Spongebaby

From birth to age three, your baby’s brain is like a sponge, soaking up every experience of every second to develop and shape their understanding and early perceptions of the people, places and things around them. Who or what contributes to this early growth stage is a decision that all parents will have to make… Read more.

If you are willing to join him in applying the TUCI research and advice to your own family situation and child-rearing, please submit your posts to Stephanie Bennett at sbennett@leadershipacademy.org.

My wife and I have a kid coming, and after ten years of marriage we’re ready. I know her and she knows me and together we’re forging, biologically, an extension of our reciprocal empathy and an amalgamation of our similar but unique world views in the form of a brand new human. We’ve prepared ourselves, as much as pre-parents can, for parenthood. Our nightstands are stacked with well-thumbed books written by doctors, midwives and doulas, we seek out and join social settings involving new parents and their babies, and I have already experienced the wonder of cradling a days-old child in my arms as she violently filled her tiny diaper.

Before the end of the next month on the calendar, I’ll be a dad and my wife will be a mom.  These are new roles, but roles we’ve been groomed for. Our species loves babies, as myths and allegories from every culture on Earth show, and we have the entirety of recorded human history behind us. We also have instinct on our side, another powerful magic. As the most adaptable, successful life form currently known, humans are naturally good at making the next generation.

So, why does our kid’s emergence freak us out so much?

Because the stakes are high and her existence is important.  Maybe it’s cliché, but she’s the future. Cast Memphis into the decades ahead of us and my daughter and her peers are our city leaders, our CEOs, our teachers, our artists. What can we, as parents, do to pave the way for the kind of future that we want to see our children and subsequent generations inhabit?

Public school starts for most kids at about age five. But at age three, my child’s brain will be about 80% of its adult size and have more synaptic connections than it will by the time she enters college. These first 36 months are all about growth toward potential, but it’s up to parents and caregivers to maximize this period of explosive growth.

Our community is lucky to have The Urban Child Institute in our backyard, a hive of researchers and scientists devoted to cracking the codes of the developing human brain. Because of the work they do, we as a community are armed with useful information about out kids, our city’s future decision makers and game-changers. The best part is that much of what the Institute explains to us through cutting-edge statistics and science is mirrored in our ability as a species to raise our offspring with an eye toward the future.

One of my favorite messages from The Urban Child Institute is perhaps their most simple: Touch, Talk, Read, Play, or TTRP.

Touch your baby with tenderness and love, and she’ll feel as important as she is.

Talk to your baby with honesty and accuracy, and his ability to communicate will blossom early.

Read to your baby, books and signs and everything else, and she’ll grow to understand how powerful clear communication can be, and how useful empathy is.

Play with your baby to show him the many roles he may choose and scenarios he may find himself in as he travels through life.

TTRP draws much from parental instinct, certainly, but The Institute shows how our best intentions as parents have a link to emerging developmental science. Your baby’s brain is sprouting in all directions, and with the right input from us, the caregivers, we’re forging a better future for our city.

Memphis Connect is a strong supporter of The Urban Child Institute (TUCI), our local think tank on early childhood development and the importance of optimal brain development on the futures of our children. Bill Day is The Urban Child Institute’s award-winning artist. Memphis Connect hopes to help spread Bill’s powerful visual messages with the weekly feature: “Illustrations of Early Childhood.”

Tooth Fairy

Programs such as the Regional Intervention Program for parents dealing with children with mild to severe behavioral problems and home visitation programs offer parents free help in preventing the spread of child violence and maltreatment. Together, we can help decrease the spread of violence in our community through fostering the positive development of our youngest residents, creating a better and safer society for all children and families in Memphis… Read more.

Memphis Connect is a strong supporter of The Urban Child Institute (TUCI), our local think tank on early childhood development and the importance of optimal brain development on the futures of our children. Bill Day is The Urban Child Institute’s award-winning artist. Memphis Connect hopes to help spread Bill’s powerful visual messages with the weekly feature: “Illustrations of Early Childhood.”

Verbal Abuse Hurts

According to The Urban Child Institute’s 2011 Data Book: The State of Children in Memphis and Shelby County, more than 60 percent of children in the U.S. reported being exposed to violence during the past year. In some cases, the child may be the victim, but kids can also be affected by witnessing a violent act, or even hearing about violence suffered by friends or family members. Violence can manifest in many ways, from outright physical brutality to verbal abuse, threats of violence, and damage to property and possessions… Read more.

Option 1

Lifeblood is holding a mobile blood drive from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, January 16 – Martin Luther King, Jr., Day – at the National Civil Rights Museum, 450 Mulberry Street. Those who donate blood that day will be given a voucher that entitles the donor and three family members free admission to the National Civil Rights Museum through January 23. Those who choose to go on Monday will be allowed to advance to the front of what promises to be a long line and be admitted before everyone else.

Option 2

Those who donate at any of Lifeblood’s donor centers the area from January 16-23 will be given a voucher for entrance to the National Civil Rights Museum for the donor and three family members, good for use January 16-23. To locate a donor center near you, visit Lifeblood’s web site at www.lifeblood.org or call 1-888-LIFEBLOOD.

“One of Dr. King’s primary messages was that healthcare should be a basic civil right,” said Debra Brown, Lifeblood’s director of community relations. “Lifeblood offers a safe, local blood supply to the community for all patients, something the entire community can certainly get behind.”

