzle them — even rats that are put in the “foster” care of such mothers — are healthier, grow faster, and are better able to run mazes and interact socially than pups that are neglected. Rats raised by less affectionate moms have deficits in all these areas — but they do perform better in extremely stressful situations. (More on Time.com: Why Most Moms Don’t Follow Breast-Feeding Recommendations)

I summarize much of the latest research in empathy in the book Born for Love: Why Empathy Is Essential — and Endangered, co-authored with leading child psychiatrist Dr. Bruce Perry:

[W]hile we are born for love, we need to receive it in certain, specific ways in early life to benefit most from its mercy. We need to practice love as we grow through different social experiences to best be able to give it back in abundance. The brain becomes what it does most frequently. It is shaped every day by what we do — and what we don’t do.

If we don’t practice empathy, we can’t become more empathetic. If we don’t interact with people, we can’t improve our connections to them. If we don’t ease each other’s stress through caring contact, we will all be increasingly distressed.

Of course, early life is certainly not the only influence on empathy: some of the most caring, altruistic people have suffered horribly neglectful and abusive childhoods. Children are, thankfully, quite resilient. But if you want to give your child an edge in these areas, lots of cuddles and responsive parenting certainly can’t hurt.

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2010/09/29/no-such-thing-as-too-much-love-spoiled-babies-grow-up-to-be-smarter-kinder-kids/#ixzz12AtZYMua

The last few weeks of pregnancy seem to drag on for many mothers. It is hard to wait for the baby when that is the one thing you are hoping for, and is made even worse when your due date comes and goes and no baby arrives. Here are a few activities you can do to keep yourself busy while you wait for baby to finally arrive:

1. Clean your home. The nesting instinct may already have set in. Usually, if that is the case, cleaning your home will not only make you feel happier, but it will be a fun activity for you to help keep your mind off your baby that has not decided to come yet.

2. Go baby shopping. Get out of the house and buy something fun for the baby. A good choice is to buy a baby sling or baby carrier. Baby slings are a good choice to have before the baby comes because you will be able to use them when the baby is a newborn. Baby slings are very convenient too when you have another child at home. Your hands will be full taking care of two or more children, and a baby sling can be help keep your hands free while you get meals ready or get children out the door for school.

3. Take the opportunity to go out with your husband. Spend some quality time with him while you have the chance. Things get pretty exhausting and busy once the baby arrives, so spending quality time with your husband, and children if you already have some, is a good idea.

4. Take time to pamper yourself. Your new baby is going to be demanding a lot from you, especially in the first few months of his life. Go to a salon and get your nails and hair done. Many day spas offer great prenatal massages too.

5. Write down your feelings. Waiting for your baby to arrive is one emotional journey. Keep a journal about your pregnancy and share how you spent your last days before becoming a mother.

6. Read a good book. Great books are a great way to keep your mind off of dealing with the “waiting” game that comes the last few weeks of pregnancy. Books offer you hours of entertainment and distraction, rather than a good movie. Ask friends or family members to recommend good books that you might enjoy to read.

7. Exercise. Exercise is good for the baby and good for you. It also releases natural endorphins in your body, which can help with the late-pregnancy moodiness.

“A recent research study replicated a study done in the 1940’s, in which psychological researchers asked kids age 3, 5, and 7 to do a number of exercises…Today’s 5 year olds were acting at a level of 3 year olds, 60 years ago, and today’s 7 year olds were barely approaching the level of the 5 year old (1, 4, 5).” In the 1940’s, children were reported to walk at 8-12 months of age, now children are reported to begin walking at 12-15 months of age (2). Realistically speaking that is only a generation ago; that’s a huge decline in functional performance in a relatively short time span.

I found this phenomenon to be most interesting and also terrifying. Many considerations were outlined as possible causes, including genetics, birth process, nutrition, change in parenting, information gap, lack of play, overly structured childcare, etc. However, one plausible contributing factor called “containerization of infants” seemed an obvious and early implication for this trend. I decided to research this topic further and was astounded by what I found.

Containerization of infants is defined as “confining them to strollers, playpens, high chairs, and car/infant seats for hours at a time.” Developmental delays in motor milestones such as rolling over, crawling, and walking can occur with this type of confinement (3). It is, of course, recommended that parents interact with infants in daily physical activities that promote exploration. Explorative play is an important part of child development as play becomes the cornerstone of learning about the body, the environment, and how the self relates to the world. The environment provides the motivation for movement through visual interest – and movement provides the brain constant feedback regarding body in space, muscle use, touch, and hand-eye coordination.

Many parents are not even aware of how much their infants have become containerized. We live in a day in age where both parents work, people have extremely busy schedules, and technology and more products have allowed us to continue the rigors of daily living with a baby in tote. For example a mother can place her baby in an infant seat, get ready to go out, take that infant seat and attach it as a car seat, drive to a destination, take the seat out of the car and place it in a grocery cart for easy shopping, place the seat back in the car, drive home. It’s a convenience that is hard to beat and mothers can be seen anywhere holding their babies via plastic handle. However, from the perspective of the baby – there is low motor stimulation, virtually no positional changes, low or unchanging touch stimulation, and visual stimulation that is limited to a continuum of ceiling, potentially for several hours a day.

