In fact, children between the ages of zero-to-three learn more than in any other age bracket through daily interactions. This research was published in "The Scientist in the Crib: Minds, Brains and How Children Learn" (William Morrow, 1999). It was co-written by Alison Gopnik, a leading cognitive psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley; Andrew Meltzoff, a pioneer in infant psychology at the University of Washington, and Patricia K. Kuhl, a well-known figure on language development.
One of the first things your baby will learn is to get your attention. To get your attention either because he's hungry, has a soiled diaper or is tired -- your baby will cry.
"Roxanne will scream if she hurts herself. When she's tired she'll whine. She has a happy reaction when her mother enters the room," said Dennis, dad of eight-month-old Roxanne. "But when I get home from work - Roxanne is all ready to play. She won't let me look and anything else, she wants me all to herself."
In the process of learning this, your baby is learning about human emotion. Your baby will know how to act to make you laugh and get your approval, and will discover things that get you mad just by observing your reaction.
"Just by making eye contact, Justin knows if he can continue what he's doing," said Caroline, mother of two-year-old Justin. "He will touch things I won't allow him to. I know that he knows he's not to touch them. He's trying to see if I changed my mind."
The way a three-year-old child sees information, registers it and learns from it, she is learning twice as fast as an adult will. Ever heard the expression, "Children soak up information like a sponge"? Many children under three are exposed to a second language and never tell themselves they can't do it. They learn it by seeing, doing and trying.
The best way to enhance your baby's learning or give extra stimulation is simply by spending more time with your child. If you are working outside the home, make sure your child is in a high-quality child-care setting.
"Don't waste time or money on special "programs" or flash cards or Mozart tapes (unless you just like listening to Mozart). At best those things are going to be useless, " said Gopnik. "The ideal situation for toddlers and infants would be to have several attentive caring adults (and older children) who play with the baby regularly in a rich physical environment."
