We started a new class last week that is designed to fill in all the gaps in our medical knowledge following the entire life cycle - so we are starting with pregnancy and pre-natal health and moving toward neonatal health to baby health.
I vasolate between being petrified and So Entertained.
some random pieces of knowledge I've stumbled upon this week in lecture, small groups, or conversations before/after:
*the concept of baby self vs. business self
the theory that children (and adults) can be totally together at work (or kindergarten) but have occasional (or not so occasional) breakthroughs of their "baby selves" where it becomes all about feeding their exact desires at that moment. Our super prestigious professor told us that he needs at least ten minutes of "baby self time" when he gets home from work before he can effectively interact with his family. I've started saying "okay, BABY SELF TIME!" whenever I feel like I just need to go into total comfort mode.
*teratology = the study of the things that can disrupt normal gestational development; directly translates as "the study of monsters" - horrible (except that I get a really warm and fuzzy feeling about monsters lately, which I've tried to check when it's people calling other people monsters).
*TIPS for PARENTING:
(disclaimer: I'm so not a parent, this is straight from my professor)
(1) figure out what you can and cannot control; what you can: how you act, the environment; what you cannot: your child
(2) get Crazy, because sometimes it works (one professor told us about one family's response to their child throwing a tantrum on the floor of aisle 6 in a grocery store was to drop their bags and get down on the floor with him, screaming and waving their arms like him. apparently the child stopped and walked into the next aisle, like "who are those craaaaazy people?"
(3) choices are really important for helping kids feel empowered, and also helping them feel like the world isn't created to thwart their fun, but that they are participating in it and shaping their world. but the choices don't necessarily have to be real choices. As in, not: do you want to me to check your ears? (most kids would say NO WAY) but "do you want me to check your right or your left ear first?" is a real choice that still gets you to where you want to be.
(4) also, a note about Choices is that if you give a child 2 choices - they always pick the second. at least until they are 2. Our professor's advice was to take advantage of this as much as possible. As in: "hey toddler of mine, do you want to watch Barney or THE DARK KNIGHT?
(I'm totally reviewing his lecture when I have children)
*a discussion of intellectual disability and developmental disorders
check out: www.imtyler.org
more on abilities and disabilities soon...
oh, and in case you're wondering what else has happened in my life that I forget to blog about, check out the lovely krista terminalis post on October.
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"cause I'm a man and not a boy, and there are things you can't avoid - you have to face them, when you're not prepared to face them"
-fight test, by the flaming lips
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