Contents
Among all the skills of the newborn, there is one that you don’t always think about. And yet! From his first breath, the newborn has an incredible first skill: that of making himself loved. “He has the ability to bond, to arouse emotions, so that as soon as he wakes up, he finds someone who will take care of him, and feed him whatever he needs. For him, it is vital to “seduce” his mother, by the look, so that she takes care of him, ”explains Dr Marie Thirion *, pediatrician, specialist in newborn skills. Indeed, the survival of the little human depends on the fact that someone takes care of him. So he devotes a lot of energy and emotion to this. And if that doesn’t work, he cries! It’s a fundamental intelligence !
Perfect tools for discovering the world
Upon arrival in the world, the toddler is endowed with five powerful senses. Smell, touch and taste are developed and exercised in utero during pregnancy and are fully mature at birth. Thus, the newborn has the particularity of smelling odors through the nose, even in water… What we are no longer able to do afterwards! He also has this particular skill of locating the specific smell diffused by the tips of the maternal breasts, which produces a very strong attraction on him. Likewise, at the beginning, his hearing is so perfect that he would be able to assimilate the sounds of all the languages of the world, before specializing in the one he hears on a daily basis, his mother tongue. It’s amazing to think that the baby starts from nothing, and that in almost three years, he acquires an almost adult language! As for his vision, it is also in focus, although it takes longer to mature. Because, of course, he sees only 30 cm … but “He does not need to look at the decoration of the ceiling”, laughs Dr. Thirion. His vision allows him to look lovingly at the person leaning over him and to recognize a few hours after his birth the face of his mother among all the others. And that’s enough for now!
“All children do not develop at the same speed, nor on the same goals first: one walks at 9 months the other at 18? It is not a problem of intelligence. Whoever walks later does something else during this time. There is a selection of acquisitions, even in twins. In the game of life, children are motivated more by a meaning or by
another. Question of character, opportunity, meeting … “ Dr M. Thirion, pediatrician and author of “The skills of the newborn”, Albin Michel.
A brain in constant turmoil!
And if the genetic inheritance counts in the “basic” intelligence of a child, the stimuli of his environment – emotional, social, cultural, educational – are also determining to develop it. Indeed, his brain has 100 billion neurons to start with. Most of these neurons are not yet connected to each other. It is in response to environmental stimuli that they will connect with each other. Thus, from birth, anything that appeals to his senses helps to set up new neural circuits. And particularly during the first five years, a period of significant growth and optimization of the brain. “The child is running hard and constantly nourishes his brain. Everything makes sense to him. It’s all about play, discovery and learning, ”explains Dr Thirion. The taste of an object, its color, seeing the curtain in his room move in the wind, trying to put his hand to his mouth… everything teaches him. Everything builds it. Even if one has the impression that he is doing nothing, he is in full swing and is getting richer.
Experiences worthy of a great researcher!
For years, babies have been the subject of numerous observations. We now know that in just a few weeks, the toddler already has an abstract representation of numbers, that he has the notion of time and space. He even intuitively has a sense of math, and by 18 months, he seems to recognize the syntax of his mother tongue. And on a daily basis, he trains all these abilities… casually. Thus, when he rolls the ball by pushing it with one hand, he becomes aware of the power of his action. If he throws it from the top of his high chair, he is experimenting with the laws of gravity. When he stacks the rings of his pyramid, he classifies them from largest to smallest, while his shape box sharpens his taste for geometry. Bath time in a day is a particularly rich opportunity for scientific experiments: the transparency of the material, the texture of the water, the impossibility of keeping the liquid in your hand … At 2 years old, when it is pouring water from one container to another, he is introduced to the notion of container and content, to the permanence of the object despite its displacement.
And the miracle is that each learning leads to another, then another, then another… With joy and curiosity!