Have you ever seen the movie, What the Bleep Do We Know? If not… do so! The way they explain the basics of quantum physics is quite similar to the way I explain how babies’ brains change dramatically every so often and why they can’t perceive certain things before each change in The Wonder Weeks.
In What the Bleep Do We Know, they explain to us that the Native Americans couldn’t perceive Columbus’ boats at the horizon. Why? Not because they had problems with their vision, but because boats at the horizon were so very different from anything they had ever seen before.
With babies, it is a little like this, too. If their brains are not yet wired to perceive something that we adults can see, then that something isn’t there as far as the babies are concerned. Of course, there are huge differences between the Native Americans not perceiving the boats and the babies being unable to perceive certain things, yet, but the basic idea is the same.
After years of studies, we found out that babies go through 10 mental developmental leaps in their first 20 months of life, and after each leap, they perceive the world around them in a totally different way. That frightens them and that is why they get so fussy for some time! The bad news is that such periods are very difficult for both parents and babies and they are characterized by the three C’s: Clingy, Cranky and Crying.
And now the good news: We know exactly when these periods start, what babies are able to perceive and learn after each leap and why babies can suddenly do and understand ten times more than before each leap.
The 10 new types or levels of perception that are given to your baby at predictable ages are arranged hierarchically. Each new higher level of perception is superposed onto the lower levels of perception that are present already. If your baby has reached only the fifth level of perception, that level is on top. Also, what are peak experiences for your baby are things we adults take for granted. With every Wonder Week, every leap enables your baby to perceive the world more in the way we adults do; every leap brings your baby one step closer. So, the younger your baby is, the more difficult it is for us as parents to descend to our babies’ way of looking at the world. But, it is crucial that we try. If you succeed, you can understand and better able to deal with things such as:
- Sleeping problems
- Cranky, Crying and Clingy phases
- Separation anxiety
- Temper tantrums
And so on.
The best solution to all these problems is to know and be aware of how your baby perceives the world. Basically, to Know What the Bleep Babies Know…
