WANTED! UNEMPLOYED BABIES
I saw the ad below for baby scientists in my neighborhood parent newsletter and it inspired me to think of more ways to find work for infants. A few ideas I have for getting your baby a job are:
- Baby doll: Seek out an expecting couple you know and offer to let them practice on your baby. They can bathe your baby. Go do something else during the bath so that you don’t act like a total control freak and scare your friends.
- Usability tester: If you live in the Bay Area, sign up for the LeapFrog toys user lab.
- Actor/Model: If you live in LA or NY, now is the time to force your child into showbiz.
- Cheerleader: Dress your baby in a college team outfit and take her to a sporting event. Let the team interpret her screaming as cheers.
- Paperweight: If baby is not yet crawling, place him on a stack of papers.
If you live in my neighborhood, let your baby be a scientist:
The Infancy Laboratory at UC Berkeley, is seeking infants 7-12 months of age to take part in studies on cognitive and emotional development. The studies take about an hour of parents’ time (but only about 10 minutes of baby’s), and involve coming to the campus where you will have your own private parking space (for an hour). At Cal, you will see some of the world-famous studies on how infants develop (as seen on the Discovery Channel and PBS), and you can participate in helping psychologists learn about the infant’s mind!
According to the recruiters, the studies usually go fast, and most babies find them fun. They promise a t- shirt for your efforts. What’s more, in some studies, the babe will get her very first California Driver’s license AND a diploma from prestigious UC-Berkeley to show off to her friends.
For more information, contact the lab at infancy at socrates.berkeley.edu, or call 510-643-0614 and ask for Amy or Thea.
I just finished reading Scientist in the Crib, so it sounds like fun to me. I’ll let you know if we’re accepted.
I am currently located in the Atlanta area, I would love to recieve information on getting exposure for my unemployed baby.
My daughter has participated in speech and language experiments at Purdue U. since she was only a few months old. She really enjoys all the attention from the girls who run the lab, and she always earns a book for her participation. We’ve built her library (I’d say we’ve done 6 – 10 experiments), and had an outing, and exposed her to science (which is SO important for girls!!) while helping college students with their research at the same time. It has been a very rewarding and wonderful experience, and I highly recommend it!
The funny thing is that she loves the books that she’s earned more than the books that she’s been given. I can still pick out exactly which books she’s gotten there (out of dozens) because we read them twice as much as the others. I’m not sure if this will directly lead to a work ethic, someday, but it can’t hurt!
it is sooooo time for my baby to get a job. he’s almost 10 months, after all!