Preparing your Fetus for Harvard

Parents Forum
1

<p>New Devices Aim to Help Babies Start Learning Before Birth. But Are They Just a Lot of Noise?</p>

<p>By Rachel Saslow
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 29, 2009</p>

<p>"For the first half of her pregnancy, Potomac resident Suzanne Ling played classical music for her unborn child whenever she drove her car. She had heard about “the Mozart effect” from a friend, who swore that classical music soothed her baby both pre- and post-delivery.</p>

<p>Around week 20, Ling discovered BabyPlus, an egg-shaped device that she wore around her growing abdomen. The device played 16 “audio lessons” of heartbeatlike tones and promised to teach a fetus to recognize patterns and differentiate sounds. . . ."</p>

<p>[Devices</a> Claim to Teach Babies Before Birth; Experts Unsure.](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/28/AR2009092802893_pf.html]Devices”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/28/AR2009092802893_pf.html)</p>

2

<p>Why not throw tapes of SAT vocab words in there too? It’s never too early…;)</p>

3

<p>Maybe if pregnant moms regularly ate Alpha-Bits, the spirit would descend to the right spot. But hold off on the Marshmallow Alpha-Bits.</p>

4

<p>Preparing a fetus for Harvard…</p>

<p>well, why not just start SAT prepping in the womb? LOL</p>

<p>Or…better yet…when the contractions start, head for Harvard…giving birth right on the campus could be an invaluable “hook” in 18 years.</p>

5

<p>We used, Klic and Klac, the Tapit Brother, Lake Wobegon. and alot of backseat driving from wife.</p>

6

<p>@Mom2collegekids: Wish I’d have thought of that. I spent a few of my formative days as a premie in the university hospital at Yale. It never occurred to me that my kids could be legacy admits.</p>

7

<p>

</p>

<p>Dang. Wish that’d been around for my kids. They needed a “twinkle, twinkle” gap year. :rolleyes:</p>

8

<p>I feel so deprived.</p>

9

<p>“They’re much more ready for ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ or ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ than they would be,” Logan says. </p>

<p>HAHahahahahahahahahahaha.</p>

<p>My experience with 4 kids is, when you start singing a nursery rhyme to them, it gets their attention INSTANTLY. Even if they haven’t had a prenatal prep course.</p>

10

<p>Does it prepare them to run for president of their Kindergarten class? Get those EC’s in early.</p>

11

<p>A new niche area for college counselors? Can’t start too soon to get an advantage, after all…</p>

12

<p>Too late for my kids.<br>
Whatever device is invented to prepare kids for Harvard (or YPSM), I hope it does not affect parents as well. I would be murderous after a few minutes of SAT words, math problems, whatever. Now Mozart, I can listen to all day long…:)</p>

13

<p>My youngest child was so squirmy that I tried classical music, lectures from accounting profs, anything to try and get some sleep.
I should have known what I was in for.
I can think of early learning that is a great idea however.
[Many</a> parents are teaching their babies to speak first with their hands](<a href=“http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/207926_babysign15.html]Many”>http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/207926_babysign15.html)
seriously
The reasons why I think it is a great idea.
Kids are so frustrated when they cannot communicate and sign gives them a way to do so before their intrinsic tongue and cheek muscles are ready to talk.
Makes life easier for them and for their family.
What’s not to like?
PLus they will already have a 2nd language when they start K
;)</p>

14

<p>^^Good idea but sign language has one major drawback:
You can’t teach it in utero. ;)</p>

15

<p>ok - i was pregnant w/ my daughter while at harvard - she, in utero, went to classes…not sure it helped, though…she didn’t even apply there last year…;)</p>

16

<p>Alas, DS, with all the prenatal effort, did not, was not, Harvard accepted. He did know Klic & Klac’s CarTalk, phone # by the age 2, and still knows that number on Harvard Square at age 24.</p>

<p>He can build a robot from scratch yet can not change his car’s oil. Go figure.</p>

17

<p>I remember my son at maybe 6 mos. old would notice when the “All Things Considered” theme music came on the radio at home. </p>

<p>And he turned out to be a really really smart kid. :)</p>

18

<p>Wait. I don’t understand the point of this thread. Doesn’t everyone organize the children’s lives around Harvard admission, beginning before birth?</p>

19

<p>Yes, Quant. In fact, I was immediately drawn to the title of this thread because I used to joke (only half-heartedly) that I expected my son to go to Harvard since he was in utero. But, like collegemom2009’s daughter, he wouldn’t even apply there! Two guesses where he ended up.</p>

20

<p>Given that acceptance to a high-echelon institution is probably strongly correlated with factors determined before conception anyway, isn’t everyone always planning?</p>