I'm kind of a Discovery Channel geek. Seriously. I've seen all the specials about conjoined twins, crazy genetic mishaps, people with 200 pound tumors etc... anyway, now that I have my own little human to observe and experiment with, I'm reminded of a Discovery Channel special I once saw on the topic of baby development. It was all about how babies develop different skills at very specific times.
Anyway, one of the more interesting ones was about something called Object Permanence. This is apparently being aware that, for instance, if a person leaves a room, they will come back. Or, if a ball rolls behind a couch it will come out the other side. According to the study, up until about 3 or 4 months, babies think that if something isn't in their field of vision, it's gone forever.
This is really very sad when you think about it.
I put him in his crib, rub his head for awhile, turn on the mobile and walk away. No wonder he cries! He opens his eyes and I'm gone. FOREVER.
Or... he's eating... I take the bottle away to wipe his chin. His little thought process must go something like. "Uh oh. Bottle gone forever. Food is no more! Will starve! Not good! Must scream!"
Yeah... so I think even more so than rolling over, laughing or cooing, I'd like Ben to learn object permanence. It'd make life easier on both of us. ;)
Here's an interesting article about the topic if you want to read it.
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