How well do you keep track of what your baby does throughout the day?
When you can tell people precisely how many diapers you’ve changed for your baby from the first time you started to now, you know something has gone a bit too far.
Or am I wrong?
There are actually websites (like Trixie Tracker) and iPhone applications out there that can help you monitor your baby’s progress and development.
With these tools you’ll be able to put a number on how many diapers you’ve changed for each baby, how many minutes they slept, how much you talk to your them, and much more.
Sounds kind of neat, huh?
Many pediatricians and child development experts don’t think so. According to experts, there is a downside to knowing every minute detail about your babies. I mean, do you really need to know exactly how many times you’ve fed your baby?
Gwenn O’Keefe, pediatrician and a member of the Council on Communications and Media at the American Association of Pedatrics, says…
It’s like when a child has a fever. I don’t really care how high the fever is. What I care about is how does your child look? Are they zipping around the house with a 104-degree fever, or are they lying limp on the couch?
O’Keefe believes that focusing too much on the numbers can make you forget that the focus should be on your child, not the number of hours he or she sleeps at night.
I agree. As parents you should focus on spending time with your kids, not your computer and your iPhone to monitor how many hours your kids slept last night.
Says O’Keefe: “What we need to do is look at our kids and realize they’re developing just fine.”
Do you use infant trackers to monitor your baby’s development? Is this something parents should be spending their time with? Tell us what you think!
Baby-by-Number: Parents’ New Obsession With Data [ABC News]
