Diane - are you right! In my extended family life, I had my grandparents, great-aunt, great/aunt and uncle, as well as assorted relatives and neighbors continually coming in and out of the house I stayed at until my mom came to pick me up after work. My children were raised in a 2-parent, stay-at-home mom house far away from either family. I remember FORCING myself to take the kids out daily - for my own sanity. Even in below zero-degree Gurnee, Illinois weather, we went out. (Built an igloo that lasted from January to April). Babies raised in this environment surely don't get the kind of "natural" stimulation that children used to be raised in. Jeanette Panchula, BSW, LLLL, IBCLC, RN [log in to unmask] Puerto Rico