Too Young for the ‘Tube’?

I have recently read some news articles about the effects that watching television can have on infants. Many studies have been done on the matter, and I am finding that I have been introduced to information overload on the subject. I first became curious about this matter when someone told me that ‘Baby Einstein’ is facing a major lawsuit due to their false advertising of “increasing infant’s intellect”- which it does no such thing. In fact, studies have shown that it can actually cause attention disorders later on in life, usually starting around the age of seven. Most experts agree that children under the age of two should stay as far away from television as possible because it can stunt their brain development.

This is a subject that I feel pretty passionately about because more and more parents are letting the ‘tube’ become the babysitter in the home. Children need to be actively engaged and have human interaction. They need stimulating toys- and no, this does NOT include apps on your ipad, phone, or other electronic devices! I was sitting in church one day when I noticed that a parent handed over their ipad to their child who was not even two years old yet. Really?! Whatever happened to fruit loops and board books? Anyway, this led me into trying to research the effects that ipads and other such devices have on children and this area has much less research. I did find one article that I really liked (link here) that says that some apps can actually help children quite a bit, but is usually recommended for older children and not infants. It also talked about how ipads can either be beneficial or harmful if it is either encouraging ‘talk time’ with the parent or taking away from it. In other words, if you and your child are interacting together with the device, it is much more beneficial than if the child just uses it alone.

Perhaps I am extremely old fashioned in my views on this matter, but I just don’t agree with exposing your children to media at such a young age. I definitely do not wish to offend anyone, but I do think that if you are a parent than you should research this for yourself so that you can make an educated decision. ‘Baby Einstein’ got away with claiming that their dvd’s were educational since 2004 before anyone called them out on it. It is highly likely that parents believed them and actually think they are helping their children become smarter. This is definitely not the parents fault. I think that most parents do the very best they can, they just don’t know any better. So if you are a parent, I would ask that you make yourself know better and educate yourself before you let something educate your children for you. And that’s the end of this soap box rant. Ta ta for now. 

Other sources:

No Einstein in Your Crib

Media Use by Children

Educational TV for Babies? It Doesn't Exist

No Television for Babies

Leap of Faith

Utah Names

A little while back I was talking to my coworkers about potential names we were thinking about for Baby Palmer. After a particular name was mentioned my coworker was like, "That's such a Utah name!" When I asked her what a "Utah" name was, she proceeded to show me this video. I was dying laughing. Oh Utah, how you bring joy to my heart. You just have to watch this and its epic-ness.

Pregnancy Scare

On Tuesday at work I started having really bad cramps, which was kind of worrisome, so I called my doctor and she said that it was a sign that I had been over working myself. Apparently lifting all those heavy books and getting on my hands and knees to reach the bottom shelf multiple times a day has finally caught up to me. My doctor basically said that if I didn't slow down I could be in danger of miscarrying. She told me to go home, put my feet up, and get as much rest as possible, before it got any worse.  She then told me that if the cramps did get worse, or I started to bleed, to go to the emergency room right away so that they could check on the baby. So I kind of took that as I was on the verge of losing my baby.This is about when the panic attack started and the hormones took over my body making me a bawling, emotional, mess of a human being. After an embarrassing emotional display with my super sweet and understanding boss, I left work early and got immediately into bed. I think Tuesday was the first night that I really experienced the power of hormones. I know I have been more emotional than usual, but nothing compared to what was happening to my emotions that night. I literally could not stop crying. It was pathetic how little control I had over myself. My doctor also told me that if the cramps didn't go away by Wednesday morning to come in and see her. Luckily, I woke up Wednesday feeling perfectly fine. However, I stayed in bed the entire day, better be safe than sorry.

You know, you think you kind of have an idea of what you are getting yourself into when you become pregnant. But you have NO bloody idea! It is soooo crazy! First, it is such a miracle to even become pregnant in the first place. How do people not believe in a God, I mean seriously??!!! But then when you finally do become pregnant you have so many emotions running through you. Pure joy and utter excitement. Anticipation. Fear of losing it. Scared straight that something is going to go wrong. Terror that you won't be a good parent. Sickness. Fatigue. On and on and on.  Ah! It is so overwhelming!

The Bun

Me: I definitely should have washed my hair this morning, but I decided to sleep instead.
Justin: So that's why librarians always wear a bun.
Me: Yup. Pretty much.

So there you go. You now know the secret behind the librarian bun. Librarians stay up way too late reading really good books causing them to wake up late and not have time to wash their hair. Hence, the bun.

Harry Potter as a Teen Comedy.

Disney Medley