Retro Baby

Timeless Activities to Boost Development—Without All the Gear!

Anne H Zachry

• Publisher: American Academy of Pediatrics
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781610025102
• eBook ISBN: 9781610025119
• Edition: 2

It can seem like your baby needs so much gear and so many toys! But when it comes to their health and development, less is more. In Retro Baby, pediatric occupational therapist and child devel¬opment specialist Anne H. Zachry, PhD, OTR/L, shows you how bouncers, swings, and other baby holders, as well as electronic toys and screen time, can hinder your baby's development and delay milestones. Retro Baby will help you cultivate a back-to-basics parenting approach, featuring ideas for hands-on activities, instructions for homemade toys, and plenty of encouragement for one-on-one playtime with your baby. You'll save money, reduce household clutter, and, most importantly, boost development and bonding with your little one!

CHAPTER 1

How the Baby Product Industry Affects Your Child’s Development

More than 3 decades ago, I became a parent. Wanting to be totally prepared for my son’s arrival in 1990, I had 4 major items on my must-have list: a car seat, a high chair, an infant seat, and a playpen. That’s it!

How things have changed. Today, with the vast number of baby gadgets and gizmos on the market, it’s easy to get caught up in the baby equipment trap. In fact, it’s common for new parents to spend up to $13,000 on baby-related products during the first year alone.¹

Without a doubt, the parenting industry has become big business. With thousands of baby products available, today’s parents—especially first-time parents—have to wonder how many items are necessary. Certainly more than 4, right?

Besides wondering how many items are needed, parents can easily get overwhelmed by the vast array of choices. As a new parent, should you purchase a stroller that reclines or one that collapses with just one hand? Is a baby walker dangerous or will it help your infant walk sooner? What about the travel system with a carrier that snaps out of the car and into a stroller—how safe is that?

With my next 2 children, I got caught up in it all. By the time my youngest daughter was born, I had accumulated the following: a car seat system, a swing, a jumper, a bouncer seat, an activity mat, a high chair, a stationary activity center, a tummy-time mat, an umbrella stroller, a jogging stroller, a double jogging stroller, a play yard, a baby monitor system, and a regular double stroller. Of course, this list doesn’t include the standard crib, mobile, toys, and all the equipment the grandparents purchased to have in their house for their grandchildren.

As we accumulated more equipment, not only were we spending an enormous chunk of our family budget on it, but our home also became increasingly cluttered. I can’t tell you how many times I tripped over a bouncer seat or some other baby item in the middle of the night. Gradually I began to wonder, “Is all this stuff worth it? Are these conveniences meant to simplify my life actually complicating it?” Plus, as a parent, I felt manipulated by an industry attempting to “guilt” me into believing I needed their products. What was truly necessary?

Not only was the excess baby gear overwhelming us, but here’s the kicker: I’d heard that overusing many highly touted products had the potential to negatively affect my baby’s development. That did it! I was compelled to explore this idea further, and I was also planning to conduct research for my doctorate degree. The 2 came together beautifully. I chose to explore baby gear use as it relates to child development. Added to that was my curiosity about the effect of television (TV) and baby videos on child development. What exactly did the research say about this? I set out to discover the truth—and to tell the truth—to other concerned parents.

A Stimulating Environment

A newborn comes into this world with 100 billion neurons. What are neurons? Basically, they are the building blocks of the brain. During early life, the brain forms multiple connections among these neurons, and connections are a good thing. Why? Brain research tells us that more connections mean greater potential for learning.² Amazingly, approximately 1,000 trillion (sextillion) connections typically grow to connect the neurons in the brain during a child’s first 3 years.³ The number of connections that form directly relates to a child’s life experiences. As parents this means you want to be sure to provide your baby with good nutrition, language exposure, and a strong emotional connection as well as touch and movement. The more balanced yet stimulating baby’s environment, the more nurturing and supportive interactions provided, the greater number of neurologic connections that form. What does this mean to parents? Whatever we do to stimulate and support our babies’ development helps their brains thrive!

