you watch, because you can't stop. MLYT [more inside]
posted by HuronBob on Jul 4, 2009 - 59 comments

Seeing race: the Other-Race Effect. Why do so many people think people of other races look alike? Babies as young as three months old "tend to recognize faces from their own race better than those from other races," but "babies raised with frequent exposure to people of other races don’t develop this early bias." The Other-Race Effect, aka the Cross-Race Effect, "carries practical implications for cases of mistaken eyewitness identification." A follow-up study with Chinese babies confirmed the effect, and notes that it can change: "Korean adults who were adopted by French families during their childhood (aged 3–9 years) demonstrated the same discrimination deficit for Korean faces shown by the native French population." Yes, you have to be carefully taught.
posted by shetterly on Jun 20, 2009 - 36 comments

What leads cultural tastes and practices to be abandoned? (.pdf) A new PNAS paper by marketing professor Jonah Berger and organizational psychologist Gael Le Mens argues that the faster a trend rises, the faster it's likely to fall, at least as regards longitudinal data of first names given to American children. (Via the Baby Names Blog.) Berger has written before on the drive to non-conform; a 2007 joint paper with Emily Pronin and Sarah Molouki (.pdf) shows that "people see others as more conforming than themselves.... placing more weight on introspective evidence of conformity (relative to behavioral evidence) when judging their own susceptibility to social influence as opposed to someone else's."
posted by escabeche on May 5, 2009 - 42 comments

It is apparent to me that Faith does have a brain, despite what the doctors have said. Even though it is generally believed that anencephalic babies are blind, deaf, and cannot feel touch or think... I don't believe that. Not at all. So little is known about the human brain and the only one who really knows what's going on is God. I truly believe that Faith can think and can feel my touch and hear my voice. I can't prove it but I feel like I just know. [images may be disturbing]
posted by Joe Beese on Apr 21, 2009 - 253 comments

Kinda sutra - a charmingly animated short in which people talk about childhood misconceptions about sex and childbirth. More on childhood sex misconceptions from Dan Savage 1, 2, 3. (pretty tame clip, but possibly NSFW) [more inside]
posted by madamjujujive on Apr 13, 2009 - 55 comments

Hanna Rosin has written a piece for the Atlantic claiming that the actual health benefits of breast-feeding are surprisingly thin, far thinner than most popular literature indicates. This is pretty controversial following "decades of indoctrination delivered with evangelical fervor," causing American women "to take it as an article of faith that if they don’t breast-feed their children, they'll grow up to be underachievers plagued with health problems and lacking a bond with their mother". [more inside]
posted by ND¢ on Mar 16, 2009 - 109 comments

"I don't think it's our job to tell them how many babies they're allowed to have." The woman who recently gave birth to octuplets already has six children. Multiple births increased 29% from 1995 to 2005. Why? What are the risks of multiple births? Despite the risks, some people WANT a multiple birth. If you are pregnant with more than one child, how should you prepare? How do you care for all those kids? What if you decide you don't want to have them all? A personal story of selective reduction. A personal story of having triplets.
posted by desjardins on Jan 30, 2009 - 192 comments

Cute things falling asleep.
posted by Korou on Dec 16, 2008 - 61 comments

Say 'Hebbo' to Tarvuism. Learn more at the Tarvupedia. It's SO easy to join!
posted by jack_mo on Oct 10, 2008 - 21 comments

Yes we can (hold babies)!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero on Oct 6, 2008 - 68 comments

Sophie Can Walk , a documentary that chronicles "the prejudice faced by baby-Americans born without the ability to walk" (Via BoingBoing)
posted by Del Far on Sep 18, 2008 - 11 comments

The first legally transgendered man to become pregnant has given birth. Thomas Beatie and his wife Nancy have welcomed a daughter into the world. [more inside]
posted by grapefruitmoon on Jul 25, 2008 - 150 comments

Jamie Lynn's Reproduction Rap A slightly educational, slightly ridiculous look at where babies come from.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero on Jul 12, 2008 - 34 comments

ManBabies.  via via
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur on May 9, 2008 - 57 comments

The Laughter of Babies. That is all. [Via]
posted by homunculus on Apr 29, 2008 - 49 comments

Your daily recommended allowance of YouTube: Trusting baby tries a lemon / Wary baby given a lime / Two dogs try a lemon / Lime makes dog crazy / [more inside]
posted by 2bucksplus on Mar 28, 2008 - 56 comments

Best Cities to have a Baby Portland Oregon tops the list. Not surprisingly Detroit didn't fair so well
posted by Tablecrumbs on Jan 23, 2008 - 49 comments

