When people meet new parents, or parents to be, they shower them with advice and information about what to expect from their babies or how to raise and deal with them. Usually, this advice is based on their own experience, or from what they have heard from their friends or families. I remember being overwhelmed with so much advice after the giving birth to my first child; some was helpful, while others turned out to be pure myth, at least in my case. Most of these myths are just common beliefs or old stories that have been passed down from one generation to another, and have since been believed to be true.
Out of Sight
“He cannot see yet!” I heard this sentence a lot when my baby was still a few days old. The fact is newborns can see; their vision is just blurry. Babies are born nearsighted; the farthest your baby can see is nearly 20-30 cm away, which is the distance from your arms to your face. Anything farther than that will be seen as blurry objects.
Another common myth related to newborn vision is that they are attracted to colorful toys and shapes. Actually, bright colors can distract and overwhelm them; looking at black and white patterns instead will help them focus and process what they are seeing.
No Kneecaps
“Take care in handling your baby, specially his legs; babies are born with no kneecaps.” In fact, babies are born with soft kneecaps made of cartilage, which will start turning into bone between the ages of two and six years, and will fully develop into hard bone at the age of ten or twelve. The flexible cartilage tolerates the pressure better while the baby is learning to crawl then walk.
In spite of this boneless kneecap, babies have 96 more bones than adults; they have 300 bones. As they grow up, most of these bones fuse together; such as the soft space between the bones of your baby’s skull, which is called fontanelles and gives space for the baby’ s brain to grow. This part will eventually close as the bones fuse together; that is why this part of the head should be handled carefully.
Strawberry Birthmarks
“Your baby has a birthmark that looks like a strawberry; it seems that you were craving strawberries when you were pregnant”. There are so many myths and superstitions about birthmarks according to different cultures; for example, in Japan, it is forbidden for a pregnant woman to look at fire, so that her baby will not have a “burn mark”. Another belief is that a baby having a certain birthmark means that s/he has a special personality trait; others think that it is a kind of trauma that happened to the baby’s skin during birth.
Birthmarks are common in babies; some are born with them, while some birthmarks appear a few weeks or months after birth. They differ in size, shape, and color, and may last for lifetime, while some fade away gradually. Birthmarks usually are under two categories: vascular or pigmented birthmarks. Vascular marks develop due to some abnormalities in the blood vessels inside or under the skin. They are usually pink, red, or bluish in color depending on the depth of the blood vessels. They are mainly seen on the face, neck, or the head. On the other hand, pigmented birthmarks are caused by an overgrowth of the cells that create pigments, forming brown or black patches on the skin.
Lazy Walker
When my baby started to sit on his own, I was advised a lot to buy a baby walker to help him walk and that this will also give me some time to do my work as he roams around. No doubt that baby walkers look fun and babies will really enjoy them; however, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has declared them hazardous baby toys.
Actually, in 2004, Canada banned the sale of baby walkers all over the country because they can lead to accidents and injuries, such as hitting the head and falling off the baby walker or off the stairs. Other than being dangerous, it has also been proven that baby walkers can delay the development of some motor skills; surprisingly, they may actually delay walking.
Babies are usually expected to walk anytime between nine and eighteen months old. For a baby to have their first steps, it is important to develop many other skills; restricted movement and spending a lot of time in baby walkers will hinder them from performing some activities, such as tummy time, or trying to sit up alone, crawling, or pulling up. All these activities will help babies build muscles in their neck, back, and legs, in order to prepare them to take their first steps.
According to the AAP, baby walkers can strengthen the lower legs but not the upper legs and hips, which are essential for walking. Also, hanging legs for a long period of time can put extra strain on their hips and spine, which can affect their walking without walkers later on.
Early Walkers
A common misconception related to walking causes some parents to fear when their babies start to walk at an early stage, thinking that this will lead them to be bowlegged. The truth is that most babies are born with bowlegs because some of the bones had to rotate slightly to fit into the narrow space inside the womb. This is called physiologic bowlegs, which is considered a normal part of the child’s growth. When the baby tends to stand and walk, the bowing may increase a bit and then get better by time. In most kids, bowlegs are corrected by the age three or four years.
Nevertheless, bowlegs in babies could be caused by some serious health conditions, such as rickets, which is a bone growth problem related to Vitamin D or calcium deficiency. Another disease is Blount disease, which is a growth disorder that affects the bones of the legs. If health problems that may cause the bowing of your babies’ legs are ruled out, you should not stop your child from trying to stand and walk.
Babies Vocabulary Storage
“Why are you showing your 6-month-old baby pictures of animals? He is too young to remember or learn anything”. Babies are assumed to have poor memories, which is absolutely not true. Once the baby is born, they start learning; all the stimulations surrounding the babies affect their brain development. The baby depends on their parents to expand their curious minds. Although a child might not utter their first word before twelve to eighteen months, they start learning words since they are in their mothers’ womb; they are actually able to hear voices and sounds starting from 23 weeks of pregnancy.
Parental engagement in an early stage—such as, reading to babies, having conversations with them, and having a walk with them in their strollers—is essential to help develop children’s social, cognitive, and emotional skills. This was proven to be more effective than giving the baby complicated educational toys that may leave the parents frustrated if the baby does not show any interest in them. Children tend to learn by observing and imitating people around them. Parents can also boost their children’s brain development through the food they offer, as studies have proven that 75% of the food they consume goes directly to their brain.
The Kohl Myth
Some cultures believe that applying kajal or kohl to babies’ eyes will ward off evil eyes, and some believe that kohl protects eyes from intense sunrays and eye diseases. Actually, it is not safe to apply kohl, as most of kohl products contain lead, which is toxic. Since babies digestive and nervous systems are still developing, they are at a higher risk of lead poisoning. Even if they are exposed to low levels of lead, whether through inhalation, or through skin, or through oral digestion, it can still damage the kidneys and affect the brain development. High levels of lead in the blood can lead to coma, convulsions, and even death.
Now you know that the birthmark you have is not because your mom did not eat a specific type of food she craved but was out of season when she was pregnant. If you receive any piece of advice that confuses you, the best thing is to consult a doctor to make sure if this advice is a fact or just a myth.
References
healthline.com
kidshealth.org
parents.com
webmd.com
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