http://www.care2.com/greenliving/forget-what-you-know-babies-are-way-smarter-than-you-think.html
Forget What You Know: Babies Are Way Smarter Than You Think
New studies clearly demonstrate that babies and very young children know, observe, explore, imagine and learn more than we would ever have thought possible. In many significant ways, they are even smarter than adults. I will tell you honestly and quite upfront, this is not the first time I have reported on these sorts of findings. Actually, just a few months back I blogged about how babies, as well as young children, experience the world via an extremely wide spectrum of sensation, as opposed to the miniscule sliver of sentient reality that we adults experience. So why am I treading old ground and covering this subject yet again? Well to draw attention to more elaborate studies by Alison Gopnik, professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, and to remind our adult readers (who may have missed it the first time) what is actually going in the intricate and Byzantine minds of babies everywhere.
As mentioned above, Alison Gopnik, as well as being a psych professor, is also author of the newly published The Philosophical Baby which investigates the exploratory and analytic nature of the young child’s mind. Counter to what was previous assumed, that babies were just blank slates of blooming and buzzing confusion, Gopnik points out that babies have an astonishing capacity for statistical reasoning, experimental discovery and probabilistic logic, which enables them to learn about the myriad of objects and people surrounding them with greater depth and efficiency than previously assumed (I could go into case studies and particular experiments here, but you would be best served reading it first hand rather than slogging through my abbreviated accounts).
The truly notable meaning to gather from all this, is not that we all now need to spend the remainder of our diminishing paychecks on new fangled programs and products that will make our babies even smarter, but we need to encourage babies and toddlers to remain curious and continue to explore their surroundings. At this age, they are not as specifically focused and goal oriented as their eager parents, and the learning they do on their own, when they carefully watch and unexpected outcome and draw new conclusions from say, a set of car keys or a cup of spilled water, is radically different than how adults view and consider learning. Babies (and this is the truly wonderfully subversive part of the whole message) can learn an enormous amount from simple items (bowls, blocks, items from nature, etc) and simple interactions, that have nothing to do with “enriching” educational toys, games, and DVDs.
So, clear the decks, save your money and allow your child to learn, not in the rigid way adults do, but in the experiential way young children need to.
Eric Steinman is a freelance writer based in Rhinebeck, N.Y. He regularly writes about food, music, art, architecture and culture and is a regular contributor to Bon Appétit among other publications.
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6 comments
add your comment »Lewis, I think you're replying to the breast feeding topic. And, if that sort of thing bothers anyone, they need only to look away.
This topic: Believing in reincarnation, I feel that every baby comes into earth not only with the knowledge of the Other Side, but also the knowledge of past lives. Child geniuses in fields of medicine, music, math etc.. Also, I feel that children's imaginary friends are not imaginary at all. And that parents should respect that and participate with them.
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A dear friend of mine, who was a nurse, shared the story of the first newborn handed to her to take to the nursery - and how she thought babies eyes didn't focus for days, etc. She said this little boy was staring right at her without wavering. When she reached the nursery and sat down with him on her lap, he never stopped eye contact with her. She looked at him and said, "you have just come from the place where you know all the answers to everything....and you can't tell me ANYTHING!" She began to cry and the sheer power emanating from this child - and older nurse walked over and said, "First time?" She just nodded. The other nurse said, "Don't worry - the first time hits all of that way - and you'll never forget it from now on." By the time they learn OUR language, they have begun to forget all that they came in with - and that's really sad for us - probably for them to. Another friend told me she heard her 5 yr old daughter at her new brother's crib one day saying quietly, "Please tell me about God...I'm starting to forget."
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Two of my favorite books about babies and young children are the Magical Child and The Magical Child Revisited. They go into the deeper nature of these youngsters. The Waldorf schools encourage the kind of learning the author is talking about.
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It's always struck me as interesting how much time my son (not quite two) can spend with a straw, leaf or simply a cup of water. Having the chance to just set him down in a large park and let him explore (mom close at hand) usually winds up by the stream or sitting in the gravel path rather than the playground. Maybe part of the issue is our effort to spend what our definition of quality time is with our kids rather than giving them time.
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Hi Eric...
I am also agree with you, I really think that we must use experiential way to teach children.
acai
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Why diod she not use a napkin to cover up?
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