In addition, as new connections among neurons constantly form, there are some neurons that don’t get used. So that the brain stays efficient, those unused neurons are pruned away, making room for new brain growth. This fact of nature tells us that IQ is not fixed at birth and explains why a newborn’s brain doubles in size by age 3.

Naturally, as parents, we want to support this growth and development, yet we have to take a close look at many of the products on the market and carefully consider claims made about these products. For example, product advertising claims say that baby bouncers “provide hours of fun and entertainment while delighting and developing your baby’s senses,” and stationary activity centers “provide loads of entertainment while helping to develop walking skills.” But are the manufacturers touting their goods actually telling the truth?

Retro Baby provides answers and also shows you what you can and should do to stimulate your child’s brain connections with many fun, time-tested activities that don’t require expensive toys and baby gear.

The Risks

By limiting screen time and baby equipment, babies have more opportunities to experience loving touch, active movement, and emotional connection. For example, when a baby is positioned in a carrier for several hours while his mother shops, he does not have the benefits of holding his head up, actively moving his arms and legs, or visually exploring his surroundings, and he experiences limited social interaction with others. Spending too much time in carriers and other baby equipment can result in what physical and occupational therapists call “container baby syndrome.” This is not an actual medical syndrome. It is a term used to describe developmental problems that ensue as a result of babies being “contained” so that they don’t have sufficient opportunities to move about freely and strengthen their neck, trunk, arm, and leg muscles and develop their coordination.

Let’s highlight several common baby items available on the market today that are frequently overused.

Car Safety Seats, Swings, Bouncer Seats, and Stationary Activity Centers

Plastic devices such as car safety seats, bouncer seats, swings, and stationary activity centers keep a baby confined to one area; thus, if overused, they contribute to delays in developing motor skills. That’s because when a baby is positioned in one of these devices, he has limited use of the muscles in his trunk, neck, arm, and legs. Instead, he’s forced to sit with his hips, knees, and elbows bent. Overuse of these products can even lead to the development of flat spots on your baby’s head, called positional skull deformities (occipital plagiocephaly; you may also hear it referred to as “flat head syndrome”). When a baby’s head rests against the hard plastic surfaces of these devices for long periods, the excess pressure can lead to flattening of baby’s soft skull.⁴ Please note: It is absolutely necessary to use a car safety seat anytime your child rides in a motor vehicle, so any limits on use should only be outside the car. Also, it is best to take frequent breaks and limit travel time as much as possible in the early months after birth.

Unfortunately, the number of babies diagnosed with occipital plagiocephaly (see Chapter 5 for more details) has increased by 60% in recent years.⁵ Also, research has revealed that babies who spend more time in baby gear have lower motor skill scores than those with less equipment use.⁶ These devices aren’t intended for extended use—30 minutes is a good time limit for most of them. Considering the risks involved, including a flat spot on the head and slowed motor skill development, it’s well worth limiting baby’s time in plastic gear!

Smart Toys

Smart toys incorporate computer technology that allows the toy to respond to a baby’s actions in certain ways. These toys can light up, recite the ABCs, vibrate, and sing. When a little one is given a smart toy, his innate creativity and problem-solving skills aren’t required because all he has to do is push a button and wait to see what happens.

When you give a baby a high-tech toy, he is typically delighted and tries it out several times. However, once he figures out what it does, the toy usually falls by the wayside. At the end of the day, he’ll probably end up playing with the box the fancy toy came in more than the toy itself. A more desirable toy would promote interaction, encourage pretend play, and foster creativity. Traditional toys like building blocks and puzzles are better for your baby’s brain development. Indeed, the fewer moving parts a toy has, the more creativity is required. The perfect toy engages a child’s imagination while stimulating and supporting physical, mental, and social development.

Truth Be Told

Don’t reach for the most costly and high-tech toy in the toy store. A toy should be developmentally appropriate and encourage problem-solving and imaginary play. For example, a simple set of building blocks provides endless entertainment and is wonderful for baby’s visual and motor skill development.

