October 2007 Newsletter
Greetings from TinyTotsAway.com!
In this issue:
Is Baby Talk the Universal Language?
What's in the News?
Is Baby Talk The Universal Language?
Study Suggests People Of Different Cultures, Languages Understand Baby Talk
A new study suggests that people of different cultures recognize baby talk, even if they speak a different language.
Villagers from a remote town in Ecuador who were indigenous Shuar speakers that had also been taught Spanish listened to tapes on mums talking to their babies and to adults in English and they were able to pick out when the parents were talking to babies three out of four times, they were also able to correctly determine the tone of the conversation for example disapproval or comfort.
Researchers Greg Bryant and Clark Barrett, of University of California, Los Angeles, say the findings show that the relationship between sounds and intentions is universal because much of the meaning of language is communicated through nonverbal cues, such as pitch, loudness, and rate of speech.
For example, when people talk to infants, regardless of the language they speak, they tend to raise their voices to get the baby's attention and speak much slower to get their point across - what most people call baby talk and researchers call "infant-directed speech".
New Services
Positive Parents - Confident Kids Coaching
Established in 2005, Surrey based Positive Parents - Confident Kids Coaching was founded by Parent Coach and former Deputy Head teacher Sue Atkins.
Positive Parents provides support in raising happy, confident children. Helping parents discover their own answers through exploring their feelings about being a parent, exploring their own resources and skills and creating options that will work within their family.
Positive Parents offers a number of alternative means of assisting parents in helping their children achieve their full academic and emotional potential, including:
- One-2-One coaching sessions for parents
- Telephone coaching sessions
- NLP seminars and workshops
- Ongoing email support coaching
- Monthly newsletters for parents
- A collection of useful publications including CD's and books
- Free parental reports
For further information on Positive Parents - Confident Kids Coaching Limited then please visit their website at www.positive-parents.com or call 01342 833355.
www.whatson4littleones.co.uk
Do you love taking your little one to activities and classes?
Nominate your favourite activity in the www.whatson4littleones.co.uk 2008 awards to recognise the best activities for the under 5s across the UK!
It's your chance to say "thank you" to the activity leader for all their hard work! There are plenty of awards to nominate in such as Best Music Class, Best Swimming Class, Best Messy Play Class, Most Outstanding Baby and Toddler Group, Best Soft Play Centre or what about the Organix "Make a Difference" Food award if your group has introduced healthy snacks!
Just visit www.whatson4littleones.co.uk before the end of October 2007 to nominate your favourite!
And if you're looking for more fun activities you can use www.whatson4littleones.co.uk to find them. You don't need to register and you can search by town, postal area, activity type, age and day so you're sure to find something new to suit you!
Website of the Month
www.TravellinLite.com
www.travellinlite.com is a service which offers families the freedom to travel lite! We are here to provide all the equipment you need for babies to toddlers, from cots to toys. We deliver the items to your required destination at a time that suits you. We can liaise with agents and arrange for the items to be waiting for you. With the added restrictions on what you can bring with you on an airplane why not take advantage of our professional and reliable service.
Why risk your precious buggy or car seat getting lost or broken, don't bring that heavy travel cot when I can provide a full size 120cms travel cot plus proper mattress for just 40 Euros per week or 5 Euros per day (minimum 3 day hire).
Why not save money and order one of my essential packages, all you need for the young baby. Then for older children or even the bigger kids why not hire our games console and games and DVDs to keep those kids amused.
Visit the web site at www.travellinlite.com.
New Products
Award Winning Plum Introduce New 7 Months + Range and New Super-Porridges
This month we are loving the latest from Plum's growing range of baby food - new 7 months + savoury recipes and, just launched, a range of Four Grain Super-Porridges. We currently stock the 7 month recipes and will add the new cereal range shortly.
The 7 months + recipes have been created with a 'fork mash' texture to encourage babies to chew; the first important step towards self feeding. Each of the savoury meals has been carefully balanced to satisfy a growing baby's requirements for protein and energy. The introduction of meat and cheese means that each recipe contains more calories than stage one foods and a variety of new flavours to increase a growing baby's taste repertoire. Plum offer "real food for babies, not just babyfood!" and these new pots are no exception. Choose from Carrot, lentil & cheddar; French bean with beef & apple and Sweet potato with lamb & carrot.
And the new Four Grain Super-Porridges use a combination of four delicious organic wholegrains and super fruits to develop three new exciting recipes that are set to cause a stir in the breakfast aisle! The new 'Four Grain Super-Porridge' offers a delicious and exciting way of meeting weaning babies' nutritional and energy requirements. The porridge is gluten free and made with flaked quinoa, amaranth and wholegrain rice and millet, making it a smooth, creamy and nutritious way to start the day. For growing babies, toddlers and children (and adults!) Plum have created an exciting alternative to the plain porridge by developing two further recipes with a fruity twist. The finest organic fruit has been selected to make the 'Four Grain Super-Porridge with Apple & Apricot', which contains over 60% fruit, and the 'Four Grain Super-Porridge with Plum & Banana' made with 48% fruit. The high fruit content not only provides a great super food boost but also means that the porridges are naturally sweet with an unadulterated flavour, so there is no need to add sugar.
And that's not the only reason we love Plum, the company always sources Fairtrade ingredients wherever possible. Quinoa (often known as the mother grain) is included in every recipe; rich in proteins, carbohydrates, essential minerals and vitamins, quinoa also gives the food a great texture so there is no need for empty fillers such as rice or corn starch.
To find out more, and get a full on Plum experience visit www.plum-baby.co.uk.
Navigating Airports with Baby and Stroller
We've added another new article to our Parent Guides.
Getting around on holiday with babies and toddlers can be a bit tricky, especially if you must contend with all the baggage that comes with your tiny tots and the bustle of airports. Don't forget that your baby stroller or child buggy can be an indispensable tool for navigating the chaos, by safely securing your child or by hauling extra baggage while you manage your little one.
Our other interesting and useful guides are: 'Keeping Safe in the Sun', 'Baby Passports', 'Making Up Formula Feeds Abroad', 'How Soon Can I travel with a Young Baby?', 'Airline Baggage - Travelling with an Infant', 'Airline Baggage Allowances', 'What if my child is ill when we are away?' and 'A Short Guide to Babies' Sleep Patterns'.
Competitions!
Check out our competition page for the chance to win a Samsonite Pop-up Deluxe Cot worth £35 or an Oxbridge Baby Classical Music CD and Learn To Talk DVD.
The Samsonite Pop Up Travel Cot Deluxe is extremely lightweight and compact and comes complete with its own carry bag for easy storage. Made from 100% cotton fabric with a padded mattress it is ideal for warmer climes especially as it has an integrated mosquito net.
For your chance to win, enter the Samsonite competition.
If you have previously entered this competition, there's no need to re-enter - you will be included in this round!
Closing date 30 November 2007.
Oxbridge Baby is giving you the chance to win a Classical Music CD
and Learn To Talk DVD.
Oxbridge Baby Learn to Talk is a unique DVD that uses a combination of sounds, music, visual stimulation and basic sign language to introduce your little one to a variety of vocabulary as they learn to say their first words.
Oxbridge Baby Classical Music is a magical CD that has taken 15 popular pieces and arranged and recorded them specifically for little ears.
To be in with a chance to win just enter the Oxbridge Baby competition.
Closing date 30 November 2007.
Winner of the August Samsonite competition was Helen from Northwich.
Winner of the August Trunki competition was H Cravell.
with kind regards,
The TinyTotsAway Team
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