By the age of 2-3 years most children are capable of asking for an ice-cream or saying they do not want to go to bed or expressing a preference for a doll or a toy train, yet understanding that 2+4=6 is still a long way off. Why this predisposition for language and not for numbers?...
Given the importance of children as a genetic vehicle, it is natural that natural selection facilitated the development of powerful mechanisms to ensure survival of species. It is thus strange that many animal species do not bother to bring up their young ones. In some species both parents are involved in bringing them up, in...
By the age of three years children identify themselves in a cultural group. They choose toys and clothes that are similar to those of their friends and speak like them. They understand that at the heart of this identification there is a concept: “We” do things this way. Children who want to belong to a...
In a study involving 140 three year olds divided into 70 pairs of boys or girls but not mixed groups, children of each group were asked to perform a task to win a prize. Each group faced one of three situations that made completing the task impossible. In the first case a tool necessary to...
The first five years of life are critical for a child’s development in terms of relationship with other people, learning to speak, physical and psychological growth. In this period, called infancy, parents exchange information, visit pediatricians and sometimes child psychologists, they plough through the internet and do whatever is possible to make sure that their...
In an ever more connected world it helps to know the intentions, feelings, requirements and priorities of others. Finding solutions to problems that concern different cultures and religions requires a kind of cooperation we are not familiar with. It is not easy to put yourself in the shoes of people who are running away from...
We spend quite a few years of our life playing and imagining situations that are hardly credible. Why? The evolutionary reply is that it helps us think about the alternatives. Imagining brings in a new dimension, that of what might be and not just of how things actually are. This is a typically human trait...
Children’s behavior and personality are equally conditioned by genes and environment. But, which environment? Studies on siblings, twins and adopted children say that the environment outside home counts a lot more than the home environment. Similarities between parents and biological children are prevalently due to shared genes. Children are programed to succeed in a social...
Privacy is an important aspect of the doctor patient relationship. However, too much privacy is not necessarily a good thing. Sometimes patients have serious conditions that require long treatments and doctors might not be able to continuously check if patients are adhering to dietary restrictions or physical exercise programs or medical prescriptions. Forms of intervention...
To calm a crying infant singing is more effective than speaking. A study has revealed that infants under one year of age who cry because their mother has left the room, stop crying when they hear someone singing and remain calm for twice as long with respect to when they listen to someone speaking. The...
