InfoGuide4Parents.com

Having a baby is definitely an exciting moment especially for new parents. You can get really unstoppable when it comes to giving the best for your baby. By the time your little one is born, you probably have all stuff ready clothes, blankets, bath essentials and even toys.

Infant toys are best introduced to babies when they reach their sixth month or so. At this time, their senses and motor skills are more developed and can appreciate the benefits of these toys. But since babies are still so delicate, you must be careful when choosing toys as not every toy in the market is safe and suitable for infants. This brings us to ask what should be considered when buying your toys for babies.

The tools of learning are indeed many, but those which will concern your child most aside from you, his parents, are: (1) Time, (2) Books, and (3) Teachers. Indeed, without the proper understanding and use of the tools the whole process of learning is drudgery, characterized by disinterest and delay.

Your child can be made conscious of the great time element involved in his or her education, for time is indeed the first tool of education after parents. He can be taught to use that time wisely. Time is one of the great responsibilities that life places before us, and it is the most limited blessing that we have on earth. In life we meet few people, indeed, who have learned the value of time.

As we age, our sensory systems gradually lose their sharpness. Because our brain requires a minimal amount of input to remain alert and functioning, sensory loss for older adults puts them at risk for sensory deprivation. Severe sensory impairments, such as in vision or hearing, may result in behavior similar to dementia and psychosis, such as increased disorientation and confusion. Added restrictions, such as confinement to bed or a Geri-chair, increases this risk. With nothing to show the passage of time, or changes in the environment, the sensory deprived person may resort to repetitive problem behaviors (calling out, chanting, rhythmic pounding/rocking) as an attempt to reduce the sense of deprivation and to create internal stimulation/sensations.

When I was just eight years old, my mother informed me of a hula hoop competition that was being held on a playground not two blocks from my house.

Having recently discovered the wonders that could be had with a tube bent into a circle, (You know - for kids.) and having recently spent hours playing with mine, I decided to attend the competition, sure that I would win it.

As my mother and I walked to the park on the nicest day of spring yet, with with my ‘hoop’ proudly in hand, I fantasized about the attention I would receive when I won the competition.

Much has been written about the way in which the mass media of communication affect children. Paul Witty has systematically studied this question over a period of years; he has summarized information on how many hours a week children spend viewing television, which programs they watch, what effect television has on their reading.

Elementary school children spend, on the average, about twenty-seven hours a week looking at TV programs. Their parents spend about the same amount of time; teachers and high school students spend less. Except in individual cases, there is no clear evidence that watching TV decreases reading. But it will be interesting to hear what some teen-agers say about the influence TV has had on them.