Babies Documentary Summary

The documentary Babies followed four newborns from different parts of the world through the beginning of their lives. The babies included Bayar from Monjolia, Ponijio from Namibia, Hattie from the United States, and Mari from Japan. Similarities in parenting styles across the different cultures were present throughout the film. For example, all babies were breast fed until integration to whole foods occurred. Hattie and Mari both came from industrialized first world countries, and the cultures in both the U.S. and Japan mirrored each other. Both babies were surrounded with ample toys to engage in self-play and parenting similarly seemed highly geared toward lots of interactions between the babies and their parents. Neither had siblings either, and both attended a type of baby class that had a high focus on grown-up lead interactions with other babies and with their parents.

Toys for both children only included household items, sticks, water, and dirt. Bayar was left by himself for long periods of time. Even when he showed distress and cried when his older brother began to hit Bayar with a towel no parental figure appeared. Bayar was also very tightly swaddled from his birth into the first few months of life. This was the complete opposite from Ponijio who was always in the arms of his mother or sibling. Ponijio was also never left unattended instead the baby was constantly surrounded by family, other babies, or other members of the community. In the cases of Ponijio, Mari, and Hattie all parenting styles included a substantial amount of direct communication/interaction specifically between baby and