Across the varying regions of Namibia, Japan, Mongolia, and the United States, Babies portrays the different settings in which babies are raised. Through alternating scenes, the film provides a side-by-side comparison of each infant’s development specifically related to their interaction with the environment. The film displays how each baby meets specific milestones through the first months of life, and exemplifies the role that culture and location plays in the stages of their maturation. Despite the socioeconomic disparities among the varying environments, the developmental stages of each of the infants remain relatively similar. In Namibia and Mongolia, Ponijao and Bayar grow up in rural settings in which resources are relatively limited, however the basic needs of these infants are met. On the contrary, in Japan and the United States, Mari and Hattie begin life in an urban area where there are a variety of resources available to aid and track their development, such as health care services. Nevertheless, the infants mature at relatively the same time. This can be attributed to their genetic predisposition to certain developmental milestones, regardless of their environment. For instance, each of the babies gain control of their heads and appendages and then begin to crawl, all at a rate that is congruent with their age. Although each of the distinct regions provide a unique environment for development, the babies interact with their surroundings in very similar ways.
The movie “Babies” was a beautiful film I loved it I actually watched it three times and could not look away it was a very eye opening documentary for me. It is about cultures and differences within them it was truly amazing seeing the different cultures and there parenting methods. I was truly shocked that these four babies are in four very different cultures but all of them were reaching their milestones and developing all around the same time. I would have never thought that the parenting styles would be so similar to each other. In the documentary each child was loved from their parents and family. Each family was very different but all still spent time with there baby and loved them. The film starts from them being born till they are one-year old it shows you how they develop from culture to culture. It shows attachment styles in all four cultures and the results were surprising.
In the film Babies, 4 infants are being observed for the first two years of their lives. Each babies comes from different culture, which shows how the various customs can impact the child’s development. Ponijao is the youngest one in his family and lives in a village in Opuwo Namibia. Bayar lives in Bayanchandmachi, Mongolia. Mari is the first child of a couple who lives in Tokyo Japan, and Hattie lives in Sans Francisco California. The film shows the babies develop cognitively, physically and socially-emotionally, during the infancy and toddler years. The Infancy and toddlerhood period is from birth to 2 years. “This period brings dramatic changes in the body and brain that support the emergence of a wide array of motor, perceptual, and intellectual capacities” (Berk & Meyers, 2016, p.6).
A child develops through its whole life. They can develop; physically, linguistically, intellectually, socially and behaviourally. “Physical development is the way in which the body increases in skill and becomes more complex in its performance” [Meggitt, 2000, Page 2]. Twenty five days after conception; the body of the chid has developed immensely from the small fertilised egg. Up to birth the foetus mainly develops physically however once the child is born the child then begins the long process of development. Not only do the gross motor skills and the fine motor skills develop on the baby, but the sensory development also widens on the child.
‘Babies’ is a documentary film which chronicles the first year of life of four babies spanning the globe. Documentarian Thomas Balmès fans out to the grasslands of Namibia, the plains of Mongolia, the high rises of Tokyo and the busy streets of San Francisco in a study of culture, societal structure, geography and tradition, along with parental love and the impact all these elements have on child rearing. In the hunting and gathering society of Namibia and pastoral Mongolia, Balmès follows Ponijao and Bayar and in postindustrial Tokyo and San Francisco we are introduced to Mari and Hattie. While the 1:18 film has no real dialogue, viewers are able to get a distinct feel for each baby’s personality, the role they play within the family
In the film Babies Thomas Balmès elegantly and wordlessly captures the first year of life through the eyes of four unique cultures. This film follows four babies Panijao from Namibia, Mari from Japan, Hattie from the United States, and Bayarjargal from Mongolia. The main purpose of the film is to show how the four cultures differ in their behaviors with infants. One of the striking differences is the role the parents play in the documentary and how they interact with their newborn infants. In contrast, the film also shows the similarities in infancy even in vastly different environments and cultures.
