upworthy
Family

Your 7-year-old is questioning the meaning of life. Now what?

Existential intelligence in kids is a good thing. Here's how to manage it.

boy meditating on space
Vitolda Klein & NASA/Unsplash

The meaning of life is a big question for all of us.

I put my parents through existential hell when I was a kid.

Even at just 7 or 8 years old, I didn't see the point in anything, and it left me defeated.

What, I just go to school, come home, do homework, go to bed, and then get up and do it all over again? What are even doing here?!

It must have frustrated them to no end. Looking back, of course they didn't have the answers! None of us do! It couldn't have been easy trying to explain that to a child who just wouldn't let it go.

A recent Reddit thread on r/Daddit made me realize I wasn't the only kid who had these big, philosophical thoughts.

A dad posted: "I was putting my 7 y.o to bed when he asked if it's weekend tomorrow. I said yes, then he asked 'and then it's school again?', then painstakingly said 'and then we do it all over again'. My boy has just realised what life is."

Dozens of other parents chimed in on the thread to share that their kids, too, had at some point become aware of the drudgery of daily life.

"On the school run earlier this week my son realised he'll have to work one day like mummy and daddy. Shortly followed by the words 'and then I'll be tired'", wrote one.

"My 8yo daughter asked me what the point of life is if all we do is slave away to pay taxes," said another.

And here's a brutal one for you:

"When my daughter was four she stood on the 10th step of our staircase and decided it was time for her to take her first flight. I told her that was not gonna happen and she was about to really hurt herself. She asked what age she'd finally be ready to fly. I told her never. People don't fly. She teared up and asked 'what's the point of life then??'."

When kids start questioning life, existence, and the universe, it's called Existential Intelligence. Believe it or not, it's a good thing.

space and the cosmosNASA/Unsplash

Existential Intelligence refers to an ability to see the big picture.

So often we're focused on more tangible skills like math, reading comprehension, language skills and memorization in kids.

But some kids just seem to have a knack for seeing the whole forest, so to speak. And that can lead them to ask big questions. According to MentalUp, common questions from kids who excel in this kind of thinking are:

  • Where did we come from?
  • Where do you go when you die?
  • Why are there numbers?
  • What are our lives for? / Why are we here?
That's just the kind of topic every parent loves to discuss right before bedtime!

(If you've ever had to explain the concept of death to your kids, you know it's not a whole lot of fun.)

Even though it might be frustrating to be put on the spot with questions you can't answer as a parent, Existential intelligence in kids is a good sign. It means they're curious, empathetic, and want to know they 'why' behind what they do and what they're asked to do. They're good at connecting skills they're learning in school to the real world (and they might struggle if they can't figure out why they'll ever need to know the names of all the generals in the Revolutionary War).

These kids may make great leaders, great communicators, and talented artists as they become older.

But in the meantime...

How to handle your kids' big questions about life and the universe

Billions of starsNASA Hubble Space Telescope/Unsplash

I asked Dr. Ryan Sultan, a child board-certified psychiatrist and professor at Columbia University, for some tips on how parents can handle kids with high Existential Intelligence.

What do you do if they get really bummed out about the disappointing realities of life? How do you explain the meaning of existence to them when you haven't figured it out for yourself yet?

"[Existential intelligence] can be a beautiful quality in kids, but it can also bring challenges—especially when they start to feel a sense of futility in everyday routines or even feel disheartened by the seemingly endless cycle of school, homework, and activities," he says.

Step one is to validate their feelings, and avoid dismissing or trying to distract them.

"Many kids, particularly those who think deeply, go through phases where they wonder if life is just a series of monotonous routines. Let them know that adults also grapple with these questions—and that it’s okay to feel uncertain or even bummed out by it."

Next, instead of giving them the answers you don't have, try asking questions.

"Encourage them to explore what these feelings mean to them. Ask questions like, 'What do you think would make life more interesting or meaningful?' or 'What are the things you enjoy that make you feel alive or excited?'"

