The movie Babies by Gerber is an observant documentary that offers a close look at four babies from diverse backgrounds and cultures as they grow in their first year of life. The exploration of how babies are raised in undoubtedly enriched by the four different cultural standpoints from Nigeria, Mongolia, the United States and Japan. The upbringings of the four babies differ regarding their dressings/ markings, play, parenting, and parental ideas of health care. I found the movie particularly intriguing in this regard.
For example, Bayarjargal from Mongolia interacts with roosters at a very tender age of infancy. When he can crawl, he moves into a cattle enclosure, an action which I regarded as perilous (Babies, 2010). Nobody picks him up, and the cows do not hurt him. Ponijao, from the Namibian Himba tribe, kisses a dog. Mari, the Japanese child, interacts with a furry cat. Hattie, the American baby, takes a shower in a clean indoor setting. The Namibian child is allowed to roam about freely. Bayarjargal stays swaddled until he can crawl. He is then allowed to roam, firstly just around a piece of furniture to which he is tied by one leg, before being let loose amongst the goats and cows (Babies, 2010). The American and Japanese children are confined and kept under close watch.
Regarding learning, the babies struggle in similar fashion with tasks such as holding items or listening. However, they are taught different disciplines and in different formats. Hattie is exposed to music in a music class at an early age. Mari is taught how to weave using threads and spindles (Babies, 2010). Bayarjargal attempt at holding items is captured by a scene where he wrangles with a toilet paper roll which he bites. All the babies struggle to master their physical environment.
The parenting is different. In Mongolia, the baby slept in the same bed with the baby boy when he was older, while the girl Bayarjargal slept with her mother. The Namibian baby was breastfed on demand. The baby was breastfed by different family members, at some point, she is breastfed by her elder sister. Hattie’s mom uses a pump to express milk and later feeds the baby with it. Mari is fed standing up for better digestion.
The babies also have different toys. Hattie plays with a cellphone; Bayarjargal barely has any toys to play with, but often plays with his bullying older brother. Mari plays with her mother as especially in mothers groups with other mothers and their children.
References
Babies. (2010). U.S.A.
