What is some common advice that you hear about babies or parenting?

Respond by offering constructive feedback about their scripts. Explain any lingering questions you had or insights you gained. Please be respectful of your colleagues, making sure that criticisms offered are constructive.

Welcome to the class where we try to ease your fears about having a baby come into your home in a short time.  Babies grow quickly and develop through their interactions with the people around them and their environment (Halberstadt & Lozada, 2011; Roopnarine & Davidson, 2015).  Babies are alert from birth.  They take cues from care giver’s faces and body language.   Babies and toddlers watch all the time.  Their wheels are always turning and soaking up what they see/learn.  Mothers who hold their babies all the time, co-sleep and feel that you cannot show too much attention on babies may be from more collectivist cultures where the family is essential in all aspects of life.
What is some common advice that you hear about babies or parenting?  Perhaps don’t spoil crying babies, babies should sleep on their stomach.  Some of this information is accurate and other is not.  These ideas are perpetuated by cultural beliefs (Halberstadt & Lozada, 2011; Roopnarine & Davidson, 2015).  If a culture has an emphasis on independence and self-regulation, parents might be less willing to soothe a crying infant immediately.  One thing to keep in mind is that babies cannot communicate with you any other way than cry, so don’t get angry when they are just trying to express their need for food, diapers, or love.  As they grow into toddlers, you will notice that they always explore their surroundings.  You will notice that at times they cry for no reason and seek your attention.  Through this action, children are beginning to develop a secure attachment and  know that no matter where you go, I am here when you return (This is developing healthy attachment.)   Play is also a valuable way that children grow and develop.  Each parent’s view toys as serving different purposes (Halberstadt & Lozada, 2011; Roopnarine & Davidson, 2015).  Some parents see toys as ways to distract kids but then some view play as a child’s job and an essential aspect of learning.  This view also varies by culture.  Cultural beliefs infuse parent-child interactions and learning (Roopnarine & Davidson, 2015).

References
Halberstadt, A. G., & Lozada, F. T. (2011). Emotion development in infancy through the lens of culture. Emotion Review, 3(2), 158–168.
Roopnarine, J. L., & Davidson, K. L. (2015). Parent-child play across cultures: Advancing play research. American Journal of Play, 7(2), 228-252.