To fully grasp this containerization theory and compare the babies of today to the babies of higher functioning yesteryear, it is most imperative to take a look at each of the senses separately:
The vestibular system is the unifying system, giving us a sense of where we stand; movement stimulates the “vestibule” in the inner ear (1). Vestibular stimulus involves the movement of head through space including linear, angular, orbital, and rotary directions (6). In other words, as movement takes place the brain is processing information about where the body is in space. With regard to containerization theory, babies that spend too much time in containers would not experience movement to the degree that is required for learning and developing gravitational security. Gravitational security is feeling safe during movement with a confident idea of where your body is in space.

The proprioceptive system refers to sensory messages about the position, force, direction, and movement of body parts. Our muscles/joints send messages to the brain as they contract, stretch, bend, and straighten. This gives us a “position sense” (1). Containerized babies tend to remain in one position only or with movement allowed to take place on only one plane. There is little opportunity for meaningful changes in position that allow for muscular input/output. Babies naturally tend to engage in yoga-like moves as they learn to roll, crawl, walk, etc; containers simply do not allow for this type of innate mind-body exercise.

The tactile system includes temperature and texture. This system is designed to alert us to threats and gives the body boundaries – it is the basis for body image (6). The tactile system of a containerized baby is likely under-stimulated with a typical social input being experienced to a much lesser degree.

The visual system involves the left and right brain working together to produce visual-spatial processing skills (1). While acuity is often thought of first with regard to vision, being able to process lighting, likenesses/differences, spatial relationships, and the tracking of moving objects is also imperative. Containerization for long periods of time may not offer appropriate visual stimuli, depending on the position of baby in the carrier and the position of the carrier itself.

Orientation and organization of these senses are required for development of skills later in life. Children need to interpret vestibular information in order to develop postural control, balance, cross midline, discriminate between left/right, and understand concepts such as up/down, in front/behind. Proprioceptive information requires correct interpretation in order to maintain upright posture, motor plan body movements, grasp with appropriate pressure, and use the right amount of muscle force during daily activities. Development of the tactile system allows for the detection of size, form, contour, texture, and movement across the skin; functional implications being to tolerate clothing, unexpected social touch, bathing, haircuts, dental care, etc. (7) And the visual system is imperative to not only acuity, but fixation, depth perception, peripheral awareness, and saccades; these are functional requirements for motor coordination, safety, and successful navigation through a community setting.

As we look back at how infants were cared for one to two generations ago, we can imagine that infants had much more exposure to movement and seeing the world from changing angles and depths. It is more likely that a mother of generations ago would put her baby in one arm or on her hip and go about her day; the baby at that point experiences several positional changes from the mother’s body moving, as well as from the mother likely changing holds on the baby. In this manner, the baby is then experiencing changing vestibular and proprioceptive inputs that are natural to a mother’s movement and gravitational force. Baby-carrying provides the elements of pressure, motion, pleasure, warmth, security, sound that is essential to the development of the vestibular nervous system (8). Seeing the world from varying angles is experienced – not only via changes in position in space by being carried, but also by moving closer and further away from objects of fixation as the mother moves. Touch could be characterized as constant, with fluctuations in pressure, quick/light touches, friction, and temperature. Carrying a baby offers realistic sensory inputs natural to human and environmental experience, while containers often shield these inputs from becoming a part of neurological growth.
Carrying your baby at all times or leaving him/her unattended is certainly not the answer – everything in moderation is the key to a successful and holistic plan. Carrying, tummy time, sitting time, rest (potentially per container), and physical play with opportunity to move about are all equally important. Containers can offer safety and convenience at important times, yet the long-term implications of overuse are dramatic and a factor that is quite obviously changing our population as a whole.

A little background on Brandi:

Brandi Breitbach, MOTR/L

* Graduate of the University of North Dakota: Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy
* National Board Certified Occupational Therapist
* North Dakota licensure
* Areas of Interest/Special Training: Sensory Integration

Resources:
(1) Effective Neurological Management of Sensory Processing Disorder, Course Workbook, www.crosscountryeducation.com, Written & Presented by Charlene Young, OTR/L, CEAS.
(2) Young, Charlene. Speaker notes.
(3) National Association for Sport and Physical Education
(4) Education Advocate, A Publication of the Commonwealth Education Organization. May/June 2008, Vol. 9, No. 3
(5) Speigel, Alex. Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills. www.npr.org
(6) Autism Society of Michigan
(7) Understanding Sensory Processing/Integration with Remediation Strategies for the Home/School Environment, Course Workbook, Written by Cynthia Ann Clemens, OTR/L.
(8) 43 Reasons to Carry Your Baby http://www.instinctiveparenting.com/flex/43_reasons_to_carry_your_baby/73/1