|Theory. |their second year they will start to walk and be able to |Social, emotional and behavioural development – Slower to |
All of the children had very different struggles to overcome based on their access to various resources. However, they all managed to adapt. Additionally, I felt the more nurturing environments seemed to be further along in social and cognitive development. The American baby was using monosyllabic words and expressing her desires to her parents. The Namibian baby seemed to also be interacting well with her parents, but I did not understand the language so it was challenging to fully understand the relationship. Both of the other babies seemed to be more reluctant to interact with their adult caregivers. Nature was taking care of the physical development that typically isn’t affected by the environment. However, nurture seemed to be affecting the rest of their development, at least to a certain
The documentary Babies by Thomas Balmès is a film that takes place in four very different locations around the world. The documentary follows four babies and their families from when they are first born as they grow up and are able to walk. We watch Ponijao grow up in Namibia, Bayar grow up in Mongolia, Hattie grow up in San Francisco, and Mari grow up in Tokyo. Because the babies are from such different places, the documentary allows us to see what it is like growing up in cultures that we are currently unfamiliar with. The film opens up your eyes to the various forms of living in other areas around the world. In this paper, I will discuss the universal themes I noticed, my personal reflection of the film, the various
After watching the documentary, “Babies”, I learned specifically about the social interaction between babies and their mothers. Socialization is a huge part in the younger years of life because it sets a basis of social norms that should be followed in that certain baby’s society throughout their life. There were four families touched on in the documentary from four different countries; Japan, Mongolia, Africa and America. Many similarities and differences were recognized and easily helped illustrate how diverse the world is.
Babies at this stage are able to crawl, sit without much support and therefore becoming
When reading “A World of Babies” by Alma Gottlieb and Judy S. DeLoache, the book highlighted a multitude of societies around the world. These societies include the American Puritans, Beng from Ivory Coast West Africa, the people of Bali, the Muslim Turks, the Warlpiri from Australia, the Fulani in West Africa, and the Ifaluk from Micronesia and how each have different attitudes when it comes to breastfeeding, where the baby should sleep, what woman should or should not eat while pregnant, how to carry the baby, their religion and more . The book also shows the many parents’ ideas about their children and childcare compared to others across the globe. By looking at children around the world we get different perspectives, find out minute details such as infant mortality, and how economic status can affect child rearing. Learning the different ways people from other countries raise their children and cope with the many challenges around them is astounding. Just because you lack certain resources such as a tub or a particular formula does not mean one cannot raise a healthy baby. There is no right way to raise a child but this handbook gives you pointers so parents can choose the best way to do so.
In Meredith Small’s article Our Babies, Ourselves she focuses on people’s social and psychological development through examining the different cultural aspects of raising a child. During this process she compares the American perspective of treating babies, to those of the Gusii and the Dutch. Throughout her examination many points are made that I believe can give the reader’s a valuable understanding of the impact of different means of parenthood on a child’s future development.
Babies in Africa versus babies in Japan have different life styles, but the one the concerns me the most is safety. When we think about safety, we think about parents taking care of babies at all times. Also we think about cribs, clean and secure houses, and regularly checkups with the doctor. The general idea is a risk less environment. These things fit to Japanese babies, but it does not apply for African babies. In Africa, babies are taken care by their mothers as well, but most of the time they are by themselves trying to get some attention. They do not have nice beds. They sleep, eat and play on the dirt ground, and they do not have clothes. Instead of having strong houses, Africans have weak, hand-made huts of sticks because it is the only material they can afford, and in these houses, predators can easily attack them. Safety is really necessary in all aspects, but it has not to be the same in all countries, that is why each person takes its own
The movie “Babies” is a documentary film which has been directed by Thomas Balmes. In this movie Balmes (2010) introduced viewers four different types of babies. They are from different countries and different cultures. Two of the babies grew up in a rural area: a Namibian baby girl (Ponijao) has born in Namibia and a Mongolian baby boy ( Bayar) has born in Mongolia. Other two babies grew up in an urban area: a Japanese baby girl (Mari) has born in Japan and an American baby girl (Hattie) has born in U.S.A. This movie basically has given viewers chance to observe how these babies involved with “Nurture” mostly. They also developed their behavior by observing and imitating their parents and siblings. I was concentrating the Mongolian baby boy
The first once I noticed was the Mongolia and Namibia seemed more laid back where as the US and Tokyo would get up set if things did not go there way. For instance, The baby in Tokyo, she would get upset when she was paying with a toy and the toy didn’t do what she want she wanted it to do. She throws herself backwards on the ground and screams. Also, for the US, the mom tries to get her baby to read a book. However, the baby dose not want to read so she starts to hit mom on the face. Where as for the Namibia and Mongolia, when things don’t go there way the find something new or think it’s a game. For example, when the Namibia baby starts to walk he keeps falling but gets back up with a smiles and tries again. For the Mongolia baby he was