Treasures & Observations
At the library book sale, I bought an extensive compilation of poems titled Favorite Poems Old and New, edited by Helen Ferris Tibbets, for $.25. :D I also got a huge book of Nursery and Mother Goose Rhymes by Marguerite de Angeli for $.25. The editions I linked to are not the ones I picked up, but I couldn't find those editions on Amazon.com. The volumes I purchased were part of a set called "Beginner's Bookshelf" published by Doubleday in 1982. I'm thrilled with them! We also bought a few Berenstain Bears books and I got a couple board books for Luke. I also found a brand new beginner's dictionary for Katie, a DK book about large cats, and an Angelina Ballerina book. I may include links to the actual books later.
The train ride was amazing! We all loved it! The train was a real beauty, black and shiny, big and loud. We got some great pictures and oh-so-thankfully the car we were in was air-conditioned! Woo-hoo! It was terribly hot that day.
While we were waiting for the train to arrive, I was looking around at the other people gathered near the tracks and I saw a family of four. The children were about 8 months (?) and 4. The mom fed the baby his bottle while he was in the reclined stroller. Later (I'm not sure if he was picked up after the feeding or not), the baby was crying in the stroller with the shade pulled over it. After a short while, the dad went over to the baby and said, "You're fine, buddy. Take a nap. Take a nap" and walked away. [sarcasm]Sure, the baby's fine. That's why it was crying. [/sarcasm] The mom just jiggled the stroller and continued talking to her friends. The baby continued to cry for a few minutes and then went to sleep. I wonder how many times the little guy has had and will have to cry himself to sleep. It made me sad. Parent-centered parenting - of all, but especially of babies - really upsets and angers me. They are vulnerable. They need reassurance and nurturing, not abandonment couched as teaching. I suppose most parents who cry-it-out believe they are doing the right thing. However, I would never leave anyone I know to cry alone and certainly not my infant children. They may cry in my arms if there's nothing I can do, but they will not cry alone. I also want to add that I consider it to be CIO when parents have their children cry in their crib while they are there next to the crib talking to them or patting their backs. In the vast majority of cases, the child wants to be picked up and cuddled or nursed, and that's what babies need. They need to know that their mommy is always there to comfort and help them, to teach them gently and guide them along the way.
The train ride was amazing! We all loved it! The train was a real beauty, black and shiny, big and loud. We got some great pictures and oh-so-thankfully the car we were in was air-conditioned! Woo-hoo! It was terribly hot that day.
While we were waiting for the train to arrive, I was looking around at the other people gathered near the tracks and I saw a family of four. The children were about 8 months (?) and 4. The mom fed the baby his bottle while he was in the reclined stroller. Later (I'm not sure if he was picked up after the feeding or not), the baby was crying in the stroller with the shade pulled over it. After a short while, the dad went over to the baby and said, "You're fine, buddy. Take a nap. Take a nap" and walked away. [sarcasm]Sure, the baby's fine. That's why it was crying. [/sarcasm] The mom just jiggled the stroller and continued talking to her friends. The baby continued to cry for a few minutes and then went to sleep. I wonder how many times the little guy has had and will have to cry himself to sleep. It made me sad. Parent-centered parenting - of all, but especially of babies - really upsets and angers me. They are vulnerable. They need reassurance and nurturing, not abandonment couched as teaching. I suppose most parents who cry-it-out believe they are doing the right thing. However, I would never leave anyone I know to cry alone and certainly not my infant children. They may cry in my arms if there's nothing I can do, but they will not cry alone. I also want to add that I consider it to be CIO when parents have their children cry in their crib while they are there next to the crib talking to them or patting their backs. In the vast majority of cases, the child wants to be picked up and cuddled or nursed, and that's what babies need. They need to know that their mommy is always there to comfort and help them, to teach them gently and guide them along the way.
posted by Maggie at 10:51 AM
1 Comments:
So, this is an old post, but I had to comment. "Favorite Poems Old and New" is SO spectacular. My Mammaw used to read to my mother and her brothers and sisters from that book, and my mom read it to me. Now I have a copy to read to Maya from. Yay!
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