Baby Talk

Throughout my life, I have always been interested in babies and their thought processes.  How do they think? Do they have babbling noises running through their heads?  This concept always intrigued me.  When my twin siblings were born, I was six years old.  I remember always wanting to know how to get my siblings to like me, so I would always try to make them laugh.  I would also try to play little mind games with them, like peek-a-boo.  Because object permanence wasn't implemented for them yet, it blew their little minds when my face reappeared from behind my hands.

If only they knew...

But the most exciting thing for me was watching them interact with each other.  When they would play together, they would use the other's toys.  Because these toys were new to them, they became very engrossed in the item, ignoring all of their own toys that they were used to playing with normally.

A photo of my siblings and I back in the day.

Phenomenon like this are constantly tested.  If Piaget were to analyze this scenario, he would think that my siblings were more attentive because it was a foreign object to them.  Sylvain Sirois and Gert Westermann would agree with Piaget in that they are more interested in the new item than what they have seen previously.  However, a conflicting opinion would state that babies come equipped with some knowledge at birth and can understand basic math, physics, and other life aspects.

Personally, children baffle me.  They are so intelligent and never stop making me wonder what is going on inside their tiny little heads.  I would love to think that babies are born with basic knowledge of the world around them, and are readily equipped with the proper tools to survive, but the answer is still unclear.  There is one thing I do know for sure: whether they are born smart or they learn as they develop, babies never cease to amaze me.