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Standing -- Finally
Klatu is 10 months old and until today, had not tried to stand while holding onto something. We were concerned because the average age that this occurs is 7.2 months (Feldman, p. 125). However, the dynamic systems theory indicates that there may be individual differences in the rate at which motor skills develop, so now that he is "up," we will be less concerned about a delay (p. 125). We will keep an eye on other developmental norms (p. 126) -
Cute Little Alien
We are new parents to a cute little alien! We were curious about the proportions of Klatu's body and found out that the ratios will change as Klatu grows (Feldman, p. 115). Right now his head is about 1/4 of his total body size (P. 115). By the time his 25 years old, his head will be only 1/8th of his body size (p. 115) Clearly, there are alot of changes ahead! We also found out that Klatu's vision will develop before he begins to walk; this is called the cephalocaudal principle (p. 115). -
SIDS
We are terrified of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), which causes 1 in 1,000 infants to die in their sleep; the cause of SIDS remains unknown (Feldman, p. 121). To reduce the danger of SIDS, we follow the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines and place Klatu to sleep on his back (p. 121). Still, we will be glad when Klatu ages out of danger for this leading cause of death in children less than 1 year of age (p. 121). -
Klatu's Talking!
Klatu is now 4 months old. A few weeks ago he started babbling, which is a universal type of prelinguistic speech (Feldman, p. 157-158). He makes a variety of sounds that were simple at first but now sound more comples (Feldman, p. 158). He is still using a lot of gestures but the sounds are starting to take over. Whenever he makes a sound we talk back with the words that it sounds like. We are very excited by the possibility of hearing his first word any day now! -
Klatu's First Sentence
Klatu has been saying individual words for several months now (Feldman, p. 159). These holophrases have helped us be more responsive to Klatu's needs (p. 159). The other day, Klatu said "Pet kitty." His first sentence in the telegraphic speech that he tries more and more (Feldman, p. 160). The fact that he was actualy petting our dog is not a concern since this is a common broad generalization for this age known as overextension -- all animals are kitties to Klatu (Feldman, P. 160). -
Dad Likes It
We took Klatu to the pool today where, with a frown on his face, he watched a group of toddlers splashing in the wading pool. When he looked at me, I spalshed a bit of water onto his tummy and smiled/laughed. He looked back at the toddlers and smiled. This demonstrates Klatu's use of social referencing because he used my positive reaction to the splashing toddlers to help understand the meaning of their splashing play (Feldman, p. 174). -
Playdate with Evan
Klatu's playmate, Evan, spent the afternoon with us. Unlike Klatu, Evan's Mom says he was a fussy baby and his temperament does not seem to have changed much since he iwas irritable with just about everything that we tried to do today (Feldman, p. 185). Apparently these arousal and emotionality patterns influence behavior and attitudes for some time (p. 185). While there are other aspects to temperament, quality of mood can really make or break a playdate (p. 186). -
Dinosaurs
If you want to know anything about dinosaurs, ask Klatu. After months of asking "Why?" Klatu will now expound at length on the type and characteristics of any dinosaur you can name (Feldman, p. 223). He is our 'authority' on the subject, although he is a bit sketchy on the origin if the facts that he reels off (p. 223). This type of intuitive thought and his seemingly unending quest for knowledge has led to his new nickname -- The Sponge (p. 223). -
Kindergarten
In a few days, Klatu starts Kindergarten. Over the summer we used alphabet flashcards with him and he knows all of the sounds that the letters make (Feldman, p. 306). He can also sound out some words, like "b-a-n-a-n-a" when we read Curious George (p. 306). We think he is gifted, by his Grandma say he's just delightfully normal.
