Mommy came across this article on child-proofing your home without neglecting style and home fashion as well. I was rather “angered” with this image wherein a baby is taking his bath with all the dirty plates in the kitchen sink. I just can’t accept that my Little Nicholas will be bathed that way too or will be forced to live in a house where he’s not really safe to roam around. Tsk! Look at that image? Wouldn’t it break your heart too? Sigh…

I’m not really sure if my room is already child-proofed as well. But many child safety experts recommend simple child-proofing steps that one can take to make one’s home safe for babies, and without throwing away style and all other things one loves to be at her home. As Mommies, we should be responsible of these things and we should realize that sometimes, danger can come in beautifully crafted packages.

Like those seemingly “innocent” and sweet smelling candles that provide ambiance and amazing fragrant — these are serious fire hazard sources as well. Simple ornamental trunks and storage chests may cause trouble for kids as well. They may crawl inside and get trapped, now that’s really scary! Another thing, safety latches and locks for drawers and cabinets must be considered as well. Kids might explore on those drawers and those drawers might accidentally fall on them. Ouch! Or they might get their hands on dangerous substances. Safety gates must also be installed on stairs (not a problem for me I guess, my Little Nicholas and I only have one room, hehehe). Smoke detectors must be installed as well. (Now this, I don’t think I can afford for now). And yes, those safety nettings to prevent kids from falling from windows, decks and landings. Outlet covers must also be considered. Kids might venture on to it and might get electrocuted. (Oh no!)

Hmmm… I’m sure there are many more child-proofing devices and strategies out there. I know I didn’t cover everything. Ahhh… I just hope my little room is safe enough for Little Nicholas. Our little haven is indeed little, and I hope it will do for both of us now (and including the Nanny when Mommy gets one, I wonder where she’ll be sleeping, gosh!)

Hmmmm.. what do you think?

Expecting Moms have been hearing advice from their doctors or from other people about the legendary “MOZART EFFECT“. I have been curious about this piece of information as well. Music-lover as I am, I found it really interesting to know that the mathematical area of the brain is situated in close proximity to the music centre, development and enhancement of one area would have a similar effect on others nearby. Hmmm… Maybe this is the reason why I love Mathematics and Music? And that I love numbers and problems and solutions as much as musical notes, lyrics and rhythms?

But what really is the “Mozart Effect”? Is it true that if a baby (moreso in the womb) listens to Mozart, he/she’ll grow smarter than those who don’t? Shucks! I always believe that intelligence runs on the blood, it’s on my genes honey! Well, what’s behind the popular Mozart concept? Where did it come from? Is it a fact? A myth? What does the concept really mean? If it really makes one smarter, how?

Now, I’ve never really done a thorough research about the subject in question but as far as I know, this study has been proven to be true on College students but never on babies. For how can one researcher know that a certain music has a certain effects on babies? They can’t read minds, they can’t really judge a baby’s action. Babies can’t talk, they can demonstrate certain abilities but how can one prove that such abilities were brought about by Mozart?

According to one baby-parenting site however, there is in fact a connection between intelligence and exposure to music. Meaning, exposing babies/children to music early in their lives will cause the neurons in their brain to fire up and linking them to other neurons to perform a series of connections called synapses. Science tells us that the more synapses are formed in the brain the better the chance of a baby to become intellectual.

Spatial-temporal reasoning is the ability to think in patterns and pictures, and is crucial in math, in particular, in learning proportional reasoning, The [current] school system teaches only language-based math equations, word problems and memorizations. But students need to understand the concepts behind math, and it’s spatial-temporal reasoning that helps them visualize a problem at a higher level. Einstein
said that’s how he thought when he wrote down his equations.

Playing Mozart’s music to a baby in hopes that her brain will become better hardwired seems like an obvious theory - but is it the perfect match? Studies have shown that playing most forms of classical music can create a more positive environment and therefore can be beneficial, however - if you want to specifically prepare your baby’s brain for enhanced spatial-temporal reasoning (understanding and being able to SEE the concepts behind math) - then you need to look deeper than just any classical music.

Specifically, a baby’s brain is an enormous potential, just sitting there, waiting to understand things.
Science now knows that Mozart’s music is a “key” that opens the door to higher math understanding and is matched to a college-level brain. Therefore it follows that a baby’s brain - being much simpler and lacking fundamental understanding - would experience the same higher level of understanding while hearing music that is equally suited.

I’m not really sure if a Mozart piece would do the trick or not. I can try it though. I’m sure however that with or without Mozart, my Little Nicholas will be smart! How’s that for modesty?