Help them understand that these are questions they'll be asking themselves their whole lives. It's not so much about having the answer right away, but seeing life as a lifelong journey of learning and curiosity.

Help them find meaning in art, nature, community, or spirituality.

"For some children, creative outlets like art, music, writing, or even spending time in nature can be powerful ways to explore and express these feelings," Dr. Sultan says. "Others might find meaning through spiritual practices, like meditation or mindfulness, which can help them feel more connected to the present and less burdened by the future."

Helping them give back by getting involved in the community or with a charity can make a big difference too. And if you can model the ways in which you find meaning amidst the daily drudgery, that's even better!

It's a good thing when your kids ask these kinds of questions, even though they're hard (or impossible) to answer. It means your children are empathetic, curious, and want to know more about how the world works. The most important thing is not to reframe everything positively and try to "cheer them" out of it if these philosophical quandaries put them in a funk. It's OK to get a little down because you're not sure what the greater purpose is — we've all been there. That just means they're human. Encourage them to get a little more comfortable with the not knowing, and to never lose that sense of curiosity.

parenting
History (Education)

The fascinating reason people looked much older in the past than they do today

Why did teenagers look like they were in their mid-30s?

via Vsauce/YouTube

Norm was only in his 30s?

Ever look at your parents' high school yearbooks and think people looked so much older back then? All of the teenagers look like they’re in their mid-30s and the teachers who are 50 look like they’re 80. When we watch older movies, even those from the 1980s, the teenagers appear to be a lot older as well. Why is it that they looked so much older? Was life harder? Did people act more mature? Did they spend more time outdoors and less time playing video games? Is it their sense of fashion? Were they all smokers?

Educator Michael Stevens, who runs the super-popular Vsauce YouTube channel, explains the phenomenon in a video called, “Did people used to look older?” In it, he explains that people in the past appear a lot older due to retrospective aging.

This is how it works: when we see people in the past, they are wearing outdated styles that we associate with older people; therefore, we think they have aged rapidly. For example, a teenager in the 1950s may have been in fashion while wearing thick Buddy Holly-style glasses.

anti-aging, youth, why do i look older, how to look younger, treatments for looking younger, anti-aging productsBuddy Holly was 20 years old in this photo. upload.wikimedia.org

But as people age, they tend to cling to the fashion of their youth. So many people of that generation continued to wear the Buddy Holly-style glasses into their 50s. So when younger people see those glasses they see them as old people's glasses and not a hip kid from the '50s.

So in the photo from the '50s, the teen appears to look a lot older because our perspective has been tainted by time.

anti-aging, youth, why do i look older, how to look younger, treatments for looking younger, anti-aging products30 going on 60…media3.giphy.com

But it isn’t all just an illusion. Stevens also points out that people did age faster back in the day due to differences in nutrition, lifestyle and medicine. In addition, he also does a deep dive on how a person's name can affect their appearance, referencing the Dorian Gray effect, which theorizes that cultural stereotypes linked to a name come to be written on the faces of their bearers, as well as the name matching effect, in which people whose faces "match" their names tend to be better perceived.

Basically, this 22-minute video is chalked full of fascinating tidbits. Give it a watch below.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

It might be worth noting that, in addition to healthier lifestyle options, younger generations have more access to anti-aging procedures than ever before. "Tweakments," like fillers and botox, are less expensive and more readily available than ever—not to mention every anti-aging cream, serum, and cleanser known to man. And many millennials and Gen Zers take advantage of that, whether prompted by selfie anxiety, a growing obsession with youth, or some other motivation.

Plus, millennial and Gen Z fashion often honors their inner child. Nostalgic cartoon tees, colorful prints, cutesy accessories, etc. Granted, under the retrospective aging theory, even those styles could one day look dated, but they are so youthful that it's hard to imagine that being the case. That said, can't wait to see bunch of geezers sporting those broccoli haircuts.

