new parent questions

[alxone]

i know a few of you guys have been at it for a while and i have a few new parent questions
any suggestions for quality programing that helps them learn and does not have too much product placement ?also at what age do do you really start to teach them the basics ( 123, abc , black / white/ red etc )

[Tim K]

If you have access, the Sprout channel (295 on DTV) is decent.

Colors are part of language development and happen early. Numbers and letters come later. Depends on the kid as to when they start to get it. We just tried periodically until we saw some comprehension. Ours (4 1/2) is behind since she's adopted and spent the first year of her life as a potted plant in an orphanage in China. She's counting to ten and can get through the alphabet with a little help. I'd estimate she's just about a full year behind.

[alxone]

wonder if reg cable offers sprout ? im affraid of the Disney channel .

[PugnacAutMortem]

I came to find out that I'm really sensitive to PC/liberal indoctrination bullcrap they try and sneak into kids shows (ie everybody wins, you're super special etc). That being said Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Little Einsteins are pretty good about that kind of thing. Even on the other shows, I don't know if I've seen much product placement. I mean these shows are on a kids network, so all of the commercials are going to be for kids products. But if you have access to it, Disney Jr and (as Tim K said) Sprout are good options.

And to your 2nd question, I think you just gotta try and push your child a bit. That probably sounds bad, but let me explain further. When my boy was little little (like 4 or 5 months) he started trying to roll over. So immediately my wife and I started rolling him over so he could feel how it felt to actually do it. Once he started doing that on his own, we moved onto sitting him up and so on. Point being is we always try and help him along to the next step once he looks like he's getting self sufficent in the current stage he's in. He's 14 months now and we're working on counting, ABC's and please/thank you.

Also a couple words of advice that I wish someone had given me when I was a new parent. Don't get offended when people offer suggestions and imply that their way is the only right way. A couple family members were really bad about this kind of thing and at first it really pissed me off...but I just had to sit them down and say "I really appreciate your advice and I respect your wisdom...but this is my child and I am allowed to raise him/her as I see fit. It's ok if I don't raise him/her exactly like you raised your kids." And lastly, don't get sucked into comparing your kid's development with other parents. It's nearly impossible (I know) but it doesn't do anything other than stress you out.

Good luck and let us know if we can help out at all! I know every little bit of help was a blessing when we were first starting out.

[budda]

Do to the fact the we don't have a cable or a tv that gets the digital signal we use netflix and hulu a lot. Im not sure every show the kids watch but I know they like Super Y. It is a fun program and is interactive. I randomly pick other shows that look like they will be entertaining and provide learning opportunities. I try to watch with them some times and ask questions about what they are learning and do some to the goofy stuff with them like sing and answer questions the show asks, just to help them get involved more.

If you are involved they will be too.

[Rooskibar03]

If I could do it all over I would have pushed back the tv, and more so the introduction to iPod, iPad, ECT much longer

i would have also limited the time allowed spent on such things. It's so easy, especially with an only child who doesn't have a sibling to play with, to let them babysit themselves with tv or the like but I wish I could have taken it back. She has such a great imagination when she is forced to use it, which is normally after a battle about not playing on her iPad.

[th3w01f]

We've got a 6 and 9 year old and some may not agree but I think it's best to let them be kids and not force anything. If there are things they really enjoy reinforce those; there’s plenty of time to focus on everything else when they start school. Spending time with them and reading to them goes a LONG way. In pre-school and Kindergarten they'll work on colors, numbers and letters so if they don't have them down by then I wouldn't stress about it.

Setting routines is also very important, things like bed time, reading time, buckling up in the car, etc.

[CrufflerSteve]

Instead of channels, find some good DVD's. When really young they have a painfully infinite capacity for repetition so don't anything that will drive you batshit. When my son was about a year old an evil cousin gave me the entire Alvin & the Chipmunks TV shows and my son would watch it again and again.

[ColoFarmer]

The biggest thing I would say is don't treat them like a little kid, don't talk down to them, don't baby talk them, don't "protect them from the world". Be involved, read to them when you can, when they are playing, play with them and put blocks in piles counting "1, 2, 3...", let them see what you do in life. My personal opinion (worth what you paid...) is that kids look to adults to see what they should know. If you baby talk, purposely use small words, that's what they will think they should learn. Encourage them to ask if they don't know. Take the 10 seconds to explain what a word means, or why you put that there, or did this, or whatever if they ask. Don't push off the lesson or assume they wouldn't understand.

When our daughter was 4, we were sitting around talking and out of no where she started counting, got to 10, everyone was looking at her (we had never "taught" her) she kept going up to about 18 before she missed one. Even now that she's 8, every once in a while she slips a word in a conversation that an 8 year old typically wouldn't use, has been doing that for 3 or 4 years...

Same thing with our 11 year old son. We have pigs, and he's in charge of them if I'm gone. Wife and I were in DC talking to the worthless POS's there and pigs got out... He was all over how to get them in, put fence back up, separate them back out...his aunt was lost. He had just been around and seen me do stuff and asked why, he knew exactly what to do.

It's not about teaching them abc's and 123's, it's about showing them how to be an adult, and helping when they have questions.

Sorry, maybe a bit much for a baby, but start young, it's amazing what kids pick up on and will do to please you. Take advantage of that in getting them to be a productive adult.

[BigBear]

The biggest thing I would say is don't treat them like a little kid, don't talk down to them, don't baby talk them, don't "protect them from the world". Be involved, read to them when you can, when they are playing, play with them and put blocks in piles counting "1, 2, 3...", let them see what you do in life. My personal opinion (worth what you paid...) is that kids look to adults to see what they should know. If you baby talk, purposely use small words, that's what they will think they should learn. Encourage them to ask if they don't know. Take the 10 seconds to explain what a word means, or why you put that there, or did this, or whatever if they ask. Don't push off the lesson or assume they wouldn't understand.

YES, YES, YES!!! +1000 It's amazing what kids will/can do if you just give them the time of day instead of sitting them down in front of the boob tube. ColoFarmer has it down!! Much needed!! YES!