For more information on the MLK Day promotion, contact Brown at 901.288.7946.

Vocabulary

Early vocabulary development is an important part of early brain development and school readiness. Unfortunately, even by 3 years of age, low-income children have vocabularies that are far smaller than children from more affluent families. By 2nd, grade, vocabulary and language gaps have grown even wider. This is a serious issue in Memphis, where more than half of all children are born into low-income families and are at particular risk for poor early vocabulary development… Read more.

If you are willing to join him in applying the TUCI research and advice to your own family situation and child-rearing, please submit your posts to Stephanie Bennett at sbennett@leadershipacademy.org.

In about three months, my wife and I will become parents. Our friends and family, those already into their roles as caretakers and guardians of children, tell us at every opportunity that we have no idea what is in store for our small but growing family.

They are right; we have no way to predict the tiny moments, the fits of crying, the broken sleep cycles, the hilarity of baby laughs. We’ve both been around babies and young kids, so we’ve witnessed these moments, but as we understand it, everything changes when it’s your child doing the screaming, pooping and laughing.

For the last year or so, I’ve worked closely with the researchers, health care professionals and scientists at The Urban Child Institute, attending lectures and meetings, pouring over data and documents, writing articles about the earliest years of a child’s life. While I understand that the specifics of parenthood, especially as my wife and I stumble through the foggy early months, will surprise me, I feel lucky to be so immersed in usable science about what’s going on in the growing brains of babies.

By the time my kid is three-years-old, her brain will be 80% of its adult size, and it will be filled with more synapses than she’ll have as an adult. These first 36 months are all about input, and those synapses, those crucial connection points in the brain, are there to soak up any experience that comes her way.

If they don’t get used, they wither and vanish.  Exposing her to words, sounds, tastes, textures, languages, smells, people… exposure to anything will keep the synapses firing, affecting her in some way. We, as the parents, are the gatekeepers for these experiences, and it’s our role to have a wide reach and open minds.

Parents and caregivers are a child’s first teachers and the experiences we offer our young people shape their brains, giving them the raw material for a successful, happy life.

Getting my daughter ready for years of school and decades of a productive career begins with simple loving acts. My wife and I will touch her and make her feel safe, loved and valuable. We’ll talk to her, building her ability to understand and articulate her world. We’ll read to her, showing her the awesome diversity of every aspect of life on earth. We’ll play with her, building motor and social skills. All of these actions are a web of comfort and safety that we’ll build around her, allowing her discover her self and her environment.

Three months away from life on planet earth, my daughter already has a bedroom, filled with books and clothes and stuff. My wife and I have paint under our fingernails, the calm and icy blue of the room she’ll grow up in. We already use her name, when the restless critter kicks her mom from within. Three months is nothing; the span of a season. Our lives are about to change in unpredictable ways. But, with a little science in our heads, I feel ready for anything.

We’ll see you soon, little lady. Your mom and dad are ready to hang out with you.

2012 Memphis Heritage Calendar Launch Party
Help Memphis Heritage celebrate the launch of their 2012 calendar, Windows of Worship, Tuesday, December 13 at 5:30pm at Howard Hall! This is a members-only event, but anyone who is not already a member can join at the door. The calendar works as an annual fundraiser for Memphis Heritage and you can buy one on the Memphis Heritage website for the holidays!

PR 180° Project
Voting is OPEN for the PR 180° Project by Obsidian Public Relations! The PR 180° project allows the public to vote for two Mid-South nonprofits to receive free PR services in 2012. You have until Wednesday, December 14 at 5pm to vote for your favorite cause. The top five winners will be announced Wednesday evening! Voting takes place on Obsidian’s Facebook page at facebook.com/ObsidianPR, go there to learn more.

Call for Entries: Live From Memphis Music Video Showcase
The 7th Annual Live From Memphis Music Video Showcase announces a Call For Entries! The Music Video Showcase will take place at The Warehouse in Downtown Memphis, TN from March 1-4. The multi-day event will include music video showcases, panel discussions, parties, an award show and more! Music Videos (not exceeding 5 minutes in length) will be accepted through January 31.

College Scholarship Coaches Needed
TNAchieves is looking for volunteers from the community to mentor students as they transition from high school to college. Mentors work with 3 – 4 students during their senior year of high school to make sure they are meeting deadlines, attending meetings and provide encouragement. This is an opportunity to help make a difference in the lives of students and your community. Volunteers that have mentored in the past tell us the time commitment is only between 10 – 15 hours annually. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a mentor, click here!

Holiday Angels Benefiting SRVS
SRVS, the Family Answer for Disabilities, is a United Way agency supporting more than 800 people with disabilities.  Many of the individuals are disadvantaged with no family and need your help for the holidays.  Each of these angels has a personalized wish list with a few basic needs and through December 22, you can adopt an angel and purchase gifts from their list. If interested in adopting a SRVS angel or buying holiday cards, contact Diana Fedinec at 901-312-6801or Diana.fedinec@srvs.org.

View the 2010 Nutcracker preview video. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

Bring the kids for a daytime celebration or make romantic memories at an evening showing. Purchase tickets for times below:

Friday, December 2 at 7:30pm
Saturday, December 3 at 2pm and 7:30pm
Sunday, December 4 at 2pm

Visit BalletMemphis.org for more information.