Raising a Renaissance Baby
Liberal arts for your little one, with Eliza

Leonardo. Raphael. Donatello. Michelangelo.

Do you reflexively consider the foursome as paragons of late 15th- and early 16th-century Italian art or as a crime-fighting, sword-wielding quartet of green reptiles? Personally, I hope to raise children equally acquainted with both chiaroscuro masters and cartoon mayhem.

In days of yore, young men of means went on an extended "World Tour," surveying historic antiquities, exploring exotic cultures and sampling the globe's most contemporary offerings.

In the 21st century, there's no need to wait for adolescence, certainly no need to be male, and aristocratic status is not required. Baby's "World Tour" can - and in my view, should - begin upon arrival.

Expose your sweetie to music of all varieties, art of diverse genres, literature and languages, natural landscapes and locales in abundance. Add a heaping portion of pop culture and you'll be nurturing a socially-savvy child. Make your home a haven for the humanities and be sure to supplement with science. (Ben loves our food coloring and water "experiments," creating secondary colors - and inevitably, tertiary - from primary color combinations!)

For now, my second child dwells in a voluptuous (growing by the day), spherical sanctuary. Post-delivery, I intend to keep my baby well-rounded.

Ciao-