some links

Kia Ora friendly geeks.

Here come some links.  First, from the journal Pediatrics.  Beware the screens!  And next, a li’l something about language development and how mamas talk to their babes.

This is gonna have to do for now: it’s before school and I am being a lousy mum on a computer.  But I just HAVE to share this from Time magazine (thanks sister).  Baby teaches modern dance class.  I was raised by a dancer so I share this not to minimise the skill and value of dance, but to honour the skill and value of babies.

stellar links, sunny day

These pictures will make you wish you were a photographer: here the gent in question photographs his daughter in such inspired ways.  Blown away.   I was similarly inspired by this photographic collection of awesome playgrounds from around the world.

Here you can enjoy the list from Scientific American of the most obvious research findings of 2013, and begin 2014 with the Governor General’s message: it’s a shout out to families.  HOLLA!

A link to a fascinating podcast is HERE (thanks, Slate) and it’s rather illuminating in its discussion of children’s learning about and use of the word NO.  Enjoy!  (No!)

Meanwhile, closer to home, Little Girl is cutting her second molars (OUCH!).  While I empathise, I find myself kind of pleased to have something to blame the grouchiness on.  Big Girl’s grouchiness can be blamed on my current obsession about the amount of sugar we’re all consuming.  As the person responsible for feeding this family, I find it can be quite the burden to choose things that are delicious, balanced, and that the fellas will eat.

Motherhood, eh?  It’s all I ever wanted, and it wears me out.  Both things are true.

overanalysis paralysis

Gotta be careful, my geeky brothers & sisters.  I’m all a-flutter about the new website and I have been kind of staring at it for ages … poised.  So full of anticipation and humble-hearted that I wind up a great ball of inactivity!  Thus: let’s dive in and do what Baby Geeks DO.  A broad trawl of interesting stuff and a scoot through some child-focused, science-y links.  Behold!

Let’s start with a piece from Slate that I am choosing to serve as an explanation as to why my photos are always a bit disjointed and odd.  I am pretty passionate about preserving the anonymity of my children.  Also from Slate: the grossness of celebrities who tweet the voices of their children.

While we’re being suspicious of technology (an effortless task for this geek), here is a li’l something about use of tablets with children (not asprin, iPads).  Might be time for an appy change?  For real, though, it should be no surprise that the advice for parents seems to be very similar as the advice we’ve always been given re: the telly – resist the temptation to use it as a babysitter, instead use it as an opportunity for connection and a springboard for conversation.  Because talking with children is really important, eh?

Here is a write up about some Australian research reinforcing the role of exercise in boosting kids’ cognitive abilities, let this inspire pregnant mommas (and the rest of us!) to eat well, and I’m a wee bit excited about this burgeoning parenting ed info from Norway.  While you’re there, have a geez at the menu on the left of the article.  You might go NUTS.  I did.

Here is yet another piece about the value of fathers, this is a fairly fabulous article from Psychology Today about “What Happy People Do Differently”, and … just cos I am a bit in love with myself for taking my kids swimming yesterday (*I am NOT a naturally aquatic creature and barely EVER do my poor children get this experience on my watch!) I will end with the neurological explanation for crinkly fingers and toes after overexposure to water.