![]() Would they cry, have a look and quickly lose interest, stare at it intensely, or not even bat an eye? Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have found that babies who intently gaze at such magical illusions for longer are more likely to be trying to figure it out. It also shows how curiosity can affect learning. What’s more, these curious babies continued to be curious when they get older, becoming curious toddlers. And scientists think this may help predict their future cognitive abilities. In this study, researchers decided to gauge the reaction of babies with something they didn’t expect to happen - such as with magic tricks and toys that behaved in surprising ways. The researchers had 65 babies join the study at 11 months old and then again when they were 17 months old. Some infants were shown normal toys, while others saw a toy that seemingly passed through a solid wall. Especially now, as families are quarantined together in a time of great uncertainty, these conversations have the potential to allow parents and children to communicate more deeply and authentically.Six months later, they were shown new toys, either a new normal one or one that appeared to float in the air as if there were no gravity. Talking with kids about what they are thinking without always feeling compelled to offer answers can help them explore their own concerns and ideas. In discussions about bigger questions, kids often suggest original and creative ways of looking at them. Most of them have few long-held assumptions about how the world works and they are open to many possibilities because the world is so new to them. In some ways, kids are the ideal beginning philosophers. Listen when kids ask these thought-provoking questions, acknowledge how hard it is to answer them and respond with an open mind. In this way, adults feel less pressure to be the experts. Thinking with children about their bigger questions can make way for a more mutual kind of interaction.īecause these kinds of questions tend not to have settled and final answers, discussions about them allow parents – and other guardians – and children to wonder together. While children do need adult help and guidance, parents don’t always have to be in the position of the expert providing the answers. We wondered whether we always value things more when we are without them, and why that seems true. Then, “Max” said that he never thought he liked school but being at home this spring has led him to think differently about what school means to him. It makes me really appreciate my friends,” said a girl I’ll call “Hannah.” ![]() “I like to be alone, but it’s different when you have to be alone. We discussed how being deprived of things can make you appreciate them in new ways. In a recent Zoom conversation with six 9-year-old students, we reflected about the difficulties of life during the pandemic. When the Seattle schools closed this spring, I began continuing the philosophy sessions I lead in elementary school classrooms on Zoom, with small groups of children with whom I’ve been working this year. The pandemic has led more kids to ask about such topics as loneliness, isolation, boredom, illness and death. Sometimes the questions are more important than finding the answers. ![]() They are age-old questions that everyone can wonder about during any stage of life. These are not the kinds of questions that can be answered by Googling them or asking Siri or Alexa. Research shows, though, that as they get older, kids ask questions less and less.Ĭhildren often tell me that they lie awake at night thinking about things like whether God exists, why the world has the colors it does, the nature of time and whether dreams are real. Most kids start wondering about big questions almost as soon as they learn to speak, and they continue to think about them throughout childhood.īrimming with curiosity about things that most adults take for granted, children all over the world are wide open to the mysteries that pervade human life. I encourage all young people to think for themselves about issues that matter to them because it’s important for them to learn how to analyze and understand their own experiences. I’m a philosopher and educator who has been listening to children and talking with them about their big philosophical questions for the past 25 years. ![]()
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