Mommy decided to turn up life's difficulty level to Hurt Me Plenty, because her baby isn't a pansy.

now the kid will have to learn sign language...THE TAPES REALLY DO WORK!!!

besides, when i am spinning records, i am pretty sure the baby can hear it anyway.

What are "records" grandma?

I know someone who's live-in b'friend did the "headphones on the belly" thing to her, when she was carrying, and her daughter is partially deaf too.

I'm sorry? He "did it to her"? She didn't have a say in the matter?

Or did she just decide after she found out the kid was deaf that it was his idea, not hers?

Well, like anything in moderation it can't be bad. There have been studies that giving the unborn baby something to remember the womb by is incredibly helpful in soothing a cranky infant. I have a 6 week old and she was gently introduced to classical music as soon as she was visible to the outside world. We didn't go nuts by blasting it, just when we thought she was active and awake. (Yes, you can tell.)

Today, when she needs to go to sleep or settle down from a stressful high-travel day, a little classical music from CD or the radio helps her settle right down. Just remember, moderation in time and in volume really will work wonders.
She would scoot around inside and actually move to listen to the headphones.

It's like trying to get a muscular body by working out for 24 hours a day nonstop. It's about being gradual. Classical music does somewhat mimic human speech and it helps them to learn vocalization. I'm already hearing oohs and aahs.

/happy parent
//more happy for the calming power of classical music

2.5 year old kid kicking you in the face when you're lying there trying to watch tv = a whole lot less cool.....amazing the leg strength they build up so fast. :)

what really sucks is when a 2.5 year old thinks it is fun to punch daddy in the sack while you're in the middle of the grocery store.

WHAT!!

Now shaddap!

WyattEarp

I want you dead.

/hating that unbelieveably ugly photo

My mom didn't put headphones up to her belly while I was in there and now I'm all retarded.

There is no scientific evidence that "Pre-natal education" works. Some research has been done but with no significant results.

Although, I'm not surprised that this is a story from Asia. The Japanese believe that eating Tiger Penis Soup is good for your virility. That has caused a spike in tiger poaching. Another species about to go extinct. Thank you Japan! They're really good with cell phones, but when it comes to common sense they shiat the bed.

Afterall the doctors are doctors..

"A month after the child's birth, doctors found it to be born with nerve damage. They are however doctors are hopeful that the boy's sense of hearing would recover as the damage was discovered early. "

Who spells fetal- foetal

The Dr.'s name did give me a chuckle....

a child's hearing could be affected if he is subjected to extreme noise over a long period of time at the foetal stage," said Dr Ye Lingfeng,

RevMark

Thank you Japan! They're really good with cell phones, but when it comes to common sense they shiat the bed.



LOL! Yeah, all the Asian countries are really big on superstition. So much that it boggles the mind.

I played my baby lots of music (from The Beatles to Depeche Mode) while he was still cooking. At 9 weeks, he seems to remember it by reacting to those same CDs or music DVDs.

Abagadro
No, that's pretty cool. When I felt my baby kick my hand for the first time, my heart sank like a mofo. It was unbelievable, and even moreso when you hold them in your arms the first time. If this is your first, you are not E for that day - trust me :)

And being a TFer, you might want to post a link when your baby is born. Sure, it may not get posted, but it's one more thing to add to the memory book. Hey, if mine got Drew to respond...

Congrats, BTW.

MayoBoy:

i find them when i reach past my 8 tracks!! :)

Oops, that E should have been red so it was a "red E" - as opposed to "ready".

Too much effort...

But did she get any smarter? Guess not.

Japanese believe that if you have ailments, poor eyesight, bad heart, etc. that if you eat that part of another animal then you would somehow get the previously eaten articles spirit to make yours better.

Sensible? I hate going to eat with one of my Japanese friends with bad eyesight, He's always eating the eyeballs out of the fish.

JMel
Miracle Max: It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there's usually only one thing you can do.
Inigo Montoya: What's that?
Miracle Max: Go through his clothes and look for loose change.


Here ya go. ^^

DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE WORDS THAT ARE COMIN' OUTTA MY MOUTH?!

I came out liking "Su Sudio" by Phil Collins...who do I sue?

Second ones are more fun. I have my 3 year old convinced that she can talk to the baby by yelling in my wife's mouth.
I'm very easily amused though.

Jkay I know someone who's live-in b'friend did the "headphones on the belly" thing to her, when she was carrying, and her daughter is partially deaf too.

Her bfrend had hdfones on her blly? OMG!!

Why is it so easy to create females who can't hear, but much harder to make them unable to speak?

Mayo, what a cruel thing to do to your wife...

She's 10 months pregnant so she's pretty miserable anyways. What's a 3 year old yelling in your mouth?

"Baby Eeeeethan. Are you awaaaaa-ake? If you can hear me, kick Mommy's bladder."

Wickedragon:
You da man. Thanks. I feel like a tool though. I didn't feel like RTFA, and only skimmed the headline. I read it as being born half dead, not half deaf like it states. Was confused what half dead was...but half deaf makes alot more sense.

Next time i'll read it a bit more carefully before posting.

Thanks Sir Flatulence, I was surprised that you didn't post the Halle Berry post. LOL.

I wasn't flaming, but the author of the article really needs a lesson in grammatics, as I do.

homegrown:
No thinking, I know its the princess bride...didn't go searching for exact quote, and was disapointed that I didn't know it at the top of my head. Doesn't matter though, its not related since i'm not good at speed reading.

