This is also how my baby daughter "plays" video games. The plastic bright green containers are just too irresistable to not chew! (Drawn by Althea Peterson)
Baby books: My 10-month old recommends these "reads"
Published: 1/28/2013 7:05 AM
Last Modified: 1/28/2013 7:58 AM
There is an endless list of reasons why you should start reading to your child as soon as they're able to focus their attention span for a few moments:
Bonding time.
Vocabulary development.
Fostering a lifelong love of reading.
It's really cute to watch them turn the pages and get excited.
The best baby books have colorful artwork, not too many words (wordy books don't hold her attention as long as fast turning pages) and thick, cardboard pages (teething babies tend to chew the books they love most). Books that have interactive lift-the-flap and touch-and-feel features are just a bonus.
Here are some of my 10-month-old daughter's favorite books so far:
"Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" By Bill Martin Jr. and illustrated by Eric Carle
A board (a.k.a. thick, chewable pages) book with vibrant, colorful illustrations, this book is basically one big poem with short lines between the next character (Example: "Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? I see a red bird looking at me! Red bird...").
My daughter loves this book so much that she has taken over page turning and will seek out this book among her toys. She will sit (and perhaps demand) multiple readings all at once and seems disappointed with it is over each time.
"The Foot Book: Dr. Seuss's Wacky Book of Opposites" By Dr. Seuss
Another board book that uses rhymes to retain your budding reader's attention, with Dr. Seuss' endearing art style that will be familiar to the reader.
This book also has enough words on each page to qualify as reading, but also few enough words that as she excitedly turns the pages quickly, mom can keep up with the words.
And, on the oft chance that mom gets behind, making up new "feet" words can also be fittingly fun.
"Toes, Ears, & Nose!: A Lift-the-Flap Book" By Marion Dane Bauer, illustrated by Karen Katz
This board book survived my theiving dogs, who thought they found a new chew toy. That should tell you how sturdy they make baby books these days!
The most appealing part about this book is that in addition to turning the pages, my baby can also lift flaps to unveil more words. After the first few readings of me lifting the flaps, my daughter quickly caught on that she could do this part on her own.
The flaps unveil different body parts covered by clothing or glasses ("Inside my boots I've got" (lift the flap) "TOES").
Unfortunately, the flaps themselves aren't also made of thick board paper, so be careful if your overenthusiastic reader tries to lift the flaps too aggressively.
Please give me recommendations for future baby reading!
--Althea Peterson
Mommy moment: Diarrhea might sound like the worst type of baby illness to contend with, but in reality, it's probably just the longest. For about five days she dealt me the worst diapers I've ever had to change. She required more lotion, ointment and creams than I've ever used on myself, while I was constantly running around with laundry to wash (throw up on everyone's shirts included).
This week, my baby is eating: A BRAT diet (Bananas, Rice, Apples and Toast) with yogurt is what is recommended to clear up diarrhea, so I've been feeding her tons of it. She is too young for medicine, but also is too young for foods containing citric acid (not until 1 year old!). If you have a diarrhea baby that falls into that category, check the ingredients on banana containers before buying. A few main brands have snuck citric acid into bananas.
Baby bit: Diarrhea does not slow down the active, happy baby in the least (although you have to monitor temperature and fluid intake to make sure she's not getting dehydrated). In fact, she got brave enough to climb on one of our dog's backs like he was a horse. She tugged his ear a bit and grabbed firmly to his fur for balance, but our dog just sat there like an obiendient, well-behaved pup. Whew!
Althea Peterson is the proud mother of a 10-month old girl. Althea returned to work at the Tulsa World in May after two months of maternity leave. Baby advice, baby questions or baby words of encouragement can be sent to althea.peterson@tulsaworld.com. Also, follow Althea and other parents on Twitter at twitter.com/twbecauseisaid. You can also follow Althea at twitter attwitter.com/a1a4ou.
Written by
Althea Peterson
Staff Writer
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