At Christmas I bought a doll for a family member’s daughter, but haven’t had the chance to see them so it was still in my closet. (I know, bad me!)

While rummaging through my closet, my son saw the doll and asked me to open it for him to play with. At first I said no, but after his repeated requests, I thought what could be the harm?

Once open, I was surprised at how interested he was in the ‘baby’ (we are not calling it a doll, it is a baby). He kept it fed, rubbed it’s back and referred to it as a baby all day. Just before nap time, he placed it on a pillow in his crib so that it could sleep with him.

Seeing all of this made me forget that boys are not supposed to have ‘dolls’.

Then I realized - this mentality is flawed.

Boy or girl, every child should have the opportunity to experience the other side. It is what makes a well balanced child.

I feel that playing with the baby gives us the opportunity to teach him how to be gentle to a smaller, more vulnerable creature. In turn, I am hoping that this skill will be transferred when I have my next real baby.

*Coincidentally, Melissa Joan Hart showed up to an event last week with son Mason carrying a doll. *

Stokke designer Peter Opsvik created the Tripp Trapp in the 70’s, after seeing how uncomfortable his son, Tor, was after he outgrew the traditional high chair. The tot’s feet dangled awkwardly and his arms were unable to reach the table: he simply couldn’t get comfortable.

The Happy Hippo, which was introduced to the market last year, has many of the same features as the Stokke. The only differences between the two chairs are the color choices, chair weight(1lb) and price. This chair is about $80 cheaper than it’s designer counterpart.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

“There are numerous parenting books telling people what to expect when they’re pregnant. But once a baby is born, an astonishing number of parents are not only unsure of what to anticipate as their child develops, but are also uncertain of when, how or how much they are to help their babies reach various milestones, such as talking, grabbing, discerning right from wrong, or even potty-training,” said Dr. Heather Paradis of the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.

Parents were asked to complete an 11-question survey designed to see which parents were well prepared and which were not.

The survey asked questions like, “Should a 1-year-old child be able to tell between right from wrong?” and “Should a 1-year-old child be ready to begin toilet-training?”

The correct answer to both is no.

Parents who got four or fewer correct answers were considered to have low parenting knowledge.

Other tests included teaching their child a new task, how often they engaged their children in enrichment activities, such as reading books, singing songs or telling stories.

Researchers found that 31.2 percent of the parents had a low level of knowledge about what to expect from their child, and this was strongly correlated with lower parental education level and income.

“The fact that almost a third of parents could only answer four out of eleven questions correctly was very surprising to us,” Paradis said

Here are a few Milestone Highlights: 1-3 months

• Support head and upper body when on stomach
• Open and shut hands
• Bring hands to mouth
• Grab and shake hand toys
• Swipe and bat at dangling objects
• Push down legs when on a flat surface
• Follow moving objects

4-7 months:

• Roll over both ways (stomach to back, back to stomach)
• Sit up with, and then without, support of his hands
• Reach for object with one hand using the raking grasp
• Transfer objects from hand to hand
• Support whole weight when on legs and held upright
• Explore objects with hands and mouth
• Explore objects by banging and shaking

8-12 months:

• Get in and out of a sitting position independently
• Get on hands-and-knees position and crawl
• Pull self up to standing position, walk holding on to furniture, stand without support and, eventually, take a few steps without support and begin to walk
• Use pincer grasp (thumb and first finger)
• Place objects into container and take them out of container
• Begin to do more functional activities, such as hold a spoon or turn pages in a book
• Say “mama” and “dada” and use these terms specifically referring to a parent
• Use exclamations such as “oh-oh!”
• Use simple gestures, such as shaking head for “no” or waving for “bye-bye”

SOURCE, SOURCE

When she requested to be put on light duty for the rest of her pregnancy, it was denied by Township officials.

At a council meeting Monday night, Mayor William Larkin said the Monmouth County community should develop a policy to deal with a police officer’s pregnancy. Two of the department’s 62 officers are women.

Her union says management has told the decorated officer to stay on patrol or take an unpaid leave of absence.

Sonia was awarded a medal of valor for persuading a person who had pointed a loaded gun at her to surrender in December.

It is surprising to me that there is no official policy covering this situation. I can’t imagine that Sonia is the first woman to serve on the force to become pregnant…

SOURCE

Isabel Ruby Lieberstein arrived on Saturday weighing 6 lbs., 14 oz.

Angela’s rep gave the standard quote, “Mom and baby are doing great!”

Present at the hospital, was co-star and best friend Jenna Fischer.

SOURCE

PHOTOCREDIT:Jesse Grant / WireImage

Enterovirus (EV71) causes a severe form of hand, foot and mouth disease with symptoms including fever, mouth sores and rashes with blisters. It is easily spread by sneezing or coughing. The viruses mainly strike children ages 10 and younger.

Some cases can lead to fatal swelling of the brain.

EV71 is not related to foot and mouth disease, which afflicts livestock.

There is no vaccine or specific treatment, but most children affected by mild forms of the disease typically recover quickly without problems.

Today it is being reported that more than 11,900 cases have been reported, with at least 24 deaths in the central province of Anhui and Guangdong province. Of the children that had been reported infected, all were below the age of 6 and the majority were under the age of 2.

The World Health Organization says the virus normally peaks in June and July so there could still be an increase in infections as the weather warms.

WHO’s China representative, Hans Troedsson, said the disease was not a threat to the Beijing Olympics because the disease mostly sickens young children.

China’s Health Ministry has sent teams to Anhui to coordinate treatment of the disease and prevent its spread.

Heaven forbid that the sick children effect the Olympics… SOURCE