At our recent appearance in Dallas, Texas, a listener asked about the use of fret as a transitive verb, as in “Don’t fret that child.” This usage is particularly common in the American South, and comes from the old notion of fret...
Kirk from New Braunfels, Texas, wonders about the origin of the word dad. It’s one of many names for a parent that arose simply from the sounds an infant makes when trying to communicate. This is part of a complete episode.
If you’re looking for yet another reason to buy an infant a present, there’s always Inside Out Day, which some people celebrate as the day when a baby has been out of the womb as long as they were in it. This is part of a complete...
Giving your baby an uncommon name may seem like a swell idea. But what if you’re the parent of a newborn and you already have namer’s remorse? This is part of a complete episode.
Why do we speak to babies in high pitched voices? Often our eyes grow wide, we give big smiles, and we talk in exaggerated, singsongy voices because these are the things that infants respond to. Chances are this parental cooing has gone on since...
Why do department stores label their infants’ section “Baby” instead of “Babies’” à la “Men’s” or “Women’s”? For one, the Baby department includes more than just clothes;...