A Parents' Guide to the Mind of the Infant and Toddler
The ability to think is probably the most notable characteristic that makes human beings unique among all species on earth. Yet despite its obvious significance, thinking is not something that is present at birth, and it does not become fully functional for some time. A newborn has practically no capacity for intelligent behavior, nor can he be expected to begin using his mind on a regular basis until many months later.
Furthermore, a child does not turn into a completely rational creature overnight. Thinking ability does not appear suddenly. It emerges gradually, with the child's behavior thus reflecting an intriguing blend of new advances and remaining limitations at each step along the way.
Unfortunately, the way the mind performs and progresses during infancy and toddlerhood is a mystery to most mothers and fathers. Without adequate insight concerning the motivations and machinations behind the baby's behavior, they are routinely baffled by it. Sometimes they find it charming and amusing. Other times they find it alarming and exasperating. But invariably, they feel that daily interactions would be more stimulating, and things would go more smoothly, if they simply had a better understanding of how thinking ability evolves over the first years of life.
Thanks to the work of a Swiss psychologist named Jean Piaget, we now have a good picture of the process. Remarkably, the original descriptions he produced were solely based upon observations of his own three children. However, they subsequently have proven to be largely accurate through studies of thousands of other children by hundreds of other researchers.
Although not making parents experts, a little knowledge of Piaget's notions will go a long way toward increasing their fascination and decreasing their frustration when dealing with the mind of their infant or toddler. For instance, as their baby sits in his high chair and plops spoonfuls of apple sauce all over the floor below, they can realize that he is not really a mischievous midget who is out to make them miserable, but merely a curious scientist who is compelled to test the qualities of a strange material.
Of course, while all children go through the initial stages of mental development described by Piaget in the same sequence and according to the same principles, each individual goes through them at a slightly different rate. Therefore, it is necessary to regard any age distinctions only as a general rule, rather than an exact prediction, for where a particular child will be on the developmental continuum at any time.
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Furthermore, a child does not turn into a completely rational creature overnight. Thinking ability does not appear suddenly. It emerges gradually, with the child's behavior thus reflecting an intriguing blend of new advances and remaining limitations at each step along the way.
Unfortunately, the way the mind performs and progresses during infancy and toddlerhood is a mystery to most mothers and fathers. Without adequate insight concerning the motivations and machinations behind the baby's behavior, they are routinely baffled by it. Sometimes they find it charming and amusing. Other times they find it alarming and exasperating. But invariably, they feel that daily interactions would be more stimulating, and things would go more smoothly, if they simply had a better understanding of how thinking ability evolves over the first years of life.
Thanks to the work of a Swiss psychologist named Jean Piaget, we now have a good picture of the process. Remarkably, the original descriptions he produced were solely based upon observations of his own three children. However, they subsequently have proven to be largely accurate through studies of thousands of other children by hundreds of other researchers.
Although not making parents experts, a little knowledge of Piaget's notions will go a long way toward increasing their fascination and decreasing their frustration when dealing with the mind of their infant or toddler. For instance, as their baby sits in his high chair and plops spoonfuls of apple sauce all over the floor below, they can realize that he is not really a mischievous midget who is out to make them miserable, but merely a curious scientist who is compelled to test the qualities of a strange material.
Of course, while all children go through the initial stages of mental development described by Piaget in the same sequence and according to the same principles, each individual goes through them at a slightly different rate. Therefore, it is necessary to regard any age distinctions only as a general rule, rather than an exact prediction, for where a particular child will be on the developmental continuum at any time.
A Parents' Guide to the Mind of the Infant and Toddler
The ability to think is probably the most notable characteristic that makes human beings unique among all species on earth. Yet despite its obvious significance, thinking is not something that is present at birth, and it does not become fully functional for some time. A newborn has practically no capacity for intelligent behavior, nor can he be expected to begin using his mind on a regular basis until many months later.
Furthermore, a child does not turn into a completely rational creature overnight. Thinking ability does not appear suddenly. It emerges gradually, with the child's behavior thus reflecting an intriguing blend of new advances and remaining limitations at each step along the way.
Unfortunately, the way the mind performs and progresses during infancy and toddlerhood is a mystery to most mothers and fathers. Without adequate insight concerning the motivations and machinations behind the baby's behavior, they are routinely baffled by it. Sometimes they find it charming and amusing. Other times they find it alarming and exasperating. But invariably, they feel that daily interactions would be more stimulating, and things would go more smoothly, if they simply had a better understanding of how thinking ability evolves over the first years of life.
Thanks to the work of a Swiss psychologist named Jean Piaget, we now have a good picture of the process. Remarkably, the original descriptions he produced were solely based upon observations of his own three children. However, they subsequently have proven to be largely accurate through studies of thousands of other children by hundreds of other researchers.
Although not making parents experts, a little knowledge of Piaget's notions will go a long way toward increasing their fascination and decreasing their frustration when dealing with the mind of their infant or toddler. For instance, as their baby sits in his high chair and plops spoonfuls of apple sauce all over the floor below, they can realize that he is not really a mischievous midget who is out to make them miserable, but merely a curious scientist who is compelled to test the qualities of a strange material.
Of course, while all children go through the initial stages of mental development described by Piaget in the same sequence and according to the same principles, each individual goes through them at a slightly different rate. Therefore, it is necessary to regard any age distinctions only as a general rule, rather than an exact prediction, for where a particular child will be on the developmental continuum at any time.
Furthermore, a child does not turn into a completely rational creature overnight. Thinking ability does not appear suddenly. It emerges gradually, with the child's behavior thus reflecting an intriguing blend of new advances and remaining limitations at each step along the way.
Unfortunately, the way the mind performs and progresses during infancy and toddlerhood is a mystery to most mothers and fathers. Without adequate insight concerning the motivations and machinations behind the baby's behavior, they are routinely baffled by it. Sometimes they find it charming and amusing. Other times they find it alarming and exasperating. But invariably, they feel that daily interactions would be more stimulating, and things would go more smoothly, if they simply had a better understanding of how thinking ability evolves over the first years of life.
Thanks to the work of a Swiss psychologist named Jean Piaget, we now have a good picture of the process. Remarkably, the original descriptions he produced were solely based upon observations of his own three children. However, they subsequently have proven to be largely accurate through studies of thousands of other children by hundreds of other researchers.
Although not making parents experts, a little knowledge of Piaget's notions will go a long way toward increasing their fascination and decreasing their frustration when dealing with the mind of their infant or toddler. For instance, as their baby sits in his high chair and plops spoonfuls of apple sauce all over the floor below, they can realize that he is not really a mischievous midget who is out to make them miserable, but merely a curious scientist who is compelled to test the qualities of a strange material.
Of course, while all children go through the initial stages of mental development described by Piaget in the same sequence and according to the same principles, each individual goes through them at a slightly different rate. Therefore, it is necessary to regard any age distinctions only as a general rule, rather than an exact prediction, for where a particular child will be on the developmental continuum at any time.
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A Parents' Guide to the Mind of the Infant and Toddler
A Parents' Guide to the Mind of the Infant and Toddler
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Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940011897412 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | William Gladden Foundation Press |
| Publication date: | 11/17/2010 |
| Series: | Understanding Early Childhood , #19 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 19 KB |
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