Mel - My GF's mother taught her daughters the wrong with right and left. They still get it mixed up. Get both of them in the same car and it's absolutely cruel / funny but cruel. I'm always telling her "your other right/left". He mother also did some other things,,, just proves that you certainly can be predisposed to some sick stuff by having weird parents.

Sorry Mel - was directed to Mayoman.

"We played a lot of music for our little girl while in the womb. Never tried the "headphones on the belly" trick though, it just seeemed asinine. Our girl can carry a tune though at 3, so I feel pretty good on that note, and is bright and inquisitive...of course, that might be due to the fact that we pay a good deal of attention to her, read a lot, do a lot of counting, and she gets sung to every day. "

or maybe you just got lucky by having a healthy, smart child.

I agree you fark!

dcriswell10

If you sing to your daughter every day, and you are tone deaf, does that mean your daughter will be tone deaf too? Not saying that you're tone deaf...just wondering, because i'm tone deaf, and my wife isn't much better.

I'm curious about it.

Looks like the tyke has a very good head start on being a musical genius.

/ticket?

I'd rather have hearing damage the way I got it, by listening to music post-natally, at least I get to remember it, and I get to choose the music myself.

What wasn't mentioned was that the music was a constant replaying of "Achy, Breaky Heart", and the deafness was caused by the fetus using a sharpened section of umbilical cord to puncture its eardrums.

xen0blue
I farking hate mothers who think that, because of the old wive's tale that music can help develop a babies' brain that they actually go and put speakers up to thier stomachs.

Agree that pre-natal "education" is probably bunk, but I know that babies can hear and respond to music. Both my daughter and then later her twin siblings, would go crazy inside their mother when some good old fashioned straight ahead stuff like the Four Tops was played. Other music didn't seem to have any effect on them.

After children are born, the theory goes that listening to complex music, like classical, helps the brain to cope with abstract problems better, like math. It seems to dovetail with what we know about the adult world. The people I know who ingest only the simple stuff like People Magazine and American Idol seem to be stupid, but then again maybe that is why they do so.

Your brain isn't really doing any mental gymnastics to tie all the parts of an Eagles song together, compared to say a Mozart piece. Just as your brain doesn't have to stretch itself when listening to Sean Hannity, but does when you read a Chomsky book - even though both are full of shiat.

The next time you see a small child in the supermarket or the park, tell them, "Hey go punch your daddy in the groin - it'll be really funny!" You would honestly be surprised how many little kids will actually go and do it...


Ahh the power of suggestion :)

I say this is more evidence that intelligence (or lack of it) is more genetic than anything.

El Farko: brilliant.

I went to a Nirvana concert when I was nine months pregnant with my oldest. She is ten now, and LOVES Nirvana. She has ever since birth. Coincidence? I think not. And her hearing is perfect, BTW.

jelly-elly
Congratulations on the little person growing inside you! I just wanted to comment about your website and it's trippy Strongbadtechno-esq music. Good Jaerb!
If you don't know what i'm talking about...nevermind.

But did the baby learn anything?

/had to ask

"Mozart's nice but doesn't increase IQs"
By Rochelle Jones, August 25, 1999
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9908/25/mozart.iq/

Actually, babies kinda do start to understand language in the womb, in a sense anyway...

They learn to recognize their mother's voice, specifically through certain emotions--like when their mother laughs, cries, etc.etc.

Kinda weird.

Oh yeah, that kid's gonna have a great life. . . Probably gonna grow up to be a champion chess player or militant vegetarian painter/fascist ruler. I'll bet his parents aren't going to try to ruin his life or anything by being too strict. . .

GOD DAMMIT JIMMY, STOP RUNNING AROUND IN CIRCLES OUTSIDE PLAYING WITH THE STUPID KITTENS AND GET IN HERE AND LEARN YOUR CALCULUS!! HOW ARE YOU GONNA GET INTO COLLEGE IF YOU CAN'T EVEN SOLVE DIFFERENTAL EQUATIONS BEFORE YOU'RE SIX!!!

/I love Asian parents. . .

They are however doctors are hopeful that the boy's sense of hearing would recover as the damage was discovered early.

All your baby genius are belong to us.

Karma will have her way with ALL of us sooner or later.

I call shenanagins.

/checking snopes as we speak. . . . .

"I take it they play the lottery a lot..." -impaler

At least in Hong Kong, it's horse races. I live right across from the Sha Tin Racecourse, and it's packed pretty much every Wednesday/Sunday night. And many people seem like they can't figure out that all the Jockey Club betting places, and the hundreds of buildings and programs that they've sponsored, aren't paid for because most people win. The only betting I've done is a special bet, HK$10 (about US$1.30) on the three horses to win first, second and third place over the course of three races. I figured I'd go for a Discworld-style one-in-a-million chance, and the payout (over HK$10mil) isn't bad either. Sadly, I'm not filthy rich.

As for the story, I can completely imagine a Singaporean parent doing this. They'll do just about anything to give their kids an advantage, and it makes life a living hell for them. They flock to LAN shops after school, because it's one of the few places they can get away from their parents, if only for a little while. If they provided a more nurturing environment, one where questions are happily answered rather than knowledge is forced, I think the kids would turn out much better. They could also use some personal advice from an early childhood education specialist, if they're really serious about their kids' education.