Too much pressure on babies?

Question

I had an interesting conversation with my partner the other day, and wanted some opinions on it. i am 29 weeks pregnant with my first and was looking for some newborn toys for baby to play with. All have some sort of "educational" value to them, whether it be crinkly, crunchy ears, or a certian texture etc. When I pointed this out to partner, his comment was "why do babies always need something "educational" and are constantly being pushed. whay can't they be allowed to just be babies and have fun." He says children are pressured from the word go by pushy parents and that there should be a balance between the two. i hadn't really thought about it before. Do u agree or disagree?

Answer 1

i agree with your partner. from conception, parents try to make their children smarter by making them listen to music in utero. then when they get here, all their toys have educational value. those are pretty much the only toys that you can buy now too. when they get a little older. we push them into dance, gymnastics, and any other recreational activity before they are even old enough to go to school. it's all just too much. whatever happen to just being a child. my kid hates all his educational toys and prefers to play with tupperware.

Answer 2

Actually, anything has an educational value at such a young age. All those toys teach them about sound and texture. They are bombarded with the ways of the world from birth. They learn all the time. But there is a line when they get older and have the choice of watching TV or playing outside or reading. But that line is a few years off for you. Point out to your partner that a baby learns from everything. You could give your baby a box (although I don't recommend it until they able grasp it) and they would be happy, learning 'In' and 'out', the sounds it makes, the texture, etc...Everything has educational value with babies. Don't look for something that says "educational" because it's a line of bull for a baby under 1. Learning is part of being a baby. They enjoy exploring EVERYTHING (especially when they start to crawl and walk!) Tell your partner that learning is all a baby can do. Worry about pushing your kids when they are old enough to be pushed.

Answer 3

Because the human brain flourishes when fed. Think of it as "brain food". Not that you are force feeding, but offering. when the child is hungry he will take the food/data, when he is satisfied they will push the food/data away.

I've heard the brain likened to a tree, and as you offer data the child accepts it - at their own speed and the tree grows and branches out. Now after the age of 8 - 10 years - those parts of the brain that have not grown will be die off - in effect a self pruning. So if you have introduced different stimuli and information and set the ground work for music, reading, ect - it will be already be established when later on the lesson increases.

Touching, talking, snuggling are so important too. It's amazing what is learned and remembered through touch.

That is why those babies that are left in the orphanages and rarely touched or stimulated in a healthy way have such emotional problems. Images of their brains show where alot of the brain has been withered & died through lack of use. ---

Do you remember in the news, about 15 years ago, how there were stories of children that were adopted from overseas and how they were violent and unsociable - it was due to the early neglect they suffered.

Anyway - kids are getting smarter all the time. How you choose to raise your child is entirely your decision and you must reach the balance of providing enough stimuli w/o causing stress.

As a parent of 2 kids under 10, my one hint to share is - too many toys are not a good thing. Less is more, and household items; pots, pans, spoons are great fun for toddlers.

Answer 4

Its pushy parents and greedy companies. Its a never ending cycle and the ones that loose out are the kids. Kids are not allowed to be kids anymore. They are taking away music and PE and Art and made to sit there and do written work. Kids learn more through play. Let them figure out stuff on their own, let them make mud pies and get dirty. After all they ARE washable. Don't worry about all the so called 'educational' .toys. Same goes for all the 'educational' baby TV programs. They learn from what is around them, through their senses, NOT by being placed in a swing or bouncy seat and parked in front of the TV. They are only little for so long, hold them, kiss them, play with them. At some point they will not want any of that, they will be too 'big' for all that. I'm not saying that you shouldn't motivate your child, but it is possible to push to much.

Answer 5

I disagree. Babies want to learn and they are having fun with the learning toys. I never pushed my kids to learn, they just did. Babies learn more their first year than they do in a lifetime if you think about it. They go from laying around to walking and talking like little adults. Learning should always be encouraged, not discouraged. They will learn whether you push them to or not. Give them a pot and a soon and they will learn to use it as a drum with no directing from you. Babies are smart. If you keep learning fun for them they can carry that into school. Both of my kids were so excited to start school. They are like sponges and thirst for knowledge.

Answer 6

I agree but at a young age they will play with what ever any way they might as well get something out of it thats educational. With older kids I think many are too structured with few times to learn how to handle boredom or unstructured playtimes. Balance fun with education they can go hand in hand.

Answer 7

Disagree. Babies need stimulation, its part of development. People tend to think of babies as "blobs" (thank you Angelina Jolie, lol) without any thought process. They are constantly learning new things each and every day! Babies can even communicate much sooner than they can form words (thus, the increasing popularity of sign language with infants). Babies do need to be babies, but that means teaching and helping them develop. Plus, baby stimulation makes for a much happier baby, and in turn, Mommy! Best of luck to you!

Answer 8

Babies have a natural instinct to learn and whether you give them a string of cotton reels or an expensive toy they will learn from it just the same.
The educational toys are not wrong because they are pushing them, they are wrong because they are so expensive and your baby can learn from so many other things.
I don't agree with your partner because I think babies have a strong natural desire to learn and so cannot be pushed.

Answer 9

I can see where you are coming from however I think as parents we all just want the best for our children. Seeing that education is such a huge part of what you will be doing the rest of your life I think that we want our children to be as smart as they can be and to succeed and do well when it comes to that time in a child's life. I think a healthy balance of the two would be ideal.

Answer 10

You are not pushing, but rather presenting the world to the newborn. His brain, motor skills, eyesight, etc are all developing and you want to give him the tools to help that. Don't just let him sit there like a lump; give him exciting things that will entertain him and get his curiosity going. It's the same as talking to him. He won't understand the language initially, but will love the interaction and begin to develop language skills.