Darren Karnick hands his infant to the presidential candidates and photographs the results. The Daily Telegraph says the baby primary is a clear win for Obama. The Boston Globe has more pictures of the candidates with kids. And should you be embarking on a political career, don't forget to bone up on the Commandments for Policians Who Art Babykissers, including such sound advice as "thou shouldst not drop babies thou art kissing, for surely, dropped babies will gain thee no votes."
posted by Kattullus on Jan 12, 2008 - 54 comments

"My Fake Baby" is a Channel 4 documentary exploring "the lives of women who spend hundreds of pounds on life-like baby dolls. Loved like real babies, they're taken for walks, cuddled and even have their nappies changed." Parts 2, 3, 4, 5.
posted by Avenger50 on Jan 6, 2008 - 68 comments

Waitless.org: a Sprint marketing site, with a lot of useful time saving tips.
posted by blue_beetle on Oct 21, 2007 - 46 comments

You can teach your mini-me all kinds of wonderful things. Among them to settle themselves to sleep, to use american sign language or be physically superb. Now, you can teach them to save themselves from accidentaly drowning in the pool (flash vid).
posted by edmz on Oct 3, 2007 - 63 comments

New Work from artist Mark Bryan's Sideshow [more inside]
posted by hortense on Oct 2, 2007 - 2 comments

Babies are far more dangerous than previously believed
posted by nixerman on Sep 13, 2007 - 53 comments

Little kids are tough, but I have discovered their weakness.
posted by churl on Jul 24, 2007 - 49 comments

So you've gone and made a baby! A father of two provides some helpful advice to friends about what to expect from their newborns.
posted by Ljubljana on Jul 14, 2007 - 51 comments

The ethics of infertility: After taking fertility drug Clomid, Ryan and Brianna Morrison conceived sextuplets. Their religious beliefs steered them away from undergoing a selective reduction procedure in favor of bringing all six fetuses to term. Four of their newborns have died; the remaining two are in critical condition. This mother of multiples says that while she's grateful that insurance and Medicaid covered her million-dollar hospital bill, her "quest to have a family resulted in a significant drain on society's resources."
posted by lalex on Jul 2, 2007 - 136 comments

The Crying Game. The Japanese proverb Naku ko wa sodatsu says that "A crying child thrives." During the annual Konaki Sumo ("Crying Sumo") festival held at certain temples in Japan, babies are held facing each other and encouraged to cry by priests and sumo wrestlers. The one who bawls first, or loudest, is the winner, thought to be blessed by the gods with good health.
posted by gottabefunky on Apr 30, 2007 - 29 comments

Behold, a new episode of Dave Lovelace's most infamous creation. (warnings: use headphones if at work, and do not attempt to consume food or drink during the cartoon. Thankyew.)
posted by metasonix on Apr 6, 2007 - 26 comments

Zoo Babies from around the world. Probably the cutest photo gallery you'll see this week.
posted by cerebus19 on Apr 3, 2007 - 19 comments

Living With a Dying Baby. "Families can choreograph their child’s very brief life with their family . . . Sometimes they may have a matter of minutes, so they decide beforehand who can hold the baby, who will cut the umbilical cord, who will hold the baby when you know he is going to die."
posted by brain_drain on Mar 13, 2007 - 66 comments

Babyfrutz is just one of many cute and funny baby videos on youtube.
posted by delmoi on Nov 21, 2006 - 52 comments

Celebrity Baby Blog explains Babywearing, how to do it and what could be the best way to do it for you and your baby. "Wearing your baby is one of the best things you can do to promote healthy bonding and attachment between you and your little one. Did you know that babies that are worn cry less and are easier to soothe? There are four main types of soft baby carriers: wraps, mei tais, slings and pouches. All are excellent for different types of carries and or different aged children."
posted by k8t on Oct 30, 2006 - 44 comments

Potty Whispering (otherwise known as Elimination Communication or Natural Infant Hygiene) results in Diaper-Free Babies (and a more diaper-free environment). See also: 101 Reasons to EC.
posted by spock on Oct 18, 2006 - 41 comments

Rockabye Baby "transforms timeless rock songs into beautiful instrumental lullabies." It's never too early to introduce your little one to the angsty minor chords of Radiohead, Pink Floyd, The Cure, Metallica, or Nirvana, among others. Reminiscent of the previously posted Nippaz with Attitude, but with less piano and more glockenspiel. The Coldplay songs seem especially well done. via dooce
posted by onlyconnect on Aug 23, 2006 - 32 comments

