Have you ever wondered what runs through a baby’s thoughts on a daily basis? What are they thinking about when they blankly stare at you? As I was watching over my neighbor’s newborn baby one day, I couldn’t help but ask myself these questions. Despite the fact that babies’ brains are very small, they are still able to think and perceive things. Obviously not the way older people do, but still enough to make you question how their brain works and what they are thinking.
According to Paul Quinn, a professor of psychology at the University of Delaware, babies are able to distinguish male faces from female faces in photographs as young as three months old. Babies develop a preference towards a gender based on who their primary caregiver is. From the moment a baby is born, he or she is constantly thinking and trying to make sense of everything going on around them. They begin to pick up patterns from examining things about the environment they live in. Researchers have found that a baby’s attention can be held longer if you do something unexpected. For example, if you throw a ball up in the air as opposed to just holding it, a baby will be more interested and likely to stay engaged. Dr. Sue Hespos from Northwestern University states that babies spend a lot of time thinking about the way objects behave and interact. When a baby reaches 2 to 3 months, they are responding to their caregiver’s face and voice, not exactly their words. It isn’t until 5 or 6 months that babies begin to respond to their actual name. Furthermore, when babies laugh, it is not necessarily because they think something is funny. A baby’s first laugh serves as a sign of socialization and an indication that the baby is starting to acknowledge sounds and expressions that are made when he/she is enjoying themself.
So the next time you look at a baby and think they do not understand anything that is going on, remember that they too have brains, and are taking in everything and everyone around them, trying to make sense of it all.
Sources:
http://www.parents.com/baby/care/newborn/what-is-baby-thinking/
I was really surprised to find out that laughter from babies is not necessarily a response to something they find funny.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2580540/Why-babies-laugh-Thats-scientist-set-learn-tantalising-results.html
You may enjoy this article that looked further into a baby’s laughter. I read that it is mainly a social thing, obviously they haven’t really developed senses of humor, but even at my age laughing simply because you are in a social situation is still something I do on a daily basis
I have an eight month old nephew and this is very accurate! I remember him responding to his name for the first few times and it was so exciting! Babies do think and it’s very interesting to see their reactions with everything. Right now my nephew is in the oral fixation state and likes to put everything in his mouth. It’s crazy to think that’s how he experiences the world. You can read more about the developmental stages here here