How to “Set the Stage”
The first thing you want to keep in mind is that you want a stage upon which your baby can act not a setting for cameras and camera angles. You will want to include toys that are sure to delight your baby, make sure there is plenty of natural lighting (outdoor settings are great for a project such as this) and that your baby is well rested and in a good temper. If you choose a natural setting you should keep in mind that nature is its own stage to some degree. Capture your baby doing the things he or she loves to do and take plenty of photographs in the moments. Even if your baby is simply throwing sand in the air and running through it you will be amazed at how much his or her personality shines through those moments of glee when captured on film.

As a matter of fact, these moments are the stuff that baby photo contests are made of. When setting a stage upon which to take those perfect baby pictures you will want to make sure that the background doesn’t distract from the object of your affection. The less elaborate the background the better. You want your baby and her personality to shine in these photos. You should also make sure that she is interested in the process and having fun. Her personality will be the star if she is truly having fun.

Interaction and attention are great motivators when it comes to taking pictures of babies. If you want them to react to you and not the camera capture their interest and if at all possible keep the camera away from your face. This allows her to babble and play with you while doing it for the camera. Play with her toys in order to get her to begin playing with them. Once she’s engaged in the activity or the ‘play’ you can snap photos as fast as your fingers and your camera will allow in order to have plenty of selection while showing the most possible personality.

When I was growing up, the extent of my athletic experience was whatever they made me do twice a week when I put on my goofy blue gym uniform. I hated it! How times have changed! All three of my children have been involved in soccer, baseball, swimming and Ty Kwon Do. And all three say that gym class is one of their favorite classes. I realize that sometimes it’s not easy to get kids to commit to sports activities. But the long term benefits for your child make it worth the battle.

There are many positive aspects of youth sports. Sports promote teamwork, healthy self-esteem, and mastery of skills. Participation in sports also promotes a healthy lifestyle that can combat the TV-computer-coach-potato mentality of many of our children. It’s worth the effort to encourage your child to participate in some kind of sporting activity.

Here’s a section from my book, Perfect Parenting, that addresses the issues of the reluctant athlete:

Question:
My child signs up for athletic lessons and then doesn’t like it and doesn’t want to practice. After a few sessions she wants to quit. How do I get her involved in sports and how do I get her to stay committed?

Think about it:
The first step is to determine the child’s reason for wanting to quit. You can figure this out by taking to the child, talking to the coach and watching a practice session and a game. There may be more than one reason. Review the solutions below for each reason.

1. Child isn’t skilled in the sport: Often children want to join a team because they enjoy watching the big league games on TV and playing with friends at the park. Once they join a team, however, they find that the game is harder than they thought, and they don’t have the skills to play well. Practice – just what the child wants to avoid – is the key to an attitude adjustment. Explain to your child that it takes time and practice to play well and because the session has just started she must give it a fair chance. Make an agreement that she must do her best for the session (or a specific amount of time). After that point, she can either continue, or stop and try something else. Put your agreement in writing and post it. Often a child can handle an activity for a short specific amount of time, and at the end of the time period has adequate skills to enjoy the sport and can then make a better decision about continuing.
2. Child is not having fun: Sometimes, the actual involvement isn’t as fun as the child imagined. First make sure the coach or teacher is compatible with your child. If there is a major personality clash it may be worth it to change coaches. If your child is not correctly matched to the skill level of the team, her inability to keep up could prevent her from having fun. If all seems to be okay in these areas, you can build your child’s interest by taking her to a professional-level game and to a game involving kids a few years older than she is. Another way to increase your child’s commitment to the game is to have enough equipment at home for casual practice, and to take the time to enjoy the game with your child, without the pressure of the formal game.
3. Sport takes up too much time: Most sports activities do require a time commitment from both child and parent. A child who is committed to more than one activity can easily feel overwhelmed. It’s usually best to focus on one extra-curricular activity at a time so that the child still has some time left over after sports and school for free unstructured play.
4. Child feels too much pressure: First experiences with team competition can be difficult for children. It’s especially hard if a child is not a great player. One way to remove some of the pressure is to cheer for the whole team, as opposed to the individual in the spotlight, “Go Redwings!” Another method is to focus on effort, skills and technique. “Good swing! Nice try!” If a child doesn’t ask for advice about how to play better, don’t give any! Leave it to the coaches. Watch how you, other parents, the kids and the coaches respond after a lost game. Look for something positive to say, “What a great effort!” Focus on a few positive details from the game. Find some time to play a casual version of the game at home or at the park so your child can enjoy the process without worrying about who wins.

Make sure you’re offering sports that fit your child’s personality. Some children are drawn to “ball” sports, such as baseball, soccer and tennis. Others prefer swimming, horseback riding, gymnastics or sailing. Analyze your child’s strengths and weaknesses, the things your child enjoys or avoids. Let your child try several different activities until he finds one that suits him. You may have played baseball all through your childhood, and love the game today, but if your child is drawn to swimming instead, open your heart and mind and support the sport your child chooses, while gently encouraging him to try your favorite, too.

Take your child to a few professional-sporting activities of the types you would like him to consider. Often when children see skilled athletes and feel the excitement of the event, they become more interested in trying the activity themselves.