This article originally appeared three years ago.

From Your Site Articles
videos
Pop Culture

Duran Duran's new luxury perfume is unintentionally making fans think of a very dirty word

"Every time I see the name ... I see another word. I can’t be the only one who feels this way."

Images via Canva and Wikicommons

Duran Duran's new luxury perfume really sounds like something else entirely

For many of us Duranies, the pop band Duran Duran has held a top spot in our hearts over the years. We love the music, the videos, the groovy Nile Rodgers-inspired John Taylor bassline, and the delightfully bonkers lyrics, often brought to us by front man Simon Le Bon (though, over the decades, other bandmates have offered lyric collaborations),

In fact, there are entire Reddit threads dedicated to the seemingly nonsensical nature of their lyrics. One fan eloquently advises, "I would suggest you study poetry and the poets that influenced Simon. Do they 'mean' anything in a literal sense? Not really, nor are they supposed to. He’s said before that he was highly influenced by impressionistic poetry, and one of his favorite poets was Wilfred Owen. A couple of other obvious ones are T.S. Eliot, and I believe the great metaphysical poet John Donne."

Duran Duran, show, band, performance, 80s, lyricsduran duran 80s GIFGiphy

One such lyric is from one of their most popular hits, "Hungry Like the Wolf," from their second studio album, Rio, released in 1982. While the entire band (which consisted of Simon Le Bon, John Taylor, Nick Rhodes, Roger Taylor, and Andy Taylor at the time) is credited with writing the song, it's widely believed that Simon had the most influence on the words. "Smell like I sound," he sang, while clad in a khaki "safari" suit, a fedora, and a shirt unbuttoned so far down that his many necklaces glistened in the swamps of Sri Lanka.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

But it often begged the question: How DO they smell? If it’s like they sound, then it must be pretty awesome. Well, now we have an actual answer to that question. Duran Duran has released two unisex scents in collaboration with the Italian fragrance perfumery Xerjoff. And a few folks online are having a fun time with its name. But we'll come back to that.

One scent, NeoRio, can be purchased in four different-colored flacons: pink, green, orange, or yellow. According to the Xerjoff website, it contains notes of "candied fig and rum with the sparkling freshness of elemi absolute, before unfolding with the fiery warmth of saffron and the elegance of soft rose oil, all anchored by the creamy richness of Tonka bean and the timeless depth of balsam from Peru." Not sure whether to wear it, eat it, drink it, or just listen to it, but it goes for nearly 400 USD a pop.

At the same price point, Xerjoff is also offering Black Moonlight, a heavier scent where "Bergamot and mandarin awaken the senses, whilst saffron, lavender, sambac jasmine, and hazelnut envelop the senses in an intimate embrace. It’s all grounded by the base notes of patchouli, vetiver, tonka bean, and benzoin to create a sensual, timeless scent that mirrors Duran Duran’s legacy: constantly transforming yet introspective—a harmonious blend of art, innovation, and emotion." Now that's a good sell.

The issue on Reddit? Fans have thoughts about the name of the perfumery. On the subreddit r/DuranDuran, someone posted a "New Duran Duran Perfume" thread. The first comment comes in hot: "Every time I see the name of this company, I see another word. I can’t be the only one who feels this way." This gets over 50 upvotes, with many Redditors in agreement.

Though some defend the company: "Xerjoff is a highly regarded perfumier. Also, damned expensive." But after a few more in the comments use creative and descriptive ways to explain how the mind tends to trick us into reading Xerjoff in a less-than-savory way, it really just comes down to the cost. "I think I’ll stay with the way I think they smell like. Too expensive for me."

The comments even come up on Duran Duran's official TikTok page.