BabyFirst TV is a 24 hour satellite channel designed to entertain babies so you don't have to. Don't expect this American idea to catch on in Britain anytime soon. Even television-wondering Americans are wondering, what was wrong with Big Bird? [NYT] The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that children of this age group shouldn't be watching television at all. On the other side of the argument, some parents believe that if they're watching anyway, it's better to watch something educational.
posted by grapefruitmoon on May 20, 2006 - 39 comments

Babies in prison. "The Prison Service provides special accommodation as the children "are not prisoners and have committed no offence"."
posted by hoverboards don't work on water on Apr 5, 2006 - 17 comments

Sugar babies made of marzipan.
posted by crunchland on Apr 3, 2006 - 33 comments

If you ever feel like you just aren't particularly amusing, what you need to do is find a pack of 1 year old quadruplets. Those kids will laugh at anything.
posted by jonson on Feb 19, 2006 - 110 comments

For most of human history, infants have needed to stay in close proximity to their mothers simply to survive. The result? Most cultures developed and used some kind of soft baby carrier that straps to the mother's or caretaker's body. Despite research, doctor's advice and celebrity endorsement, American and European babies spend less time in arms and more time in containers than babies in more traditional cultures. Somehow, the concept simply picking up and carrying the baby continues to elude many parents.(warning: music)
posted by Biblio on Dec 6, 2005 - 30 comments

Despite the vast number of religions, nearly everyone in the world believes in the same things: the existence of a soul, an afterlife, miracles, and the divine creation of the universe. Recently psychologists doing research on the minds of infants have discovered two related facts that may account for this phenomenon. One: human beings come into the world with a predisposition to believe in supernatural phenomena. And two: this predisposition is an incidental by-product of cognitive functioning gone awry. Which leads to the question ...

Is God an Accident ?
This is a fascinating essary from the current Atlantic reprinted apparently in full for non-subscribers
posted by y2karl on Nov 24, 2005 - 232 comments

How Babies are Made in Germany. A book for children. (Possibly NSFW.)
posted by thebabelfish on Oct 23, 2005 - 56 comments

You'll love the chubby babies and thrill to the Heroes and Villains. You'll like the heroines as well. The rest of Stefan Landsberg's Chinese Propaganda Poster site is fairly nifty as well. There are more here, and here. The Taschen volume is always on the table chez nous. (Note : I posted the site link the day before yesterday on the inside, and someone suggested that it should go on the front page, so here it is).
posted by TimothyMason on May 6, 2005 - 12 comments

White Power if it's a boy, Aryan Justice if it's a girl.
posted by Robot Johnny on Mar 29, 2005 - 146 comments

Names in Time [babyfilter]
Martin Wattenberg has crafted an elegant interactive visualization of this baby-name data (discussed mefiwise here ). Martin's work discussed here before: 1 2 3
posted by e.e. coli on Feb 8, 2005 - 70 comments

Momblogging. The NY Times (reg. required) looks at some blogging mamas. As someone who's regularly losing friends to the new-parent netherworld of suburbia and early nights, I had previously had little interest in reading about childrearing. I checked out Bad Mother because I'm a fan of the author's husband - the novelist Michael Chabon - and realised it was a hoot. I also like the Pessoptimist. So what other good bringing-up-baby blogs are out there?
posted by liam on Jan 29, 2005 - 23 comments

Nippaz with Attitude! The Sex Pistols, Ramones, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Nirvana, and AC/DC ...for babies.
posted by Robot Johnny on Jan 13, 2005 - 20 comments

Haughey 2.0 Mefi user #1 will be reproducing. Hearty congratulations!
posted by owillis on Dec 8, 2004 - 94 comments

Baby Sign Language. Hearing children can learn to sign before they can talk. Parents can use ASL, or make up their own language.
posted by Karmakaze on May 4, 2004 - 67 comments

"Orphans and babies as young as three months old have been used as guinea pigs in potentially dangerous medical experiments sponsored by pharmaceutical companies, an Observer investigation has revealed.

"British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline is embroiled in the scandal. The firm sponsored experiments on the children from Incarnation Children's Centre, a New York care home that specialises in treating HIV sufferers and is run by Catholic charities." [link]
posted by The God Complex on Apr 3, 2004 - 13 comments

Singing Babies! I don't know what to say about it, but it is worth watching. Babies and young children love it! That's why Singing Babies is now one of the best selling baby videos. It is the most fun and entertaining way to teach your child the classic nursery rhymes and toddler tunes! Research shows that babies benefit from watching other babies. Infants learn to talk by studying the sounds and movement made by the human mouth. SINGING BABIES® creatively combines these research findings in a way that accelerates your child's rate of cognitive development, increases capacity to learn language, and enhances your child's natural musical ability.
posted by Slimemonster on Feb 27, 2004 - 17 comments