Your Baby’s First Classroom
Traditional classrooms function like courtrooms.
The judge of knowledge (the teacher) decides which evidence (information) is worthy of consideration.
In later grades, the test is the method by which students are allowed to prove their cases, their understanding of the material.
What if your child already understands the facts of the case, and becomes bored? Objection! What if your child is a kinesthetic learner, and will remember better by acting out what butterflies do? Objection!
As a recovering schoolteacher, I can tell you that most of the thinking skills, learning styles, and beliefs about her own abilities will have already been set in your child’s mind before she sets foot in a formal classroom.
Shortly after birth, your newborn will tell you what’s on her mind by looking at things that interest her. She’ll like to look at your face, your hairline, and high-contrast patterns. By the time she is a settled baby (about 3 months old), she will indicate what looks interesting to her by reaching for it. If your infant accomplishes the goal of actually grasping the tantalizing item, she’ll taste it. Mouth exploration is normal, and necessary. For now, it is polite to stare. The brief gazes of a newborn evolve into a full stare by the time she’s 3 or 4 months old. This gaze lasts about a minute, but it seems like forever to grandparents awaiting the return of a smile.
In the last half of baby’s first year (6-12 months), the mouth exploration no longer yields enough information. Children of this age love to touch and poke different textures. They also like to drop, yank, flick, bang, and pull things. Here it comes again, folks… the “S” word: Safety-proofing. And we need to talk about the big “O” as well: Object permanence. This means that hiding contraband or distracting your baby is not the end of the issue anymore. Your kid can now remember that something exists (and tastes delicious, btw), even though you just confiscated said item. On the plus side, that milestone is an indicator of intellectual development.
The best possible preparation for formal schooling begins now. If you nurture your baby in an environment that respects her questions by answering them, her future questions will continue to be meaningful ones. If she discovers a talent or a niche that has a place of honor in her home, the inspirational process of learning will have a place of honor in her life. Your infant’s curiosity is an expression of innate intelligence. Her learning instinct should be rewarded by the joy of discovery, not mishaps due to lack of safety-proofing. Later in life, your child won’t be content to wait for an external authority to tell her what to think, or what to think about — if you let her practice at home.
When you honor your infant’s emerging wonder about the world, you allow your baby’s learning process to be less like a courtroom, and more like a laboratory filled with experiments, hypotheses about what will happen, theories, trial and error, logic, and the power of knowledge.
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Carly Jennings | Cognitive Development | 
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