@duranduran

@Xerjoff x Duran Duran x LDN. The night took place in Lost City, a secret London location. Here’s a sneak peek….share at your highest discretion. #xerjoff #duranduran #NeoRio #blackmoonlight #london

Xerjoff, for what it's worth, is an extremely popular and well-reviewed perfumery. And in the words of keyboardist Nick Rhodes on their website, they created the scents with the same standards as they approach their over 40-year career. "We realized we were striving to achieve similar criteria as we do when writing songs—ultimately aiming for something seductive, unique, and irresistible.”


From Your Site Articles
scents
Conservation

A juice company dumped orange peels in a national park. This is what it looks like today.

12,000 tons of food waste and 28 years later, this forest looks totally different.

Image via Dan Jansen

A before and after view of the experiment

In 1997, ecologists Daniel Janzen and Winnie Hallwachs approached an orange juice company in Costa Rica with an off-the-wall idea. In exchange for donating a portion of unspoiled, forested land to the Área de Conservación Guanacaste — a nature preserve in the country's northwest — the park would allow the company to dump its discarded orange peels and pulp, free of charge, in a heavily grazed, largely deforested area nearby.

One year later, one thousand trucks poured into the national park, offloading over 12,000 metric tons of sticky, mealy, orange compost onto the worn-out plot. The site was left untouched and largely unexamined for over a decade. A sign was placed to ensure future researchers could locate and study it.

16 years later, Janzen dispatched graduate student Timothy Treuer to look for the site where the food waste was dumped.

Treuer initially set out to locate the large placard that marked the plot — and failed.


natural wonders, nature, recycling, conservation, environment, oranges, orange peels, dumpsThe first deposit of orange peels in 1996.Photo by Dan Janzen.


"It's a huge sign, bright yellow lettering. We should have been able to see it," Treuer says. After wandering around for half an hour with no luck, he consulted Janzen, who gave him more detailed instructions on how to find the plot.

When he returned a week later and confirmed he was in the right place, Treuer was floored. Compared to the adjacent barren former pastureland, the site of the food waste deposit was "like night and day."


Environment, natural wonder, natural miracles, nature, oranges, planet, conservation The site of the orange peel deposit (L) and adjacent pastureland (R).Photo by Leland Werden.


"It was just hard to believe that the only difference between the two areas was a bunch of orange peels. They look like completely different ecosystems," he explains.

The area was so thick with vegetation he still could not find the sign.

Treuer and a team of researchers from Princeton University studied the site over the course of the following three years.

The results, published in the journal "Restoration Ecology," highlight just how completely the discarded fruit parts assisted the area's turnaround.

According to the Princeton School of International Public Affairs, the experiment resulted in a "176 percent increase in aboveground biomass — or the wood in the trees — within the 3-hectare area (7 acres) studied."

The ecologists measured various qualities of the site against an area of former pastureland immediately across the access road used to dump the orange peels two decades prior. Compared to the adjacent plot, which was dominated by a single species of tree, the site of the orange peel deposit featured two dozen species of vegetation, most thriving.


natural wonder, nature, environment, conservation, oranges, orange peelsLab technician Erik Schilling explores the newly overgrown orange peel plot.Photo by Tim Treuer.


In addition to greater biodiversity, richer soil, and a better-developed canopy, researchers discovered a tayra (a dog-sized weasel) and a giant fig tree three feet in diameter, on the plot.

"You could have had 20 people climbing in that tree at once and it would have supported the weight no problem," says Jon Choi, co-author of the paper, who conducted much of the soil analysis. "That thing was massive."

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Recent evidence suggests that secondary tropical forests — those that grow after the original inhabitants are torn down — are essential to helping slow climate change.

In a 2016 study published in Nature, researchers found that such forests absorb and store atmospheric carbon at roughly 11 times the rate of old-growth forests.

Treuer believes better management of discarded produce — like orange peels — could be key to helping these forests regrow.

In many parts of the world, rates of deforestation are increasing dramatically, sapping local soil of much-needed nutrients and, with them, the ability of ecosystems to restore themselves.

