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Beyond flash card : how to do the infant visual stimulation in fun and creative ways.
Babies learn about the environment surrounding them through five senses: vision, hearing, touching, smelling and tasting. Of those five senses, vision is the least developed sense a baby has at birth. Therefore, it is important for parents to...
Preventing Drowning
Did you know that drowning is the second most common cause of death from injury for children aged 1 to 4 years old? Children under four are at risk beause they move very quickly but are not always aware of the dangers around them. As parents, it is...
Sign up for your child
The following article is offered for free use in your ezine, print publication or on your web site, so long as the author resource box at the end is included, with hyperlinks. Notification of publication would be appreciated. Title: Sign up for...
Transitioning From Bassinet To Crib
If your baby has been sleeping in your room in a bassinet, you may have some concerns about moving her to her own room and her crib. But, don't worry; you will probably both sleep better once the transition is complete. Most babies are...
You Lucky Dog You
You lucky Dog you, that is until baby comes along. Is it
possible for pets and babies to co-exist in peace! From
every corner I received advice on how things will have to
change with our dog once the baby comes along. Everyone said
there is...
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Baby Names - Choosing Trendy or Traditional
Lists of baby names are always fun to look at, whether you're seeking a name for your soon-to-be-born baby boy or baby girl, wondering about the popularity of your own first name, or just curious about what baby names are currently hot.
What I find particularly interesting is tracking the popularity of baby names over the decades. In looking through U.S. government baby name lists from 1880 to the present, some amusing patterns emerge, particularly in regards to baby names for girls.
For example, in Victorian times Biblical names, such as Mary, Sarah and Ruth were very popular for baby girls. There were also many baby names that sounded very old-fashioned to me, as a kid growing up in the 1960s, including names like Martha, Alice, Bertha and Minnie.
From the 1920s to the 1950s certain baby names rose in popularity. For example, I went to school with many Susans, Debbies, Patricias, and Lindas. All of these baby names have since waned, to be replaced, by the 1980s, with fancier names such as Jennifer, Jessica and Nicole. When I was a children's librarian in the 1980s my preschool storyhours were populated with little girls named Lauren and Jenny, and little boys named Alex and Matthew.
More recently there's been a lot of renewed interest in more "old-fashioned" baby names like Hannah, Abigail and Ethan, plus many Biblical names such as Sarah, Rachel, Joshua, Jacob, and Samuel. There's also been a surge in nontraditional baby names including Madison, Ashley and Brianna for baby girls, and Brandon and Logan for baby boys.
It's interesting to consider the whys and wherefores of such developments. Sometimes, I suspect, the popularity of a specific actor or fictional character might result in many babies with a particular name. For example, were some of the Lauras born in the 1970s and 1980s given a name suggested by older brothers and sisters who were growing up watching "Little House on the Prairie ?" Were some attributable to the super popular Laura of "General Hospital" fame ?
Today Madison is a very highly ranked baby name for girls (ranking number 3 in 2003) but, when the film "Splash" came out in 1984, Tom Hanks' character told Daryl Hannah's character that Madison was not a bona fide first name.
While baby girls' names seem quite subject to the whims of fashion and the top ten lists can change radically over time, I've noticed that, in general, the top baby names for boys remain far more stable. Names like John, William and James are perennials, perhaps because baby boys are often named for their fathers, perpetuating the popularity of certain baby names from generation to generation. The "Junior" factor aside, baby boys are also less apt to be given fanciful names.
Failure To Launch: SpaceX Delays Mission
With NASA's help, SpaceX is trying to send the first commercial spaceship to with International Space Station. The launch was aborted Saturday morning, but there will be another opportunity for launch on Tuesday. Host Scott Simon speaks with NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce.
Rocket Liftoff Aborted A Half-Second Before Launch
The privately funded, unmanned spacecraft was attempting its first flight to the International Space Station. The spacecraft had a one-second window to take off, and the failed launch means they won't be trying again for at least a few days.
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When naming a baby there are, of course, many other points to consider besides how popular or unique a name is. Here are some helpful tips that you can use with your other children to get them involved in choosing a name for the new baby and to make the process fun:
1. Baby names need to go nicely with the sound of your last name. Also, pick a first name and a middle name that go together well. (So maybe not something like Erasmus Beelzebub Smith !)
2. When your family finds a name you all like, look at the initials to be sure that you don't give the new baby a name with initials that will make people laugh. (So maybe not Pamela Iris Green, which equals P.I.G. !)
3. You might not want a baby name that is so unusual that the other kids will make fun of your little brother or sister as he or she grows up. (So maybe not Rosebud or Molasses !)
4. You also might not want a baby name that is so trendy that it will sound funny by the time the baby is ten years old. (So maybe not Sunshine !)
5. You probably shouldn't pick a name that's really cute for an adorable little baby but will sound silly when the baby grows up. (So maybe not Dimples !)
6. Avoid baby names that might produce insulting nicknames when people shorten them. (So maybe not Smellonius, or Smelly for short !)
7. You and your family might not want a name that is so hard to spell or to pronounce that people will always get it wrong and your poor little brother or sister will have to go through life correcting people. (So maybe not something like Incandescence, or is it Incandessints ? )
8. You and your family might want to pick baby names in honor of favorite relatives or ancestors, or special names that show your family's ethnic roots. You might even find a special name from a book or movie that you love. (Like Harry ?)
9. You might want to look through books of baby names and pick one that has a special meaning that you like - maybe something that means "sweet" or "kind" or "brave." (So maybe not wimp !)
10. You might want to think about names that will go nicely with your name and your other brothers' and sisters' names, so that if mom or dad are calling you all for dinner or signing a birthday card to grandma it won't sound too crazy.
(So maybe not "Happy Birthday, Grandma ! Love, Joey, Cindy and Dweevo !")
There are hundreds of names waiting for you out there, so good luck on your search for the perfect name !
Visit Barbara Freedman-DeVito's website at http://www.childrensclothingbabyclothes.com for baby clothes, children's clothing and gift items decorated with her colorful and amusing artwork for kids. Barbara is a professional storyteller, teacher and artist.
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