Polish looks?

"Flat heads" or rather flat spots are usually caused by babies sleeping on their backs the entire time. In the past most parents used that technique and many older people in Sweden have the flat spot you're talking about, because that's how they too slept in their cribs. Nowadays most babies in Sweden sleep on their stomachs and the average shape of babies heads have become more elongated. I remember a discussion about this while taking a biology class in Sweden.

Chins seem to have a tendency to be less pointy here as well. Is that my observation or has anyone else noticed this?

there is less of a roundedness at the back of the head. is what i agree to.

some may mention nose shape, others mention high cheekbones as defining slavic features. i would just add the above.

Ahh I've been waiting for someone to point that out... no I haven't noticed it but I often wondered where all the pointy chins are gone..? Can they be bought back..?

An overly pointy chin is aesthetically unappealing. Just look at the American actress Reese Witherspork. One wonders if she is going to puncture either side of a tin can's top with her chin and pour out its content.

Please, discuss POLISH looks.

don't know about you Dessi but I'd rather go with an old fashioned can-opener

Has anyone considered the possibility that the culture determines the head shape? Bear with me, It is a well known fact that the bones in a newborns skull have not fused and as such different ways of taking care of babies can greatly influence the eventual shape of an individuals head.

I have noticed a big difference in the head shape of certain communities depending on whether they were 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation. 1st and 2nd generation in that community had very odd head shapes and could be due to the "old ways" of bringing up babies. 3rd generation and onward seemed to benefit from access to the latest neonatal care and advice as opposed to "what my grandmother did".

I actually knew a family that had 7 girls and then eventually had a boy but he died before his 2nd birthday, they were really into the "old ways" but I can't say either way if that contributed to it in any way. I mean whether you allow your baby to sleep on it's side or back or front can have a huge impact on them.

I'm just saying....

Well, having spent a few days in Prague, the czechs have a distinct look. Maybe there's some truth in that....

skysoulmate mentioned it earlier. i did some checking and it seems there is something in this.

it's also said that there is no distinctive head shape within a culture.

yet i still maintain that i can see a difference.

Yes, I did, about 5 posts ago. LOL

...and yes, I think that's the key.

expand on that if you can please and thank you.

it's like skysoulmate suggested earlier.

in a text i read, all sorts of things can affect head shape and the list even included child seats in cars.

Can it affect a brain if it can affect a scull? Sorry but it sounds bit silly... children don't sleep on a flat tough plank but on a soft cushion

no idea. the sites i checked didn't mention it. but there is a history of some cultures, through history, deliberately changing the head shape of children.

My denial of what , a nonsense ? Then yes, I deny everything what makes no sense .

Better make some comment about Polish looks , you are half Polish , aren`t you ?

I have to admitt there are some Polish men with flat back of head , but it is not a visible trait among Polish men . It is caused by keeping infants in one position ( on flat back ) and not changing positions too often . But it is more common among older people from rural parts of Poland where the education on such subject was minor . These days, it differs though .

There must be something old tradition/belief with this, flat-back head, still alive in rural regions. Same here in rural regions in central Turkey. I remember old days in the village when heads of small babies were wrapped by some clothes etc to make backs of their heads flat. I thought it was an old Turkic tradition. Now, I see it is also done in Poland.

By the way, the only Pole I met had a nose with a small curve. I said her she had a curved nose, and she got angry at me. (I thought I was complimenting.)

No. More lies, Moania. Check out the Cephalic Index. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craniometry

she's right:

BTW , do you also see such phenomenon at every Polish female face by searching through the internet sites ? I don`t think any girl would take such a remark as a compliment .

let me ponder the idiocy of your statement for a bit, as it is amusing, and then ask you... why?

But, it was a truth and a compliment on my side. (what if she didn't have that small curve on her nose? Then, she'd be a holywood artist or something like that on a high horse, and she'd not be even talking with me.. Eh, anyway, she hasn't talked with me after I said it to her.)

Of course not, all it does is shape the very soft bones when they're still very elastic, google and you'll see. This was a biology class we were taking and they showed us cranial shapes of babies born in the 50s and more recent ones; it was a fairly noticeable difference. The main reason doctors started recommending for the babies to sleep on their stomach was the seemingly higher rate of sudden infant death syndrome. The more oval, symmetrical head shapes were just a (positive) side effect of the different sleeping positions.

Won't baby suffocte if it sleeps on a belly?

The idiocy of your statement is so immense , that I keep asking myself if this guy is Polish . Polish men are known for their intelect and erudition . But hey you are only half Polish , that explains .

JonniM - you are the troll yourself . In the link you provided there is an illustration , which shows that Poles have oval faces (best ratio) across Europe( just opposite from what you try to suggest ) . Round and flattened faces have most the inhabitants of southern Europe. In Poland this type does not almost exist. Just take a look at this link you`ve given .

Maybe the SIDS is more common when babies don't sleep on their backs? I can't remember but check this out:

"History

There has been a significant increase in the number of infants with Flat Head Syndrome in recent years. In 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics launched the “Back to Sleep” Campaign. This campaign has proven to be highly successful in saving infants’ lives. However, this campaign, combined with the proliferation of convenient equipment such as infant car carriers has resulted in infants spending more time on their backs than ever before. Each infant should still sleep on their back unless otherwise directed by their physician..."

Back of the head, not the face. There are two types in the world and geography has a lot to do with preponderance. Stop twisting facts.

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Growing up in Sweden I was a baby sitter to two babies and also have seen numerous other babies. Most of them always slept on their bellies (with head to the side). I've never heard of one suffocating. Also, if they throw up the risk of drowning in their own vomit is almost non-existent. I noticed that Chinese babies always sleep on their backs and many adults in that region have flat backsides on their heads. I don't think either method is "dangerous", it simply gives slightly different esthetic results. Little bit of this and little bit of that is probably the best approach.

I remember, so many times, Poles saying my ex didn't look Polish.

Yes, I've just checked it. It's safer for a baby to sleep on its back until it's able to change the position on its own (about 6th month of life)

You're right, I checked it too, can't remember why they switched then but it was sometimes in the 60s they said. Today, almost every kid I've ever seen always slept on his/her belly. They definitely have more symmetrical head shapes... Oh well, that's all I know about this subject...