Meanwhile, much of the world is awash in nutrient-rich food waste. In the United States, up to half of all produce in the United States is discarded. Most currently ends up in landfills.


natural wonder, nature, conservation, environment, planet, oranges, orange peelsThe site after a deposit of orange peels in 1998.Photo by Dan Janzen.


"We don't want companies to go out there will-nilly just dumping their waste all over the place, but if it's scientifically driven and restorationists are involved in addition to companies, this is something I think has really high potential," Treuer says.

The next step, he believes, is to examine whether other ecosystems — dry forests, cloud forests, tropical savannas — react the same way to similar deposits.

Two years after his initial survey, Treuer returned to once again try to locate the sign marking the site.

Since his first scouting mission in 2013, Treuer had visited the plot more than 15 times. Choi had visited more than 50. Neither had spotted the original sign.

In 2015, when Treuer, with the help of the paper's senior author, David Wilcove, and Princeton Professor Rob Pringle, finally found it under a thicket of vines, the scope of the area's transformation became truly clear.



natural wonder, nature, environment, environmental miracle, planet, oranges, orange peelsThe sign after clearing away the vines.Photo by Tim Treuer.


"It's a big honking sign," Choi emphasizes.

19 years of waiting with crossed fingers had buried it, thanks to two scientists, a flash of inspiration, and the rind of an unassuming fruit.

This article originally appeared eight years ago.

From Your Site Articles
science
Joy

Wise woman turning 70 shares her one 'big' piece of advice for millennials turning 30

She wishes she had learned this lesson 40 years ago.

via Canva/Photos

A woman turning 70 shares her wisdom.

If only there were a way for someone 30 years old to download the wisdom of a 70-year-old into their brains. What a joyous life they’d live being free from having to learn a lot of lessons the hard way. They'd also be able to make big decisions in life with a greater sense of perspective. The good news is that the wisdom is out there, and older folks are sharing it. The question is: Will you listen?

A TikTok user who will turn 70 this December and goes by Golden Years Guidance (@foxandfawnwhalley) is doing her best to improve the lives of younger people by sharing the wisdom she’s gained over the years. She recently shared the “biggest thing” she’s learned. The advice was so powerful that the video has been seen over 400,000 times.

"Hi, everyone. Planning my birthday party for December. I'll be 70. Don't know how that happened, but I was thinking about what I wish I had known earlier on in my life," the woman says in the video. "What I wish I'd known when I was 30, married with three children.”

@foxandfawnwhalley

The main thing I wish I’d known at 30! It would have saved me so many sleepless nights. Thank goodness I realised by the time I was 40 that the time I had spent worrying was all wasted. I could then get on with the life I wanted to lead. #foxandfawnwhalley #lifeadvice #thingsiwishiknew #overthinking #confidencetips #70andthriving #tiktokover60

The biggest life lesson: "I think the biggest thing is I'd wish I realized that people aren't thinking about you as much as you think they are."

"I used to stress over what people thought, what I wore, what I said, my accent, every little mistake," she continued. "But you know what? They're too busy thinking about themselves to worry about you." To illustrate her point, she asked viewers: "Think about it. Do you spend hours analyzing about someone else's awkward moment? No. Neither do they. So why waste time holding yourself back?"

The big takeaway from the woman’s lesson is to stop wasting your time worrying about other people and to be yourself. Wear the clothes that you like, do the activities you like, love the people you love, speak your mind, and be your authentic self. "Live your life for you, not for them," she said. "Doesn't matter what they think, no matter who they are … Don't be rude. Think before you speak. But speak your mind."

woman 30s, blonde woman, happy woman, woman listening, free woman, brown-eyed womanA woman standing on a golf course.via Canva/Photos

The post was just what many people in the comment section needed to hear. “I spent many, many years worrying about pleasing everyone else, about what people thought of me. I’m 41 now and these past few years I’ve realised that it’s insignificant!” one woman wrote. “Needed it, I’m 35 and I’ve spent way too long already worrying about this type of thing. Thank you for the advice,” another added.

