Babies DO Think!

A memory from six months of age? Yup! Absolutely.

While many may doubt the ability of an infant that young to "think", much less remember, I swear this memory is 100% true. I even ran it by my mother when I was well into adulthood.

I believe the reason I remember this is because it was not a single incident, but rather one that occurred regularly -- although I remember only the one time.

The Scenario

I was in my crib, which I clearly remember at that time was along the wall on the right, just beyond the doorway to my bedroom. I remember lying in my crib, with my empty baby bottle.

The Thought Processes

The one thing I clearly remember thinking is that if I threw my empty baby bottle against the wall, (at that time they were made of glass!), my mother would quickly come into my room.

And that is exactly what I wanted her to do. I remember nothing further about that incident except to say that when I spoke to my mother about it many years later, aside from being amazed I remembered it, she said that was something I typically did and yes, she always came straight in to make sure I was alright because each bottle I threw, broke into pieces.

How That Memory Molded me as a Parent

When I was blessed with my own little baby, who is now 27, I began talking to him from the very first day I brought him home. Sure, I did speak some baby gibberish like every new, proud parent, but I also talked to him as if he could understand what I said.

Everyday things, like, setting him in his infant seat next to the kitchen sink and talking to him about what I was doing. "Now I have to wash these glasses and make them all clean again!" I had a LOT of interaction with my son and it came as no surprise to me that when he began talking in sentences, around age two, his ability to think was astounding!

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Years later, as a social worker, I spent a good deal of time helping parents to understand and relate to their children.

It's never too early to begin talking to your children and grandchildren. And if you ever watch the face and eyes of a little one, once you have their attention, they are like little sponges that soak in everything you say.