Many have very little understanding of infant development, study finds
CHICAGO - Nearly one third of U.S. parents know astonishingly little about typical development of infants, and this unawareness can lack their babies of much needed stimulation for mental growth, researchers said on Sunday.
“There are so many parenting books teaching people what to expect when they’re pregnant,” said Dr. Heather Paradis, University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.
“But once a baby is born, a large number of parents are not only unsure of what to anticipate as their child develops, but are also uncertain of when, how or how much they are to help their babies reach various milestones, such as talking, grabbing, discerning right from wrong, or even potty-training,” said Paradis, who describe her findings at Pediatric Academic Society meeting in Honolulu. She and her colleagues analyzed parenting know-how which based on a sample of parents representing more than 10,000 babies aged 9-month-old.