The woman’s advice has resonated with many people, and it’s more than just one person’s realization. According to psychology, overestimating the amount of time people spend thinking about you is known as the spotlight effect.


“We estimate our own importance from our perspective, which is colored by the fact that we are all the center of our own universes—this is the famed ‘egocentric bias,’” Aditi Subramaniam, Ph.D., writes in Psychology Today. “A manifestation of this bias is the spotlight effect. That time you had a juice stain on your shirt or said something embarrassing in class—you most likely felt like there was a spotlight shining right at you with everyone’s eyes on you. While this might have technically been true in the classroom scenario, I’d guess that you might have greatly overestimated for how long people thought about that gaffe or how harshly they judged you for it.”

Ultimately, we all have the choice of whether we want to heed the advice of our elders or learn the same lessons on our own time. But it’s a lot easier to learn by listening than through trial and error. That’s why it’s terrific that @foxandfawnwhalley has dedicated her TikTok to improving people’s lives, one lesson at a time. The important thing is not just to listen to it, but to live it.

From Your Site Articles
wisdom
Modern Families

Mom’s viral chats with 7-month-old could be the key to language development, science says

Who knew yapping could be so productive?

TikTok:@justalexbennett

This could rewire her brain positively.

When Alex Bennett talks to her baby daughter Tate, she doesn’t use baby talk or silly voices. Instead, in her viral TikTok videos, she delivers high-speed, stream-of-consciousness monologues that would feel right at home in a scene from Gilmore Girls orThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (pretty much anything written by Amy Sherman-Palladino, essentially). In a world used to spouting nonsense like “goo-goo” and “ga-ga” to babies, Alex’s approach is a refreshing reprise—and, according to scientists, might be a genius parenting move. Alex and her little one’s candid conversations aren’t just making the Internet swoon (Bennett's TikTok, @justalexbennett, has amassed 1.2 million followers, by the way). These chats could be rewiring baby Tate’s cognitive development for the better.


mother, daughter, parents, kids, women, talkingPerfect mother-daughter yap couple. Giphy

The beauty of babbling

Even though most parents instinctively use a high-pitched baby voice to talk to their infants, Bennett treats her sweet baby like a dear old friend. She yammers on about everything, from her thoughts on mommy-daughter matching outfits to the latest nanny drama.

And who could blame her? There’s so much to discuss: their plans for the night (watching hockey, followed by a new card game called Four Nations), the perfect surprise for dad’s birthday (bravely, they’ll be attempting a lava cake for the first time but they have a back-up plan just in case that fails: store-bought chocolate chip cupcakes), and the intricacies of making “parent friends” (as Alex explains, “All of this matters: 'Where do they live?' 'How old’s the baby?' Because if they had a baby that was two or three years old, they’d be able to walk and,” she pauses and looks at Tate, sweetly. “You’re not quite there yet.”). She even introduces her to the concept of “bedrotting” in one video, with the two of them snuggled up in their pajamas with zero plans to leave any time soon. No sing-song voice, no made-up or cutesy words. It’s as if they’re just two adult friends having a conversation, albeit Tate doesn’t speak much. But when she does manage to fit in a burble or two, her mom listens in rapt attention before responding accordingly.


“Her first word will be a paragraph!” commented one viewer. And according to science, she may not be far off.

Why this matters more than you think

While the videos are certainly cute (in one, Alex and Tate co-conspire—well, as much as a seven-month-old can—to convince dad to make them ground turkey bowls for dinner), according to research done by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, a professor of psychology at Temple University and author of "Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children," there is an essential link between the amount of language children hear and their eventual language development. And the results don’t take long.

“Simply put, the more language children hear, the more words they produce.”


