My Geek Baby

by Kim Evoy Bryant

One of the great things about parenting is watching your kids learn. Both of my daughters are good readers, and when they began really reading and comprehending the stories, they came to me and said that reading was like “watching a movie in your head”. Wow!! And how exciting it was for me to be there as they got excited about learning.

My son is now 2 ½ and learning about ‘1-2-3’. At this age, ‘1-2-3’ can mean many things. For example, ‘1-2-3’ can mean that we are learning about counting. With all of my children, for some reason, I have always counted the steps when holding their little hands. Sometimes we count blocks, animals, fingers and so on. My son now says ‘seben, eight, ten’, so he does understand, albeit in a very elementary form, that we are counting, and he is indeed learning. I try to take opportunities to use everyday tasks and turn them into learning opportunities.

‘1-2-3’ can also mean that you are in trouble. This has been one of the most effective parenting techniques for me. I ask the child to do something, they choose not to obey, and I start counting. Before I can get to ‘3’, usually the behavior takes a different turn, because the child knows that after ‘3’ comes something worse than counting. My oldest daughter would say “no counting” when she realized that she was in trouble. But the point being that the child learned that there were consequences to actions, and ‘1-2-3’ gives them an opportunity to redeem themselves.

It’s exciting to watch a child experience learning, when they finally “get it”, whatever that may be. ‘1-2-3’ is a great way to start them on this path.

Babble has an interesting post about parenting coaches; people hired to help kids learn everything from potty training to riding a bike but I wonder if this is taking away from the role of the um, well, parent? Granted, I would hire a lactation consultant if needed, and the idea of someone giving me reliable tips to get baby to sleep after a restless week of no sleep but some of these coaches sound like paid parents. Isn’t there something to be said for the first-time parents who get through the brutal phases of childhood with both them and their kids learning a lot about what NOT to do as well as what works? I understand that many parents need childcare and nannies who may help potty train their child but paying someone to help the kid ride a bike? I wonder in this scenario: where is the parent when the kid is taking the training wheels off? What if the kid falls off the bike and skins his knee after the bike teacher leaves? Shouldn’t you want the kid to look to YOU to help them through this? What’s next? A bedtime story reading, boogie-monster removal service, “Ghostbusters for tots?”

We all know that boys go standing up and girls sit down to go, but after seeing this new Peter Potty training urinal for boys, I wonder: when do boys learn to stand up? Go into any store where you can purchase potty training toilets and devices and they’re all designed for sitting. Some potties for boys have a backboard not unlike a basketball hoop might have to catch the “out of bounds” spray but the whole potty training of boys really seems confusing. I have a baby on the way, and in a few weeks will find out if I may someday need to know all there is to potty training a boy, but for now, it is a mystery, as is this new “training urinal.” It’s at the right height, as opposed to a too-tall toilet, and it flushes, mimicking the real thing you’d find in a public restroom, so it seems like just the thing to help your toddler, “Be a Little Stand Up Guy” as the slogan encourages.

I ask veteran parents: is this the first you have seen of such a thing? Is this the emperors new “potty” or is this a brilliant device that will help boys learn to go independently, and learn quicker than older methods? And, does it come complete with urinal cakes (yes, I know that much) as a toy kitchen would come with a cook top and spatula? Now before all the gender-police come out of the woodwork to criticize my comparison, this isn’t to suggest that only girls use the kitchen and boys can use the Peter, but I challenge any girl to try to stand up and see how successful they are.

A two-year-old girl with an IQ of 152 was invited to become the youngest member of Mensa, according to British Daily Mail article . Georgia’s mother said that her daughter mastered crawling at five months and was walking by nine months. She is able to count to 10, is learning French, and by 18 months was already able to engage in a conversation. She can also draw a near-perfect circle and understands the concept of a circle, her parents say, but is unaware of her special gifts.

So, what do you make of this small wonder?