Televisions and Videos

Consider the negative effects on the developmental process when a baby watches educational videos. While watching videos, he passively stares at a screen without moving or interacting with others, not to mention the overstimulation that can occur from the flashing images and sounds coming from the screen. For example, one study found that for every hour each day spent watching baby videos, babies learned 6 to 8 fewer new vocabulary words than babies who did not watch videos. So the more time babies spent watching videos, the fewer words they knew.⁷

Research also indicates that low academic achievement, limitations with attention span, obesity, aggression, and sleep impairments are associated with overuse of childhood technology.^8–12 Unfortunately, the average daily TV viewing time for children younger than 2 years in this country is 1 to 2 hours, and this time span typically increases with age.¹³

Research reveals that watching TV interferes with communication between parent and child, which in itself is detrimental to a child’s language development. One study found that when a TV is on in the home, less speech is taking place; babies vocalize less and their caregivers talk to them less often.⁷ On average, for every additional hour of TV viewed, there was a decrease of 770 words heard by the child from the parent. That represents a 7% decrease in words to which baby is exposed. Research has established that the number of words a baby hears directly affects his language development up to the age of 3, and the vocabulary size of a 2-year-old often predicts the language skills he’ll have 10 years later.¹⁴ Additionally, TV viewing interferes with play, and it is associated with inattentiveness and hyperactivity.

To date, limited research exists that demonstrates that learning truly takes place when a baby views commercial baby videos. In fact, several studies suggest that constant and rapid changing of scenes in videos affects a child’s subsequent ability to focus on academic tasks.¹⁵ Interestingly, a large percentage of parents who were surveyed reported letting their babies watch TV because they believed it was educational.¹⁶ Yet when a child watches TV, his imagination and creativity are limited. Regrettably, in recent years car video players have become extremely popular with families with young kids. Many parents believe playing videos in the minivan is the perfect way to entertain their children on road trips. Although this does keep them occupied, it’s likely many parents are unaware of the risks to their little ones posed by the digital screen.

Truth Be Told

In the 1970s, most all children’s programming was on the weekends. Now children’s programming is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including channels with programming exclusively for babies and toddlers.

Electronic Tablets and Smartphones

To add to all the electronic devices available, there are interactive tablets and smartphones to consider. Many babies and toddlers absolutely love playing with touch-screen technology—and it’s no wonder! The touch screen provides instant gratification with its cool images, movements, and sounds appealing to their senses. Understandably, many parents are thrilled with this interactive technology because, mostly through media ads, they’ve heard that babies can learn letters, numbers, words, and concepts. However, to date there is limited research studying the connection between tablets or smartphones and infant learning.

Whether traveling in the car or waiting in the pediatrician’s office, it’s not uncommon for parents to hand over a smartphone, laptop, or tablet to their toddler. To parents, these devices act much like a baby-sitter, and with hundreds of apps available for young children, they’re increasingly appealing to little ones. Are there potential benefits or harms to babies being exposed to these interactive screens? Again, more research is needed. For older children, the interactive element allows them to learn concepts such as cause and effect and sequencing, but for babies still experiencing critical brain development, long-term effects remain unclear.

When it comes to screen time, the American Academy of Pediatrics...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: How the Baby Product Industry Affects Your Child’s Development
• Chapter 2: Set a Solid Foundation—Grow, Baby, Grow!
• Chapter 3: How Senses and Experiences Shape Your Baby’s World
• Chapter 4: Keep Your Sleeping Baby Safe and Practice Tummy Time
• Chapter 5: Prevent Positional Skull Deformities
• Chapter 6: Building a Solid Sensory-Motor Foundation: Birth to 3 Months
• Chapter 7: Enhancing Development With Retro Activities: 4 to 6 Months
• Chapter 8: Enhancing Development With Retro Activities: 7 to 9 Months
• Chapter 9: Enhancing Development With Retro Activities: 10 to 12 Months
• Chapter 10: Enhancing Development With Retro Activities: 13 to 24 Months
• Epilogue
• References