Find a sport activity you can enjoy with your child, such as martial arts, swimming, or tennis, and take lessons together. Children enjoy the attention from a parent, and will learn to enjoy the sport in the process.

Copyright Elizabeth Pantley. (McGraw-Hill, 2003)

About the Author:
Elizabeth Pantley is the author of several books, including Gentle Baby Care : No-cry, No-fuss, No-worry — Essential Tips for Raising Your Baby, The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night, Kid Cooperation (with an introduction by William Sears, MD), Perfect Parenting, as well as her latest The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers and is also president of Better Beginnings, Inc. She is a popular speaker on family issues, and her newsletter, Parent Tips, is seen in schools nationwide. She appears as a regular radio show guest, and has been quoted in Parents, Parenting, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, American Baby, Working Mother, and Woman’s Day magazines. Visit Elizabeth’s web site http://www.pantley.com/elizabeth.

The biggest part of a person’s personality is whether they are introverted or extroverted. A baby will often show a strong sense of this aspect of their personality from very early on. Does your baby seem to like the attention he gets from the outside world and people outside of your immediate family? Does he light up when people try to talk to him, or does he try to hide his head and start to cry when out of your arms or someone other than those living in the house try to hold him?

Some babies will take the opportunity to smile and laugh with every stranger that looks their way, while others are content to just look at mom and dad, while ignoring everyone else around them. If your baby is an extrovert he will thrive on attention from all sources, and if he is an introvert he will be happy just being left alone.

Some babies are high maintenance, wanting to constantly be held, played with, and given attention. As soon as their diaper is wet or full, they HAVE to be changed or they scream. Others are content to sit by themselves and wait for you to come to them, or patient enough to give you time to discover on your own that they need a diaper change and change it. This part of their personality probably won’t change much as they get older and will give you an insight of how your child will be as he grows.

Is your baby a ham? Does he grin his biggest whenever you pull out the camera or is getting a smile like pulling a tooth? Some babies love being the center of attention and laugh on cue. Your baby may try to make you laugh, especially as he gets older. He may put pots and pans on his head or start trying to pose for pictures, even before he is a year old. If this is the case your baby may very well turn out to be the class clown in school!

Some babies will not need a lot of interaction, or will quickly become over stimulated when given too much interaction. If this happens your baby may become fussy quickly, becoming happy again once he is left to himself, or given his favorite toy to play with. If this sounds like your baby be sure to give him his alone time when he seems to need it and be around to play when he is ready. 

It doesn’t matter if your baby is quiet and sits around waiting for you to notice him, or is active and rambunctious making sure EVERYONE notices him. Your baby will continue to develop his personality during the first few years and during his adolescence. It is important that you support and encourage him, no matter what personality traits he begins to display, as the reaction your baby gets is what will help him form into the person he will become.

You can tell for sure. Introverted babies and toddlers move away from lights, noise, motion and people. Extroverted babies move toward them.

If your baby moves away from people, it doesn’t mean your little one is going to be unsociable, it just means he or she is going to be an introvert!

Even at a very young age, your introverted child needs to take people on his or her own terms. Often introverted babies and children signal this quality by staring intensely at a new person as if setting up an energetic no man’s land or at least a slow down zone.

I remember the first time I met my enchanting 18 month old nephew. When I entered his bedroom, I waited quietly at the door while his mother lifted him out of the crib and onto the floor. He needed to get a complete sense of who I was. As he came toward me (forced to by circumstances), he looked me right in the eye all the way across the room with his binkie hanging from his hand as if to say, “You can look, but please don’t touch.” Introverts are territorial and they are territorial about their own bodies. One can only imagine the horror of swooping down on a child like this and grabbing him up in your arms. No, no, no on several levels!

An extroverted child on the other hand will begin to create sound and motion in order to draw another person to them. Their faces form vivid expressions as their eyebrows go up and their mouths squeal, shout, laugh or “order” as only a two year old can, “Come here!” or “Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!” Their hands twirls, their heads bob and their bodies move toward you as fast as their dancing feet can carry them.

My nephew who made as little motion as possible in crossing the distance between us. I mirrored his body language, always a good thing in human relations but I would have done it anyway. I’m an introvert, too.

We used to have a test that went around in the days before the internet. Among a number of other things, you were asked to react to what it would be like to be in a plain white room with no windows or doors. The way the test was set up, this revealed that it was either your idea of heaven or hell.

Introverts thought it was heaven. They found the lack of environmental stimulation relaxing, a relief, and especially the fact that there were no doors or windows so there could be no unexpected interruptions. Extroverts on the other hand considered the lack of stimulation – color, sound, noise, motion and windows to the outer world – nothing less than an unnatural torture.

Try to keep this vivid example in mind when arranging the environment for your introverted child. Because their inner world is so rich, outwardly speaking, less is definitely more.

Naturally your introverted child loves and needs mom, dad, grandparents and other siblings very much but the idea is to minimize other stimulants so that your child can enjoy personal space and feel good about territorial issues as s/he begins to sort things through in the outer world.

Here are some guidelines for toddler introverts: