Childen's Corner; Poetry

Eyes of a child

Eyes of a child
Such gems in stones
Staring you close
Still as blue sky
They don't lie
Their sun is shining
While you are crying

Eyes of a child
Day or night
I got no light
Free as a child
I can be wild
Eyes of a child

Let them go, into the snow
Without your grace
There's a lot more to know
Just glance over their face

It's the eye of a child
Free and wild

Child don't think too much
Ain't no worry as such
Joy driven life they live
Half-a-soul they give

It's the eyes of a child
Free and wild

Save me child
Save me child
Set me free and wild
Eyes of my child

Siddharth Shah

Touchy Aren’t We!!!

       Yesterday after reading a post about a woman who decided it wasn't necessary to bathe her baby every day or even every week! She said she was incited to write her blog post when she realized that she couldn't remember the last time she used her four month olds bath tub. After reading her blog post and checking out the recommended views of interviews she had I decided to publish my own blog post, which many of you have read 'Thank God Your Not My Mom' and shared it with my Google plus page and communities that I thought would at least respect and appreciate a difference of opinion, but I was wrong. Apparently member of Google plus 'Go to Parents Community' were not pleased with my objective points of view within a post I responded to by a fellow community member. In his post he linked the very same article by Claire Goss, but I guess when he asked for different points of view on this "outrage" he meant the fact that people, like myself, found it to be an outrage that people don't think it necessary to bathe children habitually or themselves. Yes, I realize that babies aren't as active as the rest of us, so they probably don't sweat as much and accumulate dirt and grime on their skins as toddlers and adolescents do, still they are human and they do sweat regardless of whether or not it is noticed. I had the same gentleman who I made the 'horrid mistake' of responding to his post take offense because I didn't agree with his point of view and from their began with condescending remarks like ' Well in the Caribbean its hot so babies would need to bathe, but we have AC'. After I kindly reminded him that the U.S Virgin Islands is no third world country and we do have AC as well as many other materialistic things (like Benz, BMW's, and we spend 'Benjamin's'), but I soon realized that no matter what was said on my part this was a lynch mob out to get the island girl. After a while I just became a spectator within the conversation as people continuously kept mentioning me in their condescending remarks, and honestly just to piss them off I keep repeating what we all in the Caribbean knows, not bathing your child regularly is NEGLECT. I guess they felt the need to justify their own actions for not one of the seven people leading this lynch mob bothered to comment on the discussion at hand, Claire Goss neglecting her baby a bath for over a week, but their own practices. Justifying their beliefs with the excuse that it may cause dry skin, well from what I've seen dry skin must appear if skin is not regularly hydrated; water. The pediatricians that advise parents to do this, don't say that they should, only that it's ok for three days out of the week, but of course the American people decided to take it to church and that is where it is being held. I sincerely would like to ask my readers, anonymously of course, do you all practice not bathing your child for a week or more like Claire Goss, and if not but you do practice it, what would be considered by you and your standards an appropriate ratio in which it isn't necessary to bathe children. Thanks for your thoughts and responses so far; looking forward to reading more!!
Please email me if it better suits your privacy needs @ usvi.childhood.learning@gmail.com .

Children's Corner: Poetry

"A Babies Bath"

A baby in a tub is a beautiful site to see,
She giggles and she laughs while
you make her clean as can be!

She throws bubbles in your face,
Having oh, so much fun!
A baby in a bath is good times - homespun!

She splashes in the water with such delight,
While you count each precious little finger and toe,
A drop of water drips onto her face,
Causing her to crinkle up that beautiful little nose!

When splash time is over you pick her up,
You wrap her tightly in a towel,
She releases a big hiccup!

You hug her oh so gently,
Pat her down until she's dry,
She smells so fresh, so clean,
It makes you want to cry!

For baby days go by so fast,
She's growing everyday,
Now all you find yourself wanting to do,
Is keep her out of harm's way.

Next thing you know she's all grown up,
She now has a life of her own,
You dig out all the baby pictures and just
hope and pray that you have sown....

Sown good seeds in her heart and mind,
So that as her life moves on she will be able to find...
The happiness, the contentment,
The peace she once knew,
Back when she was a baby in a bath,
At about age 2!

 Author: Unknown

Thank God you’re NOT MY MOM!!!

    This morning I woke up, and after finishing my motherly chores (cleaning up my baby, feeding him, etc.) I opted to check on the news updates, and see what was going on in the world, but what I saw really shocked me, and the reason for this is because no one seems to think there is anything wrong with it. Claire Goss, a mother of three and part time blogger, came out to the world saying she doesn't have the time to bathe her baby and that she does bathe him maybe once a week, but she does admit that she does go longer. I was personally filled with rage after hearing about it in an online forum and then watching parents advocate for this fact. How is it possible that bathing your child is hurting their skin? Last time I checked if they're not changed regularly they get rashes so how can they not bathe regularly? And why is the nation agreeing with such a mockery of parenting; we aren't allowed to spank children for its abuse, but letting them go for days or weeks without a bathe isn't a crime?

    In her blog post Claire states that her pediatrician's office says that there is no need to bathe babies daily and that it causes dry skin. I sincerely don't understand how bathing can contribute to dry skin, maybe the soaps or water being used but not the simple act of bathing. Also there is plenty of merchandise on sale everywhere that can be used to lubricate a baby's skin, organic, cheep or otherwise; lotion, Vaseline, baby oil, etc. Being that I am from the Caribbean, U.S Virgin Islands people seem to think that it is more necessary to bathe a child here as opposed to the U.S mainland, my question is though if that deductive reasoning was derived through weather patterns, then I don't understand how they would still insist that bathing a child in Georgia during the summer would cause complications or that it wouldn't be necessary seeing as the heat index clearly indicates that many states are habitually hotter than in the Caribbean due to humidity.

    I am a part of an online community of parents and educators, of which both groups seem to have slightly different opinions, but none are saying what I personally think they should which is "This is wrong:". Any advocate for children or a parent with a heart would treat their own child as they would treat themselves, with that being said how many parents don't bathe for a week or more because it may cause dry skin. I tried to reach out to my personal pediatrician, but they were unavailable within their office this morning and in the afternoons usually she's at the hospital. Child care is one thing that is done universally but in different ways. It is not my intent to 'condemn' those who choose alternative practices, but I would implore upon those 'modern parents' to seek knowledge in the area prior to implementing new practices and be prepared to be scrutinized especially if you have no reason for your actions other than 'Mother knows best'.

 

While I'm sure that the original blog post by Claire Goss and the Good Moring America interview are linked within my blog page I would like to share once more so everyone can get all the information I did before commenting. If anyone would like to discuss this further or provide any other insights they are more than welcome, even if not aligned with mine. Please comment or email me at usvi.childhood.learning@gmail.com

 

GMA Interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC_honYXGUc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Original post by Claire Goss http://babble.com/baby/i-dont-bathe-my-baby/