If the commercial claimed: “Your baby can sculpt!”  you’d have probably said:  well, yeah, with play dough…

If the commercial promised: “Your toddler can paint!” you’d have probably wondered: that’s what she thinks I look like?…..

Why is it easy to see that it’s inappropriate to push some skills on our babies — but not others?

When it comes to reading, some parents place a big emphasis on how soon, how much, and how well their young children can decipher which ideas (aka “stories”) have been compressed into squiggles (aka “words”), and affixed to a two-dimensional surface (aka “page”).

I know, I know.

It seems like I should tell you: “How Not to Wake a Baby After You’ve Finally Rocked Him to Sleep.”

Or it maybe the title could address a more likely challenge:  ”How to Wake a Teenager.”

I’m sticking to my title:  ”How to Wake A Baby.”  And Why You Should.

The first interaction that your baby will choose to have with you is a simple one.  He will stare at you.

Then he’ll follow you with his eyes.  Within a couple of months, he will smile.  At you.  On purpose. While he’s awake.

That is called the “social smile.”  And it’s a big deal when he decides to lay one on you.

The social smile is such a huge milestone because it brings together many other elements of your child’s development.

I heard a parent admonish her 12-month old baby to “play with” a toy, “not put it in [her] mouth.”

Those two things are one and the same for young children.

Efficient little babies like to check things out with the most sensitive, high-precision tools they have: their mouths.