Author Archives: caitlinburke

Peek-a-boo

Kitten play is centered around predatory-like behavior. Kittens learn the specifics how to be cats mostly by imitation of their mother and other cats (and will, for example, prefer the prey their mother trained them on or start stalking a new prey animal after seeing another cat catch one—although they don’t actually need to be trained in order to become good predators). A cat will not usually attack prey while on its back, with its prey object on its tummy, but this kitten is improving its paw-eye coordination, and ‘hugging’ its target, and, apparently, imitating its … you know … next best thing to mom.

Oh, and did I mention it’s also the cutest thing in the universe?

Telling It Like It Is

I really love Scott C, and I would post something of his here pretty much every day if it were not for my vanishingly small sense of self-preservation. It’s been over a year, though, so I think I can get away with another one. This is from a series of illustrations he did for an ad campaign by Portuguese film group Show Off! (Fuel Lisbon), about what happens to great ideas when Marketing gets ahold of them.

Idea. New Marketing Director.

Many more at his post about this project.

(Also, Advertolog has a couple more on its Fuel Lisbon page, notably The Toilet One and The Shark One.)

Baby Einstein Offering Refunds

New York Times: No Einstein in Your Crib? Get a Refund

I am thrilled to read this. The American Academy of Pediatrics weighed in on this issue years ago, and mild pressure from a child-advocacy group was sufficient to get the company to drop “educational” from the label. The best news? It was the mere threat of a suit, through efforts begun just a couple of years ago, that succeeded in bringing this refund offer about.

Products are no substitute for parenting. Hopefully that message will get across to well-meaning parents misled by Baby Einstein marketing.