Secret life of caring, sharing, comedic babies!
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Rex
Researchers at Charles Sturt University put cameras on the heads of babies under the age of 18 months in a study designed to see how well young children coped in childcare settings.
The results astounded them, as the babies were found to use sophisticated techniques to form friendships, get attention and make each other laugh.
Researcher Dr. Jennifer Sumsion told news.com.au the footage showed the infants were "much more capable at a young age than we had anticipated". She said the findings "should reassure parents with children in childcare".
The babies wore the cameras on soft headbands for fifteen minute periods for the research, which was conducted on children aged six to 18 months in two childcare centres and nine family daycare homes in Australia.
Dr. Sumsion found the children were able to "interact with each other through making eye contact, subtle gestures, reaching out, and even using humour".
She said: "A child less than 12 months old handed a toy to another child then snatched it back at the last minute, and they repeated this several times in a playful manner before he handed the toy over."
The footage also showed a child new to daycare being comforted by other children:
"Others kept coming up and trying to touch her and reassure her, then realised that she was frightened as a result. And so the other children found a piece of material to cover and help shelter the new child - which worked well in comforting her."
The study was funded by the Australian Research Council, and was supported by Family Day Care Australia and KU Children's Services. Carla Northam from Family Day Care Australia said the findings would help carers better understand the children they looked after.
Aw! Have you gone 'undercover' and watched your children when they were not aware of your presence?
Have you been surprised by what you have seen?
- Eureka!<p> It's so fascinating to see your little one learn about the world, not to mention her own body. If you're lucky, you might even witness the expression on her face when she realises her hands are attached…and she can use them to bat stuff with! (I witnessed the very moment my daughter realised her feet were attached, when she bit down hard on a big toe.)</p>
- Family ties<p> There will be a particular moment, perhaps not even straight away, and perhaps when you are doing the most mundane of things, when you’ll look at your partner and your baby, and it will hit you for the very first time that you are "a family".</p>
- Making scents<p> You might have heard people talking about the intoxicating scent of a baby's head before and wondered what on earth they were going on about. But take a big whiff of your own little nipper, and you’ll be away with the fairies! No, you haven't just gone gooey – some experts think babies' heads give off pheromones that send oxytocin coursing through your veins (dads, too). Breathe it in, it doesn't last forever!</p>
- Touching moments<p> Feeding your baby is always a great time for bonding, but it's the little unexpected things they do - such as clutching at your hand, pawing your breast (or, as mine did, pinging your bra strap) that make it memorable.</p>
- Getting the giggles<p> Some babies do it early, others make their parents wait and work bloody hard for it… but the first time your baby really laughs from their belly, your heart will sing! Who'd have thought daddy could ever be THAT funny? Seriously.</p>
- Here's lookin' at you!<p> Most babies arrive a bit puffy and spend the first few days with their faces screwed up, trying to make sense of the shapes they’re suddenly seeing. But when those dark eyes actually find yours, you’ll be blown away by the feeling that this brand new little person knows you to your very soul.</p>
- Mini me!<p> Many parents find it easier to see their newborn as an image of their partner - but the first time you recognise a part of yourself in your baby (perhaps a wonky yawn or the way they lift their eyebrows) is a strange, yet lovely, sensation.</p>
- Snooze fests<p> There is nothing more peaceful than reclining with a sleeping baby on your chest: soft little breaths, squidgy cheeks, a perfect pause in time… Zzzz.</p>
- Simple things<p> You wouldn't be normal unless you sometimes missed the old days, when you could drop everything and head out for a night on the town. But the realisation that you really would rather be snuggling at home with your baby than out strutting your stuff makes you feel as warm as the cup of cocoa you're clutching.</p>
- The 'awwww!' factor<p> From hiccupping (seriously adorable) to learning to kiss you back, there will by myriad moments of supreme cuteness. But possibly the biggest "Awww!" will come when you use the bubbles in your baby’s bath to make him look like a gnome (and he beams at you because he has no idea what he looks like).</p>
- Adulation and adoration<p> Who needs to be a superstar, eh? With your baby comes the stupendous feeling of being the funniest, loveliest, most important person in any room. And, of course, you are.</p>
