Skip to Content

A Clever Use for Baby Snapshots

Constant logging could help spot problems in kids.

In a twist on medical record keeping, a group from the University of Washington has developed a tool called Baby Steps, which lets parents put their (often overwhelming) collection of baby pictures to practical use.

Baby Steps is a computer program that collects and organizes photos and other information on a child in a virtual baby book and baby calendar. Importantly, the software also encourages parents to record key developmental milestones–significant moments in the first five years of life, such as a baby’s first step, first word and the like. Parents can also use the software to send customized newsletters to friends and family.

Researchers found that parents who used the program recorded nearly twice as many of these milestones as those who used a basic medical record-logging program instead. Pediatricians urge parents to monitor these milestones so they can be aware of early warning signs of developmental disorders, like autism or deafness.

Julie Kientz, an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Washington, presented the paper at CHI 2009 on Wednesday, showing that parents who used Baby Steps had more useful information to present duringt visits to pediatricians and were more confident about their record keeping.

“Making medical record keeping more fun and less medical actually motivates people and can have positive influences,” said Kientz during her talk.

The UW researchers also synched a wireless video camera to the program. The camera took snapshots of the baby at regular intervals. That way, if parents or doctors need to look back for developmental progress, they have a readily-accessible log. The team is now working on an online version.

Keep Reading

Most Popular

Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.

And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.

OpenAI teases an amazing new generative video model called Sora

The firm is sharing Sora with a small group of safety testers but the rest of us will have to wait to learn more.

Google’s Gemini is now in everything. Here’s how you can try it out.

Gmail, Docs, and more will now come with Gemini baked in. But Europeans will have to wait before they can download the app.

This baby with a head camera helped teach an AI how kids learn language

A neural network trained on the experiences of a single young child managed to learn one of the core components of language: how to match words to the objects they represent.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.