How much daycare is too much?
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| Thu, 03-31-2005 - 11:26am |
Did anyone see the Wall Street Journal today? An article on the "Personal Journal" page talks about two studies that are coming out -- one being the already referenced NICHD study -- that shows 45+ hours a week of day can do harm to a child. What I found interesting about it is that the NICHD study says *anything* other than mom care is other care!! What happened to Dad?
The other article, in the same section, is an article about how parents are outsourcing everything now, including potty training! The article states that parents will send a child to a batting coach instead of just playing catch in the backyard. Another service, that costs $60 an hour (!), will help teach your child how to ride a bike!
I don't have an online subscription to the Journal, so I can't post the stories here. Does anyone else have one?
mom_writer

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I don't think we can honestly say a baby fights sleeping alone, but I can honestly say we, their parents, can condition them to do so.
Linda - wife, mother, grandmum &nb
Linda - wife, mother, grandmum &nb
Me too, I kept a journal on my twins from the moment we knew I was carrying twins.
Linda - wife, mother, grandmum &nb
Oh, those parents. They present you with an infant or worse, a toddler, you're stuck sleeptraining.
But it's wrong to blame the parents. They don't "condition" the baby to protest sleeping alone. You're confusing Conditioning with Prolonging (exs., cosleeping, responding to every cry rather than forcing CIO or a wait-and-see approach). Infants protest sleep of their own volition. You can't cause a baby to cry. (Unless you're intentionally hurting him.) That's what babies do. Like I told Sewchris, parents can have their week early on or, like Sewchris did, can Prolong (by cosleeping) the protesting of sleep until her son was age 2...or even later.
Tired newborns at first sleep well (or they don't *L*) and, placed consistently in their bassinets and cribs, don't cry. But at some point in their little lives, they gradually become aware of the world around them and even early, painful teething can set in. They protest being removed from the action and placed in a crib often in a room alone, while the sahp or everyone else gets to stay awake and have fun.
I sleeptrained at 5 and 6 months and, thereafter, each of my 3 children slept and napped without tears. But nothing parents do, causes a baby to fight sleep. Parents do not "condition" a baby to cry.
That's a strange accusation coming from a dc provider. Since you're being "honest" here and kind of insulting to those parents who've chosen to cosleep or jump at each cry rather than sit by while their children cry, I have to say that I was glad we could avoid dc if only for the very reason that I didn't want them sleeptrained by a dc provider.
Parents can easily condition a child to fight sleep. By expecting the child to conform to the parents' needs and the parents' schedules and ignoring, or not knowing how to listen to, the child's natural sleep needs.
Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color. Choosing your socks by their character makes no sense and choosing your friends by their color is unthinkable.
You too are confusing Conditioning with Prolonging.
For instance, you have Prolonged your son's waking up way too early in the morning because you refuse to cut out his naps at the late age of 4 (5?). 4 yr-olds don't need to nap. You're Prolonging his sleep habits.
Little babies cry. That's what they do. They initiate their crying when hungry, when lonely, when sleep-deprived, when placed alone in the crib at an age where they are increasingly aware of the world around them and possibly early teething.
<> I think your refusal to cut out that nap is an example of this.
I expected my babies at ages 5 and 6 months to do what they were capable of - what every poster here alleges ALL of her babies did! *L* - to sleep in the crib without tears. I did the sleep training and it's been heaven since.
I'm glad to hear that you're healthy, but exercise is very often the difference between life and death. Read the newspaper lately? I got serious about exercise almost a year ago, shortly after a friend with a 5yo and a 4yo was diagnosed with breast cancer. Exercise can *prevent* dozens of cancers.
I didn't ever want to look at my kids and know that I could have prevented their growing up without a mother. It's certainly no guarantee, but at least I know I'm doing what I can to be there for my children's childhoods.
How many children do you have? I don't remember reading a post that said. Some children give up their naps around 18 months, some start Kindergarten still taking naps. Out of my 4 children, one never stopped taking a nap/rest. She still naps if given the chance at age 24. Dylan was still taking naps when he started Kindergarten. Since he was in the afternoon class, he took rests/naps only on the weekends until he turned 6. My other 2 children stopped naps around age 4. My dcp has observed this same thing with hundreds of children.
As for following my infants leads regarding sleeping. I did. I have one child who is a very touchy/cuddly boy and one whose personal space has a 6 ft radius. Even in the hospital when he was born, Dylan hated to be put down. Erica would have been content to have a propped bottle rather than be cuddled and breastfed.
Chris
The truth may be out there but lies are in your head. Terry Pratchett
My 4yo DOES need to nap.
Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color. Choosing your socks by their character makes no sense and choosing your friends by their color is unthinkable.
Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color. Choosing your socks by their character makes no sense and choosing your friends by their color is unthinkable.
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