UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 25, Page 3
March 26, 1992
Baby Day;  New mothers, former students attend annual class

     Imagine lying in your hospital bed after just having delivered your
baby. You're both tired and ecstatic, and there are a thousand things to
prepare for.
     But one of the first things several University graduates have taken
time out for is a call to Dene Klinzing at the University to tell her the
good news, and to be sure to save a place for mother and child at Baby Day.
     Klinzing, professor of individual and family studies, has a Baby Day
each semester she teaches her child development class. She invites mothers
and babies to the class to show students the rapid developmental changes
that occur in infants in their first year of life.
     "There's nothing like having real live subjects to reinforce what
they've read," Klinzing explained. She said she doesn't think students can
really understand from only reading a book how quickly and dramatically
infants change.
     Baby Day is so popular and memorable that former students who have
just had babies often return to show the current undergraduates the
infants' development and, as all moms like to do, to show off their
children.
     Patty Hirzel, Delaware '74, graduated with a degree in child
development. She brought two-month-old Haley to this semester's class March
12.
     Haley is Hirzel's fourth child and first daughter. She continues her
brothers' tradition of being a panelist in one of Klinzing's "live
lectures."
     A child life therapist at Christiana Hospital, Hirzel keeps in
frequent touch with her former teacher because Klinzing brings University
students to the hospital to study and work.
     Klinzing remembered, "As soon as she was pregnant, she announced it to
me. I said, 'Baby Day?' And she said, 'Of course, Baby Day!' "
     Although they see each other often, Hirzel said she would still have
called Klinzing to ask if Haley could be part of the course. She explained
that she wants to give something back to the University, providing her time
and her daughter's presence at the annual event.
     Baby Day is still memorable to her mom after 20 years, but infant
Haley probably won't remember much about the day because she slept through
the lecture. "She sleeps in public," Hirzel said, laughing.
     Kim Doherty, Delaware '82 in dietetics, returned to Klinzing's child
development class with her nine-month-old son Andrew. While attending the
University, Doherty was both Klinzing's classroom and work-study student,
and her relationship with her teacher remains close.
     Now a food service supervisor for the Brandywine School District,
Doherty remembers learning about the developmental stages of children in
Klinzing's class. She said she can see them occurring as she watches Andrew
grow.
     Klinzing said students pay great attention at Baby Day. As she
explains the different developmental levels to the students and
demonstrates the differences on the babies, the students can watch the
children interacting with their mothers and with each other. Students also
have the opportunity to ask the mothers questions about parenting
techniques and their babies' personalities and temperaments.
     A clear understanding of child development is crucial for students who
plan to work with children or for those who plan to become parents,
Klinzing explained. Early childhood development is particularly important
in laying the foundation for later development.
     Klinzing holds a Toddler Day later in the semester as a follow-up to
Baby Day, so her students can continue to learn firsthand about older
children's developmental patterns.
     She said she wants her students to realize that "babies are unique
individuals right from birth, and I think this class illustrates it."
     -Laura Reisinger