- YouTubewww.youtube.com

In a 2013 study called “Talking to children matters: Early language experience strengthens processing and builds vocabulary,” study authors Adriana Weisleder and Anne Fernald found that the more parents spoke to their children using “adult-style speech," the larger their vocabulary grew. By the time they reached two years old, these verbose children could already process words much better than their peers.

Yes, some of the comments on Alex’s videos are funny ( one user said, “So you’re telling me all I have to do is pop out a friend to talk to?”), but many others recognize the science at play here.


“This baby is going to be incredibly smart and articulate,” wrote another viewer, with another adding, “Jokes aside, this is actually the best way to stimulate proper language development in babies.”


How to set your kid up for success (by being a total motormouth)

Not all parents are convinced, though, that speaking to babies like mini-adults is such a good idea. "For one, they can’t speak back," a skeptic might sneer. Others roll their eyes and say something like “this feels weird and forced.”

The good news? There is no “right” way to speak to your newborns. But here are a few tips, just in case.

  1. Pay attention to their non-verbal reactions. The solution seems so simple, right? Just talk to your kids more. Speak nonstop, introduce more and more new words, and never, ever come up for air. Wrong. Just because they can't communicate through language, research suggests that children naturally pick up words and labels for things they find interesting. So, when it comes to introducing new words to babies, Harvard professor Catherine Snow, a pioneering researcher in the language and literacy field, recommends keeping an eye out for anything that might interest them: extra special gestures, excited noises, or facial expressions, and starting there. “Don’t wait for children to produce clear words before [you] start interpreting the noises that children make,” she warns. A toddler’s babbling isn’t something to scoff at: it’s their first attempt at communicating.
  2. Let them talk, too! As fun as it is to have a captive—and mostly silent—audience, there’s a subtle difference between talking at children and engaging with them. “If the adults just talk all the time, that doesn't work very well,” Snow adds. Interaction is key: notice what they’re interested in and comment on it. Label what they’re looking at. If they try to communicate, wait calmly and listen before responding. Alex has this down in spades. In a video, she begins to explain the family's plans for the night (they’re in Aspen at the moment), when suddenly, Tate begins to play with her mommy's face. Instead of correcting her or swatting her hands away, Alex just rolls with it, gleefully letting her daughter rub her tiny paws wherever she chooses, before asking her, laughing, “Do you like my red lips?”
  3. It’s all about context. The trick to teaching your toddler new words? Using them in the correct and natural context. For example, Snow paints a picture of a family gathering at the dinner table, where everyone is seated and alert. There are dozens of ways to demonstrate healthy language for the baby: A sibling might ask Mom about her day. If a car honks in the distance, someone could ask where the noise is coming from. 'Why are we eating chicken?' 'What is chicken?' 'Where does it come from?' The constant questions may seem tedious (especially when the people asking them likely know the answer), but Snow insists that these casual conversations are the foundations for babies to access new words and concepts.


parenting, language acquisition, learning, babies, mothers and daughters, speakingThis could change everything.Photo credit: Canva


Why this could change everything

Dr. Dana Suskind, founder and co-director of the Thirty Million Words Center for Early Learning + Public Health (and the co-writer of "Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children" with Kathy Hirsh-Pasek) has dedicated her research to encouraging parents to embrace their power as “brain architects.” As caretakers, everything—the words, sentences, ideas, and phrases a parent says (or withholds)—from their child can make a world of difference. Every word a baby hears, whether it’s about their new pajamas, the ribs and coleslaw being prepared for dinner tonight, or who will be at their next play date, all somehow seeps into their brain. They hear you, even though they can't quite understand you yet. These seemingly trivial conversations are literally the building blocks of language acquisition, and they are constructing your little one’s developing brain brick by brick, word by word.

So, remember: talking to your baby like an adult, with full-on sentences and lots of details, doesn't make you crazy: you’re building a stronger, smarter, and more loquacious future adult, one conversation at a time. They might even know what 'loquacious' means before preschool!

From Your Site Articles
parenting
Trending Stories