This is a useful educational article, but I had a pediatrician in 1981 explain much the same facts to us about our just-born daughter.
The lesson is not to go off and overstimulate the child, but 1) observe closely what the child is paying attention to and 2) don't presume that the kid doesn't know significantly more about what is going on that you might think and 3) don't talk baby talk to the kid. Emulate as closely as you can what they say. This will give very positive feedback of the right kind.
i did an experiment with a friends just-born baby. I would get the kid's attention, then stick my tongue out. After a couple of repeats of this, the kid responded by sticking her tongue out, much to the astonishment of her mother. "There is a person in there".
So if we can follow this line of reasoning about adults, at least in some cultures, being off in understanding what kids understand just after birth, how far off has that perception slipped by the time they are six? teenagers?
This is a useful educational article, but I had a pediatrician in 1981 explain much the same facts to us about our just-born daughter.
The lesson is not to go off and overstimulate the child, but 1) observe closely what the child is paying attention to and 2) don't presume that the kid doesn't know significantly more about what is going on that you might think and 3) don't talk baby talk to the kid. Emulate as closely as you can what they say. This will give very positive feedback of the right kind.
i did an experiment with a friends just-born baby. I would get the kid's attention, then stick my tongue out. After a couple of repeats of this, the kid responded by sticking her tongue out, much to the astonishment of her mother. "There is a person in there".
So if we can follow this line of reasoning about adults, at least in some cultures, being off in understanding what kids understand just after birth, how far off has that perception slipped by the time they are six? teenagers?