World News Network: "Yoga for babies, porn for new moms, book of bad names"-- March 30, 2008

Pearls of wisdom for parents from an array of recent books:

•Itsy Bitsy Yoga for Toddlers and Preschoolers — 8-minute Routines to Help Your Child Grow Smarter, Be Happier and Behave Better ($16.95, Da Capo Books, 2008) by Helen Garabedian, a yoga teacher. Not sure why toddlers need yoga? Garabedian offers plenty of reasons. Stretching into animal shapes or using controlled breathing helps calm your child down. Poses that help a child put weight on his palms boost fine-motor skills needed to button, zip, and hold a crayon. Toddlers learn by mimicking, so be prepared to be a buzzing bee with fists on your shoulders, elbows circling round and round, as you zip about a room.

•Porn for New Moms (Chronicle Books, $12.95, 2008). Put this little book out on your coffee table and it’s sure to get picked up.
Through photos of hunky-looking men, the book gets across this message: What really sends Mom’s heart racing is when her husband changes stinky diapers without complaint, walks baby to the park, follows Mom’s safety rules, such as no throwing baby in the air, offers to take care of baby after work and takes turns with 3 a.m. feedings. In other words, a dream dad.

•A laugh-out-loud read for expectant parents is Bad Baby Names: The Worst True Names Parents Saddled Their Kids With — and You Can Too! by Michael Sherrod and Matthew Rayback (Ancestry Publishing, $9.95, 2008). Combing federal censuses from 1790-1930, the authors came up with names such as E. Mel Moore, Warren Peace, Wanna Towell, Imma Hooker and Shepherd Wolf. Mary is a common name for women, “But all it takes to turn a normal name into a bad baby name is an A,” the co-authors write. To wit, Mary A. Belcher, Mary A. Crook or Mary A. Wolf. In the censuses, they found Patience, Chastity and Kindness, but no Forgiveness. Can any good come from naming your son Mann Pig? Beware. Say your baby’s name out loud before you make it legal.