BABIES FIRST YEAR FRAME

You Are My World: How a Parent's Love Shapes a Baby's Mind

Together, the pictures and words of You Are My World lend a whole new meaning to the phrase ?baby talk.” By pairing lovely black-and-white photographs of infants with captions that reflect reality as seen through their newborn eyes, the book celebrates the continually miraculous interaction that occurs between babies and the most significant people in their young lives?their mothers and fathers.

Children’s minds are molded by experience, and science tells us that the way a parent touches, holds, looks at, and responds to a baby has a lifelong impact on the way that this brand-new person will come to see the world and his or her place within it. You Are My World gratefully acknowledges the profoundly shaping influence that a parent’s love and attention have on a baby’s mental and emotional development.

?Your love is my first teacher,” says one of the adorable infants portrayed here. Like each of the book’s captions, this simple but poetic statement captures and illuminates every baby’s desire for, receptivity to, and sheer delight in a parent’s love. Featuring a die-cut frame in which parents can place a photo of their own child, You Are My World will become a treasured family keepsake.

"You Are My World ? evokes the powerful reality of how the parent-infant relationship sculpts the minds and brains of our children. Amy Hatkoff has offered us an exquisite tour of the intimate human connections ? from which our deepest sense of self emerges. What a wonder-filled gift to help all parents ? Bravo!"
Daniel J. Siegel, MD
Author, The Developing Mind: How Relationships and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are; The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being;
Co-Author, Parenting from the Inside Out: How a Deeper Self-Understanding Can Help You Raise Children Who Thrive

?You Are My World captures the subtle nonverbal behaviors of babies that express a far wider range of emotional experience than is often recognized or responded to. The photographs ? convey the power and importance of nonverbal communication and bring us closer to the best in humans and in ourselves.”
Joshua D. Sparrow, M.D.
Assistant Professor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Supervisor of Inpatient Psychiatry, Children's Hospital, Boston
Associate Director of the Brazelton Touchpoints Center
Co-Author of eight books with Dr. T. Berry Brazelton

?You Are My World should be mandatory reading for every parent. Parents new and seasoned cannot afford not to read this book. If every family began a tradition by passing this book on to future generations, just think of all the happy and healthy children in our world! You Are My World is BRILLIANT!! Kudos!”
Ross Ellis
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Love Our Children USA




" This book is a treasure. It is a wonderful, concise treatise on the abilities of the newborn. It supercedes Ashley Montague and Frederick LeBoyer and their approach. It brings you right into the heart of the newborn, giving them a strong and clear voice of what it takes to become the ?possible human.’ A remarkable, beautiful piece of work.”
Barbara Harper
Founder /Director, Waterbirth International


?You Are My World is a wonderful resource for displaying parental empathy. The value and beauty of nurturing children is so eloquently displayed in this book. I highly recommend it as a resource for parents and parent educators.”
Stephen J. Bavolek, Ph.D.
Founder, Nurturing Parenting Programs and Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory

?You Are My World is a brilliant piece of work.”
Peggy Kaufman
Director of The Center for Early Relationship Support at Jewish Family & Children’s Services

?Like the babies it features, this little book is a mini-miracle. One part information, one part inspiration, one part love, Hatkoff’s You Are My World is a gift of a book ? It is a spoonful of sugar helping state-of-the-science knowledge go down ever so smoothly, energizing grown-ups for the good responsive care that all little ones need.”
Rebecca Shahmoon Shanok, LCSW, PhD
Executive Director, Institute for Infants, Children & Families
Co-Founder, New York Zero-to-Three Network

"You Are My World is a beautiful book that every new parent should have in their library."
Harold S. Koplewicz, MD
Founder and Director, NYU Child Study Center

Oncidium is a large, diverse group of plants that includes over 600 species! Flower displays in this group are among the most dramatic in the orchid world. The colors range from bright yellow to bronze, white with pink and glittering shades of dark red. Some have hundreds of blooms on flower spikes over 4ft long!

Early explorers were spellbound by fields of golden yellow, doll-like flowers moving gracefully in the wind. So the fiirst Oncidiums were called "The Dancing Lady", in honor of the beautiful, exotic dancers of Ceylon ( Sri Lanka).

Because Oncidiums grow in many different habitats, they seem to be more accomodating in their growing requirements than most orchids. Most are excellent plants for "northern" growers whose temperatures are cooler during winter months.

Oncidiums don't like wet feet. In their natural habitat they are epiphytic (air plants) that grow on rocks or in trees - never in the ground. That's why you'll often see active roots growing above the pot. Nature has also equipped Oncidiums with a "storage tank" at the base of each growth called a pseudobulb. These pseudobulbs provide water to the plant during long dry periods between rain showers.

To prevent overwatering, Oncidium are usually planted in a coarse, fast draining media. This can make correct watering a challenge. As the water quickly runs through the pot, how can you be sure the plant is getting anything? Soaking the root system at the sink or in a bucket of water is the only way. This is time consuming when you have more than a couple of plants. And if you water too often, the roots will rot quickly. But it's well worth it.

Oncidium Sharry Baby, Orchid Show, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami, FL

I was at the park today and I thought this older couple was adorable.
The picture reminds me of Brad Paisley's song "The World."

"The World" by Brad Paisley-

To the teller down at the bank
You're just another checking account
To the plumber that came today
You're just another house
At the airport ticket counter
You're just another fare
At the beauty shop at the mall
Well you're just another head of hair
Well that's alright, that's ok
If you don't feel important, honey
All I've got to say is

To the world
You may be just another girl
But to me
Baby, you are the world

To the waiter at the restaurant
You're just another tip
To the guy at the ice cream shop
You're just another dip
When you can't get reservations
'Cause you don't have the clout
Or you didn't get an invitation
'Cause somebody left you out
That's alright, that's ok
When you don't feel important honey
All I've got to say is

To the world
You may be just another girl
But to me
Baby, you are the world

You think you're one of millions but you're one in a million to me
When you wonder if you matter, baby look into my eyes
And tell me, can't you see you're everything to me

This superb, rational, and highly readable volume answers a deeply felt need. Parents and educators alike have long struggled to understand what meanings race might have for the very young, and for ways to insure that every child grows up with a healthy sense of self. Marguerite Wright handles sensitive issues with consummate clarity, practicality, and hope. Here we have an indispensable guide that will doubtless prove a classic.
--Edward Zigler, sterling professor of psychology and director, Yale Bush Center in Child Development and Social Policy

A child's concept of race is quite different from that of an adult. Young children perceive skin color as magical--even changeable--and unlike adults, are incapable of understanding adult predjudices surrounding race and racism. Just as children learn to walk and talk, they likewise come to understand race in a series of predictable stages.

Based on Marguerite A. Wright's research and clinical experience, I'm Chocolate, You're Vanilla teaches us that the color-blindness of early childhood can, and must, be taken advantage of in order to guide the positive development of a child's self-esteem.

Wright answers some fundamental questions about children and race including:
* What do children know and understand about the color of their skin?
* When do children understand the concept of race?
* Are there warning signs that a child is being adversely affected by racial prejudice?
* How can adults avoid instilling in children their own negative perceptions and prejudices?
* What can parents do to prepare their children to overcome the racism they are likely to encounter?
* How can schools lessen the impact of racism?
With wisdom and compassion, I'm Chocolate, You're Vanilla spells out how to educate black and biracial children about race, while preserving their innate resilience and optimism--the birthright of all children.