Remember To Have Fun!

Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life - Baby Step #9

So here we are on the last of our “Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life”.

If after reading the previous posts you are somewhat concerned because you used a walker or a playpen or any of the other things we’ve talked about… Don’t be!

You can only work with the information you have at the time and you were undoubtedly doing the best you could with the tools you had. Life is constantly changing and with it, our knowledge of what’s best and what’s not.

If your kids are still young enough, get them out playing as much as you can and make the play as unrestricted as possible… Jumping over and crawling under objects, twisting and turning, jumping up and bending down, hopping, skipping, jumping…

You get the general idea!

Football and other sports are certainly great, though they don’t offer completely unrestricted motion that takes their bodies through a full range. The more unrestricted and free play it is, the better.

And make sure you get out there and join in too! You don’t need us to tell you about the joys of having kids… So relive a little of your youth and get down on the floor or the lawn or anywhere else and join in!

Kids are fun and so is rediscovering your inner child!

The most important aspect in all of this is that you have fun with your little people.

If you would like to get a deeper understanding of the points covered in this series of posts, we can’t recommend enough the reading of Pete Egoscue’s fourth book, Pain Free For Women.

The title can easily give the impression that it’s for women only… Don’t be fooled! It’s a great book that everyone should read.

Chapter 5 is the most pertinent to the points that we’ve been covering in this series of posts.

Talk to you soon!

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Confinement Is Detrimental To Good Health

Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life - Baby Step #7

So we’ve had a look at Baby Walkers and why they’re not so good for the development of your child… And we’ve had a look at hard soles shoes and how they play their part in sabotaging strong, functional muscles.

Today we’re going to look at a device that is great for keeping the little ones safe while Mum and Dad tend to other matters, but aren’t so good for their healthy development…

Today, it’s the playpen! (And unrestricted motion in general).

You’ve probably seen a wee child in a playpen that is screaming at the top of her lungs. Is she throwing a tantrum? Is she being a little brat? Or is she saying, “Hey, get me out of this prison! Don’t you know I’m designed to move and to get out and explore this new world?!”

Now, we realise that life moves at a hundred miles an hour nowadays. Mums go out to work and there are numerous other things that need to be done all the time.

In addition to all of that, when you’ve got a little person to look after, you want to make sure she’s safe while you turn your back to drain the spuds and turn the oven down to gas mark 3…

It’s tough to balance everything.

And we also know that your little person is the most important thing in the world for you. You’ll do whatever it takes to protect her and to ensure that she is fit, strong and healthy.

Which is why she needs to be out of the playpen and given free range to explore wherever she wants as much as is humanly possible.

Crawling and exploring builds strong and healthy muscles… And more than that, "the baby's movement is strength­ening not only musculoskeletal system functions but brain functions as well."

That’s quite a realisation for many folks and it’s worth repeating…

"The baby's movement is strength­ening not only musculoskeletal system functions but brain functions as well!" *

So keeping your child out of the playpen, out of hard soled shoes and out of baby walkers is not only working towards building strong and healthy muscles (which lead to great posture later), it’s also working to develop brain function too.

Remember, we humans are designed to run, hop, skip, jump… To roll, tumble, reach, bounce and pounce. We are designed to move.

Movement is not only necessary for building strong functions from birth, it is necessary throughout our lives as we continue to repair and regenerate worn parts.

We’ll talk to you again tomorrow when we’ll be looking at the joys of entering their world, as opposed to bringing them into ours!

Talk to you then.

* Reference: Pain Free for Women – Pete Egoscue



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This Way Up!

Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life - Baby Step #4

They may look cute, cool and groovy, but are devices like the Backpack Baby Carrier, that keep your little one vertical, so good for their health?

Well, the short answer is no, not really.

As we’ve been talking about the past couple of days, horizontal is where good health is at. Nature has made our design perfect… And that’s not just the functions that She has given us, but also the manner in which those functions are built.

You see, if babies were designed to be in an upright, vertical position, they would be! But they weren’t designed that way. If your child is unable to be upright without a helping hand and by being propped, she isn’t ready to be there yet! (And as we know, she will be ready in her own individual time).

So if backpack carriers aren’t so good, what is the best way to carry a child around?

Well, women from other cultures use a sarong or other such piece of cloth that allows their baby to lie horizontal. In addition to the child being kept in the most beneficial position, it also has the added benefit of being able “to not only hear, but feel the vibrations of their mothers’ words and songs”. *

The mother-child bond that has been built from the moment of conception continues to be built outside in the big wide world… This bond building between mother and child is priceless.

Modern day sarong-type carriers are now on the market and are becoming increasingly popular. As well as keeping your child in a horizontal position and close enough to feel your heartbeat and vibrations, they are also extremely convenient for breast-feeding.

Tomorrow’s baby step #5 will be talking about the thing we love to hate the most… Baby Walkers!

It’s gonna be a good one!

* Reference: Pain Free for Women – Pete Egoscue

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Booming Baby!

I'm very happy to say that I became an Uncle for the first time on Sunday! I'm also happy to say that he's been given a rather cool middle name - 'Matthew'! (With Todd being his first name).

Here's a picture of me holding my name sake.

Now, the title of this post may suggest that the little'un has been screaming non stop... but it's far from how it's been.

Apparently he's a very chilled baby who sleeps, eats, does the business in his nappy, and sleeps... again.

So to celebrate the new addition to the family, there will be a series of posts on "Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life".

Because posture (and an active, pain-free lifestyle) starts right now.

Many well meaning parents do things that would be best avoided and don't do things that would be of great benefit to their child.

So if you'd like to find out just what those 'things' are, check back over the next few days to find out more.

You can rest assured that Todd is going to be one fit and functional toddler and a fine champion of The Egoscue Method!

Talk to you again soon.

Matt

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